Quote:
Originally Posted by WereBeer
I can see why your family doesn't want you playing poker for a living, given you have comorbid addictions that make it dangerous for you to spend time in casinos. If I was related to you, I'd be worried too. Seems to me that it's very possible this career choice will lead you back into problems; at minimum it's going to cause you additional angst and stress in a job which frankly has enough of that baked in to begin with.
How do you think you're going to hold up when you lose 3 buyins in a row to some donkey that's luckboxing his way to a chip mountain? How about when that happens halfway into your 4th losing session that week, the one where it finally looked like the poker gods had decided to give you a break? You going to move up and chase your losses at 5/T or maybe at the baccarat table? Going to unwind with a few whiskeys?
You literally nailed my past issue. When I lost to a cooler or a series of crap situations that involved absolute idiots, I would make large mistakes at table games like bet 5K on black or throw 4K on the player in baccarrat.
I know how this looks on the surface. I am 100% done with drinking and gambling. I play poker 100%. I deal with loss a lot better. Instead of thinking of the money, I think of the literal math behind what just happened and analyze the hand. Such as:
-How far ahead was I? (The more ahead I was, the less angry I get now because I know I made the right decision and it was variance that happened)
-Did I play the hand properly or was there anything I could have done dynamically that could have made it play out differently? (If you don't learn moving forward, your standing still.)
Another HUGE factor that triggered this dumb gambling/drinking was playing too many long sessions in a row. 24 hours, sleep, then 36 hours, sleep, then 28 hours , sleep... All in repetition... I don't do this anymore. I found that playing a "session" and then returning when I feel like playing poker again is the best. And I love poker, so that feeling returns after a day off.
Another thing I might try is playing a more solid schedule. Such as 2PM-1AM or something... I don't think poker works like that though but I will try it and see how I feel about it. (Maybe the casino gets the worst players ata certain time that isn't in my "schedule"... That would be a mistake)