Here's a great article I recently read on volume and motivation. I struggled with wanting to play too much, which deteriorates my ability over time and lead to burntout which lead to difficulty wanting to get back into reasonable patterns. The approach suggested within the article makes a lot more sense and can be applied not just to poker, but any skill development you may work on.

Shucks, I'm glad that you enjoyed the article, JechtSphere I've studied the psychology of competition at length during my Sport Psychology Master's (so much so that bubble play was the basis of my dissertation), and I firmly believe that it remains the biggest collective leak in poker today.

Maximising volume while minimising burn-out is far easier than the current 'grind until you drop' approach that seems to be all the rage.

Keep an eye the site, as I will be writing many more blogs and articles on the subject.

Thanks for spreading the word, and I'm glad that you got something from my scribblings!

bump

Really solid read, JechtSphere thanks for the link. I enjoyed reading it very much.

As well as a great link PreacherCasy, although it seems out of par for me. If I'm trying to minimize what I already don't play I don't really understand how I can I increase my volume.. I'm a "full" time poker player but I'm playing around average 16 hours a week... and if I'm suppose to do 10% less then that thats 14.6 hours a week. which is insane ?? I mean I must have to pick up the hours?


Thanks for the bump

I was thinking about not updating anymore, but I don't know since you guys posted and responded I will resume doing updates .

Today I put in a decent session.. I'm somewhat sick, I was training for boxing and I crashed, and couldn't hang anymore. The next day I woke up with a very huge sore throat and it feels like I got ****ed up the ass cause it hurts everytime I walk. Still I enjoy it and Monday will be awesome when I get back to it

7 hours put in today.

Booked a Tuesday Yoga Session as well.

Hi ImaChampion, I'm glad that you enjoyed the blog too.

Regarding volume: I'm not saying that you should necessarily reduce your volume in any given week - particularly if you're only playing 16hrs p/w. Rather, I'm trying to move beyond the 'grind til you can't face another hand' outlook that pervades today.

At 16 hours p/w its not likely that you're going to face burn-out (which is a massive hazard for the low/mistakes volume grinders that I generally help). However, its very likely that you could use your time more efficiently. Optimizing grind-time and ekeing the most out of the available hours is an under looked part of poker.

Whether its playing a little less for the greater good (ie. Long-term motivation), or playing fewer days with more hours, a bit of tweaking can do most players the world of good.

What's a typical week's grinding schedule for you?

Hi, I get what your trying to say. That is very well the case, I mean I am trying to balance myself by having something to fall on incase poker starts not doing good.

Well.. I want it to be on Wed-Sunday 6 hours a day. Or thats the Objective atleast 30 hours seems like a solid amount.


Today was going well.. one of those days where I "should" have stopped earlier. I was playing my best the best I could.. but I'm sick. I told myself to play anyways because its Sunday and you have Monday and Tuesday off. I stopped after the 4th hour. I guess im letting all this pressure get to me about my lack of volume that I force myself to do so anyways.. things just always seem to come up where I can't fulfill the hours. But I decided to stop after things started going sour and I was sneezing too much.

When you say that you aim to play for 6hrs p/d, 5 days p/w, how are the hours broken down? Do you play one long session, which is better for your hourly, or do you divide it up into shorter sets (which I don't tend to recommend)? This is discussed in another blog on my site, but I don't want to link to it as I don't fully understand the linking rules on 2+2.

There are a number of ways to improve your grinding efficiency, but I think the most important factor here is that you have set yourself a lofty target (30 hours) that doesn't appear to have much in keeping with reality (as you typically manage about half that). So perhaps it might be better to rein in your targets a little.

The problem with setting unachievable goals is that they can sap motivation as they seem so distant and impossible - so what's the point in even trying?

When setting volume goals, I prefer to use X number of hands or SNGs as a target. Hours can be misleading, as it's not much use playing a couple of sessions below capacity, just to pad out your hours spreadsheet.

In short, motivation is a fragile thing. It's dangerous to run the risk of damaging it by adopting an unhealthy goal-setting strategy.

A good way to do it would be to set exact grind time hours and to keep motivation, just get late to it and finish early.

You'll have a schedule while "keeping your independence"

HI I normally try to knock it all out in one session, and then I was debating whether or not to break it down, now I will continue to just knock it all out in one session. In the past I use to split it in half. The only time I do that now is when i need a 20-30 minute break then I'll get back to it, normally thats a 4 tabling bloodbath session against a reg that will cause my brain to need some time away from it.

So you recommend I push for even 22 hours a week or something and then just continue pushing one hour whenever I'm "ready" for it? These last two days I Was able to knock out more hours then usual, but still like you said it may be temporary and it runs a risk of ruin.


The problem with setting unachievable goals is that they can sap motivation as they seem so distant and impossible - so what's the point in even trying?

I actually don't think its impossible.. its just more those swings add to it, cause it causes me to have lots of stop loss days, but I completely took those 1K euro games away which has been making me take a lot of days off. at 400NL US its no problem you can see why I have to stop loss considering the 400NL us games are my main stakes, and then I shot take the 1K euros (which is really 1.3k us thats like 3.25 buy ins so its pretty bloody).

Volume goals.. thats also hard to do especially for me because I'm a HU player, I'm not a 6max palyer or 9max, or SNG player so I Can just say yeah lets do this much hours. Its very arbritary, I have to go look for action sometimes I'll get a reg willing to do 3 tables, sometimes i'll get some willing to do 4, and more often then not there willing to do 2 tables or 1 or none. And I can spend 1 hour just seeking for action.


I'm reading this multiple times, and I'm having a hard time to understand this (I understand the second part..)

But I don't understand the first, for example do you mean like set time to play for example.. 4pm to 10pm. But then I can show up late, and quit earlier if I decide to?

(thats the way I took it as please recorrect me if I understood it wrong).

I see no options for HU players other than being ready to play at almost any time during the hours when they're active at all. I.e., their entire day is essentially one long session. Otherwise, like with setting few predefined working hours, they'll lose a lot of fish action that shows up at random times.

As a Heads-Up player, it sounds like your approach is as healthy as can be expected. It may be an idea to aggregate your grinding with your homework, aiming for a 40-hour week in total.

So when the games are soft, you can play as much as possible while forgoing a little bit of homework (a decent trade-off for any profitable player), safe in the knowledge that you will put in extra work away from the tables when you can't get much action.

That way, at least you have a strong routine and have earned your time off, rather than sitting twiddling your thumbs and not doing anything productive when you can't grind.

Yeah.. I mean I don't wait for fishes at the moment anymore. I decided to reduce it and make it more of a competition for me at this time and started playing much better players.

Yeah... 40 hours a week seems like close to the impossible zone to me at the moment, but maybe I can start getting to that. I actually don't have that much homework to do, probably a leak of mine but I don't think I study enough. Due to boxing taking a huge toll on me ( i didn't realize it would do this much but its still amazing).

Sorry for no update, yesterday I didn't end up playing poker. I was training yesterday and was giving it my all, I'm relatively small as stated before so normally I max out on 20 push ups or so. But yesterday the trainer said to do 100 push ups 100 squats and 100 burpees. I don't recall how far I got but I know I finished the push ups and the burpees I was also on my 80th one, before he said I was taking too long and I needed to switch I think I was on my 80th squat, while I was doing it I was focused the whole time trying to force my self to keep going I was worn out all around but knew I was so close. He asked if I was ok? And then I remember it being hard to answer, things started happening really quickly and I just remember looking at them and I started crying and my whole body was numb my head was spinning all around and I really couldn't respond it was a huge struggle for some time. It felt like an hour of my whole body going through this crazy amount of pain and they said they were going to call the ambulance I was able to respond and say no they insisted, but by the time they came I was able to function again. It was really intense and definitely made me think of training differently, but I had to take the day off because they suggested I don't do anything that day. Today though I am ready; lol back to boxing and then hope things will go solid and then put in a nice poker session.

Today went ok; I only put in 4 hours. I'm gonna go study to go make up for lack of hours.. really tired today as well. Did a nice multitabling session thoguh throughout these hours. Again my volume seems to never really be a problem.. just more like the actual hours. I suppose in theory its probably not even bad. But like what I have been being taught and learning and thinking it over is that I just prob need a better study ratio.
Also not to mention the fact that I'm starting to coach again so that will account for some hours that I have to put in too as well.

lol thats sick dude, they really pushing you hard. there is such a thing as "overtraining" but im not gonna pretend like im an expert

thats sick determination tho to not give up

Yeah it was overtraining at that spot, they are gonna reduce it but still make it intense. Everyone else was doing it I didn't want to look like a chump lol.

No boxing session today, the place is closed. I ended up putting my hours necessary. Its weird for me to have two winning days in a roll but man does it feel right lol. I haven't had that in a long time Finally starting to head towards the right direction, I worked on some things and tweaked some things in my game as well.. it looks like its working, not entirely sure. Heh.



And now since the cats out of the bag even with this thread or not, it seems like noone will play me at 400NL despite me being in a swing n "losing 10k" which is true damn euro games, but thought maybe people would have gave me a chance and gave me more action anyways unless they play really high (1k-5k as there main games it seems like thats the only time someone would give me 3-4 table action) so here is my stars graph for the year. Against 95%+ regs



All STARS+ Other sites : Mainly bumhunting on there for other sites


but only 30k hand total so variance obviously, I'm probably mainly just gonna stick at zoom, or whatever whenever I get action. Also had a player that said people talked about me and said make sure to avoid me. so that's never really good news to hear lol

Yea, if that gives him a gag reflex he should consider GOMAD (gallon of milk a day).
GOMAD works, I promise.

Lol, im picking up weight n its going just fine wtih out the Gomad.

I was playing today, this guy named Ilir3 was talking **** to me and calling me a fish so I challenged him to a 4 table 2/4 match, and then he said midstakes scrub lets play some 5/10. I snapped him on it, He was saying "MMMM midstakes fish challenging high stakes player to 5/10 yumyum" LOL. hes soo bad playing 65% of his hand in position 3xing lol what time zone he playing in 2004? I actually was surprised that he was doing it we opened 4 tables, and he joined all of them and we began playing. Got 110 hands in and then dude insta hit n run after winning a buy in. I was willing to lose 5 buy ins to him before stopping.

Anyone who sees that screenname should slowroll him all day.

Anyways decided to stop after that lol.

4 Hours today at the tables, and I'm going to go put some hours into studying.



I'm feeling a lot better about my game and have tweaked it a lot, just by thinking things at a even deeper level while playing at the tables because outside of the table just thought about one thought and then it generated into multiple thoughts then I had a light bulb moment and altered it. I don't know what will happen with it, but we will see what goes on.

Still doesn't matter and don't think its enough, its always more and more studying that should be done, in order to be up there or stay there is to be a student to the game of poker for life until the day you retire if not you'll fall behind the pack.

So sick sir,so sick!!!!

Nice work!

Maintaining the ability to think clearly under volatile conditions - and in the face of runbad etc - is the single most critical attribute that a poker player can have.

It sounds like you've made serious progress in this department. Well done!

ilir is terrible indeed

whats ur sn? pm if u want to share

glgl nice thread

Ilir posts on 2+2 a lot btw but not my place to out his sn.

Thanks Noobis!

Thanks for the compliment, and to the second part even though those are very kind words I'm honestly gonna have to think that is furthest from the case I really started having a reality check and decided things will need to change.


1flightaway

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Cool to know that. I got over it though, really need to stop having those bad mentalities and shift my attitude.

Reality check...

I've come to learn a lot this following week, and its in the face of my eyes every time and I lie to myself often, this 6 hour a day thing 30 hours a week is not attainable for me. My mind just doesn't work that way.. thinking after a session just the pressure gets to me of must having to do that before I go to sleep. The fact that I don't play on Monday and Tuesdays is just in correct for my current state in Poker. I don't like what I'm doing, my excuse is that I'm coaching doing yoga, and boxing.

Lets break it down...

1) coaching : I only do it 2-3 hours a week.

2) yoga : 1 hour a week (lets say two for walking back and forth) and I like sitting and thinking into thoughts and things start appearing after an amazing Yoga session.

3): Boxing: This one is totally understanding even though its only 1 hour a day except Saturday and Sundays it can equate to 3-6 hours depending on how I'm feeling I really push myself and take a huge mental toll.

4) Poker : 16 hours a week thats equivalent to almost 2.5 hours a day.

Still outside of that, I still generate so much time and have so much available and find my self searching and doing the most random and useless things.

I don't know, I lost the passion for the game clearly, but this approach towards it is just not gonna work.. I think I really just need a change. Ever since I started cutting down days I just don't seem to be consistent anymore with the hours. Hours was never a problem for me back then, EVER EVER EVER, despite even though I didn't really "love" poker even back then. What differentiates that now?

Well I'm gonna be honest, I think that's what I haven't been deep down inside I know the truth. I just need to start playing more, I started backtracking to those days where I just put in relentless amount of hours. Burn out is non existent, its just a mentality. I don't recall once when I was on the come up doing short of 200 hours, ever. I didn't complain about burn out. I played at arbitrary hours just grinding it out, because its all I ever wanted to do. Now that I got it I don't appreciate it and still don't reap the rewards of earning more money when I have the power to do so..

In retrospect and when interacting with so many other people it just seems silly. I know people who do poker part time who play more then me, people who don't do it for a living who play more then me. Let me get this straight, this is my job yet other people are surpassing me in hours, commitment and work ethic.

A shame really. I need a change, its just obvious how my brain functions its not very good with doing multiple things. I always generate one excuse to another, its something that has been bred deep down inside me and I know it. A middle finger to the face of Burn Out. **** you! I'm just gonna play whenever I feel like it and just start pumping in hours and feeling good. I notice this uneasy feeling every single time I jump in before a session "AGH have to do this much hours, oh you did 1.8k hands that looks good lets quit for the day". I am the KING of quitting, the best in the business and the worst at starting. **** this, its gonna change. I will keep my smart things bankroll management, stoploss I'm probably gonna take out from the equation in my normal stakes and still include it in my higher stakes. Time to get the ball rolling.

From now on I will also just start posting how much time I have been putting in by the end of the week. And just start writing about whatever crosses my mind for the day.

I'm just gonna experiment this for the week and just see how much hours starts being generated, but it got me feeling good, I'm just gonna start writing times of schedules outside of poker that I have to do and anytime I got time hopefully I will start feeling good and grind.

So far I'm really liking this off schedule thing.. I think this always happens though find a new IDEA, think its really good try it and then its successful for the beginning and then it starts failing. I don't know though I think it may end up working, and if it doesn't i'll shift again.

So.. I started reading a book about poker, and it was a very basic book almost useless then I just read one idea, and it made the book worth it. And its the simplest idea ever as well. Pokerstrategy Equilab is what the book talked about and it talked about how 222 and KJ10 how AQ is a strong percent in the 222 almost as strong as K8 on KJ10. So I sat around playing around with the idea while battling with someone at the tables. Its not too relevant in every spot, but its something you can start intertwining and playing with at a new level. How does this help? I start breaking it down at that level what can I use that info for? Is it a possibility for me to punish them in specific spots because of so? I start breaking down things in questions and answering them myself, I've also started putting myself in there shoes more and more and feel like I understand the population better. Obviously still not a large enough sample.. but its playing with the idea and believing it until shown other wise...

There's so many other poker books, life books that I want to start reading again. Generating one thought from another to see how effective it is.. I've also realized that in taking people whose opinion you value highly is so important. I've started to implement this new thing that anytime I sit in the computer I'm just gonna open poker tables 100% of the time and leave it in bumhunting mode whenever I don't feel like it. That way it will force me to be productive during that time as well. I will allow some few exceptions mainly the times where I want to have a Facebook chat with one of my good friends. Outside of that I will stick to that and start loading up things and bumhunt and think about life mentalities and poker mentalities and try to capitalize on both.

The whole concept of playing around with ideas is just so fascinating for me, I like talking about the word idea itself and just branching onto different things and trying to think of it in an abstract form this endless cycle branching from one idea to another just like the poker tree. I also was playing with the idea of nothing, and see that we are nothing but abstract thoughts it excites me and its probably my true passion, if I can find a way to intertwine these things together I'll reignite my poker passion for sure. And it seems like it started clicking and I am able to do so, and if I seem to enjoy myself in this way then the poker playing and the money will come like its suppose to. Also since I'm taking up boxing I'm really gonna have to learn to appreciate this competition element to the poker game, that some will win and some will lose. Because really boxing is a competition as well so that's something I will be linking together. I also think I will start altering my blog just to talk about random ideas and start branching on them to see what I come up with from just writing them and seeing how far my mind can stretch. Think its great for my poker game as well, because I think if your mind starts stimulating at rapid fast rates it will start seeing new lines that you would never think of that is super beneficial in one particular spot. I can finally see my mind running while playing the tables today and really that made all the difference because it will allow me to continue to generate and improve my poker game while playing consciously, instead of unconsciously. Tapping into the inner thoughts.

I will probably stop posting graphs, and stop posting how much hours I'm playing a day since its irrelevant for me at this moment in time. I hope still I will be increased in volume because of so I stopped looking at my graphs and started thinking about more important things instead of being controlled in that way. I'm well rolled for my stakes, and I will comfortably play it through and if I feel some type of way I'll step down and think other wise.

Stepping outside of the Box

It feels really good I started implementing the strategy and started opening the tables just to load up and study poker. Really, its given me a much wider and better perspective on things. Unfortunately I did get 0 action today while waiting this whole time, still thats besides the point because I will do this everyday when I'm not putting in action and work on other things as well and there is always games for me to join in on if I really wanted action at the lower stakes. At the moment I'm really developing my game and reading a lot of things and although most of it comes across as not super useful and things I already know, it still managed to help create one new chain of thought which made the book I read today worth it. I also think that I will start getting into the poker mentality and working on fixing that, so theres so many other things I need to continue reading in order to improve my poker. If it was all for the money I think I'd have to approach it differently, I'm embracing poker in a different way and I have to realize it.

If I wanted all the $$ and for it to be variance free I'd just load up all the low stakes and bumhunt on all other sites and print endless amount of money 8 tabling against fishes all day at 100NL and Below the hourly would be sick for sure. But thats not what I want. I want to be happy, and really I felt happy getting up reading some poker, loading up the tables it wasn't that mentality where I had to force myself to do so in order to make it happen. I think I really found my appreciation for it and I will continue to think of poker in a different way in order to continue to improve my game. I've also come to realize that since I win or won X amount in a month I expect it at a constant rate, so I have that mentality when I step in the tables to automatically make good money. Which is also really bad so that is something I'm looking to fix as well... Really I'm happy with all these changes and it seems like things are going well in poker and in life, I've never managed to be able to be happy in both side usually it fluctuates and stays imbalanced... but this is only a couple of days I'm really starting to believe that this is the most optimal way for me though.