A guy that is obsessed w/ poker and plays too much is prolly going to have more success than a guy that has a good balanced life but plays significantly less poker. So having a balanced life prolly hurts your poker results, but you improve your overall life.

imho this should be required reading for any poker player (pro or amateur) and deserves a place in the FAQ.
ty HokieGreg for sharing your wisdom

reread the article. i don't really disagree with you: the guy that is obsessed w poker might make more money in the short term (that is debatable)...but the VAST majority of people who approach the game that way burn out fast.

my schedule ENCOURAGES high volume, studying, etc. just play it within the schedule. i'm not saying play less, take it easy, etc.

we have very similar stories, spot on hokie..

Amazing post...and it's come at just about the right time for me as well...going to take all of this on board...TyTY

+1 Hokie

I'm about to come back to poker and while I realized a lot of this by being away from poker a lot in recent months this post definitely still came at a great time.

Thanks <3

+1

good read thanks

So painfull to read about myself

For those who really want to incorporate this i suggest you do it whole hartedly and take it as serious as you can. Not because Hokiegreg said it and it all made sense suddenly. Really i am the prime example of someone doing that. Once i took the first babystep and saw results i was satisfied and got complacent again and it threw me back three steps. Like he said it's a marathon.

tl:dr

Good post.

Here is a bit something which goes along what hokie is saying:

http://www.sciencedirect.com/science...74742706001596

Even if you decided to go at full throttle you SHOULD take some time with these things that don't seem at first glance related to improving yourself in poker.

About socializing some people need more than others, although if you need to socialize a lot, internet poker might be a little less natural for you taking on account that most of the winners are INTJ.

Adding something like a sport that you can socialize at the same time you are improving your conditioning can go a long way towards that. Even half-hour run 3x per week should improve your learning ability and help relieving stress.

---------
cliff-notes: stay happy and don't become sedentary.

Great post, LXT. Workout/sport is essential to any serious poker player. All top chess players do it regularly. Poker isn't as nearly as exhausting physically as chess (meaning chess at professional level, obviously) but still a regular physical activity can improve your game a lot. Even a simple exercise like making a few push-ups is very refreshing for the brain and it also can boost your confidence. After all, poker is a sport, so maintaining a sporting lifestyle is necessary if you are serious about your poker career.

Always liked you hokie.. thanks for upping your credibility and posting some helpful stuff. Good read and good luck in anything you do in poker or life.

thanks hokie for this awesome post will defiantly be trying to use some of this myself

awesome poast

Ty for sharing.

This is precisely the area of my game which is TOTALLY lacking. This has come in perfect timing for me too.

I really like how you focus on the non-game strategy part of poker. I also thank you for recommending the Mind Gym book on your blog. I don't know if that started you off on the mental side of things or what, but that book has helped me a lot.

very nice read
gg op

Hokie I subscribed to your thread on reaching supernova elite and was sad to see it end. Did it end because of this weekly plan?

Very very good post. Well thought out and well written.

I break my play down into daily, monthly goals but the idea of warming up and then building up the volume of games is a new concept and one I shall think about.

Gl to you sir

I mainly stopped because BF derailed my SNE-chase. I was behind pace, but I think I could've gotten back on track. Who knows. I learned a lot about myself in my SNE-experience though. I definitely wasn't prepared for that kind of volume at the beginning of the year, but I think I was definitely getting there.

Thanks and GL

def one of the best articles i've ever read. Thanks. And I really mean it

Very good read!

For almost 2 months I have been trying to organise my life and failed. I know that a big part of someone's success is about organisation - motivation - determination (how can you succeed in sth if you are fed up with what you do?).

I believe I had failed in the past because of my lack of a proper organisation. I know we need day-offs and forget about poker and grinding but I never thought about the "muscle mind" term and its implication (warm up, you push yourself hard, you recover, basically gradually get back on track). I will definitely try to apply to my way of life and make a plan today so I can start right away.

Ty for sharing your ideas

Have a good one and thank you for all your strat posts and videos, you will never understand how much you've helped me, gg sir.

nice op but i dont really see it. i like poker because i dont have to go after these rules. I enter the tables when i feel good. i can wake up in the morning and decide how my day goes. i dont need to think "oh its thursday ive to put in some volume today."

sometimes i dont feel like playing and take 5 days break sometimes i feel great and put in big volume 15 days in a row. i agree you should have goals and kind of a concept for the month in your head but i dont see why makin a straight plan.

The short lifespan of the professional poker player is often credited to skill, and the game passing people by. I think it's probably more often failures in approaching the game the right way psychologically and the effect that has on a career over time.

Nice post Hokie.