Two questions for the gang:

- How do you deal with poker hosting burnout... if that's what you have?

- How do you tell if you have it, or if you're just overbooked?


My overall schedule has been pretty full and poker games, as a result, have been hard to schedule. Plus, average numbers have dropped off... and my results have been up and down, to cap things off.

Therefore, though I'm not sure what it's truly due to... I haven't had as much enthusiasm for hosting as in the past. When it seems more of a chore, than a pleasure, to host games... I think it's some kind of signal.

I just don't know what it is a signal OF. Any thoughts, anyone?


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Have any of you regular hosts suffered burnout periods? What did you do, to snap yourself back into place?

I get an occasional bout where after scheduling a game I'm like I don't want to play tonight or whatever. However, once the game gets going and chips start flying I'm a happy person. Other than that I don't ever feel like it is too much or burned out. I get burned out in other aspects of life and this is my outlet. Sorry I can't be more help, but I just love playing cause I'm a degen.

Stop scheduling games for a little while, it may result in increased demand as more folks miss their fix... attendance will increase when you do pick it back up, and perhaps you'll get some more assistance, or at least some more thanks when you do.


I don't host at my home, we play at a couple of local shops and everyone gets busy from time to time. After a few weeks without a game, the crew(s) are ready for more games and recognize that the games don't just happen without a push.

I used to be more degen about it- not sure what's changed. If it's just the recent schedule, maybe I ignore things for now.

I've only been able to do it about one a month lately, as it is. Attendence is not fonder by absence, evidently.

As a player I've felt a little burned out before, and I've found that a 2-3 week break from my normal 1-2 nights per week poker schedule is effective. It helps me get my head back in the game and gives me a breather so that my hobby doesn't start feeling like a chore.

As a host, it hasn't been a problem for me yet. It took a long time to get my biweekly game to the point where it runs regularly, so I'm still in that honeymoon phase where I'm happy to host.

How do you feel about playing at other games? Is it hosting burnout or poker burnout? If the former, just stop hosting for a while, find another game, and let somebody else do the work for a while. But if it's poker in general, maybe you need to step away and see if the fire comes back after a vacation.

Switch to No Limit Apples to Apples.

Everyone but the dealer gets dealt 5 red cards.
Betting round
Dealer flips up a green card
Betting round
Dealer flips up second green card
Betting round
Players pass in any 2 red cards face down
Dealer chooses 1 red card for each green card (same card can be chosen twice). Pot is split and goes to players of the selected red cards.

I can understand where you comming from LL. Hosting can become tiresome, especially if you're the only one who is making the game happen and everyone else just passively attends without helping out in any other respect. In my group it's me and another 2 who basically "make things happen" so to speak so when there is problem in recruiting or some other aspect of hosting we usually pool our efforts and share the load. If I had to do this solo it would be more stressfull.

As for your results, I speculated in the past on this forum as to whether any long term host had to be a consistent winner at the game to stay motivated in hosting. A long standing game like yours where the weaker players got better and/or left over time would mean that your edge probably diminishes over time if no new blood is introduced into the game. So similar to the state of online poker, everyones winrates suffer. And with lower winrates comes higher variance and bigger swings. This is another factor which can definitely get you fed up with poker. One of the "problems" we suffer from as knowledgable poker players (who are still recreational players) is that we "know better" vs. the usual crowd. We don't fool ourselves of how good or bad we really are, we are usually very aware of how well we are actually doing. As the saying goes: "Ignorance is bliss". By being less aware you can be a breakeven/slight loser and play for years beleiving you are a winning player and chalking up the many lossing sessions to bad luck.

I can relate to this, too, Larry. A couple of times I have gotten burned out on poker, both hosting and playing.

I continue to be a winning player over time, but even so, the down-swings can get to me. Lanyi shared a great insight about how it can tougher for a good player to lose than the more recreational, "it's all luck" type players.

I am a very competitive person, and hate to lose. Vince Lombardi said, "Show me a good loser, and I'll show you a loser." I wouldn't change that about me if I could, but it can be tough on one's psyche.

Also, I sometimes wonder how healthy it is for friends to relate to each other predominately in a poker game scenario.

My solution is to stop playing until I really want to play. That can be a week off, or a couple of months.

Mix it up, perhaps? Try a theme night, like $20 90-minute 6-max S&Gs. If you have the room for it, 14 people should keep 3 tables going fairly steadily.

Whatever you're doing, think of ways to simplify. What about hosting is bumming you out? If you can figure out what you dread doing, then we can figure out how to restructure, if only temporarily.

After playing no limit holdem competitively for 6 years, it became like a job for me. Now when I host i do dealers choice with fixed limit stud, draw, holdem or omaha. holdem is the game we play the least.

Yeah, I'll still play NLHE, especially when I think it's a +EV lineup, but the only night that gets me actually excited to play is "Dealer's Choice" night. I just enjoy it more.

As for LL, I think we all get burnt out on things from time to time, and hosting poker games is hard work. I'd take a break, or throw something into the game to mix it up and get your interest back. Short-stacked PLO rebuy tourneys are fun.

Occasionally I get "fatigued" from cleaning up the day after, cause my poker room is also a basement living room. I also get fatigued from having to invite and/or chase down a group of 30, just in order to get a full table.
My situation may be a little different than your's LL, because we only get together once or twice a month. So I will try skipping my turn in the rotation of hosts. I'll play at other home games several times.. But then I always come back feeling like noone hosts as "Perfect" a game as me!

I like having people over to play, but at the same time in the city I live in there's basically a poker room having a game every night of the week, and it's so much easier to go there and be able to leave the game whenever I want, or decide to play or not play at the last minute. It's just so much less of a hassle, that I haven't been hosting nearly as much lately.

Clean as you go. Surely you find reason to stand up from time to time. Get a drink, do a rebuy, etc. Grab a bottle or can or something every time. As the night dies down, fold up chairs and put them away (or at least aside) as people leave. Make sure you have plenty of garbage, recycling, and composting bins within easy reach of the table, or at least on the bath to the bathroom.

This is how I trimmed an hour off of my 3am post-game cleanup routine.

I just make people help me clean up. Since they don't pay anything, people don't mind helping out for the most part.

This is good advice if you want to kick 'em out and hit the sack right away. For me, I often need a little time after the game to wind down and get sleepy, and a few minutes of post-game cleanup is perfect.

It generally takes me 20-30 minutes to put away the chips, cards and table, get rid of the garbage and beer bottles, and reset the room. I'm often still "in the zone" when the game ends, and this gives me the mental cooldown time that I need after a session.

I used to follow my x wife around the kitchen with a wet rag saying "tidy as we go."

I think you need a break, try playing at other games for a while. When hosting egst to be a chore, then its time to take a break. Rather then a weekly game, try hosting a saturday night game once a month or whenever you feel like it.

Because of family and work schedules, i've gone from bi-monthly to 3-4 weeks per game.

That doesn't help with tourney buildups and player access, when games are 6-8 weeks apart for some people (the cash-only and tourney-only ones).

I can't decide if not missing it as much is a sign, or just temporary. I mean, I was much more gung-ho in the past for the 2+2 tourney series, and now I've kind of lost the hunger for it. I'm not energized for the game reports, along with other related things...

Plus, we've seen my recent 2+2 history....


Eh, maybe I'm just in a rough patch. Thanks, everyone, and we'll see if I can get my act together.

Actually, the reverse seems to be true, for this group. Maybe THAT's a sign

I think I don't really wanna know....

I got sick of doing tourney calculations, etc. so I just automated them away. Perhaps it'll seem like less of a chore if you can streamline things or get people to help you out so there isn't as much work involved.

If your hobby becomes work... it's no longer a hobby, and sometimes a lot less fun.

I guess it helps to have a bunch of players who mostly don't mind pitching in with extra food and drinks, a little bit of cash (donated) for expenses. They just seem to have a good time with having a small stakes NLH cash game available every friday, without the requirements of tournaments or league etc. I love playing, and since I have a very large and well organized poker room I don't mind the hosting at all. Casinos are 90+ miles away and no FTP anymore. I guess if I didn't have such a good group (5 or 6 years now) one solution to burn out would be to cut back to twice a month or even less. If I did that I would know if it was enough or more needed to change. GL hope the burn out for any of you guys wears off!!