Is poker boring?

Was reading through some articles for Nick and found a comment that went something like this: "if you're playing correctly, poker is boring for the most part". Didn't really think about it much until I was driving to work this morning as I have a 45 minute commute. I think I'm going to have to agree with this as I do find the game terribly boring when I play like I should. Most of the time it's the tedious nature of the game, folding a dozen hands in a row, that makes me take bad risks or make bad plays. One of the reasons I don't play in a lot of the big tourneys is I know I don't deal well with 5-6 hours of nearly 100% boredom. I've actually considered doing what other folks do and just sit out the first hour or so to let the field thin out.

Wondering if any of you have this same feeling. When I look back many times at hands that turned out badly, I'd say 75-85 percent of the time I played it because I was bored and tired of folding...

Dave i tend to agree with you poker for the large part can be very very boring, this is especially if you are dealing with a cold deck.

Thats the main reason that i tend to prefer live games, its much much easier to keep interested when the action is actually happening there in front of you. I find it much easier to pick up on tells and weakness in a live game, and i tend to do much much better than i do online.

A 10 player ring game, waiting for a premium hand to open with in early position - Yawn...... Final stages of SnG and tournaments are exciting, multi-table tournaments more so. I do tend to do other stuff when playing online though, to fill the non-action lulls.

One plus about online poker over live poker is that you see almost double the number of hands per hour. Online also has its drawbacks as it takes the social aspect out of the game as well as there are really no 'physical' reads.


If poker tends to get boring, which it can be at times, if you can handle it, open up another table. If you are playing a tournament, maybe open up a cash table or two or even another tourney. When I play cash games I usually play 2-3 tables at a time just so I see more hands, etc.

Just my .02.

boring/exiting, it's a relative thing, without the boring bits how could you have the exiting bits, one is defined by the other, without the lows you can't have the highs, a constant high is not a high

hmmmm, profound

anno

When you play correctly it is boring because your folding lots of hands, but when your getting the good cards and your in lots of hands its very exiting, also depends how you play> tight or loose> for a tight player it is definately boring.

buckster436

Yeah, I guess it is a bit boring. I sometimes multi-task while I'm playing though. Fold some laundry, vacuum in between hands, do the dishes on break, etc. This is of course when I'm playing online! But at a live game, I enjoy fraternizing with my fellow players at the table. It is a rare occasion when I get to take part in live games however, so I mostly play online.

I usually 2- 3- table while I study, so boredom is never an issue to me.

I'm trying to learn a friend how to play and it's really hard to make him sit there and fold, and fold, and fold and fold... get a playable hand, raise, miss the flop and... fold. Not very exciting.

I agree with you all it's a bit boring to play at times. Sometimes I think it is a good thing to sit out for a while,especially when you keep folding crappie hands. Seems like when the cards are bad their bad. Does anyone have this problem,when your playing and you get down on short stack ,that's when you start hitting,then you don't have enough money for squat?

Try playing on multiple sites at once. It will pick up the pace of the game tremendously.

You've all made some good points: playing good poker is boring. But for a new player, or when you are playing with new opponents, there is plenty to keep you busy. If you're in a hand, you are busy with that. But, if you are out early, why not spend the time to try and learn about the folks still in the hand? It is tougher online, but you can still keep track of how they stall, their betting patterns, and how they react to a raise, call, overcall, or reraise. Of course, in a live game, you can watch them at the same time, looking for tells.
I do play multiple tables at times, but only when I have found that I have some "fish" at my table, and I don't need to do quite as much studying of the players. Otherwise, I like to spend my time learning. The main difference in a live game and online is that in a live game, I usually play against the same folks week in and week out, and learn their habits. Online, I may play the same person twice in a month, so I have to learn all about them as fast as I can.
If you spend the "down" time watching as intently as if you were in the hand, your poker success will improve, guaranteed.

Dan

i someitmes play laods of tbales at once, like 3, so that i always have a hand i can play, and dont have ti always watch other people after i fold, but then again Dave, thats why theyc all some of thbe pros "grinders" its a hard way to make an easy living.......

I once went through three nights in a row in Las Vegas with cold cards. By the end of the third night, I was playing hands I should not have played. Some online tourneys are extremely boring, but then suddenly it seems like boom ... boom ... boom ... the cards come. So yeah, poker is kind of boring sometimes, but being at the final table of a tournament is one one poker's great thrills. Not to mention, of course, having the absolute nuts and watching one or more players go all in.

In my unadulterated and highly overrated opinion if you want to be a good player boredom is a key ingredient of the game. If nothing else it teaches patience and gives you a greater understanding of the game if your willing to pay attention during the lulls. It's also fun to watch other people go on tilt and screw up their hands. I say this knowing I have surely done the same thing on many occasions. This, though has only ingrained in me how much better I can play whether it be online or live and how much i still have to learn.

In order to be good at poker you have to be focused and not bored, being bored can cause u to make bad descisions and not pick up any tells ur opponent may have.

Great post, Dave, and I for one agree with you.

I have been trying to figure out over the last few weeks why I can consistently make final tables of big tourneys for a week and then nothing the following week and I think a combination of lack of enthusiasm and boredom are to blame

For instance, last week I made over $700 making final tables of a $6,500 guaranteed and a $4,000 guaranteed. I was also unlucky going out on the bubble a few times and I made a bit of a sting in a few SnG's, including a couple of $30 buy-in, 5 seaters.

This week, though, I havent been hitting the cards or playing the right hands. I lost $200 today, been playing in silly tourneys and playing crazy cards.

I dont think I have the focus to play in tourney after tourney and its costing me. I think players need to pick and choose their games carefully, particularly MTT's.

I think a good way of getting round this is to play at your limit. For instance, instead of playing 3 or 4 $10 MTT's, play on $40 MTT. You are more likely to focus on this and have the mental and physical energy to play through it. I am gonna focus on the higher tournaments now. As any non-pro player should know, you can afford to lose the money you invest in the game you enjoy, so why play hundreds of MTT's a week when half the time you are not enjoying it??

BTW Dave, playing in $2/$4 limit now mate, and it is a lot, lot tighter than $1/$2, far less muppets

Yeah it can be boring as hell. You have to find something to keep your interest at when playing for "" hand online. Me, I go thru my email and post here. I also will watch the game to get a feel for the other players. You have to be careful though. Boredom sometimes makes you do stupid things.

I could not have found this post at a better time. I'm sitting here right now at Paradise watching what seems like an endless stream of 72s and the like. After folding so many hands I feel that "...well I could maybe take that" itch coming. Being a newer player, I often find it hard to control. While I know I should be paying careful attention to the others at the table, I'm going to use this time to work my way through all the great content in these threads.

Tournament poker seems to be the boringest, long MTT's take forever and cards run dry for what seems to be forever. Poker in general can never get boring.

I find that the cash games don't tend to get boring - sure, I'm folding a lot of hands, but I'm then either trying to figure out what hands each remaining player has, or checking what's on TV (sadly, it's generally poker as well). I tend to play for an hour or so max on a cash table, before going off to do something else for a little while. This probably helps keep up the interest level. I'm always excited by a good pot.
In a tournament, you have to stay there much longer, and it can be a drag in the early stages.

There's a well known saying in Poker

"Texas Hold-em is hours of boredom filled with moments of terror"



IanT