The answer to the question "What do you do when you lose the urge to play poker?"

None of these threads have popped up recently, but they used to quite a bit. This is loosely related to a couple of blog posts FP has made recently.

I've not played poker in about a month now, due to a truckload of things, one of which being that I really just haven't felt like playing. I still enjoy talking about the game and discussing strategy, but the urge to play just hasn't been there. I can't really identify why, it's not a fear of losing as FP had (I play over-bankrolled anyway), it's just that I really don't want to. Either I have better things to do, I'm too tired, or I'm just not in the mood.

After the first week or two, I started asking myself, "How can I get the 'urge' to play back?". I soon had a realisation, which conflicts pretty greatly with some of the advice I've given in similar threads of the past.

If you don't want to play - don't play. Don't 'force' yourself to play, don't try and pick up playing a new poker game, just don't play. Use the time to enjoy other things that life has to offer - after all it's not like you're a pro who's reliant on poker, right?

Continue to study the game if that's what you want to do. Ignore poker altogether if that's what you want to do. Continue posting on CC if that's what you want to do. If you play while 'not in the mood' though, your game will suffer (again, read FP's blog posts ^^), but more importantly, your life will suffer because you're spending time doing something you don't want to be doing (most of us already do that from 9 to 5 every weekday).

I know I'll almost certainly get back to the grind on Stars at some point, but at the moment I'm happy that when I start playing again it will be on my own terms and because I want to play, rather than because I feel some kind of bizarre obligation to play.

This may well have not been very helpful, as it's more of a personal posting than a lot of my other threads, but take it as you will.

Cheers.

Daniel Negranu wrote about this several months ago on his blog. He was concerned that maybe he had lost his touch because he wasn't doing well in tournaments and ring games. He felt it was more than a negative swing or slump in his game and came to the conclusion that why he wasn't doing well was simply that he didn't really feel like playing.

He would rather improve his golf game or play X-box, work on his articles and just wasn't in the mood for playing. He gave the same advice you do, if you don't feel like playing don't, if your going to play your best you really need to WANT to play.

He took some time off and did what he wanted to do and came back to poker when he wanted too, unforced and ready to compete, winning rather than losing. It's good advice.

I play poker as a form of relaxing, put on my headphones, blocking out all other noise but my music....there are days when i feel i have played to much, but then that thought only last a few seconds....play cuz you enjoy it, don't think about the gambling, winning, losing, just play the game, i find listening to music helps pass the time between hands you would play

A lot of the points u make are very valid Chris. I went through the same thing a month or so ago. I found I was playing because I wanted to win back money I had lost (I have had a bad start to this year and it is the start of my 2nd year playing)

Check out this post http://www.cardschat.com/f13/all-guy...uestion-82608/

It is not the question I want to point u 2, it is my `summary` of the guys responses and the fact that I was able to sit down and put almost a target or short, medium, long term objectives of playing poker. I have copied and pasted the part of the post I mean. Keep smiling

I`d like to thank all of you guys for your input
It has helped me make a decision.

I sometimes get frustrated playing poker when you have spent a week building up a decent amount of winnings on cash games and then it all evaporates in one session of bad beats, desperate moves, etc.

So, in agreement with the point MrDaMan made about being a `professional amature` I feel, in order, I am

1. a good MTT player. I am patient and I am starting at the same chip level as everyone else. The ppl who go all in early I can wait to catch, I have a strategy planned out before each game and I stick to it, but I am flexable enough to change dependin on table conditions.
2. I`m a decent SNG player now that I have got to grips with the level I should be playing now - I committed the cardinal sin of playing games that were way above my skill level/ bankroll level at present. I have now sorted that out and I`m on my way back, slowly but surely.
3. I`m not a very good cash player. I am effected by the fact that if I lose a pot I`m losing real cash - I do not feel the same way in a MTT or SNG. In these games I`ve paid my buyin and I can`t lose anymore. I also become less patient in cash games because I can sit for an hour playing $1/2.00 limit and be a few $$$ down, even, or a few $$$ ahead. So this does not `float my boat` as they say

So I am going to aim to hit that big pay day (or regular big paydays) by aiming to win MTT. I will win my regular $$$ by playing $5/10 buy in SNG`s and I will continue to play cash limit games with the aim of breaking even but to build up my FPP on Pokerstars - Simple

This probably isn't the best idea in the world.

I play my best when i have took about a week of.

I had a strange period last summer where I was still as interested in the concept of the game but didn't play as much.

I'm very careful to only play when I want to rather than through lack of anything better to do. Last summer I found myself not playing quite a bit.

At the same time though I did a lot of thinking about the game and posting in places and when I did play I found myself changing my game in a number of small but significant ways.

After a few months I picked up with new vigour with a game that I felt was a lot stronger. I wonder if perhaps I had gone a bit stale and needed some time to move my play on a bit before I could be eager to play.

I know your game is solid by any definition but perhaps what you lack is the mental challenge of pushing yourself.

Pehaps this can be achieved either through the application of new tactics and strategies or by playing at a higher level. I suggest a higher level not because of the chance to win more $$, but to play against a different player base where different strategies are in the long run required.

Either way I absolutely agree with not playing for the sake of playing. For me it's not about the money (that's a nice way to keep score and handy for holidays), it's about the challenge.

Wtf. Couldn't you have found some other blogger having my problem a week ago, and posted this then so I could have read it and wouldn't have had to go through this crap?

(Good post)

well I cant work so I use this as a small source of income . I play everyday except for Sunday , thats my day off and I use that to clear my mind. When I first started playing poker , I loved it and couldnt get enough of . I couldnt belive that you can make money doing something fun. Now there's days where I am not really in the mood but I feel as if it is my "job" so I sit there . It gets stressful sometimes when I aint making money or lose some but I just hang in there. I have to be able to quit my day if I go on a bad run because I tend to stick around and play bad from there .

Very good post.
This is exactly how I'm feeling right now and yet I'm forcing myself to play. (wife wouldn't agree but true) But I haven't been playing my best and even when I feel I am, I'm still losing so then I get a F*ck it attitude and lose even more. May be time for a break for me. It is trout season after all, I think I'll be doing that now during the day. Still be on here though, at least at night.

man I thought this guy couldnt get any cooler .. ha ha

This article, excelent BTW Chris, does not pertain only to Poker.

I used to play a game called Hex. IT has in the past been compared to chess in many ways. Was a favorite of John Nash, the mad genius about whom a movie was made a few years ago.

Anyway, there is a guy who probably still hangs in that circle, who was the be all and end all of Hex analysis. Eco was his name or what we called him. At one time he was close to being considered the best in the online game. Then he stopped playing. Cold stopped. Would come and watch live action, chat with others etc. When asked why he wouldn't play he only answered 'dont feel like it'.
We the active players figured he was over analyzing the game and got affraid to make the wrong move.

Paralysis by analysis.

This whole thread could have been writen by us hex players 5 years ago, or by any sportsman at any time in the past. I too gave up that game when I got a tool so that I could OVERANALYIZE the game before making any move. There comes a point when one has gathered the usefull information that has made sense and compiled it internally to sit back, and then jump back in when it settles down. Since I got real active here, I have played less and less. I go through the HA's and occasionally offer up some tidbit of useless opinion, but am in that info gathering phase.

I would think Chris that after the detailed analysis you went through with those excellent videos that you clarified so many aspects of your own thinking that you might be in that settling down phase.

Watch out folks when he returns.......

Good topic, as I have been going through this for a couple of months now. March and April are the most brutal months for me to play, since I am the busiest at both my regular job and my home business during these 2 months - as such, even if I have a few hours to play, I'd much rather spend it doing stuff with my family or just relaxing.

Didn't hurt that I was killing the BJ tables over at Absolute during this timeframe...I found it much easier to jump on for 10-15 minutes at a time this way than to play some tourneys.

But, yeah, I've lost a lot of urge to play - and with summer coming up, the playing will be less frequent, I'm sure. This is only natural for the non-pro, since new interests are always coming up...and since the Mrs. and I have found a new interest that we both enjoy doing together, I have been spending more time with her than I have with the computer.

And that's probably how it should be, when you think about it - not that I am complaining at all.

dj,

Very nice post.

Since the neteller thing in the USA i havent got the urge to play everyday like i used to, ive only been playing the buyins we have on Bodog and the bodog freeroll,, If it wasnt for CC i think i would have quit poker, but i like playing poker with the members here, i cant move money around to different sites and i cant afford to put money all over the place, so thats why i cut down alot,,, the USA Government took that away from all of us, ive often thought of just quitting poker since the neteller thing, but if i do that, that means they won, and i wont let that happen.>>> buck

Nobody has yet mentioned an important factor and that factor is setting yourselves targets. An awful lot of poker players fall into the trap of sitting down and playing poker purely because they have set a target to achieve and feel obligated to see it through. One of the problems with setting these targets is that the player will sometimes make the mistake of putting a time limit on when it could or should be achievable. Doing this will sometimes force them to sit down and play poker when they are not really in the mood or are in the wrong frame of mind which as we all know is not the best time to play but because they have set a time limit of some kind they are going to force themselves to play regardless. Maybe it would be a good idea not to set a time limit when you are setting a certain goal, that way you never HAVE to play but can play when you WANT to play thus keeping it real and keeping it fresh.

This is so odd that you and FP have both run into this rut at the exact same time I have. I was just PMing FP about this yesterday.

I played one long ring session with the loyalers here at PS and before that I played 4 STTs in the first few days of April. I haven't played since, and really didn't know why. At first I think it was because of a fear of losing. I've been on a killer run when I do play, and I think subconciously I don't want to have to face the inevitable downfall. I hate playing when I'm uncomfortable, so I just plain haven't been playing.

I've also been pretty busy with landscaping starting up again as well as apartment hunting but even on my free time I'm pretty much not playing these days. Like you guys, I obv still love reading and analyzing hands, but no playing for now.

Another reason to stop playing for me , its the 'withdrawal sympton". I created a thread on this a while back , where I talked about going on a very bad run right after you make a cashout from your account. This never fails and I am going through it right now so I havent played as much poker as I normally play . I know some people argue that this is because you get happy and careless when you make a nice bankroll. I always play the best I can, regardless of my bankroll so I dont believe in that . I guess there's many reasons to not get the urge to play and I just added another .

could allways take a break for a bit and try again

Exactly. This has been my problem. I don't really want to play, but I do because I have goals to achieve.

I've lost the love a bit too recently, but my suggestions to Dorkus would be;

- Withdraw all but $50 from accounts then try to work back up - playing on a small bankroll does get the adrenaline going and make it more exciting (and makes you more focused). If you lose it, just reload.

- Turn off the Pokertracker, PAHud etc, and just play one "pure" SnG or ring at a time, going back to poker basics - just you and your cards against your opponents.

- Try a new site for a bit.

- Try a new game, or new formats (H2H for example).

Urge NOT to play poker?

I don't understand the question....

That's what I've been doing... I could reload anytime, but I'm just trying to build by playing freerolls. It does help you focus a bit more I think.

That about sums it up! if you don't feel like playing. Don't play when you want to play and the game will go your way! play when you don't and it will go someone else's way lol good luck and don't rush!

I've found that by backing off and picking the tournaments I want to enter, I do much better than just tilting at every freeroll that comes along.

Just placed 31st in Rounder's Radio Friday at FTP.

last hand with 25K in chips.
pocket 2's on the cutoff.
Limp in for 500
4 players.
flop 2 8 10
everybody checks to me.
I bet 3x BB (1500)
all fold but one in middle position.
Turn is Ad
middle bets 2100
I call it (probably should have re-raised)
River is As
Middle player checks, I go all-in, he calls.

He shows 10 A boat to my 2 A boat.... and I'm the proud winner of $0.45.

'jazz

I told my girlfriend I was giving up poker for a while, she said, "Who the hell are you?"
"Your loving boyfriend, hon. It's me"
"But... you disappeared six months ago and no-one's seen you since. I told everyone you were kidnapped and sold into slavery my Afghan nomads."

True story.