Life getting in the way of poker

How am I supposed to play my best poker when i need to pay bills, work a job, go to meetings? it aint fair. I get home- I'm fried to a crisp and its really hard to deal with an all in when you got king ace in the hole after a long brutal day at the job. It just aint fair....
I know I could do a much better job of building up my bankroll if i could just stay home and play poker

Just quit your job and become a poker pro.

Quit job > Play poker, EZ!

Seriously though, everyones gotta deal with RL shit so your not alone, i have like loads on at the min and if pokers gotta take a back seat then so be it, chances are this will, at most, become a little extra earner that i can pay the rent with every now and then, i will probs never be a pro poker player so why sacrifice RL stuff.

The number one thing that helps me is playing cash games, that way if i have a spare hour/half hour then i can sit down multi-table a bit and leave when something else comes up or i feel the working day was maybe a bit too hard and im not playing well b/c of it.

If you play MTT's then dont bother imo, they take far too long and the variance is brutal, which doesnt lend well to a tired/stressed out from work mind. If you play SNG's then learn to multi-table and play 10+ at a time, that way you only need to find an hour each day and you can get in 300 per month which is respectable.... i think!

It happens, just like working out, riding your motorcycle, or any other activity you do. My work has picked up and my son has pneumonia, so I haven't been around much. I still take time before I go to bed to unwind and play a few hands.

I'm going through the same thing. I'm able to play in the freeroll today, but besides that I hardly get online to play. Most of my time is seeing my kids (going through divorce) and working. It's tough but you have to deal with the RL shit. Poker will always be around.

Good luck on the felt.

Unless you don't have any bills and your wife will have sex anytime you want you are normal everyday poker player with norman everyday problems, the felts could be a way to get away for a few moments and enjoy taking down a few hands. Life is hard and there is nothing we can do about it, just raise and keep on raiseing.

I am unable to play the game I prefer at the moment because of school. I understand the time commitment and where my head needs to be to play poker properly so I'm skipping it for now.

Instead I'm playing in the fall cc league which is a friendlier if more competitive game.

Like all in things in life you need to prioritize to stay ahead efficiently.

I myself used to think that if i could just invest some more time i poker, i would eventually get to a point where i could make some serious money of it. This is no longer the case. I have a wife, kids, job, house friends and all the other commitments that goes with being a grown man, and they are alot more important to me, then sitting infront of a computer 50-60 hours a week playing poker.

I am thinking that many of the really skilled online players are fairly young people that dont have all of these things to deal with in their daily life, and therefore have alot of time to invest in poker.

Nowadays i mainly play for recreational purposes and enjoy the fact that i every once in a blue moon are able to take a little something out.

Should everything someday fall into place poker wise, that would be great. But it would also be great to win the lottery In the meantime i just enjoy playing, and that little bit ekstra it gives from time to time.

We all have demands on our time. Work pays the bills alot faster than sitting at many of these poker tables. It is nice you found a hobby to keep you busy, for when you reach retirement age.

Being a poker pro is really hard.
If ur 20 something go for it..

all the replies. its nice to know that we all go through the same stufff in life. Let me just add that; if you think about it for a moment-

life doesnt omit anyone from the ups and downs and for some reason some people are happy and some are always sad.

All things being equal, its probably just the way you perceive life; ultimately its a choice we make between being happy or miserable.

I'm lucky enough to be out of work until November 1st. Gives me a couple weeks to grind out some decent wins. Sitting 4th out of 234 in a $2 DS 1000 man MTT on FT atm. Could be a nice boost!

It seems to me it's poker that is getting in the way of your life and not the other way around....
There are better things to do in life then sit behind your pc/laptop and play poker.

Sounds like a time management issue to me. There's a great book called "How to Get Control of Your Time and Your Life" by Alan Lakein, which is an excellent guide to managing personal and business time.

Though writtem some time ago, the book is still available and well worth a read when life seems out of control.

Thanks for the tip on the book

Funny (not in the ha ha way) post, as I am dealing with similar issues and have decided to take a sabatical from online poker. It is poker getting in the way of life! I'm not sure if this will be permanent or not, but I accept the fact I have little to show for the time I've invested in poker. No crisis has brought me here, just a realization poker isn't really adding anything positive to my life. Perhaps this is a young or old man's hobby and I'm neglecting my kids, wife, friends, and responsibilities to "play". Poker will always be here, so maybe I should be investing in the things that will one day be gone?

I will be praying that you will be granted the wisdom to know whether this is an activity you should be devoting yourself to at this time.

just great stuff to think about. frankly, i never expected stuff like this when i first signed up at cardschat. some of these threads can really take on a life of its own

What is poker to you? Is it entertainment only? Is it entertainment and educational(probability, psychology, warfare)? Is it a supplemental income(or you want to try to make it supplemental income)? Is it your main source of income? I think that whichever one of these you answer yes to will determine if life is getting in the way, poker is getting in the way or you are playing the correct amount.

You really just need to take some time to think by yourself, and get your priorities straight. Life isn't fair,lol. Sometimes you need to make sacrifices that will better your life (and your kids?) in the longrun.