Losing Interest in Online Poker?

I was just curious if anyone ever starts feeling this way? I won some I lost some, the game has always been more about fun competition for me. Now as one who has not played real tables at a casino or a tourney at some bar I have found that even when I set aside a time to play online these days it is virtually impossible to not find one distraction or another. I used to be able to play hours upon hours and now I really can't stand sitting at the online tables with all the poker player wannabes. Is it possible to grow out of online poker or is it more that I have reached a point where I need to go get some "real" experience?

when i feel like that i take some time off, last week didnt play for 5 days straight, take a few days off,it always helps,,, gl,,,,,,,buck

You're probably just burnt out. Like Buck said, take some time off, and then start playing again when you feel like playing again.

Also, give live poker a try. Personally, I like it better. Easier to read people, and I like the atmosphere at the casinos.

Definitely agree with Mortis and Buck about taking a break. You've likely played alot in the past bit and online poker's gotten normalized. Last thing you want is for this to affect your game and lose you cash. I'd say take a break and come back feeling refreshed.

-Ozz

Well to be honest I have been on a couple month break already playing maybe 2 tourneys the entire time.

The thing about live poker that intrigues me is the lack of the ability to get distracted. It is you, your cards and the players. Perhaps some peeps have a trick or two to keep from being distracted playing at home??

Lack of ability to get distracted? I guess it depends on where you are playing, but I would say for me sitting in a casino would be 100x more distracting. I play online sitting at home on my laptop with some music / tv / movie playing in the background. Yea I get that surfing the net and doing whatever else you use the internet for can be distracting, but if I want to play I play.

For the past couple months up until recently tho, I felt the same way as you. Never really felt like playing a game, just seemed like a chore. But I took breaks from the game, and never play when I don't feel like playing, and after a while I now feel like playing some online poker again, just don't have as much time as I did before.

I agree w/ everyone here, just take a break. GL w/ that problem, TC.

Online and live are quite different in many ways. The only true similarity IMO is that a 52 card deck is used ...

I started playing live in '69 and still prefer playing live over online. The obvious advantage of online is that it is available 24/7/365 worldwide. When you're awake at 3am and can't sleep, it's daytime elsewhere and a game is just starting.

For the most part, I enjoy live much more than online. Real people playing poker is much preferred over anonymous computer ID's and avatars. I save my serious play for casino tables ... always have, always will. Playing live I seem to find that players come to the table to stay, and play, limited only to their bankroll or avail time. They don't yo-yo in and out like they do online playing hit n run, multi-tabling, sitting out, or being anonymous ... playing lukbox and maniac poker.

Online poker offers table action for pennies and nickels, or simply just for the fun of it. There are no 'fun' tables in a casino and no .01/.02 nlhe table games. Imagine going to the casino and dumping your penny stash from your piggybank on the felt as your buy-in. Unless it is a compensation game for players with regular paying play tracked, there are no casino 'freerolls'. People don't flock to a casino table by the thousands shouting "I wanza pley pokahz, gimme zum kardz, I iz ahll-een".

You have to understand that at the low and micro limits, online poker is more about the entertainment and has to be valued accordingly. LIVE poker starts at $1/$2 IF you can find that anymore and is usually higher with a minimum buy-in for one table. Serious online pro/semi-pro players don't play the .01/.02 tables for profit. NO live player multi-tables for .02/.05 cents.

I don't play as much online as I used to ... mostly because of the ridiculous play at low and micro limits. Watching villains push all-in with 5,8o just for kicks and the adrenalin rush of the win gets old and tiresome. Sure, I could deposit online and go to the bigger buy-ins but it still isn't the same as live. When I sit down with a $100 chip rack and a few bills standing behind it (table stakes), it just has the FEEL of real poker, facing REAL people who are there for one thing ... playing poker at one table.

If you ever try playing live, you'll understand the difference. But you really need to experience it to understand it fully.

Feeling tired and run down ....take a break. It happenned to me but the poker break lasted 9 months, oh well! Now I'm well rested and ready to go.

This is why I have plans to move away from the wretched state of Virginia, and closer to a casino atmosphere starting in 2010. Just haven't decided on a destination yet. I love online poker, and will always play it, but it can get stale and boring from time to time. You can definitely get burned out so just take a break.

Live though is just so YUMMMM. You just can't beat staring down your opponents, watching for their tells, asking them if they have it, bluffing a guy and seeing his reaction after you show it because he thought you had a set. Live poker is where it's at. Nothing tops it!

^^hey! leave virginia out of it! back...75+ yrs ago there was a big ol' casino just down the road in ocean view...always thought i was born 100 yrs too late

You can try playing a different game too to mix things up. If you're a FR'er give HU or 6max a go. It's a different game really, and if you start reading up on the right way to play those, and doing some hand analysis, you might have a new game to play for a bit.

Omaha8 and Stud8 seem to have lots of free money about as well, so if you want to completely switch games, you can try that too. It's never bad as a poker player to be able to hold your own in several variants, so that's a pretty good way to go.

I just started back playing. I think I'm getting burnt out on winning in freerolls and working so hard for that $1-5 and then taking it to a cash table and blowing it the next day. I really need to learn to just let it sit there and build till I get to atleast $50

I play live more than online. I have to tell you, playing live is a lot better. You're more able to pick up tells and you may enjoy talking to some of the players on the table. Nothing substitutes the real thing.

I wish I could play live a lot more than I do, because I'm tired of online poker and how there are so many donk's.

There are very slow rooms like Everest where usually nothing happens for long. I usually studying english or surfing on the net or watching TV while I play poker. Only playing poker would be so boring anyway.

I have a live game available to me pretty much every weekend. Often times it's at my next door neighbor's home. Generally it's a 100nl or 200nl game with no rake and horrible players (very profitable). Still most nights I just stay home and play online. I'd rather play online than have to put up with all the BS that is live poker (like pants!).

Sometimes it is easier to just walk away for awhile and turn off the computer. If you have other intrest that are keeping your mind away from the game then take care of those things. It is nice to get out and play live sometimes but remember the live game plays differently. GL in which ever you decide

Take a Break.
When the Urge and Desire return so should you.


Good Luck

I got fed up with all the bad beats and losing to a guy fishing and hitting on the river so I took a break. 3 hours later I was playing again. Go figure.

LOL

Do you have poker or does it have you.

LOL

Nothing wrong with doing what you enjoy.
When the Fun is gone so am I.

Like the other guys are saying, just take a break, even if you haven't played a lot recently. Eventually you will want to play again.

I think online is boring too, but I am lucky enough to live close to a few card rooms so I'm kind of spoiled. I recently went through a 3 or 4 month period where I played a handful of times. (played over 100 live session in 08) this was a big change, but I just didn't have it in me. It came back though. Playing a little more regularly now.

Maybe you could try to raise the stakes or set some goals? Might make it more interesting. Try to get x amount by the end of the summer, or learn a new game, or play a higher limit?

But over all if its not there, don't play.

I believe another advantage of on-line play may be the faster pace, but I'm not sure because I have only played amateur games in Japan. Partly out of professional interest, I wonder what it would be like to have a digital interactive table at a casino displaying, say, the Full-Tilt interface, where the players use the software except it's a face-to-face environment. Would that be faster paced? Fun? A way to bridge between the live and on-line world?

well for me the fun is gone....now its about making money for me. I need all the extra income i can get my hands on. The fun has been gone for a long time but the passion to play for me i dont think will ever die. i do get sick of playing micro stakes poker and sometimes i do take a day or two off, just to cool out or whatever, but i always go back to the grind.

I really only have fun now when i rake in big pots or sit outside my BR a bit and try to take down some really nice pots. i dont do that ofton and im not reccomending anyone does it either. lol, I just like to take little shots here and there to give my BR a boost.

I used to have so much fun with poker but now its not really fun..just a way to earn some extra money.