How much of a disadvantage would you regard playing less?

I cant put the hours in now that I would like too, even though i've been away and i've harldly played the last month, ''only a weekend evening and a sunday if i can sway it''

I'm expecting to get a bit sloppy maybe make a few more mistakes than usual or just forget a few small things.

But I seem to be playing better in tournaments, reading hands better, playing a more articulate aggressive style winning alot more pots. and even instinctively in tune with right & wrong moves.
i'm sure this wont last long as weeks turn to months,
But the game is beautiful when you take a step back and it becomes a recreational hobbie - you miss it and appreciate the games you do play.

Do you think poker - is like riding a bike. once you get to a certain level you dont lose it.
or do you think that you need to keep playing reg to maintain and improve

Regular play is important for improvement. Thinking about strategy away from the table is also important. This is something you can still do even if you can't play as much as you'd like. If you want to be a world class player you're gonna have to play more than a couple times a week, but if you play low to mid stakes and you've already got a good set of poker skills you'll be fine playing a few times a week and thinking about poker away from the table.

For me works too...after playing a long time I decide to stop sometimes, then you back a few months later and you feels everything comes easy a fluently...

I agree, if you've logged enough hours over the years, taking a break shouldnt really affect you ability to play strong poker. Its the habits you make that affect you overall. The one thing you may lose is Patience.

xtrigemino said:

For me works too...after playing a long time I decide to stop sometimes, then you back a few months later and you feels everything comes easy a fluently...

Click to expand...

Both are good points,
but yeah I think our brains need a rest and recovery is super important.

its like we go to university to get careers we pass our exams, alot of that stuff we wont use on a dailly basis but we still have that in our head.

I think poker is pretty much the same - providing we play on a weekly basis tournaments can still be won at the same ratio....

as for grinding I agree I would be worried about opening 4-6 tables on my day off and putting in a shift

The only disadvantages are
based on maths, you play less, you are introducing large variance!
yes, it is true , make less mistakes, but it is true that when suffering from bad beats you still lose a lot.

when playing more, large quantities of hands or games. will just reduce variance. it is less matter when u got a bad beats and for your whole day, you got nothing when play perfect.

LOL

Treat every game as a practice session. Perfect practice makes for perfect play. Take a break and play bridge or chess to regain your snap.