how do you stay motivated when playing poker? What keeps you in the grip?

For me, the best motivation is money. I have been playing poker for over 10 years, and for the last 3-4 years, I have been receiving steady and regular income from the game.

I find the opportunity to learn more about the game and its intricacies motivation to continue playing.

Simply the pleasure of playing makes me stay motivated to learn more and more every day.

Originally Posted by infonazar

For me, the best motivation is money. I have been playing poker for over 10 years, and for the last 3-4 years, I have been receiving steady and regular income from the game.

Nice,my goal is to live like you,right now I'm struggling to survive)It's hard to achive something from 0

Originally Posted by jumaischi

Nice,my goal is to live like you,right now I'm struggling to survive)It's hard to achive something from 0

Yes, it is difficult but it is possible. For example, if you are patient and disciplined enough, you can easily build your bankroll from scratch. All you need is a great desire.

I think that the focus must be on have fun.. even playing seriously. What I try to do is not play when I'm tired or for too long.. like, doing multiple buy ins after each elimination..

I still struggle though.

What I really appreciate about NLHE is that it truly embodies Bushnell's Law–it is simple to learn to yet difficult to master. It is a game of people, personalities, mathematics, patience, and fortitude.

With that said, it's still a game and games are first and foremost meant to be fun. When the game ceases to be fun or no longer captivates your attention, it is a sure sign that you should step away for awhile.

Originally Posted by sjhoss

I find the opportunity to learn more about the game and its intricacies motivation to continue playing.

This is me as well. Most of my poker friends comment my positive attitude and claim they don't think they would be as positive in bad spots, compared to me. I think it is more of a mindset thing though. If I am short-stacked and shove all-in, lots of players are sitting there with their hands clasped (perhaps literally praying) or sitting there holding their breath; my approach is usually: "all right, lets double up!" Obviously your attitude won't change the statistics but I find a positive outlook to go a long way. Not only does this make you tilt less likely, but players are more likely to enjoy being around you. This last note means almost nothing in a competitive casino environment with players coming and going, but at home games and friendlier games, making fish stay in the game is always a good thing for you

You have to enjoy what you're doing. If there's no enjoyment, you will lose motivation. I find that studying and incorporating what I learn into my game a massive buzz. Nothing better than winning a hand you would previously have folded, or even folding a hand knowing that before it would have cost you half your stack. Constant improvement is a key influence in continuing to enjoy the game.

Originally Posted by jumaischi

how do you stay motivated when playing poker? What keeps you in the grip?

there are many possible motivations for the game: Money, Fame, Entertainment, Competition, Love of the Game

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For me Poker is something that forces me to be at my best, to be able to perform at a high level mentally and do well under stress. I love math, the competition, and making money is a nice motivator too.

If I don't have poker I find I tend to get lazy in life, so ironically it's what keeps me at my best. And for that reason I make sure that it's never just about the money, the money is a bonus, as soon as it's about the money i make poor decisions.

For me it's about playing my best, which can only happen if I'm steadily working on improving my game and myself and ensuring I FEEL my best!

Hope that helps

Originally Posted by infonazar

For me, the best motivation is money. I have been playing poker for over 10 years, and for the last 3-4 years, I have been receiving steady and regular income from the game.

congrats on getting to a point where that solid income is coming in!

It's a great feeling to know that you can bring in some extra fun money from playing a game you love and be able to treat yourself to nice things or share with your loved ones eh?

Originally Posted by jumaischi

how do you stay motivated when playing poker? What keeps you in the grip?

The craving for achievements and the fear of failure can be called two options for one coin. They have a strong influence on motivation. Henry Murray was the first psychologist to recognize that people can vary their level of desire for achievement.Some people have a very high desire for achievement. And they will do well certain tasks, including progression in poker. They are assiduous and will work on themselves until they succeed. They are focused on the result, we can say that they have the highest level of internal motivation. At the same time, people with a low level of desire for achievements are not so well motivated from the inside. As a rule, such players are afraid of failure.They either concentrate on some simple things, or try to master something complicated, but quickly give up. Moreover, they already have an explanation in case of failure. And the fear of failure will not allow success in a stressful situation. Naturally, it is hard for such players to succeed in poker.Rate your craving for achievements. How tall is she? Is it important for you to win? What about the fear of failure? How do you feel when you lose? Are you ready to give up further struggle in the event of failure or are you striving to prove to everyone that you can achieve your goals? Will you work on yourself regardless of current results? By answering these questions, you can understand what motivates you, how you can increase your motivation and achieve success.

To stay motivated I just remind myself that I will turn my luck around sooner or later. I know I'm a decent player I just need to work on a few things, mostly bankroll management. But I do find it hard to stay motivated sometimes. When this starts to happen I cut back on the number of hours I spend online.

Originally Posted by Evan Jarvis

congrats on getting to a point where that solid income is coming in!

It's a great feeling to know that you can bring in some extra fun money from playing a game you love and be able to treat yourself to nice things or share with your loved ones eh?

I agree with you. This is great when your favorite hobby, besides the pleasure, also brings money.

The best motivation in my opinion is to ultimately enter into premier tournaments like the WSOP or WPT or even small events in the online poker world that has big prize pools.

For me it get my adrenaline going.

For me, poker is fun, a favorite hobby. So my motivation is to enjoy the game. I try to be patient and because of this I get better results than before. I believe that improving results always leads to better motivation.

I think the key aspect between gamblers and poker players is that poker players enjoy playing poker and gamblers only enjoy the money aspect.
So if you struggle to keep motivation maybe you should consider is poker for you? Or maybe lack of motivation comes from totally somewhere else like stress. Take a break if you feel tired!

The better I am at playing the hands, the more motivated I feel. in poker you can win or lose a hand or a tournament. The important thing is to keep the style of play. If you play a hand well and still lose, there is no reason to lose motivation.

Mostly poker is a hobby for me, but of course the big interest gives money.Poker without money is not poker.

I play only when I am in the mood and I try to play many tables.