It is good to get a new focus

Throughout my poker life then I have been plagued by a lack of focus from time to time. The problem with poker and playing it for a living is that you must be your own boss. This sounds good in theory but it does have certain problems attached to it. Firstly you are responsible for your own earn rate and salary. If you do anything wrong then you impact on how much you earn. If you are idle and only play 30 hours per week when you would have played 40 and having a boss would have ensured that you worked 40 hours then your bottom line is affected. When you do the same thing day in and day out, week in and week out, month in and month out, year in and year out then trust me……..it gets pretty boring.

But when a normal job gets boring then you know if you don’t turn up for work then you don’t get paid. You also know that if you don’t turn up for work repeatedly then you will be reprimanded and if this continues then you will eventually be fired. So the only way that you are going to be able to get a boost is to do a different job. Pay rises give you fresh impetus for a while but it doesn’t last. Well in poker then you are basically stuck in it if poker is your job. This is why I just do not think that playing poker for a full time career is even remotely viable for most people. It is one of those careers that only suit certain people with limited options or as a part time career. But as a full time career then it simply doesn’t suit most people even though millions worldwide are drawn in by its lure.

This is why I try and spice up my working week by doing different things. As recently as last year then I started trading on the exchanges with a colleague and this has gone well for the opening few months! It is something that I am really starting to enjoy but the reason why I am starting to enjoy it isn’t just because of the money aspect but the fact that I am simply doing something different. Combining writing with poker playing and trading is also meaning that I am enjoying my poker far more as well. This is because I am no longer dependent on playing poker for my income and so this means that I can play poker in the way that I like to play it and this is to single table higher levels and feel the table out rather than play multiple tables on auto-pilot and not have to worry about variance.

It also means that even though I am still very serious about making money that I can still play poker for enjoyment as well as profit and when you are not forced into doing something and can play simply whenever you feel like it then it is far more enjoyable to play. I have been playing a lot more Pot Limit Omaha this year and I have also found that I have been enjoying that game more probably because it is a far cry from NLHE even though in many ways the game is the same. I much prefer the gentler pace of full ring over six max because I can sit and play the game at my own pace and the pace that I like to play the game at. It also means that if I play longer sessions then I can really get to feel out my opponents in the game as well.