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Originally Posted by The Bean Counter
^^
Kind of agree on poker > other games. The key for you will be to make sure you can handle things if you are a losing player (both in terms of still being able to pay the bills and your mindset i.e. not chasing losses).
I don't need the money but I could certainly use it. That said, there are other things I could (and will) be doing to make money so no...it's not like if I don't make "x" buyins this month I'm in some kind of financial jeopardy. Not at all. This helps allow me to actually just play poker at the tables and not even think about the bankroll. It's helped as when I started playing a few years ago, every lost buyin severely hurt and you know you can't play like that.
I've had good and bad sessions since I'm playing again this month but both because of more money + income, maturity, and experience, I've been handling bad plays and the occasional beat much differently than before. I also had a relationship that was quite complicated (to say the least) and a LOT of stress in my life a few years ago. These have both been alleviated greatly.
As said, I was also really committed to chess, too. I thought I was going to go that route but ...it never materialized. At my age now, I have not the slightest interest in playing another game online and I can assure you that the last thing I want to do is pack up my chess equipment, clothes, etc and travel to stay in a hotel for a 6 game tournament over the weekend. I just wouldn't do that unless I was being paid well to do it lol. A few years ago, that seemed like something I legitimately wanted to do. People change. Poker relaxes me, involves the flow of money, and has both an online and live setting that can be lucrative. It's just much more for me today.
So, as said, there's really nowhere to run at this point. A bad day or week doesn't make me even consider taking time off or quitting. I just study/play more and focus on improvement. I like having a strategy game like this in my life and I did find chess to be more visual than strategic. No chess player really disputed that once we got into the discussion. Until you're of an 1800+ rating, you're constantly scouring the board to make sure you don't make tactical mistakes. 99% of the games are decided that way. With today's faster time controls, there's very little time for strategy. It's visually tactical and unless you started playing young, tactics will always be a hardship for you. I'd rather just sit, relax, and make decisions based on my thought process. There's nothing to "not see" other than a hidden straight or set, etc. That's a far cry from searching for mate and 4's with a clock ticking. Again, at this point I'd rather drag a certain body part of mine through glass.
It's just different now and I'm also enjoying the game of poker far more as well as digging into things deeper. Trying different variants, using Power Equilab extensively, and doing a lot of reading/video study online. I analyze hands far deeper than I used to and it's mostly out of genuine interest in the hand. All good signs.
As for struggling with other hobbies: I've gradually drifted from things as I've aged. We all narrow our focus as we get older. I played three sports, two of them until 21, and I fished and traveled regularly. A lot of things happened over the years and I just became more and more involved in the new technology that's been unleashed upon us over the last 10-15 years and other than dating, as well as watching movies/music, I don't really spend much time on anything else. I'm looking to establish a little more balance this summer but I'm also looking to play a ton of poker.
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