One of the most difficult things about not having a scheduled job is ensuring that you work enough hours.
It can be really easy to take a day off because there’s something else you’d rather do, or to take an impromptu vacation just because there’s no one around to say you can’t.
Obviously these things are some of the best parts about having no boss, but it’s important to have the discipline to enjoy them in moderation. In the past I have been guilty of wasting too much time during the week, and then I end up playing one less day of poker than originally intended. I have to admit that it’s REALLY difficult to correct this habit.
Something I have been struggling to figure out is what to do when I wake up feeling blah and not wanting to play poker. Do I take the day off or do I just fight through it and play?
It’s not like I can just take the day off every time I don’t feel like playing. It’s my job and I have to put the hours in. But then what if I play terribly because I really don’t want to play? Most people play worse than usual when they don’t feel like playing, myself included. How do I correct this?
This past week I played just three days thanks to a short vacation. The two days immediately after my vacation I didn’t feel like playing at all. I missed lounging around and wanted to go back to doing nothing. It sucked and I definitely didn’t play my best on Friday and Saturday.
Ironically, the day I lost the most was on Sunday when I actually felt like playing poker. Sunday was really bad, which is highlighted by the fact I played 54 tournaments that day. My average for Sunday is 35, so this is absurdly high for me. Just goes to show how much volume you can get in when you’re busting everything really quickly :P
The numbers for last week:
# MTTs: 116
Average buy-in: $25.26
Hours: 21
Net result: -$1,926.80
Isn’t MTT variance fun?
Overall in April I was +$893 after some rakeback and poker bonuses, which is obviously less than I would usually hope to make in a given month. Hopefully my profit is much better for the month of May! But I wouldn’t be surprised if May was another breakeven month, or even a losing month. That’s just how MTTs are.
Good luck at the tables and see you next week!
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