Guess what I did tonight! Played poker! First time since May 3rd. Dropped down to 10NL, one table, one hour. You might remember I was very close to giving up online poker. And in the last 6 weeks, only recently did I think about playing again. We're taking it slow. I came up with some rules for myself and thought I'd post them here:

• Play for no more than one hour at a time. Occasional bending of this rule is OK if and only IF I am NOT chasing losses and I have a damn good reason (great table, up a couple of buyins, etc). If you look at my spreadsheet, generally, my winning sessions are short and my losing sessions are long.
• Stay at 10NL. The games are looser and funner. I will never be a great poker player unless I really study the game, and I don't know if I want to take that next step due to time. I will play poker for fun, although playing for fun means (for me) to be a winning player. I will not be the type of guy who sinks $100 or so a month into my poker account for 'entertainment'. Losing money is not entertaining for me. That being said, I do believe I can win at 10NL. If I don't, I will have a decision to make (seek help or give up). My dreams of using poker winnings to finance trips, new TVs, toys, a new car, etc, have been shattered...for now. Maybe one day I will buy some gorilla glue and piece them back together. But for now, fuck it.
• Put in a loss limit and stick to it. While I sorta had one before, I didn't follow it and it got me in trouble. I've had several horrible nights when I just couldn't stop and it has wiped out everything I've worked hard for (I'm a nit, so it takes me a while to build up my bankroll). It may be as low as one buyin...I haven't decided yet. 10NL can be a little swingy, thanks to suckouts, so it may be something like 1 1/2 buyins. It won't be very high, thou. I don't want to feel like I did on those nights when I lost a lot. Stop and just walk away.
• Play when I want to. Don't play because I have some time and have nothing else to do. Play when I really want to play.
• Mix it up. I really don't like tournaments that much, but I may start mixing in a 5+50 here and there.
• Stay off Full Tilt. They hate me. I can never win there. Fuck Full Tilt.
• Taking a break is OK. Poker will be there when I get back. Don't force it.
• Stop thinking of it as money. This will be hard for me. I like money. I think it will be easier since I played 25NL for a bit and dropping down to 10NL makes it seem like it's not that much money.
• Take a shot here and there. If I'm doing well at 10NL, yeah, ok, take an occasional shot at 25NL. Something like for every 10 or 15 buyins won, take 25 and have fun. But don't feel like I have to move up at any time. I'm playing for fun, remember?
• Two tables max. Not a problem as this is the most I play anyway. While one table is pretty boring, I may start out with just the one for now.
• Be more active on the forum. Haven't been around much, but since I can't access from work, it's hard to find the time.

I might add to this, but it's a start. Leaving money on FT for now, but I really don't want to go back there. Oh, and I got shit for cards until the end...AQ, missed the flop but c-bet took it. Pocket 7's, got my set, stacked someone. Quit. Go to bed.

__________________
"I'm disappointed in you, Scotty" -- Michael DeMichele at the 2008 WSOP HORSE Final Table
Check out My Blog, updated 10/06/08

Nice, glad to hear you played some snickers. Those look like some good rules especially the "Play only when you want to" rule. I think after a while we all play when we don't really want to, but we feel like we should because that is our habit..

I don;t think too many poker players started playing because of the money. We started because we love the game! I remember I use to wake up and check out what tournaments were going to be running that day, I was so pumped to play as much as I could.. the money was always a factor, but I really enjoyed playing..

I still enjoy playing, but more so on my terms and only when I feel like playing.

__________________

You sound a little like me and my tilt issues online. I say onine because i never tilt live. When i play 3/6/12 live or 4/8 i just crush the game and i can play for 8 hours straight no problem. I think tilt is so much easier online and more devastating because it's too easy to renege on your tilt avoiding strategy. Its too easy to click rebuy, deposit more money, and not keep your composure and tilt like crazy. Live ... you might tilt a little bit but, you will still keep your composure because you dont want to look like an ass.

Honestly, i've tried the strategies you've laid out and they didn't work for me. It wasn't until recently that i think i've figured out how to stop tilt for the most part online. I wait until the time warning beeps before i click anything on the screen. This keeps me from making impulsive plays which i think combined with mistakes causes stupid tilt online. You know ... the kind that murders everything you just won in the last hour. Plus, it gives you the time you need to sit back and think about the hand you're involved in.

During the 10-15 seconds i have waiting for the time to chime in i ask myself a few questions:

1. What could my opponents be representing.
2. Should i raise, check, or fold?
3. Why do i want to raise, check, or fold. How is it going to facilitate the hand.
4. What do i expect my opponents to do based on the hands i think they could be on.

Very nice, Micloren. I might print this out and tape it to my monitor. I want to go back to the basics and start over, learning stuff I should already know. Playing one table should help since you have so much time to think during hands you're not in since you don't have to worry about any other tables. Yeah, I might one-table for a while.

__________________
"I'm disappointed in you, Scotty" -- Michael DeMichele at the 2008 WSOP HORSE Final Table
Check out My Blog, updated 10/06/08

My biggest problem when playing online is the distractions. With 2 kids there never really is a good time to play. I can play after they go to bed but I also need to spend time with the wife. Plus getting up at 5AM every day I like to go to bed at a decent time. I noticed my concentration level is not as strong online as it is in live poker. I get bored quickly. But live poker I can play for long periods of time. On my recent Vegas trip I played from 1AM to 10AM one night/morning. I could never do that online.

Things will be changing soon. I will be heading to Iraq in August so should have a few hours a night to play some online again. Once I get going I will have to set some goals for myself. There are some good ideas in this thread.

Hey, it's great to hear man. Have fun with it!

__________________
Blog Updated 6/21, Oooops, I'm goin to Vegas in a few days.
11:09:32 PM Randy: limit poker is easy
11:19:03 PM Randy: ok, i suck at teh limit

Mirage: FU PKOER
Mirage: F
Mirage: U
Mirage: FUFUFU
Mirage: up a $1.45 still YES

Good to hear snicks. Play as much as you can profitably, that's all I'd say .

__________________
I have been blogging. Last updated April 29th. http://www.feltpoker.com/blogs/ugignadl/

Broke a couple of rules tonight and lost $16. Now I'm partially drunk and pissed I lost. Maybe I don't have the personality to play poker online.

__________________
"I'm disappointed in you, Scotty" -- Michael DeMichele at the 2008 WSOP HORSE Final Table
Check out My Blog, updated 10/06/08

Some politicians may read the posts on this site. From posts such as these, the lawmakers may conclude that we are suffering financial hardship from our losses at on-line poker, and pass legislation to ban on-line poker.

I feel like there's much I might offer to this thread but, as this is my first post as a new member, I'll try to keep it short.

Kudos to you Snickers for returning with some specific guidelines for yourself. Although I haven't been playing long, one thing I discovered quite quickly was that this game is an excellent way to challenge ourselves in terms of some age-old personal qualities like patience, discipline, stamina and others.

It can be tough to maintain a healthy balance between playing for fun and playing for profit as the game can be incredibly lucrative when we're on top of our game(s). Putting limits and rules in place that work well with your own style and tendencies is a great way to limit losses and increase fun and profit.

Like previous responders, I too do far better in live play than online due to the focus involved. I prefer to play ring games at one of the local casinos. Here are some rules that have stood me well:

1) Never re-load. One buy-in per visit (max at $1/$2 here is $200). Forcing myself to drive home for more money gives me time to cool off and regroup regardless of whether loss was due to bad beat or my own poor play. I leave bank card and surplus cash at home. I've broken this rule only twice in almost 3 years.
2) No more than 2 visits per day without a winning session. This has only happened once in 3 years.
3) No moving up to $2/$5 until I have a bankroll of 20 max buy-ins (max is $1000 so I'm working towards $20k)

From what others have told me, these are pretty severe guidelines that would not work for many players but they work for me. On a few occasions, I've sat down and lost my entire starting stack on my first hand and had to get up and drive home without even taking my coat off. I still recall ordering a meal when I first arrived one night about a year ago and had to ask the other players mid-hand if I could hold $10 in chips back to pay for my meal and remain in the hand. Ended up losing and eating on the sidelines lol.

Okay, that's not nearly as brief as I intended and a little rushed at the end here as my shift is over at work and I'm off to play.

Looking forward to reading more threads and contributing what and where I can.

Cheers

*edited for typos*

__________________
Oh to be a Canucks fan