Strange

Warning: philosophical post.

Suddenly poker does not interest me so much anymore. It could be the effect of the vacation = two weeks without poker.

Yesterday I played an MTT out of habit, and finished in the money, but somehow the game does not attract me as much as it used to. In particular I do not feel like playing SNGs again. I know that I can make money doing it, at least, I see no reason why I should not be able to maintain the winning rate that I have had in the last few months, but it is all so automatic. You hardly need to think: at the start you just play very tight, at some point you start stealing in favorable situations, and eventually you either push or fold (but hardly ever call an all-in!)

MTTs contain more strategy, but unfortunately they take a long time (at least when it is going well). Yesterday I reached the money with a short stack and I basically had to play in such a way as to make the next money step, i.e. fold fold fold. Very annoying, though I did reach that small extra step. Another annoying thing was that more and more people started to use all their thinking time before folding, purely in the hope that play at other tables would be faster and other people would be eliminated. Judging from the anemic pace at which people got eliminated near the end, everyone was thinking like this. It is strange, I did not observe this kind of behavior before at Pacific, at least not from more than one player. Usually everyone just keeps barging all-in against one another and the players drop like flies.

So anyway, I am a bit disenchanted with poker at the moment. Another thing is that it is nothing more than a way to make money. I don't need extra money, I have a good job. Why waste so much time clicking buttons? I started playing this game as a way to stay in touch with far away friends, but more and more it has become a solo operation. I should find another, more social hobby. (Chatting during poker games is often quite minimal, at least at the sites where I play. Maybe there are better sites. But still, I could probably have more fun if everyone was not always thinking about the money during play; that is, I should stop playing for money.)

I guess I can keep poker as a fall-back, should I (God forbid) lose my job or something. It looks like I could support myself and my family with it. The prospect of playing poker eight hours a day is not very appealing, however. Probably it would be better to find a real job!


So I am taking a break. Maybe I will be back, who knows. I'll be sure to play the odd poker game now and then, might even report on it. Still, it is good to quit while I am ahead.