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Someone once told me that all lessons learned in poker can be applied to everyday life, but that suggests that poker isn’t a part of our everyday existence. For most of us, that is true: Poker is a hobby that we participate in at leisure, with our friends, on the weekends, in the casinos or online. Some of us, however, pursue poker very seriously. We are known as “grinders,” playing the game of poker as our primary source of income every day, putting in endless consecutive hours of hard work in front of the computer screen or in the casinos.
There are some incredible stories about grinders out on the web if you look for them. I have heard that Phil Ivey regularly puts in sessions of 24-plus hours when there is a “fish” at the table. I personally know an online player, Lex “RasZi” Veldhuis, who once played a 14-hour session of over 10,000 hands. I myself put in many 10-hour sessions when I was grinding 400NL on PartyPoker. We grinders like to look at these sessions as accomplishments after playing so many hours or so many hands we like to tell ourselves that it was worth it, because we were in a favorable winning position the whole time and we were able to take the most money from the fish at the table.
Is it really worth it, though? What’s more important, money or health?
Poker is often aired on ESPN, but in my opinion it is hardly a sport. Many players have weight issues, many more have health problems, and we just lost Chip Reese, one of the greatest poker players of all time, to pneumonia. True, poker is a battle of minds, but just battling with minds doesn’t move muscles, doesn’t burn fat, and doesn’t keep our lymph system flowing. If a poker player continually puts in long hours, he begins neglecting critical elements of a healthy lifestyle. The first thing that goes wrong is often his sleep schedule, as he grinds into the wee hours of the night chasing a particular fish. When sleep goes wrong, other things quickly follow: Exercise is neglected, diets turn unhealthy, and relationships with friends and family become agitated and uneasy.
Michael “Martine23” Martin once told me that the only time he ever felt depression was when his sleep schedule was disrupted by long sessions of poker. Never before had he felt that way, he told me. I myself am guilty of all these things, but I have lived and learned and now live a much more balanced lifestyle. I’m still overweight, but I’m about to enter into a weight-loss bet that should hopefully fix this last imbalance in my life. I am much happier now as a person, and I also play better, more focused poker.
So, to all the grinders in the world, remember this: It’s important to chase fish and important to play long hours of poker sometimes because it’s part of our job, but just make sure you don’t overdo it. Always try to have a level head, and live a balanced life. You will certainly see improvements, not only in your personal life, but in your game as well.
Liu, 22, is a senior at Duke University. He developed quite a following in 2007 as he went from the 25-50 games, where he was one of the biggest winners, to 200-400 NLHE. Liu, best known as “p3achy_keen” on PokerStars also plays under the name “p_c4libr4ted” on Full Tilt Poker. He is one of the lead instructors for Cardrunners.com
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