VIEWER MAIL:

Q: How do you manage to play such long sessions? Every time I try to play more than 2 hours I start losing focus and getting bored.

A: To be honest, I hate playing session shorter than 4 hours.  I will occasionally play a short session, but I have the type of personality that hates to quit when I'm down. So I avoid playing unless I know I have at least 4 hours at my disposal.  I was the same way when I used to play blackjack - I wouldn't even sit at a table unless I knew I had the rest of the day off.

But getting back to your question, try to take a big picture view of why you play poker.  Most professional golf players probably love playing golf.  That's why most of them practice for a few hours, play for a few hours, practice for a few hours more, etc. on a daily basis.  They take time off when they need to, but for the most part, I would be shocked if most pro golfers didn't genuinely enjoy the sport and enjoyed improving their game.  Poker shouldn't be that much different.  I really enjoy playing poker and spending the time trying to get better.

I realize you may be playing for extra income, but there are plenty of things you can be doing for income.  In particular, if you are young, you should pursue what you *really* want to do.  You have decades ahead of you - I realize the money in online poker may be good, but if you don't enjoy it, it makes no sense to not pursue something you really love.

In terms of the smaller picture, I've always loved playing video games.  When I was younger, my brother and I could easily spend 16 hours a day during our summers playing video games.  As recently as 1997-8, I loved playing Civilization II and could easily play 16 hours at a stretch.  Of course, not that long afterwards, I realized that as badly as I could crush that game, I wasn't making any money off of it.  More importantly, it was not helping me get laid.  So I decided to go to business school and get a job I really enjoyed, and not long afterwards I met Mrs. Fly (later post).  The rest, as they say, is history.

BTW, I would advise against taking jolt, red bull, adderall, etc to help you play longer sessions.  If you can't play poker without any stimulants, then maybe you should reconsider why it is you're playing poker.