is an hour long enough ... ?

[SabaAba 0]

We all know that DN says play hours not results and I think we (grinders) agree to that. My question is: Online, is one hour a long enough session? What if you were 2 or 3 tabling, is an hour long enough? If not, how long do you think is long enough? Smash, I'd like to get your take on it.If Daniel will respond, that will be awesome.Thanks

[akishore 0]

no way.to me, two hours is the bare minimum. three hours (sometimes four) is my optimal playing time online.i seem to have a pattern where i lose money the first hour (probably out of anxiety/impatience and making bad decisions since i'm not completely in the mindset) and rebuild (and usually come out ahead) the second hour. my third hour is usually a winning hour, but i find myself getting tired and again lapsing into some bad decisions (e.g. being overly aggressive, not laying down hands when i should, etc.). if i'm not tired that day, i can play a four-hour session before i start feeling tired staring at a computer screen non-stop.live is a totally different story, i can play an eight-hour session before i get tired. for live, i can safely say a three-hour session is minimum for me.aseem

[MrConceit 0]

I sometimes only do 2 to 2.5 hour sessions when 4-tabling. When I only did 1 or 2 tables I'd put in at least 5-6 hours, but sometimes I feel drained enough after 2-3 hours. I mean you really are getting a lot of hands in.I like to put in more like 4 or more, but *shrug*.[edit]Like sometimes I have a great 1 hour start and am up like 30-40BB, but I still try to put in at least 1-2 more hours past that. It just seems so hit and run-ish to stop after just that. Like I should try to earn even more, I'm obviously playing well you'd assume, why not keep it up a bit.

[akishore 0]

just to clarify, i four-table (sometimes five-table), so my time is in regards to four-/five-tabling.aseem

[SabaAba 0]

SO you guys are saying that better not play than play for just an hour?Please keep the comments coming, I will read at work tomorrow :-)Good Night.

[rwood 0]

i believe it all depends on if it is limit, pl, or nl. i have sat down on nl tables and put in a break even 6 hour session and have at one time sat down for 35 minutes and the max buy in 5 times over. limit is def. different. you should play for longer because the rushes arent the same.

[akishore 0]

yeah, that's a good point. i was referring to limit, but NL/PL might be a little different.however, i'm still going to say that an hour should be minimum, because while playing NL, you have to play the man more, and it takes time studying your opponents and getting good reads.aseem

[PrtyPSux 0]

hey Akishore its funny that you mention it .. I play four hrs a day 1 or 2 tables of NL and I have found out that Ive never had a session where I dont lose the first hour.. sometimes I play too many hands to give my self a table image but it doesnt work because so many people are coming and going from the table,, but most of the time I bluff away my first stack quite fast.. the second hour is spent rebuilding the third I begin to gain an edge in stack size and the 4th hour usually consists of me bullying the other players.. I used to play to where if I lost my first stack I would quit and if I kept winning Id play 4 hrs, and that would turn out to be a very bad move because I would often have losing sessions. Now by strictly playing 4hrs a day I havent had losing sessions (of course Ive only done this about 2 and a half weeks or so) but it still seems like a more consistant win rate will develope if you have a minimum of 3 hrs..

[MikeThk 0]

I think you misunderstand the concept of hours not results. What this means is that you should not make the decision to stop playing based on your results for the session. You should make the decision to stop playing based on:1) How you are playing - your concentration level, your mood, etc2) How your table is / tables are - if you sit down because there are a couple bad players, don't keep playing when the fish leave. Look for better waters.How long your sessions are should depend on your personality. How's your attention-span? Do you start browsing the net after 45 minutes-an hour? Then make your sessions this long.If you're trying to make a living at poker you need to play a fair number of hours per week. I tend to play around 30 hours a week, in 1-2 hour blocks. I also mix up my games, playing 6-max tables, heads-up nl SnGs, heads-up limit, and larger ring games. The variety keeps me interested.

[Orkalee 0]

I try to play the hours often but it happens I just play for an hour but it's not very often. Would be if I hit a couple of badbeats directly, then I have to take a break and come down. Think you can try to play one hour and see how it works for you. But do it then because you want to, not because you only have one hour. That is very dangerous.For the last 4 month I have mostly been able to play nights ... sleeping from between 9:am and 12:am to 5:pm when my girlfriend comes home from work. Then spend the afternoon with her and start playing again around 8:pm - 9pm or when she goes to bed. Cause of this I play very long sessions. Often no less then 10-12 hour sessions and sometimes even up to 16h. Depends of what kind of games Im playing and how things are after after those first 10h. If I feel that I still can concentrate after 8h I keep going. Checking every other hour how my concentration is. It works for me most of the time. Some weeks I have to go down to max 8h/day cause my concentration is not working. Then after a week Im back to normal and can play for 12h. And then we have the few days every month when Im going for 16h. But one thing that I have noticed is that after almost every pass when I feel that its time to quit Im rarly tired when I quit. 5 min later Im in a coma. Only thing to do is go to bed.What Im trying to say is that we are all diffrent when it comes to how long we wants to play our sessions. Some of us feels that they wants to play for 4 hours, that works best for them. For some it works best with 6 hours and so on. In the beginning its hard to do long sessions, its becomes easier with time, same as most things.Now the clock is 11:57 am here and Im of to bed.

[justblaze 0]

I think you misunderstand the concept of hours not results. What this means is that you should not make the decision to stop playing based on your results for the session. You should make the decision to stop playing based on:1) How you are playing - your concentration level, your mood, etc2) How your table is / tables are - if you sit down because there are a couple bad players, don't keep playing when the fish leave. Look for better waters.How long your sessions are should depend on your personality. How's your attention-span? Do you start browsing the net after 45 minutes-an hour? Then make your sessions this long.If you're trying to make a living at poker you need to play a fair number of hours per week. I tend to play around 30 hours a week, in 1-2 hour blocks. I also mix up my games, playing 6-max tables, heads-up nl SnGs, heads-up limit, and larger ring games. The variety keeps me interested.

In my humble opinion, this is terrible advice. Results oriented thinking will ruin you. Each session is part of one giant lifelong session. It matters not how much you come out of each session with. What the OP was referring to, was DNs philosophy. He played from 9-5, 5 days a week, regardless of whether he was up or down. He concentrated on making the right plays, not making money. The money comes naturally. As for playing 1-2 hour blocks, you will never excel playing these kinds of sessions. you will be relying on luck. you will lose. you will never get a read on decent players in an hour, and if you do, you will never be able to maximally exploit it in another hour.

[jeff_536 3]

I think what needs to be defined is the goal of the original poster.The question is: Is one hour online enough?Enough for what? Recreation? Then yes.To make a living? No.To improve your game, build a bankroll and move up in limits? Likely, yes. I play when I have the chance. Married with two young boys means my opportunities are fleeting and i'm often happy to get an hour in before bed most weeknights.And that's cool.Now if i was an aspiring pro, then obviously not.

[justblaze 0]

an hour is not enough to improve your game. to elevate your game to midlimit holdem, you must be able to analyze betting patterns and take advantage of them. the cards matter less as the skill increases. you will never learn to exploit weak betting in hourlong sessions.

[troutsmart 0]

Online, I find that a 2 hour session playing 3 tables gives me adequate time. This makes for a 6 hour session. I personally don't like to stray below that 2 hour mark, though if I played by results, there have been many occasions when playing the 2nd hour cost me a profitable session, and vica versa. I personally wish I could play longer sessions, but find I lose focus after 2 hours.

[rog 0]

The money comes naturally. As for playing 1-2 hour blocks, you will never excel playing these kinds of sessions. you will be relying on luck. you will lose. you will never get a read on decent players in an hour, and if you do, you will never be able to maximally exploit it in another hour.

I understand what you're saying about the reads, but I guess it depends on what limits and games you're playing. For online low-limit, the reads are not all that dependable, and the table keeps changing, so I think it is best to play for as long as you can keep playing your "A" game, and want to keep playing. Playing in short blocks doesn't make it any more about luck than playing long sessions under those conditions. Sure, you're more likely to end a 2 hour session down than a 10 hour session (because of variance), but 1000 hands of your best poker should put you about the same place wether it's 100 hands each in 10 sessions, or 1000 hands straight.Roggg

[justblaze 0]

The money comes naturally. As for playing 1-2 hour blocks, you will never excel playing these kinds of sessions. you will be relying on luck. you will lose. you will never get a read on decent players in an hour, and if you do, you will never be able to maximally exploit it in another hour.

I understand what you're saying about the reads, but I guess it depends on what limits and games you're playing. For online low-limit, the reads are not all that dependable, and the table keeps changing, so I think it is best to play for as long as you can keep playing your "A" game, and want to keep playing. Playing in short blocks doesn't make it any more about luck than playing long sessions under those conditions. Sure, you're more likely to end a 2 hour session down than a 10 hour session (because of variance), but 1000 hands of your best poker should put you about the same place wether it's 100 hands each in 10 sessions, or 1000 hands straight.Roggg

yea i guess you are right. I am assuming a certain level of sophistication in the game. If 70% of players are seeing the flop, its straight math and 1000 hands is 1000 hands any which way.

[JFarrell20 1]

Long enough for what?

[UglyJimStudly 0]

We all know that DN says play hours not results and I think we (grinders) agree to that.

I don't. You should play when you're on your "A" game mentally. Since both hours and results affect your mental state, you have to be aware of both and see how they're affecting your play. Getting to the point where you can play your A game for extended periods regardless of results is a very good goal to have, but very few players can do that naturally, it's a learned skill. If the results are putting you off your A game (and both big wins and big losses can do this to different people), then it's critical to recognize that this has happened and if you can't fix it at the table, to get out of the game.

My question is: Online, is one hour a long enough session?

Sure, if you're playing your best game over that time. For me, lots of times it's not - my first twenty-thirty minutes or so at a table is usually sub-par, because I play at my best when I've learned at least some of my opponents' habits and patterns. So I generally don't feel I've had a really solid session unless it's at least two hours long. But that's me, others have different experiences, the key is to figure out what works for you.

[Matt Miner 0]

i usually try to play a three hour session before lunch (10-1) and another three hour session after lunch (2-5). i used to play 10-12 hour days but that was too much.

[SabaAba 0]

Thanks for the opinions. I have been playing online for about 2 years now, not to make a living, but for supplemental income. I now have a kid, and I find that the only time I get to play is once the kid and my wife are sleeping. Only thing is I have to wake up to go to work the next morning. So I can get in an hour of playing a night and wanted to see what people thought results would be.I must say that I agree with one of the posters that online, reads on certain players is not as critical, and the fish, if you can't spot them in the first 5-10 minutes, you need to improve your skills. I can usually spot 2 or 3 within the first 5-10 hands. The fact that people come and go so frequently online does make certain reads on people a little less profitable since you can't exploit them for hours, but that's why you should take good notes on players, so that you can remember things about them and not have to restudy them.Tip: when keeping notes on people, include the date you put the notes down. I forgot to do this one time and then realized I played with the "fish" over a year ago and he improved a lot. Needless to say he took a couple of pots from me because of this. Also, just so you know, I play limit anywhere up to 20/40. However, I wanted to try and see if I could start with $1000 and play only an hour a night how much I could build that bankroll too. Obviously I would start at the 2/4 or 3/6 limits. Anyway, thanks all for your help, there is some good advice here.