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Doyle Brunson made a comment earlier today that he was playing with a couple of professional poker players who say they no longer enjoy the game and that it’s all about the money for them.

He then proceeded to tell them to seek another profession.

Doyle still enjoys the game, and so should you.

Sadly, this seems to be a growing trend among many professionals and wannabe poker professionals.

Somewhere along the line in the quest for trying to become rich and famous, they have stopped enjoying the game of poker.

When you’ve reached that point, the game becomes nothing but a straight job.

While this is a sad state to reach in one’s poker career, it’s one I sympathize with based on some of my own experiences.

When Poker Becomes Less and Less Enjoyable

For a couple of years, I played semi-professionally on the circuit.  At first, I really enjoyed the game and all that it brought.

However, as time passed, playing poker became less and less enjoyable.

Part of it starts with the people, especially in NL games.

Too many take themselves way too fucking seriously. I don’t care who you are, you are all not the next great poker genius.

And regardless of what you think, acting like an utter asshole at the table is not +EV. For some of you, it will lead to you getting hurt or even killed.

One feature I love about online poker is the ability to cut off chat and just play the game. Of course, I prefer live poker over online, so it is a bit of a Catch 22 regarding player personalities.

Greatness Requires Work. Lots and Lots of Work.

Next, to become a great player, it takes a lot of work.

Many of you know what I am talking about, but some of you have yet to really comprehend how much time becoming a good player takes.

Between playing, studying, etc, you can seriously look at the equivalent of a minimum of a full-time, 40-hour-a-week job.

In reality, you’re looking at a lot more.

Some of us never wanted to play or work on poker that damn much. But if you want to become great, you must.

There’s really no way around that anymore, especially if you’re a No-Limit Texas Hold’em wannabe pro.

Casino Industry Gone Corporate

Finally, the casino industry has gone so corporate in many places, it practically sucks the fun out of the game.

Some of my favorite events were smaller events such as Binion’s Poker Classic. The events catered entirely to the players including buffets, special comps, etc.

Now, events think that they are catering to players if they have “deep structures.”

Sorry, but not everyone is Allen Kessler.

Get Back to Having Fun

I’m not going to sit here and tell players out there making money to quit playing if they don’t enjoy the game – especially if they’re making good money.

Honestly, that would be stupid of me.

I can understand continuing a job you don’t enjoy if the money is really good. That’s how I paid off my home in two years a few years back.

But if you’re not making great money at the game and still chasing money, you may want to consider a shift in careers or scaling your play back to a level where you do enjoy it.

Personally, I stepped away from playing poker almost entirely for a while due to not enjoying the game anymore.

I could have continued to play and chased the money. I even had some backing offers, etc.

It just stopped being fun for me and I stepped away until I had the desire to really try and play.

That took a while, and when I did decide to start playing again, I decided that I no longer was going to chase the poker tournament scene anymore.

Now I have a … happier mix.

You really should enjoy your chosen profession. If you don’t, it really may be time to move on.