The value of an online $ or £

Hi all.

I don't want to produce a 15 page post because quite frankly, I haven't got the time or patience at the moment and I'm slightly steaming. This has nothing to do with any beats or anything as I actually put myself out of both tournaments last night.

The reason I'm posting is to get your take on the value of Internet funds. I know it's money, but for some reason, and this is the second time in my "poker career" it's happened, I've lost all sight of it.

I used to play on fruit machiens and would jump for joy if I won £25. Now I can enter the hilo for £10, rebuy and add on, and still throw it all in with chit if I'm not in the mood. Even if I finish 5th-10th where the money can be as much as £150, I'm still not happy. This happened once before in my life and the "oldies" here will remember the times I used to play 24-7 almost.

I lost all regard for my skill, my money and the game. Is this another passing phase, should I be linking it to external factors (which I'm sure don't help). What do you do? Take a break? I've been on a break for 2 years relatively speaking.

I'm worried, and would appreciate any comments.

MADV

I hear you, I too suffer from online cash value issues.

I can quite happily spunk away 60 quid on a rebuy and feel very little remorse but If I had the cash in my hand I would be reluctant to give it up quite so easily.

I try to picture the cash at all times but it's difficult when its just numbers on a screen. I help myself by a bit of budgetting. If I tell myself i can only lose max £100 within a month then it helps me to value that ton more if i know i'm off poker for the rest of the month if i lose it (incidently I find in general this helps my game too, although some would argue that caring about the cash too much hinders it).

I think the bigger problem you have is not being happy with the wins. It is frustrating to go out without one of the top few prizes but any cash more that the outlay is a good result in my eyes. I find I only need a decent finish once a month or so to keep my interest in the game peaked.

Perhaps a total break from it is required to help you value you online cash more. I find that even on a bad month where the 100 nicker disappears leaving me 3 weeks with no play, just keeping an eye on the forums keeps me raring to get back at it the next month.

Apologies for the waffle i guess a might have done just as good

Thank you for your reply, Nick. It's good to know others have similar experiences! - sort of! I just worry that taking a break is exactly what I've been doing for 2 years. Should I play more / less / I really don't know.

Thanks for your views though, I'd be interested to hear a range . . .