Per the OP, poker has affected the amount of time I play pool, but more importantly my interest in pool is not there. Mostly this is do the my addiction to online poker. I became addicted in October 2005. Started at Absolute Poker, and suddenly my 5.00 tourney fees were turning into 300.00 up to 1200.00. Field sizes were 300 for the smaller ones up to 800 or so for the guarenteed tourneys. It is absolutely amazing how EASY it is in a online poker tourney to get into the money. As a poker player, getting into the money sucks, since you get your entry fee plus just a little bit back (sound like pool?). Final Tables is where the big money (compared to your entry) comes in. Yes it is significantly harder to do and win these, and a fair amount of luck is needed.
The advantage of this is that you can join multiple tourneys at the same time. The downside of tourney poker online is the time committment, since a midsized tourney 300 - 500 players still will take approx 5 - 6 hours depending on the type of tourney. This is what stopped me from continuing the tourney aspect of poker.
Someone stated that you need the cards and luck to win at poker, and this is entirely not true. You will never be sitting at a table of robots that are professionals, and if so, practice table selection. And playing the game NL is about position and the players, not the cards.
My current addiction is trying to beat the cash games. Variance in cash games is very high, and something that people dont consider. Just within the past 3 months or so, do I feel very confident in my abilities to withstand the variance. Bankroll management is a huge downfall to the vast majority of poker players, myself included. After my first 1200.00 back in October 2005, I obviously had to take money out (wife's orders), but decided I wanted to take the 600.00 I left online to play NL200 at AP. Buyin was 200bb's so $400.00 was max. I left myself to $300 entries. Short example, I went busto with AA, and set of 10's within my first hour of trying it. Couldnt figure it out. This game is supposed to be easy right? Get your money in while ahead and pray that the final 2 or 1 card dont kill your dreams.
Since that dreadful day, I put back a few dollars each time to start over $50.00 or so, and started the GRINDING at the NL25 level. The damn quarter level of poker online. A few more tourney successes and the wife is always right there 'ordering' a withdrawl. She doesnt understand the requirements to playing online. Generally speaking someone needs 20 - 30 buyins for whatever level cash game they are playing, or 20 - 30 buyins for the single table tourneys, and ALOT more buyins for Multiple Table Tourneys. Its hard building this bankroll with family and kids. Especially when they see you lose a major pot or something.
Today I am playing NL100 most of the time, some SNGs with family members, and occasional $26.00 tourneys at Full Tilt.
For those that stated you cant play online anymore, the online bill passed stopping online banking transactions making it harder (not impossible) to put money online. The easiest way is to use Neteller (simliar to Paypal) for most sites still letting U.S. customers play. Speaking of sites, FullTilt, Pokerstars, Absolute Poker, and also Fullcontact poker is available.
Anyone interested be sure to google "rakeback" and get signed up with that prior to playing online. Its a percentage of your rake paid.
Instead of quoting some of the posts, I tossed some of the ideas that came to mind. I am not advertising any sites or preferences, just stated which ones are available. If you are curious about anything or want clarification on anything stated, ask or pm me.
