Whenever you expect to be successful competing in the online poker arena, you will need to treat your time at the virtual poker table as in case you are at a job you love. At the same time, it is important to educate your family that you are actually going to work when you sit down in front of your computer.

Have you ever found yourself deep in a tournament online poised to make some really good money and realized the children could be home shortly and you had not started dinner? Have you unexpectedly reached the final table where every second counts and had your life partner impatiently show up at the door and ask, “Are we going or not?”

In order to be effective, you have to set yourself up for success. You have to make a plan and stick to it.

Set your intention. This really is all a part of taking your online poker seriously and preparing to achieve success. When you intend only to kill some time, you will likely throw off your hard earned money. When you intend on winning, it literally changes your focus as well as your commitment. The simple fact is that you’ve got an increased probability of winning whenever you set your intention to win.

Make a schedule that works for you, and put that schedule in writing. There is something very powerful about actually writing down what you plan on doing. In the process, it serves to strengthen your intention of being a winning poker player.

Be realistic about your schedule. Since the majority of people are doing poker online part time, ask yourself, “How much time can I dedicate to my poker each day?” If you determine you can allocate two hours, five days a week of uninterrupted time, make that your window of opportunity. If, however, you decide that the personal and family demands enable you to spend five hours 2 times per week, make that your particular objective.

Select events that fit your schedule. Pick the kind of event the place you have had the most success that fit within your timeline. If you don’t really know in which you have been the most successful, or you are only starting out, keep good records. If you can set aside 10 hours weekly to your online play, you will likely begin to identify the profile of your most profitable game in a month.

Educate your family that you’ll be serious. When you take your game more seriously, it’s going to be apparent to your family that this is not a passing fancy. Your actions tell your family that your particular poker is not just a hobby. Poker is a game of skill, and you mean business.