# Finding A Balance With Poker  ## Episode metadata - Episode title: Finding A Balance With Poker - Show: The Official Red Chip Poker Podcast - Owner / Host: Red Chip Poker - Guests: [Steve “ChipXtractor” Catterson](https://share.snipd.com/person/d8657b22-cafc-4493-a758-e6221dbe8a8d) - Episode publish date: 2016-03-15 - Episode AI description: Steve "ChipXtractor" Catterson, a dedicated member of the Red Chip Poker community, shares his journey of balancing poker with a job, family, and a long commute. He discusses how to integrate poker into daily life while maintaining personal harmony. Steve reveals his strategic approach to scheduling poker sessions and highlights the importance of communication with loved ones. The conversation also touches on the life skills gained through poker, emphasizing the need for balance to prevent burnout and enhance overall well-being. - Duration: 39:33 - Episode URL: [Open in Snipd](https://share.snipd.com/episode/be784892-d693-4ca8-8af0-72bf911f8498) - Show URL: [Open in Snipd](https://share.snipd.com/show/c298446b-a61e-464b-8c32-0fa6bd6189cc) - Export date: 2026-02-11T20:07:11 ## Snips ### [Seasonality of Life](https://share.snipd.com/snip/7c0dff41-34f9-45d5-af8f-5cf8b6f185ab) 🎧 20:16 - 20:58 (00:41) <iframe src="https://share.snipd.com/embed/obsidian-player/snip/41e98444-ad1e-4650-ad7f-538ef6085a7d" width="100%" height="100" style="border: none; border-radius: 12px;" sandbox="allow-scripts allow-same-origin allow-forms allow-popups allow-clipboard-write" ></iframe> - Acknowledge that doing one thing means not doing another simultaneously; it's okay to put something on the back burner. - Understand the concept of seasonality in life, where focus shifts between work, family, poker, or other hobbies. - Communicate these seasonal shifts, especially with your spouse, to ensure everyone is aware of the current priorities. - Knowing where you are seasonally will help maintain balance. #### 💬 Quote > It's that if we're going to do one thing, it inherently means that we cannot do another simultaneously. > — James "SplitSuit" Sweeney James "SplitSuit" Sweeney on finding balance in life #### 📚 Transcript **James "SplitSuit" Sweeney:** Sure. Well, there's two things I'm going to say to that. The first and foremost is kind of basic, but a lot of us forget it when we're having this conversation about finding balance in our life. It's that if we're going to do one thing, it inherently means that we cannot do another simultaneously. Right. So giving us, giving ourselves that breather to say, okay, I understand that I'm going to go play poker. I understand that I'm going to play, I'm going to have a family role night tonight. And I understand that I'm putting something else on the back burner and that's totally okay. The other element is understanding seasonality, meaning that you have different seasons in your life, In some seasons, you're going to be extremely focused on work and others are going to be extremely focused on family and others, it could --- ### [Applying Poker Skills to Life](https://share.snipd.com/snip/dbf92b0c-6d87-4f65-96dd-2bb0e0712656) 🎧 25:30 - 27:01 (01:30) <iframe src="https://share.snipd.com/embed/obsidian-player/snip/10fe24c6-a53b-48c9-9e19-55ef294537c8" width="100%" height="100" style="border: none; border-radius: 12px;" sandbox="allow-scripts allow-same-origin allow-forms allow-popups allow-clipboard-write" ></iframe> - Steve Catterson suggests that the dedication, emotional control, and strategic thinking required for poker success are transferable to other areas of life. - He argues that a haphazard approach to life mirrors a similar approach to poker, leading to comparable results. - James Sweeney adds that poker uniquely combines multiple valuable skill sets that translate to real-world applications. - Poker forces you to become proficient in money management, tilt control, math, reading people, and logic. #### 💬 Quote > If you were to lay out this roadmap of all the things you had to do to be successful at the game, and you applied all those things to anything else in your life, you would be successful. > — Steve “ChipXtractor” Catterson Steve “ChipXtractor” Catterson on the transferability of poker skills. #### 📚 Transcript **Steve “ChipXtractor” Catterson:** Right, and I do think that, listen, if you were to lay out a path to be a successful poker player, and you were to say, these are all the things I need to accomplish to be successful at this. Okay, I need to be dedicated, and I need to spend the time learning, and then I have to deal with emotions, and I need to be physically present, and I need to, if you were to lay out this roadmap of all the things you had to do to be successful at the game, and you applied all those things to anything else in your life, you would be successful. It's not like, yeah, there's no separation between the way you approach the game and the way you approach your life. If you, you approach your life in a haphazard way and you don't plan or study or, or think about things before you do them, well, you're going to fail and you're going to have shitty ups and downs. But if you do the same thing at poker, you're going to get the same result. I do feel that sometimes people think they're two separate things. You know, I'm a poker player, and I act like this, and I'm a person, and I act like that. And I don't know that that's really true, you know? **James "SplitSuit" Sweeney:** And I agree. And I'd say that while you point that out, there are very few places in life where you can learn all of these skill sets in a single place very, very quickly that would then translate to real life, right? You can read a book all about financial management, but that doesn't help you with basic math, emotional management, and all the other things that poker teaches you. --- ### [Social Connection in Poker](https://share.snipd.com/snip/abb07359-d393-4447-b58b-aea3609045d3) 🎧 31:57 - 33:40 (01:43) <iframe src="https://share.snipd.com/embed/obsidian-player/snip/0f799b17-75e8-401d-a26d-7b1d685a04e7" width="100%" height="100" style="border: none; border-radius: 12px;" sandbox="allow-scripts allow-same-origin allow-forms allow-popups allow-clipboard-write" ></iframe> - Developing relationships with other poker players improves your game. - It also helps you feel better about where you are with the game and how it fits into your life. - Many people miss that connecting with others is crucial for personal well-being, not just for improving poker skills. - Steve Catterson mentions that playing poker alone for a long time made him feel lonely. - He is now looking to change that by developing relationships in the game and being social on forums. #### 💬 Quote > It's also important to get to feel better about yourself as a person, you know? > — Steve “ChipXtractor” Catterson Steve “ChipXtractor” Catterson on the importance of relationships with other poker players. #### 📚 Transcript **Steve “ChipXtractor” Catterson:** The choices I make, how aware I am of who's noticing what I'm doing and who's not think that I'm pretty present I would certainly like to have an easier time getting to and from the casinos and I'm looking to change that situation pretty soon my life situation will change and my wife will retire and we'll move somewhere where it'll just be easier to to get in and out of games so hopefully that allows me to have a little bit more balance as far as going on these trips and and so on and so forth and also you know developing relationships in the game is really important to me because um for a long time I did not have a lot of friendships with other poker players. You know, it was a very, um, for me anyway, it was a, uh, a lonely thing to go play cards while I enjoyed it. You know, a three hour trip in a car alone and then a three hour trip home in a car alone is not, you know, it's not social interaction, you know? So developing relationships within the game and with other poker players and being social on forums and talking to players like yourself and coaches and stuff like that. While I think it's a great way to improve your game, I also think it's a great way to feel good about where you are with the game, you know, how it fits into your overall life. And I think a lot of people miss that. A of people don't understand that not only is it important to make relationships with other players to get better as a poker player, but it's also important to get to feel better about yourself as a person, --- Created with [Snipd](https://www.snipd.com) | Highlight & Take Notes from Podcasts