Printable View
My 22 year old son as taken an interest in poker. I’ve never even played with him. Evidently he’s been having some success at 1-2 NL. He’s good college kid. Do I encourage him and help him get better, or stay on the sidelines? Vote “yes, poker is a fun hobby” or “no, one degenerate in the family is enough”
Where's the vote for "He's 22, so you don't have much of a say"? Unless you're giving him money for it.
Unless its purely recreational, and I am talking about a budget of a couple hundred a month, tell him to stay away. When I was in my 20s I routinely walked out of many casinos stuck thousands, I depleted a 401K by age 30. Sex with hot chicks (which was my #1 priority in my mid 20s), was quickly replaced by the high I got from a poker table. Then of course there is a risk of other addictions whether its the pits, drugs, or alcohol.Quote:
Originally Posted by Jayjami
My 22 year old son as taken an interest in poker. I’ve never even played with him. Evidently he’s been having some success at 1-2 NL. He’s good college kid. Do I encourage him and help him get better, or stay on the sidelines? Vote “yes, poker is a fun hobby” or “no, one degenerate in the family is enough”
I am in my mid-40s now, and I have a decent net worth with someone with my education and IQ, but there is not a doubt in my mind I'd be worth over $10M now if I had not seen poker on TV in the early 2000s. The whole Moneymaker run has ruined millions of lives because they sprayed those Party Poker commercials all over TV. All of a sudden traditional gambling losers because rock stars, and being in your 20s poker became irresistible. I mean who would not want to sit in a casino 8 hours a day gambling, making thousands and going out and partying at the best restaurants in Las Vegas? Reality when all said and done is you end up going 'camping' for three months like Brad Booth.
98% it's ends up awful for poker pros, 1% can grind out a living, the other 1% get rich. Those are terrible odds. Even the 1% who grind out a living hate their lives.
I know a guy I went to high school with, he went to work for Albertsons right out of high school. He went into their management training program. A lot of people thought he was crazy, and laughed at him behind his back because being a grocer was a joke. Yeah, now is a Senior VP and has millions in stock. Tell your boy to stay away from the tables and avoid the temptation trying to get rich quick. Never works, even if it does there is a 99% the quick $ gets squandered on the next big opportunity.
Teach him about rake.
he'll learn about women soon enough.Quote:
Originally Posted by BetCheckBet
Sorry if I’m wrong Jayjami, but you are a limit hold-em player?
Your boy would be less embarrassed getting the sex ‘talk’ from you at 22 than discussing Limit with his dad .
tell your gay son poker is faggot
My nephew is about that age and last holiday he bragged how good he was at poker and that he was gonna make bank doing it. We had a home game that I killed him on and gave him sage advice that gambling is no way to live. Haven’t heard about this career since and he is doing well in college.
I would need a shirtless photo to make a proper inference about this situation.
I know he is gay fo sho, total twink. He won’t come out to the family yet, I think my brothers have to die first.
Oh yeah encourage him. Teach him what you know. He will do what he wants anyway. A little fatherly advice is forever. Gambling is not the priesthood but it's not racism or beastiality.
Just show him PFA...
What the fuck. Get off altar boyQuote:
Originally Posted by 1marley1
If he has extra time and extra money you calibrated his college experience incorrectly.
Hungry is a great way to start life.
He’s 6’0” blond and a baseball player. He’s pitching in Vegas this weekend and is going to try to walk on at Oregon this spring. We’re going to play poker together for the first time. I’d love to felt him lol. I told him just play your normal game and we’ll talk later.Quote:
Originally Posted by OSA
You’d love him OSA, but he couldn’t be straighter.
First time hearing about baseball in LV.
So I played with my son on Vegas this weekend. 1/3 NLH. For a beginner, he’s the weakest, tightest player I’ve ever seen! Here’s the thing though, he’s 22 and is getting all kinds of action. They simply don’t believe he has the goods. He did call all in a maniac with K high and won, the same guy that cracked his aces with 7-4.
He killed it for about $700. His dad is down $500, but I’d have rather been over at 20/40 limit Hold’em or playing a 2/5 NL deepstack game. It was fun play with him. I cracked his aces with 8-7! I told him to keep doing what he is doing and learn from his mistakes. His style won’t work at 2/5, because players like me will hammer at him all day and give him no action when he plays back, but weak/tight will work at his level.
get an abortion
I know that Druff thinks all us Democrats believe in abortion on demand, but he’s 22.Quote:
Originally Posted by Zap_the_Fractions_Giraffe
Did he win his baseball game?
I don't think it's very smart for a 55 year old to be playing in a card room right now.
That's all I got.
Introduce him to PFA, where he can see how current and former players are like.
That should nip the issue in the bud.
I respect your right to stay in your basement, but I’m not afraid of dying. I’m afraid of not living. The risk is one I deem acceptable. Plus, unlike the peasants in Trumptardia, people in Vegas are actually wearing masks and socially distancing. I’m going to Hawaii for Thanksgiving as well. Enjoy that frozen Swanson turkey TV dinner you’ll be having.Quote:
Originally Posted by Dan Druff
Quote:
Originally Posted by JayjamiI respect your right to stay in your basement, but I’m not afraid of dying. I’m afraid of not living. The risk is one I deem acceptable. Plus, unlike the peasants in Trumptardia, people in Vegas are actually wearing masks and socially distancing. I’m going to Hawaii for Thanksgiving as well. Enjoy that frozen Swanson turkey TV dinner you’ll be having.Quote:
Originally Posted by Dan Druff
Quote:
Originally Posted by JayjamiI respect your right to stay in your basement, but I’m not afraid of dying. I’m afraid of not living. The risk is one I deem acceptable. Plus, unlike the peasants in Trumptardia, people in Vegas are actually wearing masks and socially distancing. I’m going to Hawaii for Thanksgiving as well. Enjoy that frozen Swanson turkey TV dinner you’ll be having.Quote:
Originally Posted by Dan Druff
Poetry.
Ask a bunch of people in Vegas who caught COVID in the casinos how the mask-wearing and social distancing went for them.Quote:
Originally Posted by JayjamiI respect your right to stay in your basement, but I’m not afraid of dying. I’m afraid of not living. The risk is one I deem acceptable. Plus, unlike the peasants in Trumptardia, people in Vegas are actually wearing masks and socially distancing. I’m going to Hawaii for Thanksgiving as well. Enjoy that frozen Swanson turkey TV dinner you’ll be having.Quote:
Originally Posted by Dan Druff
If playing 2-5 NL with likely-reckless degens is worth permanent lung damage, have at it. Note that the people playing live poker now are also the ones who are the least careful when it comes to avoiding COVID.
The one problem with masking is that it gives people a false sense of security that it's keeping them safe. It isn't. Wearing one doesn't help you, and others wearing it only helps bring down the transmission rate by a little bit.
I hope you'll be able to take a deep breath when I check-raise you at the 2022 WSOP Seniors event.
:wrongQuote:
Originally Posted by Dan DruffAsk a bunch of people in Vegas who caught COVID in the casinos how the mask-wearing and social distancing went for them.Quote:
Originally Posted by Jayjami
If playing 2-5 NL with likely-reckless degens is worth permanent lung damage, have at it. Note that the people playing live poker now are also the ones who are the least careful when it comes to avoiding COVID.
The one problem with masking is that it gives people a false sense of security that it's keeping them safe. It isn't. Wearing one doesn't help you, and others wearing it only helps bring down the transmission rate by a little bit.
I hope you'll be able to take a deep breath when I check-raise you at the 2022 WSOP Seniors event.
Viral loads matter with this. It’s pretty plain. What makes you think otherwise?
https://www.discovermagazine.com/hea...irus-means-you
I don't think cloth masks do very much to shield the receipt of viral loads. I believe they're somewhat useful for stopping the projecting transmission because whatever is carrying the virus (breath, saliva, whatever) doesn't go as far when projected through a mask. However, once it hits your cloth mask, I don't think it makes much difference.
I know people who wore a mask the entire time at Vegas casinos and still got COVID (and weren't really going anywhere else for the most part).
While that's anecdotal, I really do believe that the masks have an unfortunate negative side-effect of giving people a false sense of confidence. Even Master Scalir told me, "But I was wearing a mask!" when defending the somewhat reckless behavior which led to him catching COVID. The other guy who presumably caught it from Master Scalir also told me he was surprised the mask didn't protect him.
There is a great misconception that putting on a mask basically protects you from COVID, and that those catching COVID are just idiots who refuse or don't bother to mask. It's a phenomenon called "the illusion of safety", and this sort of thing can make you LESS safe, because it causes you to let your guard down.
I don't want to hijack this thread into a COVID debate, but let's just say that there's still a poor public understanding of COVID risk, especially by young and middle aged people.
In short:
If middle-aged, there's a decent chance you will get permanent lung damage (or other permanent damage) which will be a significant quality of life issue.
Masks do not protect you very much. It's a good idea to wear them, but masking and social distancing isn't going to shield you from COVID indoors. If that were true, Master Scalir wouldn't have COVID right now.
If young (under 30), you are unlikely to get more than mild COVID symptoms, and unlikely to face any kind of permanent damage from it. There is a tremendous difference between COVID at 25 and 45, on average. This isn't emphasized enough in the media.
If you understand that you've got a reasonable chance of permanent lung damage from catching COVID at age 45+, and still want to risk it, then that's your choice. Everyone should have a right to decide for themselves. Just doesn't make sense to me to take the risk, though, since presumably this will be gone or treatable at some point in the next 2 years.
Anyway, back to the original question:
I would advise your son to stay away from poker, other than as a recreational activity every so often.
Most 22-year-olds lack the maturity to manage a bankroll and/or tilt, so even the really talented ones usually go bust. Drug and alcohol abuse often rides along with it.
The problem with encouraging a lot of poker play is that he will be more and more tempted to become a "pro" if he is initially successful, and at that point you won't be able to stop him.
Benjamin hasn't shown much of an interest in poker yet, despite knowing all about my success with it. I've made sure not to glamorize it. I've also made sure he understands losing comes along with winning, and how it can be really frustrating. Most poker pros don't want their kids to do it, too.
All excellent points. My son is going to get his business degree from Oregon, move back to Bakersfield, hunt, get a county club membership and hang out with his buddies, get married (hopefully). Poker as anything other than a hobby or diversion is not even on his mind. He has zero interest in playing tournaments. He thought those guys playing 40/80 NL at Bellagio were out of their minds. Plus, he is notoriously frugal. A couple of hands he played really badly, and he instantly knew it and got pissed at himself. Vowed to play better. I liked that.Quote:
Originally Posted by Dan Druff
As far as alcohol and drugs. He didn’t have a single drink the entire weekend, and if I whipped a doobie and burned it, he would have been the one chastising me!
Good points. Not denying there is a risk, I’ve been to Vegas 6 times since the pandemic, and no problems. Maybe I’m lucky.Quote:
Originally Posted by Dan Druff