Do you think you would be better off if you never discovered poker?

[BCR]

I was fortunate that the boom coincided with my illness when I got sick in early 2001, and I got well in Feb 2007, right when the UIGEA was starting to take effect. I had started playing online I think in 2000, so it was the natural thing to do to kill time when ill and I was already up to speed when the going got good. So when I played a lot, it was easy, and I wasn't missing a thing as I could barely make it off the couch for the great portion of the time.

If I regret anything it was not playing more, but the money I won had no direct correlation to anything I could use it for because I was so ill. I was a better player because I wasn't attached to the money and thought I was a dead man anyway, and the games were easy. I was more patient because I had nothing but time to kill. Once I got well, and I could actually take the money and do something with it, I was worse and the games were harder.

Thankfully it never had it's hooks into me. It doesn't hit that same part of my brain that pit games or cocaine or a nasty lithe girl does. When I was well enough to do something better with my time, I almost always wanted to. I enjoy it, but it's more akin to getting really into chess, or some theoretical game. I enjoy it a lot, but I'm not going to jones over it, so for me, poker was nothing but a positive and still is when I play live. Being old enough to not delude yourself helps also. Lot of fuckers think bad luck is the only thing that separates them from Ivey's room. I don't live on that level of denial.

I think most of those damaged by the game are the kids who quit school, or came into the game later. You would literally have to have a sub 90 IQ to lose money from 2000-2006. It was that fucking easy. Sometimes you're in on the ground floor of something and don't realize it, and don't take full advantage of it. That's my only regret.

[Mad Dad]

Poker is a game that has been marketed as a means to make a living. That really worked and drew in thousands and millions.

To make a living you either spend many hours grinding and clicking, or many hours sitting in casinos and card rooms. The grind sucks and is mind numbing. I personally have considered how I could make money reliably playing this game - never found the formula. I personally have spent thousands of hours seeking out a positive past time / hobby - never found it.

Haven't played now in many months and don't miss it at all. Really.

[HEX]

Thread should be called "Are you a compulsive gambler?" since that would be the only reason one would be better off having never discovered poker. So for me it's a no.

[SetofKs]

Thread should be called "Are you a compulsive gambler?" since that would be the only reason one would be better off having never discovered poker. So for me it's a no.

I don't think this is true. I bet a lot of nitty grinder pro poker players that play in a casino every day would have better quality of life if they never discovered poker.

[GaryQQQ]

No. I've made about $10K over the last 2 & 1/2 years playing low stakes MTTs for recreation in my spare time, whereas the hobbies I persued before I discovered poker all cost me money.

There's also been an unexpected side-effect; poker success has led to me abandoning all types of gambling that are -ev, they seem pointless now, thus saving a little extra money that otherwise would have been lost.

[RobbieBensonFan]

I was fortunate that the boom coincided with my illness when I got sick in early 2001, and I got well in Feb 2007, right when the UIGEA was starting to take effect. I had started playing online I think in 2000, so it was the natural thing to do to kill time when ill and I was already up to speed when the going got good. So when I played a lot, it was easy, and I wasn't missing a thing as I could barely make it off the couch for the great portion of the time.

If I regret anything it was not playing more, but the money I won had no direct correlation to anything I could use it for because I was so ill. I was a better player because I wasn't attached to the money and thought I was a dead man anyway, and the games were easy. I was more patient because I had nothing but time to kill. Once I got well, and I could actually take the money and do something with it, I was worse and the games were harder.

Thankfully it never had it's hooks into me. It doesn't hit that same part of my brain that pit games or cocaine or a nasty lithe girl does. When I was well enough to do something better with my time, I almost always wanted to. I enjoy it, but it's more akin to getting really into chess, or some theoretical game. I enjoy it a lot, but I'm not going to jones over it, so for me, poker was nothing but a positive and still is when I play live. Being old enough to not delude yourself helps also. Lot of fuckers think bad luck is the only thing that separates them from Ivey's room. I don't live on that level of denial.

I think most of those damaged by the game are the kids who quit school, or came into the game later. You would literally have to have a sub 90 IQ to lose money from 2000-2006. It was that fucking easy. Sometimes you're in on the ground floor of something and don't realize it, and don't take full advantage of it. That's my only regret.

Lupus? Lyme Disease?

[RobbieBensonFan]

Thread should be called "Are you a compulsive gambler?" since that would be the only reason one would be better off having never discovered poker. So for me it's a no.

Despite your great avatar, you have quickly turned out to be the worst, most faggot poster on these forums. Shame if you ask me to ruin such a good avatar. You basically rival Richard Brodie Combover as a shitty poster with a good handle.

[HEX]

Thread should be called "Are you a compulsive gambler?" since that would be the only reason one would be better off having never discovered poker. So for me it's a no.

Despite your great avatar, you have quickly turned out to be the worst, most faggot poster on these forums. Shame if you ask me to ruin such a good avatar. You basically rival Richard Brodie Combover as a shitty poster with a good handle.

lol wat

[starsstolemyroll]

I would have been better off without online thats for sure....and without generally derailing this into a poker is rigged thread id just say i always had the feeling i was being cheated. I used to win at cash online for a brief period and actually had a 40 k win in one day earlier this year (absolute retard bankroll management took a shot at 250 500 limit and won LOL) but getting to the point casino cards were a social outing that was fun and a guy could win. I just feel online tilted me and led to bad decisions. I dont know how many times i turned 25 or 50 dollar deposits into 3 or 4 k only to lose to guys who just made the most illogical poker decisions imaginable but guessed right every time. or the great feeling of having 5 hours into a tourney and push ace ace and have 87 off instacall you for tourney life and the flop be 877 (you get my point) so as much as i like what online has done for poker id be much better without it.

[tommyt]

I would have been better off without online thats for sure....and without generally derailing this into a poker is rigged thread id just say i always had the feeling i was being cheated. I used to win at cash online for a brief period and actually had a 40 k win in one day earlier this year (absolute retard bankroll management took a shot at 250 500 limit and won LOL) but getting to the point casino cards were a social outing that was fun and a guy could win. I just feel online tilted me and led to bad decisions. I dont know how many times i turned 25 or 50 dollar deposits into 3 or 4 k only to lose to guys who just made the most illogical poker decisions imaginable but guessed right every time. or the great feeling of having 5 hours into a tourney and push ace ace and have 87 off instacall you for tourney life and the flop be 877 (you get my point) so as much as i like what online has done for poker id be much better without it.

[ShadyJ]

I am talking about way more than just wins and losses. Overall I am up well into the 6 digits playing poker (and probably in the top 5% of posters on this forum) mainly from taking advantage of soft internet games in the early 2000s, so if you just look at it that way poker has been good to me (Today I only play live and I would honestly assess myself as basically a break even player, either booking overall small wins or losses every year, depending on variance)

But I think the opportunity cost of all those hours lost where I could have been developing my career and personal relationships have made poker a huge negative.

You spew nonsense theres no possible way to know if your in the top 5% or not your just pulling that out of your ass, who knows you might be top 1% but you have no clue.

If you can't beat live cash games you really suck at poker. No one ever thinks they suck, but realizing that you suck will be the best thing that ever happens to you. I made alot of money playing online tourneys and live cash, but until I switched to online cash to go for sne I sucked. I got a really good coach and he opened my eyes up to how much I didn't know, but I thought I did. I've spent thousands on coaching, but its the best thing I ever did. If you can't beat live cash get a coach or at least google Bart Hansen and listen/watch everything he has and you will be able to beat live games assuming you have more emotional control then the other live players.

[408Mike]

Yebsite is dead on. It's definitely a boon for many but it hasn't worked well for me yet. I can play very well live, soso online, but for personal reasons it's always been bad news.

[Dan Druff]

Overall, the answer is no.

However, poker has brought good and bad into my life.

The good:

- I made a lot of money, especially during the boom years

- I was able to quit my job and haven't worked in 9 years

- I won a World Series bracelet, which will always be a memorable moment in my life

- I got to be part of a new community, leading me to running this forum and having an internet radio show that some people actually care to listen to

- I have made some friends and met some cool people whom I am happy I got to know

- I get to spend a lot more time with my son than if I had a traditional profession



The bad:

- I have gained 30 pounds. This might have happened without poker (as I gained no weight during my first 8 years in poker), but it also couldn't have helped.

- I fell out of my originally chosen profession. It would probably be difficult for me to get a job again as a programmer, due to being "out of the game" for 9 years.

- I have aged a lot. I used to look very young for my age, and was often thought to be in my mid-late 20s despite approaching my mid-30s. That's no longer the case. Now people believe me to be around my age (40). Again, this might have happened without poker, but I think the stress of the game has aged me. I look at people who have been actively around the game for more than 5 years, and I have noticed that almost all of them have aged a lot, too.

- I have encountered a few unbalanced people in the community who now have an obsessive hatred for me. I do sometimes think about the fact that I would never even know these freaks if I wasn't involved with poker (and especially poker forums).

[408Mike]

Overall, the answer is no.

However, poker has brought good and bad into my life.

The good:

- I made a lot of money, especially during the boom years

- I was able to quit my job and haven't worked in 9 years

- I won a World Series bracelet, which will always be a memorable moment in my life

- I got to be part of a new community, leading me to running this forum and having an internet radio show that some people actually care to listen to

- I have made some friends and met some cool people whom I am happy I got to know

- I get to spend a lot more time with my son than if I had a traditional profession



The bad:

- I have gained 30 pounds. This might have happened without poker (as I gained no weight during my first 8 years in poker), but it also couldn't have helped.

- I fell out of my originally chosen profession. It would probably be difficult for me to get a job again as a programmer, due to being "out of the game" for 9 years.

- I have aged a lot. I used to look very young for my age, and was often thought to be in my mid-late 20s despite approaching my mid-30s. That's no longer the case. Now people believe me to be around my age (40). Again, this might have happened without poker, but I think the stress of the game has aged me. I look at people who have been actively around the game for more than 5 years, and I have noticed that almost all of them have aged a lot, too.

- I have encountered a few unbalanced people in the community who now have an obsessive hatred for me. I do sometimes think about the fact that I would never even know these freaks if I wasn't involved with poker (and especially poker forums).

The excess bodyfat is accelerating the aging process for you. I'd rather not get overly technical, but here's an easy correlation to make- what do most environmental toxins heavy metals and free radicals have in common?

They are fat soluble.

Excess bodyfat is not only a strain on your cardiovascular system (it is living tissue afterall and must be innervated as well as oxygenated and have good blood supply) it's also slowly absorbing massive amounts of the very things that age you and storing them up to supraphysiological levels and then allowing this crud to seep into your bloodstream. Recent data strongly suggests bodyfat dramatically increases cancer risk.

not to mention it's making you less active physically, and exercise keeps you young means not exercising....

and last, it's adding the worst possible thing to your life- stress.

losing weight would change your life in so many ways you would be foolish not to imo.

[Corrigan]

Excess bodyfat is not only a strain on your cardiovascular system (it is living tissue afterall and must be innervated as well as oxygenated and have good blood supply) it's also slowly absorbing massive amounts of the very things that age you and storing them up to supraphysiological levels and then allowing this crud to seep into your bloodstream. Recent data strongly suggests bodyfat dramatically increases cancer risk.

not to mention it's making you less active physically, and exercise keeps you young means not exercising....

jk <3 4 0 great

[backdoorb]

Overall, the answer is no.

The bad:

- I have gained 30 pounds. This might have happened without poker (as I gained no weight during my first 8 years in poker), but it also couldn't have helped.



- I have aged a lot. I used to look very young for my age, and was often thought to be in my mid-late 20s despite approaching my mid-30s. That's no longer the case. Now people believe me to be around my age (40). Again, this might have happened without poker, but I think the stress of the game has aged me. I look at people who have been actively around the game for more than 5 years, and I have noticed that almost all of them have aged a lot, too.

I respect you a lot Druff, but comeon, you really think poker has much to do with this?

The aging, maybe a bit due to stress etc, but what high paying job doesnt have a lot of stress? How about the stress you'd have with a new born and having some mutt job paying 50k a year?

And the weight is a total excuse. We have all the freedom in the world, you can get up and do 45 minutes of cardio o an empty stomach without having to be somewhere at 7 or 8am, you can take a 2 hour lunch to workout and eat without having to answer to a boss.
Do you really think you wouldn't have gained the weight if you stayed in your career? I've seen more burnt out, overweight, balding 40 year olds in the corporate world than i can remember. You've gained the weight because it's just not that important to you to lose it. Again, not a flame, because i can appreciate how doing this for a living can breed laziness, but at some point you just got to take responsibility for it.

[pikachar]

- I have encountered a few unbalanced people in the community who now have an obsessive hatred for me. I do sometimes think about the fact that I would never even know these freaks if I wasn't involved with poker (and especially poker forums).

[408Mike]

Excess bodyfat is not only a strain on your cardiovascular system (it is living tissue afterall and must be innervated as well as oxygenated and have good blood supply) it's also slowly absorbing massive amounts of the very things that age you and storing them up to supraphysiological levels and then allowing this crud to seep into your bloodstream. Recent data strongly suggests bodyfat dramatically increases cancer risk.

not to mention it's making you less active physically, and exercise keeps you young means not exercising....

jk <3 4 0 great

Good to see you dude, hope you are doing well.

[Vwls]

No.

Poker has never been more than a hobby for me. My weekly home game (when it ran) was something I looked forward to every week. I still enjoy playing and will rarely turn down an opportunity to do so.

100%

I have too much common sense to become blind to consequence for more than a day or so. Poker is fun and frustrating - has never consumed me.

[HEX]

Thread should be called "Are you a compulsive gambler?" since that would be the only reason one would be better off having never discovered poker. So for me it's a no.

I don't think this is true. I bet a lot of nitty grinder pro poker players that play in a casino every day would have better quality of life if they never discovered poker.

This is a good point.