Poll: What should a father do?

[Dan Druff]

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.

[Sloppy Joe]

Introduce him to PFA, where he can see how current and former players are like.

That should nip the issue in the bud.

[Jayjami]

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.

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.

[dwai]

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.

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.

[Dead Money]

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.

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.

Poetry.

[Dan Druff]

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.

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.

Ask a bunch of people in Vegas who caught COVID in the casinos how the mask-wearing and social distancing went for them.

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.

[1marley1]

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.

Ask a bunch of people in Vegas who caught COVID in the casinos how the mask-wearing and social distancing went for them.

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

[Dan Druff]

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.

[Dan Druff]

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.

[Jayjami]

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.

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!

[Jayjami]

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.

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.