playing poker for a living

[dinkydoofus]

There are many articles and books available these days that will
talk about poker strategy, concepts and otherwise offer insights to
those who are unfamiliar with the game or are just trying to get
better. Many of these books cover various psychological aspects of
the
game as they should apply to your strategy while playing. This is all
really useful information for casual interests as well as players who
take the game very seriously. Of the latter group it is probably
reasonable to say that over 50% either play for a living or wish they
did and are working on getting there.
I find myself someplace in between these two categories as I
believe I have definetly moved up from someone who thought they were
good but was terrible to someone who is decent enough at the game to
make enough off of it to cover the bills and etc., There is still
much
more ahead of me than there is behind me and that is very positive
for
me in and of itself. There are a lot of times I question my own
abilities as well as my desire to go all the way with poker (at least
1 bracelet) and so far I have been coming to the same answer. Yes it
is for me and es I want to run with it as far as I can.
Seems like there's no problem right? What the hell is this post
about if everything is ok? Well the problem as it presents itself to
me is as follows: poker players have no social value. Now don't take
this personally, maybe on sundays you read books to kids in hospitals
(if you do that's great and you can stop reading this, but I think
you're playing the 750K guaranteed or the Million instead) but for
the
most part poker players are people driven by self-interest. I mean
the
whole object of the game is to "kill everyone" as one author puts it,
and if you make that game your profession then what does that make
you? Sort of like a bankroll assassin the way I see it. Now maybe
that sounds harsh but imagine this scenario; You're sitting playing a
cash game at a local casino and some college kid sits down next to
you
with the min. buyin. After a half an hour he's felted and goes to
the
neighboring table to ask his friend for a loan. After long debate he
finally comes back and min rebuys. Now you as a good poker player
realize that this kid is playing scared money and you can and will do
certain things to exploit this weakness and profit off of it. This is
what any good poker player would do, without any consciencious
objections and they can't be faulted for that. What I mean by this is
that this kid knows that he is going to sit down at a table with
people who are going to try to lie to him steal from him and
eventually make him go broke, while he tries to do the exact same
thing to them. That is why a good poker player cannot be faulted for
exploiting the weaknesses of people around him. However if you are
really good at this and you play poker say 1/3 of your life (not that
much in reality about 8hrs a day) then what does that make you?...
This brings me to my defense of professional poker players vs
many other professionals in various industries. That kid as broke as
he is and stupid as he is for playing with money he shouldn't be
playing with is entering a fair game where he can expect to be
deceived. This is not the case with most other industries. I've
worked
many different fields incl real estate, retail, auditing, and I have
contacts from many other different fields that frequently talk to
about life in general. For the most part these regular jobs have more
social value than poker players do simply because the provide some
kind of service to someone who needs it, whether it be kid who flips
your burger (not that he's a pro) or your accountant or your doctor.
However just as the people working these jobs are providing a service
to the rest of us, the majority of them are toiling for the benefit
of
their boss more so than for themselves (of course it doesnt seem this
was from a subjective point of view, but we're talking objectively
here) . Retailers have quotas to meet and they often do not care if
they sell you something that it useless to you or costs way more than
its worth. Doctors get flown out it packs to various getaways
sponsored by pharmaceutical companies that push their newest drugs
onto doctors so that they can in turn push them onto their patients.
Stock brokers lie through their face to get a sale even when they
know
that the stock they are pushing is the exact opposite of what they
are
saying it is, as do many many many more professionals who cannot help
but be a salesman alongside their chosen profession. Now please dont
send me vicious emails because you are a noble stock broker or follow
the Hippocratic Oath to the t. If thats the case then you are the
minority
and you probably know it too.
In poker this is never* going to be a problem because the game is
based on deception and therefore everyone knows what to expect,
unlike
when you go to a doctor with a real illness and he tries to get you
hooked on some fancy placebo with side effects that he's going to get
a kick-back for. So as a poker player who is ever trying to improve
his game you are always trying to learn more and better ways of
duping
your opposition out of their (sometimes deceiptfully) earned
paychecks. Does this make you a bad guy? I like to believe no, that
you're not a bad guy if you leave your deception at the table and do
something away from the table that benefits not only you but society
too (this can be your family, your friends or some orphans in a God
forsaken country). Maybe other people don't have these feelings,
maybe
they repress them or deny them and feel complete pursuing their own
individual success. I however do not find it pleasant to benefit off
of someone else's misfortune (away from the table :o) regardless of
what the situation is. This does not mean that I haven't in my life
taken advantage of someone or stolen or lied etc., or will 100% never
do tany of these things again, I am just saying that it feels very
unpleasant, sometimes so much that I avoid the situation in the first
place.
This is one of the reasons I have a great admiration for Barry
Greenstein who plays poker not only exceptionally well, but he plays
for charity, whatever donations he gets at the table he donates to
those who need it more. There are several other high-profile pro
poker players that do something similar but their numbers are small.
Most of these guys that have their names in red on Full Tilt would
rather make a 5 digit bet on the bounce of a golf ball than give that
same money to perhaps somebody who might just need a heck of a lot
more. I don't mean to sound bitter or judgemental, it's their money
and their lives after all, its just I dont think I would feel good
doing those things and thats what makes me wonder if maybe being a
poker player also entails this kind of behavior. Thank God for the
likes of Barry to demonstrate that it is really all within your
control.
All within your control.
That's what poker is really all about isn't it? Making your own
hours, being your own boss, like Frank said doing things "my way".
That's the American dream, the fantasy of every man alive, to be
financially independent, to be able to do what you want when you want
without having to seek permission from another human being. To be
honest I think I have a greater chance of benefiting society if I
excel at poker than if I were to be anything else that required a 40
hr workweek for 20 yrs. Most working stiffs do not have the
capability
to help others out because they most of the time need help
themselves.
I am not a communist and I do believe in free markets but I think you
have to admit that out current capitalistic system allows for many
situations where the majority are exploited by the minority (think
Enron, Haliburton, Wall Street) and what you have is lot of people
who
are working just to keep afloat. To me that's not living but
surviving
(sort of like the nits who wait for premium hands until their M is 8
and they have to shove QJx) and surviving not only doesnt allow you
to
help others but often puts you into a situation where youre helpless.
So thank God for poker and what it offered to people like me or you
or anybody else who makes their living off the game. It truly is a
miracle to have an opportunity such as this available to anyone who
can get around a thousand bucks and have a ton of
perseverence/dedication.
Once you are financially free a different world opens up to you, a
world where you are not chained to your desk/post whatever, a place
where with good intent and some sacrifice you can improve something
for someone. The differences I have made with my selfless actions
(and
trust me there have not been that many (yet)) are the light during my
darkest hours. It is my motivation to keep improving my game, to play
A
+ to be the MOST deceitful, the biggest thief and bully at every
table
I sit at.
So no, right now I dont donate to charity, I felted that college
kid faster than it took him to get the loan and perhaps I might do
some other things in the future that are not that morally acceptable
if the situation really calls for it. But one day, after I am not
longer strapped for money, when my family can have what it needs to
be
functional and all the petty bullshit is out of the way, then I will
try to make a difference. Just what I will do I don't yet know, I'm
only 25 and have hopefully most of my life ahead of me. I just hope I
don't lose my ambitions in process.

Dinkydoofus

*what I mean by this is that deception outside of the rules of poker
will usually not be present, however, cheating collusion or other
angles have been attepted in the past as they are sure to be attempted
in the future. I do not call this deception but robbery or theft,
which also occurs in the world outside of poker and is therefore not a
factor as it pertains to the scope of this post.