I play poker. I don’t think I have mentioned it that often. I love what I do, but the worst thing about playing poker is dealing with people’s perception about the game.
It tends to be at one extreme or the other. That either it’s a pathetic degenerate activity or it’s a glamorous game requiring genius and clairvoyance. People think the same about casinos in general. That they’re super nice places or just one stop away from hell.
It’s somewhere in between. You know. Casinos attract all kinds of people. Tourists, partiers, business men on trips, nerds, regular people, gambling addicts, and degenerates. The good, bad, and ugly. Blackjack tends to attract tourists, business men on trips, and regular people. Craps tend to attract gambling addicts and degenerates. Slots tend to attract regular people, gambling addicts, and degenerates. Poker tends to attract nerds and businessmen. You’ll see a degenerate here and there, but they are not that common in poker.
Well. I’m sick and tired of hearing people’s uninformed opinions about poker and casinos. People either think of me as a gambling addicted loser or some gamer genius. You would think the latter would be a cool thing, but it really intimidates people. Sometimes people think I’m rich and resent me. Other times, people ask me for money that I don’t want to give away. I’m not poor, but I’m not well off either. I’m not one of those people you see on TV. My goal is to get to “well off”, but I’m not suffering right now.
You know what another thing that drives me crazy? Is that poker is gambling! WTF? Well, there’s an element of gambling in poker, but most of it is skill. I’d say 70% skill and 30% luck. You compete with people, and not against the house. If you are good at poker you will come out ahead, it is not the same thing as dumping your money at the slots or crap tables.
Then you have people who say they would be terrible at playing poker because they have a bad poker face. Yeah, it will be harder to make money if you are easily “read”, but reading tells is a small part of poker, unless you’re just playing 1/2 no-limit poker. Good poker requires memory skills, psychological tricks, hand analysis, knowledge of probability, knowing your opponent, bankroll management and self-discipline. And lots of other stuff. I have about 7 books on my kindle. Two of those books I paid $50. How to Read Hands at No-Limit Hold’em and Playing the Player: Moving Beyond ABC Poker, both by Ed Miller. Poker isn’t some frivolous activity, if you take it seriously. Many more poker books on my bookshelf.
Oh my, and you have those who want to come and join me. They think they can BECOME A POKER PRO IN TWO MONTHS!!!1 Wow, I’d say it takes at least two years before you start making money. After lots of studies. Reading books, participating in the two plus two forums, and possibly poker coaching. It annoys me when people think poker can lead them to instant riches.
It also sucks when people don’t understand swings in poker. There are upswings and downswings. Just because you are on a downswing doesn’t me you are going to go broke, and just because you are on an upswing doesn’t mean that you’re a good player. All swings mean that while you can make money at poker, you cannot predict when you’ll lose and win. If you’re good your mountains will make up for your valleys, but you cannot predict those mountains and valleys.
