The Dark Side of Poker - Page 2

On September 09 2010 06:34 morph1 wrote: I almost never talk about poker w/ my friends, b/c all this dumbasses starts giving me a lectures about life,gambling and all kind of shit Also sometimes I think "fuck coffe w/ friends or fuck Y , bc that would cost me X$ given my $/hr "

the 2nd part of your post is kinda scary. You would honestly rather play poker than hang out w/ your friends b/c it's not worth your 'time'? Mindsets like this are what lead to poker ruining your life.

On September 09 2010 06:37 BigRed0000 wrote: Show nested quote + On September 09 2010 06:34 morph1 wrote: I almost never talk about poker w/ my friends, b/c all this dumbasses starts giving me a lectures about life,gambling and all kind of shit Also sometimes I think "fuck coffe w/ friends or fuck Y , bc that would cost me X$ given my $/hr " the 2nd part of your post is kinda scary. You would honestly rather play poker than hang out w/ your friends b/c it's not worth your 'time'? Mindsets like this are what lead to poker ruining your life.

agree with this. dont let poker take over your life like that. remember, the tables are always open, your friends are not.

yea i know, that's why i named it here in dark side of poker
but i guess that comes from time to time, or I'm just lazy mofo in the past few months

the only reason i get depressed is because i dont make enough money for all the misery this game brings into my life
up down up down up down. i mean, after 3 years of playing, it seems pretty clear i dont have what it takes to beat midstakes, that fact depresses me a lot. "ive beaten it 2008 blah blah" that dont mean shit and sometiems i hang on to that time when games were honestly just better.

when rekrul said "denial runs the industry" before in one thread years ago, it kinda makes sense more and more as the years go by. also i see less and less " dont worry, itll turn around" advice and support from ppl coz i think they also feel that it might not

On September 09 2010 06:37 BigRed0000 wrote: Show nested quote + On September 09 2010 06:34 morph1 wrote: I almost never talk about poker w/ my friends, b/c all this dumbasses starts giving me a lectures about life,gambling and all kind of shit Also sometimes I think "fuck coffe w/ friends or fuck Y , bc that would cost me X$ given my $/hr " the 2nd part of your post is kinda scary. You would honestly rather play poker than hang out w/ your friends b/c it's not worth your 'time'? Mindsets like this are what lead to poker ruining your life.

I dont see if that different from anyone who is self-employed and running a business. They gain huge freedom in being able to "work" whenever they want, but they still have to sacrifice social activity for earning potential.

If youre a plumber do you give up christmas day with your family to go on an emergency call out at a ridiculous hourly $$$?

The only reason "normal" working people dont think like this is because they dont have a choice.

"Oh youre going out for coffee? No, i cant go - ive got work"

There's a very fine line between letting your friends know that poker is a real job and you need to put in hours to make money, and becoming so obsessed/enamored with poker that you are consciously blowing off doing anything else.

On September 09 2010 05:55 milkman wrote: i duno ive talked with some other people like crown and stuff about the disregard for money i know some other people feel that way but maybe its not as normal as i thought..

So what did you two ballers talk about?

Anyways, I just don't talk to any of my friends about poker, unless they play it and really understand it. I'm pretty sure my friends think that I lose a ton of money playing, and thats fine with me - I dont really care.

My girlfriend sort of knows what its about, because I do get frustrated busting whilst being very deep in some mtt. But I don't really talk to her about poker either, I havent played in a month now either, but as soon as I get my internet connection in my apartment, I'll play again / or live.

On the other hand I've never gone pro, I have a full time job that pays well, and poker is a side income which generates a pretty decent lifestyle with a good balance. I would have liked to try to play poker full time, and I did last summer for 6-8 weeks, and it got pretty dull towards the end.

i believe i've gotten more bad than good out of the experience but it's not entirely because of poker itself, but rather the lifestyle that came with it. i neglected a lot of things in my life and i am not happy about where i am at now as a result. more importantly, i have spent too much time on the computer and not enough time educating myself or enjoying the outdoors. i'm also becoming increasingly fearful of the negative effects of such a technology and its effects on health (and even brain chemistry). it's still fairly recent, we do not know much about the long-term side effects of being on a computer for so long every day.

it seems to have an important effect on my attention and the way i do things. if i go on the computer immediately after i woke up it seems like i'm not able to do some serious study or i'll procrastinate it because i keep being distracted. when i'm not able to it's because the internet gives me ADHD or something, you can do so many things at the same time and move on from something when you aren't entertained any longer etc. then when you're faced with books it's a lot harder to keep focused. i'm very concerned to what its doing to our culture as well, i very often feel like there's a significant rise of anti-intellectualism (see the film idiocracy).

basically i would say the biggest issue for me has been that it has promoted a very hedonistic lifestyle, seeking instant gratification constantly because of this media, and not encouraging hard work that contributes to others rather than only benefiting myself, which i feel is a necessity.

i dont think you need to disrespect money in order to be a good poker player. On the table yes, that's a certain thing, but outside the poker world it's not hard to keep your feet down on earth (imo).

it just depends on you, really. I know poker players who spend shitloads on 'meaningless' stuff, as well as poker players who live a completely normal life, just more comfortably than 99,99% of the people surrounding them.

On September 09 2010 08:19 Loco wrote: it seems to have an important effect on my attention and the way i do things. if i go on the computer immediately after i woke up it seems like i'm not able to do some serious study or i'll procrastinate it because i keep being distracted. when i'm not able to it's because the internet gives me ADHD or something, you can do so many things at the same time and move on from something when you aren't entertained any longer etc. then when you're faced with books it's a lot harder to keep focused. i'm very concerned to what its doing to our culture as well, i very often feel like there's a significant rise of anti-intellectualism (see the film idiocracy). basically i would say the biggest issue for me has been that it has promoted a very hedonistic lifestyle, seeking instant gratification constantly because of this media, and not encouraging hard work that contributes to others rather than only benefiting myself, which i feel is a necessity.

qft, have the exact same problem

On September 09 2010 06:34 morph1 wrote: I almost never talk about poker w/ my friends, b/c all this dumbasses starts giving me a lectures about life,gambling and all kind of shit Also sometimes I think "fuck coffe w/ friends or fuck Y , bc that would cost me X$ given my $/hr "

I used to think the same way, but after the 100 time I didn't go to a party and lost money by playing I stoped. Now I NEVER play poker if I can do normal social activities, I play only when I'm bored

the dark side of poker...
this trade brings many realities of life upfront and to the table that you will be forced to look at, recognize and deal with to varying degrees
hopefully these reality perspectives don't eventually devour your soul in negativity and instead primarily turn you into a humble human being

one of the main instances of this that I can think of off the top of my head being if you enter full time into this trade you are most assuredly totally on your own since noone really gives a fuck about you

my real life friend argued with his girlfriend over $75 the other day

i just dropped my jaw in shock

also i feel so emotionless, all of my friends get excited/worked up over things and i'm just all stoic like "wat"

not caring about the division of $75 isnt a unique result of being a poker player.

On September 09 2010 10:44 CrownRoyal wrote: my real life friend argued with his girlfriend over $75 the other day i just dropped my jaw in shock also i feel so emotionless, all of my friends get excited/worked up over things and i'm just all stoic like "wat"

don't worry just because you can't relate to your friends' emotional states. i can assure you you're a fluffy ball of emotion and it's quite obvious. disinterest is easy, detachment is something else.

mmm you're probably right.

On September 09 2010 08:19 Loco wrote: i believe i've gotten more bad than good out of the experience but it's not entirely because of poker itself, but rather the lifestyle that came with it. i neglected a lot of things in my life and i am not happy about where i am at now as a result. more importantly, i have spent too much time on the computer and not enough time educating myself or enjoying the outdoors. i'm also becoming increasingly fearful of the negative effects of such a technology and its effects on health (and even brain chemistry). it's still fairly recent, we do not know much about the long-term side effects of being on a computer for so long every day. it seems to have an important effect on my attention and the way i do things. if i go on the computer immediately after i woke up it seems like i'm not able to do some serious study or i'll procrastinate it because i keep being distracted. when i'm not able to it's because the internet gives me ADHD or something, you can do so many things at the same time and move on from something when you aren't entertained any longer etc. then when you're faced with books it's a lot harder to keep focused. i'm very concerned to what its doing to our culture as well, i very often feel like there's a significant rise of anti-intellectualism (see the film idiocracy). basically i would say the biggest issue for me has been that it has promoted a very hedonistic lifestyle, seeking instant gratification constantly because of this media, and not encouraging hard work that contributes to others rather than only benefiting myself, which i feel is a necessity.

Very well written post, I feel the same

On September 09 2010 07:25 whamm! wrote: when rekrul said "denial runs the industry" before in one thread years ago,

i'm like 99% sure i was the first one to say this on LP. sorry if i'm somehow jacking that from rekrul without realizing it but you prob have us confused. it was re-quoted a lot thereafter. and the only reason i'm even bringing it up is because i stole it from some random obscure made for tv wall street movie.

with regard to the thread,

i'd say poker played a huge part in me breaking up with my last two girlfriends. one thoguht i was a straight up liar and shady because of it, the second couldn't handle me traveling all the time and keeping odd hours.

oh well ben franklin is a pretty sweet gf too nom sayin

Arguing about $75 with your gf is nothing to be shocked about imo. I mean, how are you so sure its about the money and not the money AND the principle? I argue with my gf and it is never the money, always the principle that starts it.

I like to think that the value of money is relative, and I also like to think that the majority of people playing poker who are "oh no, i have lost connection to moneys worth bla bla" are also people who put too much stock in what money can do for you in your life and who like to show off, so to speak. Maybe im in the wrong here, but when I look at the few people I know who play poker it shows pretty well who did and didnt lose track of the value of money.

There is a lot of talk about baller this baller that, and although some are probably only joking there are imo a lot of people who see it as something to aspire for to some extent. Not that I judge people who like to spend money and have fun etc, but I dont think it is poker that is the primary cause for losing track of moneys worth. Or, maybe im a life nit and judge everyone who spends too much like they're reckless.