River2Pair
12-01-2004, 10:28 PM
from Jim Rome (http://www.jimrome.com)
12-1-04
Poker continues to be wildly popular. Guys who aren’t that smart are thinking they can get over on other guys by playing poker. It’s on TV non-stop, card clubs are full around the country, and the poker craze hasn’t showed any signs of slowing down. Now it’s starting to find its way to the younger people.
Gambling groups are concerned that kids are getting the wrong message. Keith Whyte, Executive Director of the National Council on Problem Gambling says, “It’s fun, it’s exciting. It’s glamorized on TV and in the media in a way that other addictions are not. There’s the impression that through skill you can beat the odds. But randomness is always going to have a bigger factor in determining the outcome than your skill. And unfortunately, that’s not the message kids get.”
A number of high school students have started playing Texas Hold ‘Em. One high schooler from Texas who plays in regular games and during class says, ‘It’s better than homework, I can tell you that.”
Really? Gambling is more fun that studying? Are you sure about that? I don’t know. And you go ahead and use that philosophy and see how that works out for you. I think I’ll take my chances with the kid who is actually paying attention and studying, instead of the kid who is trying to catch a flush on the river.
The kid that figures out how to read and write is going to fare better in the long term that the guy who went all in looking for an inside straight draw.
Look, poker is fun. Poker is a game of skill. But if you are playing cards instead of getting your work done, then you’re headed in the wrong direction. Because, in a couple of years, instead of not finishing your English assignment because you were short stacked, you are going to be missing work because you called a check raise with a middle pair.
Have fun, enjoy the game, but understand that this is not a great career choice. Unless you’re one of those math geeks from MIT, playing cards for a living is probably not a great career choice.
12-1-04
Poker continues to be wildly popular. Guys who aren’t that smart are thinking they can get over on other guys by playing poker. It’s on TV non-stop, card clubs are full around the country, and the poker craze hasn’t showed any signs of slowing down. Now it’s starting to find its way to the younger people.
Gambling groups are concerned that kids are getting the wrong message. Keith Whyte, Executive Director of the National Council on Problem Gambling says, “It’s fun, it’s exciting. It’s glamorized on TV and in the media in a way that other addictions are not. There’s the impression that through skill you can beat the odds. But randomness is always going to have a bigger factor in determining the outcome than your skill. And unfortunately, that’s not the message kids get.”
A number of high school students have started playing Texas Hold ‘Em. One high schooler from Texas who plays in regular games and during class says, ‘It’s better than homework, I can tell you that.”
Really? Gambling is more fun that studying? Are you sure about that? I don’t know. And you go ahead and use that philosophy and see how that works out for you. I think I’ll take my chances with the kid who is actually paying attention and studying, instead of the kid who is trying to catch a flush on the river.
The kid that figures out how to read and write is going to fare better in the long term that the guy who went all in looking for an inside straight draw.
Look, poker is fun. Poker is a game of skill. But if you are playing cards instead of getting your work done, then you’re headed in the wrong direction. Because, in a couple of years, instead of not finishing your English assignment because you were short stacked, you are going to be missing work because you called a check raise with a middle pair.
Have fun, enjoy the game, but understand that this is not a great career choice. Unless you’re one of those math geeks from MIT, playing cards for a living is probably not a great career choice.