Do you love poker?

[Fatdogs12]

I am curious how many people here would say that they LOVE poker? Like if you could (or do) play poker 12 hours a day 7 days a week would you (do you) want to?

Other than the money why? Is the the challenge of it? What is so interesting about it to you? Try to be as indepth as possible.

Thanks

[dfscott]

[ QUOTE ]
I am curious how many people here would say that they LOVE poker? Like if you could (or do) play poker 12 hours a day 7 days a week would you (do you) want to?

Other than the money why? Is the the challenge of it? What is so interesting about it to you? Try to be as indepth as possible.

Thanks

[/ QUOTE ]

This is probably better suited for the Psychology forum.

[Unarmed]

Nice work on the avatar!

[Sam T.]

There are plenty of things I love that I wouldn't want to do 12 hours a day, 7 days a week. (I'd have blisters like you wouldn't believe. /images/graemlins/grin.gif)

Sam

[dfscott]

[ QUOTE ]
Nice work on the avatar!

[/ QUOTE ]

Thanks, you too! Your avatar should join my and Yugo's avatar in our strip poker game going on in my (now ironically named) "No Look" thread.

Edit: ok, this is getting silly now...

[Blarg]

I don't think it's sustainable in the average psychology to want to do anything twelve hours a day, especially seven days a week, for a very extended period of time, no matter what it is. The human spirit needs variety.

And I say that as a person who gets extremely obsessive about hobbies and such and has a very low boredom threshold for things he gets into. At a certain point, you just gotta get a change of scenery, some fresh air, socialize, or just relax your mind and divert your energy.

[Mr_J]

Hell no. Online poker is work and I wouldn't play if I wasn't profiting off it. It's not bad, but it's not something I'd want to do just to fill up some free time (that's what motorbikes and girls are for).

I do like HU cash or sngs though, that didn't feel like a grind. Probally because sngs = multitabling ABC where as HU you have to think and outplay.

[Nottom]

[ QUOTE ]
I am curious how many people here would say that they LOVE poker? Like if you could (or do) play poker 12 hours a day 7 days a week would you (do you) want to?

Other than the money why? Is the the challenge of it? What is so interesting about it to you? Try to be as indepth as possible.

Thanks

[/ QUOTE ]

I love it when I'm winning. Unfortunately, thats rare so most of the time I hate it but play anyway.

I still love playing live in a nice friendly home game.

[PocketJokers]

[ QUOTE ]
I don't think it's sustainable in the average psychology to want to do anything twelve hours a day, especially seven days a week, for a very extended period of time, no matter what it is. The human spirit needs variety.

And I say that as a person who gets extremely obsessive about hobbies and such and has a very low boredom threshold for things he gets into. At a certain point, you just gotta get a change of scenery, some fresh air, socialize, or just relax your mind and divert your energy.

[/ QUOTE ]

From a Psychologist point of view I wish that were true, ask any drug addict. If a person plays poker for the thrill(i.e. Adrenaline rush) he/she can develop a similar fixation. There's a fuzzy line between healthy and unhealthy and it's different for everyone.

"Moderation is a fatal thing. Nothing succeeds like excess." Oscar Wilde

[Mr_J]

You know I wish I did 'love' poker. The biggest hole in my game right now it not putting in enough hours. Being addicted to poker would be very +EV (not talking about gambling addiction here, just addicted to the game).

[Blarg]

You can do other things while on drugs though. Maybe some heroin addicts will stare at their feet for 10 hours, but for most people doing drugs is something they do while doing something else, even if it's something non-productive. When you play poker, it's pretty near the center of your attention.

[DasLeben]

I've finally found a form of poker that I can say that I "love," and want to become an expert at. For the longest time, I was a dabbler in all sorts of forms (limit hold'em, NLHE cash games, limit O/8, etc. etc.), and never really did tremendously well in any of them. I was a winning player, but probably average at best. I did the best in NLHE cash games, and made decent money doing that, but I wasn't an expert by any stretch of the imagination. I just couldn't find my niche. On a side note: I'm glad that I can now sit down at most games and have a good idea of what I'm supposed to be doing. /images/graemlins/wink.gif

Well, now I'm in love with SNG play. I've always been somewhat interested in SNGs and have done marginally well, despite a lack of a foundation of knowledge. When I came here and began learning the correct ways to play, I felt like I really found something I could do for a long time. There's something to be said about nut-peddling NLHE cash games, but then again, pushing trash (correctly) on the bubble is just badass.

So, I guess I'm dead-set on being an SNG specialist from now on. /images/graemlins/grin.gif

[lutefisk]

I would say that I love to play it. I think it's a fantastic game. I've been a gamer to various degrees through most of my life. I've always loved games of strategy and depth. I also think games that involve more people are superior to those which involve fewer. Currently, I think Go is the king of games, but I was amazed when I really started getting into hold'em to discover the depth and strategy involved, and that's what keeps me coming back. I still have a lot of fun playing, although I'm sure that's partially influenced by the fact that I don't play terribly often. I probably put in between 10 and 15 hours a week, and far less when I've got some other life project going on. I'm a winning player right now too, so that certainly makes it more enjoyable. I'd like to think that it's long term, but it may just be a big upshot in the variance at this point. Only time will tell there.

Another gamer friend of mine has no interest in poker, and doesn't feel it's a "pure" game. We discuss this a lot, and his main argument came down to, "Poker is simply a medium for gambling. That's the rush, that's the fun. Take away the $$$, and nobody cares about poker." I disagree, and use this as one of my strongest arguments to why hold'em is a great game. I play for nothing but chips with some of my other gamer friends, and still enjoy the play. I play games that are worth so little money that it's effectively free. It's just a great game, and winning against other decent players is an accomplishment even if there isn't a cent on the line. There's an element of chance that does make things exciting, but you can play enough hands over time to experience both sides of luck. You can take advantage of this knowledge against people who don't understand how things play out over time.

You can learn many different aspects of the game, and benefit from each. Are you a math head? Embrace the odds, embrace probability. Are you a people person? Learn how people respond in stressful situations, and learn to read them, learn to abuse people's fear of the bubble. (This is a huge challenge online, and is almost certainly one of my weakest points.) Are you a strategist? Embrace plays that leverage stack size, position, and frightening boards.

Poker holds a challenge on many different levels, and every table you sit at is a new environment, and a new game in some ways. Some of this is of course lost when you're grinding 8 tables, but those who can do this are so good that the games are being played for cash at this point. I don't imagine anybody successful 8 tables at the games they find truly challenging at 1 table. Gaming for maximum profit is another theory entirely. I'd would guess it's quite satisfying, and perhaps could be considered another element of the overall game to discover your sweet spot; the highest limit you can play and maintain a good ROI. Again, evidence of the myriad of challenges that present themselves through the course of this fantastic game.

Why don't I play more? My attention span is really hard to maintain for longer than a few hours. I try to stop before I get sick of it because I'm almost certain that I'm playing better when I'm having fun and am excited about it. Even if I was that good, I think it would be really hard for me to go pro and "have to" play even when I didn't want to.

Anyone else have any thoughts?

"Only after the 10th punch will you see the fist, and only after the 20th will you block it." --Proverb from the game of Go

[Blarg]

I think SNG's are way more fun than ring games too. Tourneys in general are, but SNG's move faster than regular tourneys, so are even more fun.