Have fun when you are not playing poker

[Dwayne]

I have found that it is not always easy to share my poker experiences with non-poker playing friends and family members. They just don't understand how a person can be so intrigued by betting hard earned money on a game of cards. They are quickly board by long explanations and poker stories.

How do you relate poker to your non-playing friends and family members? What do you do for fun when you are not playing poker. I would be interested in answers from our 2+2 hosts.

As for myself, I enjoy black & white photography. I have become quite good at it and it is fun to share with others.

[SittingBull]

to hear about my poker experiences. She becomes bored to death! /forums/images/icons/frown.gif
However,we watch rental movies together and go out to eat. We visit her family members frequently. We go on mini-vacations together. She enjoys playing play-money Ho;ld'em on the computer.
I introduced her to the game.
we discuss one or two strategies per session--BUT NOT more!
The trick is to find common interests among friends.
Listen to their experiences. Develop other interests other than poker. Be interested in your friend's activities and try to participate in some that U might like.
My friend and I also watch the Saints football games on Sundays.
Usually,the only time I discuss what transpire at my poker table is when I have an interesting hand to post on this forum /forums/images/icons/laugh.gif LOL!
Since I supplement my income playing poker,I treat it as a part-time job. I,therefore,leave my work at the office! /forums/images/icons/laugh.gif LOL!

Happy pokering,
Sitting Bull

[Kurn, son of Mogh]

Let's see. With my girlfriend, movies, restaurants, even casinos (she likes video poker). With my buddies, Golf, College Hockey, a once-per-week team trivia contest (for $$$). Oh, yeah, I have a job, too. Busy life. /forums/images/icons/tongue.gif

[MRBAA]

Once or twice a year my wife agrees to play me head-up seven stud. We each start with $5 in quarters and play 'til one of us cleans the other out. Even though that's the only time she plays, and I have to remind her of hand values, she still wins her share. Why? Because she can read me like a book!

[eLROY]

After your obscure poker discussions, these people have just resigned themselves to the idea that you are a nerd. So they have made a conscious decision which pursuit not to discourage. Grrreat pictures, Big D!

eLROY

[Dwayne]

I have get the same reaction from my poker stories. I am also a Saints fan. You must also live in Louisiana. As you may know, in New Orleans there are some good games at Harrah's during the Sugar Bowl weekend.

[Homer]

I'm not a 2+2 host, but...

I like to watch movies, go out to eat, go to bars, watch/read about/analyze sports (especially football....go Eagles!), listen to classic rock (zeppelin rules!), compete in highly strenuous sports such as golf and bowling.....I think that's pretty much it.

Oh yeah, how could I forget...watching TV (Simpsons and Seinfeld being my favorites).

-- Homer

[ChipWrecked]

I'm recently married, so your question hits close to home for me...

Because my wife DETESTS poker. She's OK with blackjack, and recently made a killing in her first foray into video poker, but her main thing is the horses. She's been placing bets with her Dad since she was six years old. She thinks poker is anti-social. We like to play Yahtzee together, and I try to point out to her the similarities between building a Hold 'em hand and filling in a Yahtzee scoresheet... no go. She says I'd be good at race handicapping and I say she'd make a helluva poker player, so why don't we do both?
I think she's jealous of the time poker demands to some degree, and I have cut back quite a bit, but won't give up my Turbo Texas practice time...
Oh well, thanks for the chance to vent.

BTW, we like to hike, listen to music, read, I like landscape and nature photography (used to manage a camera store).... and I've been supplementing my triple-S TV jones (Simpsons, Seinfeld, Star Trek) with plenty of Lifetime Movie Channel viewing just to keep the peace.

P.S. I've also encouraged her to watch Everybody Loves Raymond if she wants to understand me better...

P.P.S. She likes the Lakers, I like the Kings, is there hope for us????
/forums/images/icons/crazy.gif

[Adnirol]

Chip-Rack asked She likes the Lakers, I like the Kings, is there hope for us???? I say yes there is hope. Someday both of you may find the "perfect" mate and live happily ever after, apart!!

[Bob T.]

I coach soccer ( I am too old to play anymore), hit golf balls, fish, and play with my 1 year old son. I have numerous topics that I can bring out and cause anyones eyes to glaze over just like they do during technical poker stories.

I have found that it works best if I talk poker with my poker playing friends, golf with golf buddies, fishing with fishing friends, soccer with athletes, and tell kid stories to any women who don't fit any of the above categories.

Have fun,

Bob T.

[Bob T.]

Once when I was sitting in the cardroom having just flopped top set, and my wife came in, I haven't bet, haven't moved, just waiting for the action to get to me, and she walks up and says 'Go getem Honey!.'

Wives know everything, they are almost as dangerous as Moms.

Good Luck,
Play Well,

Bob T.

[balt999]

For fun, I love cooking, working out, and my PS2!! I also play a mean piano...but I do enjoy poker the most....

[bomblade]

I think you can relate poker to many different aspects in life. The girl I'm seeing knows nothing about poker, but I talk to her about it now and then. I try to explain certain basics to her, which she forgets by the next time we talk about it. I try to talk about things that aren't specifically about the hand I played. Like, the guy I played against. What my reads were on him and how I took a big pot from him. I think people do get sick of hearing about it, cause besides poker, I play spades, hearts, and sometimes gin, so I talk about those too. Poker is life though. Baseball is life. Music is life. And to some people, fixing puzzles is life. You just find a way to relate experiences to life.
Besides cards though, I love music, sports, anything dealing with a computer...

[Riverboat Cap'n]

When not playing poker, I'm generally talking about it-- I work for a game shop. I also drink a lot of coffee, and spend time with the girl that runs the coffee shop. Trying to teach her to play poker is nearly hopeless, however, there was a situation in which she was playing against me fairly weakly and showed pocket AA's, beating the ever-loving crap out of my hand. Smiling, she looked up and said 'I have rockets in my pockets.' Man, that was the best beat I ever got.. /forums/images/icons/laugh.gif
Other than that, I live for philosophy. I study and write it to varying degrees, and spend quite some amount of each day calculating the number of days until the next LOTR movie is out...