Dr Al's article in the June Magazine.......

[mackthefork]

I have taken a snippet from the actual article, I hope he won't mind if some kind of useful discussion can take place.

[ QUOTE ]
Of course, poker is not the only or the worst kind of "addiction." Revot33 said it well: "It isn't poker, or drinking, or anything else, that's really the problem. It's an unbalanced life, where any one activity overshadows the other more important things in your life."

[/ QUOTE ]

Do you think some of the difficulty caused in relationships by poker, comes not from spending too many hours playing or otherwise working on your game, but actually from the general ignorance and fear in society (stigma and religious objection) when it comes to gambling in general and poker in particular. Sorry for the ridiculously long sentence people.

This is targeted at the serious players, but I think its also good if anyone else chips in, so feel free.

Best Regards Mack

[Al Schoonmaker]

You asked: "Do you think some of the difficulty caused in relationships by poker, comes not from spending too many hours playing or otherwise working on your game, but actually from the general ignorance and fear in society (stigma and religious objection) when it comes to gambling in general and poker in particular?

Yes, I definitely believe that some of the problem is caused by the stigma. You can read my article on this subject, "Nobody understands us." It's at cardplayer.com. Click on magazine, writers, and my name.

Many people have very negative beliefs about poker players, and they create serious problems for us (and often for them).

Thanks for asking.

Regards,

Al

[Bodhi]

Absolutely. All sorts of people make careers out of other games, be they sports, chess, scrabble(!) or whatever, and they don't receive anything close to the scrutiny a pro gambler must endure.

It's the money, and the chance. That's what scares people. A few grand is a mortgage payment, not a buy-in, and the lottery is their idea of responsible gambling because it helps the schools (which is the biggest lie ever). In fact, the lottery is an ingenious device for transferring the burden of the tax base from property owners to the urban poor. Go figure.

[FieryJustice]

Dr Al,
I play poker as my only source of income and I probably spend about 70 or so hours a week thinking about and playing poker. I really dont have many friends besides the few I play poker with, as it is basically I do. Do you think this could be classified as much too much? Also, I have only been playing as a "pro" for about 3 months, although I have been playing. I recently decided to drop out of my only college class this summer. I dropped it mainly because I didnt want to read the book...it is kinda sad. Anyways, I was wondering why I can be so motivated to study/read about poker but have no intrest at all in college. I guess it seems dumb to me to get a degree when there is no way I could ever get a job paying as much as poker has made me. Thanks for your time.

[Bodhi]

You are wrong. It's called law school.

[poker-penguin]

If you can't find another job that would make you more than poker (even if it involves studying as much as you have poker) you are either one of the world's greatest natural poker players, or you are a clown.

Law School, stock trader, management consulting / IB, (off the top of my head options for me), all sorts of jobs would make me more than poker. But none would provide me with the freedom, self-reliance, flexibility, and enjoyment that poker does.

That's what playing poker for a living is about for me.

Poker for you is serving the role of a lottery. You think you're going to get rich without any effort.

Unless you're very good, or very lucky, you won't.

Get your damn degree, and get a life.

[mackthefork]

[ QUOTE ]
Absolutely. All sorts of people make careers out of other games, be they sports, chess, scrabble(!) or whatever, and they don't receive anything close to the scrutiny a pro gambler must endure.


[/ QUOTE ]

Yes that was basically my angle, also everyone who starts a business is a gambler by definition, their hard work has an impact just as in poker, but ultimately there are forces that cannot be controlled at work too.

Regards Mack

[revots33]

[ QUOTE ]
Do you think some of the difficulty caused in relationships by poker, comes not from spending too many hours playing or otherwise working on your game, but actually from the general ignorance and fear in society (stigma and religious objection) when it comes to gambling in general and poker in particular. Sorry for the ridiculously long sentence people.

[/ QUOTE ]

There's no doubt that some people just have a moral problem with gambling. Or they just assume "all gamblers lose", not realizing the skill aspect involved in poker, so they feel it's a matter of time before you gamble away the house, car, etc. These type of people might complain that you spend too much time playing poker, when really it's just a hobby you enjoy occasionally, just like anyone else might enjoy a hobby.

However, if you spend TOO MUCH time doing any one thing, whether it's poker, your stamp collection, working out, playing video games, etc. - your relationships will suffer. Of course, your significant other's definition of "too much time" might depend on how worthwhile they judge the activity to be.