Kids gambling

[Young Gun]

Hi, Im new to this forum. I'm a teen playing cards and was just currious what some pros (I use the word liberally lol) thought about the number of youth playing poker.

MY group of friends plays on Friday and Saturday nights during the school year. SOME (Not Me) even play in SCHOOL?!? That seems dumb to me because you are risking so much for so little. Anyway Our stakes started playing simple cheap $0.50 buy-in tourneys. Chump Change really. But now we play $10 buy in tourneys and 25-50 cent cash games. Tonight I even played a $50 Dollar buy-in heads up against one of our best players.

All That said, I am one of the best players and have made like $400 over the last 4 months. We have started to play like every other day in the summer and I am seriously started to worry about our game getting shut down. (Parents aren't happy when you come in the door at 2:30 driven by a college kid you barely know with $60 dollars in quarters on you.)

You guys are all cardplayers, what do you think of youth gambling?

[mike l.]

"Do you think it is smart to play in school?"

why am i the only person who answered yes to this?

if i were in high school and kids were playing poker i wouldve been so into it.

[prairieboy]

Because the rest of us realize that they'll get expelled when they get caught. Pretty steep price for a micro-limit game.

[BugsBunny]

Because the question isn't "would you play in school?" but "is it smart to play in school?".

Just because someone does/did/would play in school doesn't mean it's smart, and the person may know that even while they're playing.

[Phat Mack]

What grade are you in? What would happen if you got caught gambling at school?

I learned to gamble in elementary school. If I were to be caught, they would have just told me to stop.

[La Brujita]

I got caught gambling on the Super Bowl in school when I was 12 and didn't get in that much trouble. We got an evils of gambling talk from the principal but it didn't really sink in. I guess it has been in my blood for a while. That being said, I suggest you play your poker outside of school. Different schools might react differently and you could get in a bit of trouble.

[RollaJ]

I was playing 5 card draw for money in school at the ripe old age of 11, I knew very little of correct play, but more than most. I was (and probably still am) much better at poker than piching quarters and flipping cards

[Young Gun]

I am going into 9th grade.
Our school has a very strict policy.
You get caught and it is a week of detention.
That is why I don t play in school.

[WDC]

I started playing Black Jack with friends for quarters in 7th garde. Throughout junior high and high school we played weekely poker games for nickles and dimes and quarters.(this is late sevenies early eighties).

I would have answered that you should play at whatever stakes you want but I think the correct answer is play at whatever stakes you can afford. Can't play well with scared money.

[deacsoft]

Here's my 2 cents...
You're very young. Take that time to do what young people do. Poker's not going anywhere. However, if poker is what you are intrested in and enjoy doing then use this time to learn. Spend time here on 2+2 posting and reading posts. Read the books and essays on poker that are recomended. Study. Study. Study. And if you play keep the stakes low. Even play for play money on-line to pratice what you've learned. (play money is not the greatest game to learn in but if nothing else it will get you a feel for on-line play) You have a unique position to learn so much before you can ever legally play on line or in a poker room or casino. You won't have to pay as much for mistakes that those of us who learned as we played did. Finely tune your skills and you can be way ahead of the game in a few years.

Most importantly, just don't forget to be a kid. High school is going to be either a great time or a missed oppertunity when you look back on it 10 years from now. Have a blast. Like I said, poker will wait if you want it to.

Oh yeah, keep poker out of school. /images/graemlins/smile.gif

[Joe Tall]

I used to play in school but never when it took away from class work. I had a job after school in the local paper office. Before the truck came in, we would play .05/.10, Draw and 7CS. So, I can't really answer this question as I been playing poker since I was 10. Funny thing is, 22yrs later I'm still playing poker with those same guys. The stakes have increase 200x but it's still a good time.

All I can say is don't let it take away from your school work, it will not be worth it.

Peace,
Joe Tall

[onegymrat]

Hi Young Gun,

Take it from a guy who's always been on the verge of compulsive gambling. You need some strong discipline to control this very addictive compulsion. Without enough knowledge and experience, it's hard for one to control and understand it. You're too young to have this take over your life. You should be skirt-chasing, worried about how you'll do in football next year, getting your first car and things of that nature. Unfortunately, you only get one shot at being a kid in high school. It was the best years of my life. There's plenty of time to dwell on poker when you're an adult.

That being said, while trying not to be a hypocrite, I would most likely be like you and play as much as possible. Just remember there's plenty of life out there. Good luck.

[toots]

Here's the thing about being young:

You're in a very dangerous place. You've developed the mental skills to reason like an adult, but you have not yet physically developed your brain to the point to where you can really control your behavior as an adult.

It's not an insult, but rather a simple fact of physiology. It isn't until the early to mid-20s that all the neural projections to the prefrontal cortex have finished developing, and without them, your behavior will tend to be short-sighted and impulsive. This is what makes youths and adults so infinitely baffling to each other: Adults just can't understand/believe how people can act so brain damaged, while the youth can't grasp where the adults are coming from, simply because they don't have the physical hardware to do it.

My best advice is: Play poker with your friends. Try to enjoy the time of your life during which you can construct the "real you" and aren't saddled with the inhibitions that would prevent you from trying on a different "real you" each day.

But there are extremely good reasons why there are age minimums for things like drinking, driving and gambling.

When I was a teen, I thought those restrictions were stupid and arbitrary. Looking back on things, I see that they were stupid and arbitrary and prevented me from doing even more self-destructive things than I already had planned.

I know it sounds terribly condescending, and to a large degree, it is. Just be content with the notion that after a few short years, you'll be in the position to either be just as condescending, or to do something about it.

Patience is difficult at your age, but it's the best skill you could possibly develop.

[baggins]

I would have been hosting home games all the time. but I wouldn't play in school. you get caught you get in major trouble from everybody and risk ruining the whole game (at least your involvement in it...). I wouldn't play in school, but I sure would have held home games...

[J_V]

Great advice.

[J_V]

[ QUOTE ]
used to play in school but never when it took away from class work. I had a job after school in the local paper office.

[/ QUOTE ]


That's SOOO Joe Tall.

[Joe Tall]

That's SOOO Joe Tall.

I don't get it.

Shouldn't it be: "That's soooo what JV thinks about Joe Tall from reading black and white, short posts over the last year.", as I'm sure we have not met.

Peace,
Joe Tall

[fat_nutz]

6. Do I think you need to sack up and make a decision for yourself, and kick your mom in the nuts and tell her you'll play poker if you damn well wish, even during home ec?

_yes

[mak_662]

I guess I'm replying to this post because I found it so familiar. This was exactly how my friends and I spent at least one weekend night a week. The other night we would spend going out/skirt chasing/hanging out/etc. I find absolutely NOTHING wrong with this. Of course you are going to have some who reply to the post with the "you have a problem....you are young...etc." Now before I call all of these people short sighted I'll have to assume some things about you. I'm assuming your a smart kid (good grades, street smart as well). I'm assuming school is your number one priority and your plans are not solely based on making a career out of gambling. (I shouldn't even have to mention these and they probably seem pretty obvious to the YoungGunner). I've learned an enormous amount since I started playing poker in high school. And not just about the game... The same positive aspects of poker that all of the 2 + 2 crew scream about (makes you aware of body language, logical processes, etc. etc.), they seem to almost deny that you will benefit from those same things. The only thing that you will need to learn is the good ol' fashion lesson of the "value of the dollar". Quite possibly because you are young you might tend to be a little more loose with your money because you aren't grinding out a 9 to 5 for 40+ hrs. a week, which is completely understandable. However, I could just be relating the problems I had at that age with your situation, which is pretty much what everyone else has done to you at this point (assuming your mindset, maturity, etc. is comparable to theirs when they were your age). Listen to the guys who tell you to study! And were not talking school here, we're talking poker....if you don't mind reading too much in your free time from school pick up Theory Of Poker. We had a ring game that I used to dominate in high school with my close group of friends. (Just like Joe Tall, we all still play and have just increased the amount we bet 200X but its the same great time!) After we graduated high school, my friend who had been a competitive player but never a consitant winner, read Theory of Poker. I would come back from college and get my ass handed to me. I lost enough one time to make me take a leave from the game of poker for over a year! But thats another story. It took me a while to step back, re-examine my game and study the game of poker. Anyways, this is my advice to you: keep playing as much as you like, plan how much you can afford to gamble and never go above that amount, and remember, however good you want to get at poker will depend on how much material you read on poker....so if you want to continue to dominate and succeed you must study (sounds less like fun and more like school right????) And last of all, have fun. Most of the replies hit that on the head- you are in high school. It is the 2nd most fun time in your life (if you go to college, if not then its the pinnacle, lol) so spend your time studying and having a great time on the weekends making memories. How you do that is completely up to you.

[J_V]

I don't think I posted anything offensive. That's just exactly what I would have expected based on what I've gathered from your personality through your posts.

I think you are a very rational person. I would never expect you to let poker get in the way of schoolwork, just as you'd never let a bad beat get your rattled.

[Rushmore]

Hey Gun.

You're going to play cards if you want to play cards.

It will become an obsession of sorts, especially if you're either any good or really bad.

Let's hope it's the former.

Be careful. Don't play with money you don't have, and don't borrow money to play.

Learn how to play properly and manage your bankroll, or quit.

Keep perspective. Believe me, you're not really any good yet. Don't take your half-assed plays from some kid's basement into a card room or a real game, or you will lose your lunch money.

Good luck, for what that's worth.

[Josh W]

[ QUOTE ]
"Do you think it is smart to play in school?"

why am i the only person who answered yes to this?

if i were in high school and kids were playing poker i wouldve been so into it.

[/ QUOTE ]

That doesn't make it SMART. Hope to see you this weekend...

J

[Young Gun]

Tnank you for all of your advice.
I am going to keep playing and only play at what limit
I can afford(I have a summer job baling hay). I am going to continue to study and learn from books and reading situations on this site. As far as my parents go.... They're the boss. I can't defy them, but even if they make me stop I can still learn and be prepared for college. /images/graemlins/grin.gif

[Rushmore]

[ QUOTE ]
Tnank you for all of your advice.
I am going to keep playing and only play at what limit
I can afford(I have a summer job baling hay). I am going to continue to study and learn from books and reading situations on this site. As far as my parents go.... They're the boss. I can't defy them, but even if they make me stop I can still learn and be prepared for college.

[/ QUOTE ]

Your perspective is leaps and bounds more mature and reasonable than that of a great many adults I have encountered. You sound like you have the right balance of ambition and level-headedness to possibly have a chance to learn what's necessary and actually play winning poker without losing your bankroll and your soul.

Way to go. Stay cool.

[Joe Tall]

JV,

I thought you were just jealous of my paper office job. Making $200 a week at age 10; the group of us were king-$hittas of middle school. /images/graemlins/laugh.gif Heh.

Peace,
Joe Tall

[mosch]

Have fun, and don't let it interfere with your schoolwork.

I used to gamble in school, and I turned out gamble.

[Sincere]

I agree with about everything you said. You gave some great advice. My only problem is with this:

[ QUOTE ]
We had a ring game that I used to dominate in high school with my close group of friends.

[/ QUOTE ]

You would think with a group of "high school" kids that they would ALL be in-experienced and immature to the game of poker. I mean lets face it, no 17 year olds can possible be that good at poker, its just a fact that they dont have enough experience. So the fact that you "dominated" means either 3 things.

1: Either you are stretching the truth a little.
2: Either you are a child prodigy and extremely advanced as a teenager. Or
3: You were playing with complete morons.

[Al_Capone_Junior]

To young gun: interesting post. I really think you should gamble some, but keep the stakes SMALL. If you're a bunch of rich bel-air types, fine, $50 doesn't bother me. But you're probably more suited to the $5 tournaments and quarter games from what I gathered from your post. This should be a MINOR focus of your life at this point.

Now, to the people who took the poll:

Do you think it is smart to play in school?
Users may choose only one (112 total votes)
yes
13 11%

no
99 88%

Give me a damn break here. Thirteen people voted YES on kids being allowed to gamble IN SCHOOL. Thirteen people have anonymously proved themselves to be IDIOTS and I don't mind pointing this out. Thirteen people have corrupted the results of what I thought was an otherwise good poll. Looks to me like there are thirteen prepubescent morons need to get their own assess back to school and off the forums. It should be noted that the poll did NOT specify some special math class situation here either.

I think perhaps 2+2 should force everyone to be of legal gambling age to use these forums. It would probably get rid of quite a few of the troublemakers, and might raise the overall intelligence level.

EDIT: This is not aimed at mike l or anyone who might have been voting purely as sarcasm (althought that in itself really does fk up the poll). Still tho, anyone who honestly believes this should be allowed, I stand by my statements.

al

[Roy Munson]

Kids should gamble. Just do not let it dominate your life.

Gambling needs to be a component of a well rounded adolescence which also includes drinking, smoking, illicit drug use and hopefully some sexual activity with someone other than ones self.

[PiquetteAces]

Use chips & no money while you play poker , so they won't know there's money involve . After , once the game/tournemnt is over . The loser should pay the winner in a different place & in a diferent time , so they won't make the link " Card + Cash = gamble " .

My funniest story is this one , we were 18 y o , & playing poker 4 handed in the basement of a friend , & the parent were upstair . So my friend ( the one that we were at his house ) droped a full can of beer on the carpet , it make a noise , & we hear his parent coming down to see what happen , & someone offer to the guy who droped the beer this : " I f you give me 2$ , I will take the responsability of teh droped beer " . So my friend quickly accept the deal .

- jpp