My gambler friend thinks online poker is boring
 

I've got a friend who started playing online poker the same time I did, last November, but quit after a month because it was "boring". Recently the topic has come up again, as he has been quizzing me on why I still spend time on it when I'm only making about $4 per hour at Party 0.50/1. I've tried to explain how interesting it is to me, and that my current play is educational and could pay off in the future with $50-100+/hr earnings at higher limits when I get good enough.

I really think my friend should try it again. How would you combat the "boring" argument?

My friend is a professional gambler who uses a very math-intensive approach to find positive plays on various casino games, principally Video Poker, but also slots and other games. As we all know, these games are negative EV in themselves, but the casinos are always offering promos to draw more business, and my friend finds ways to combine these promos with games that are 99% or so standalone, so that the combination is +EV. Lest some say this is impossible, as some have in other posts I've made referring to +EV Video Poker, I should add that my friend has wagered something around $10 million in the last 2 years and has netted something around 1% of that amount. (Prior to that, he bonus whored the online casinos for a year or so, long before any of us were into that, and I guess that's where he got his initial bankroll - he says he hit a total of 60-70 casinos for their signup bonuses at that time.)

So, here's this person who understands math, who has a bankroll to play almost any low or middle limit, who makes his living by gambling, who isn't afraid of the internet ... but he doesn't see the advantage of picking up online live poker. Worse, he finds it "mind-numbingly" boring - so boring that he would rather play a slot machine where he calcualtes that he has a 1% edge. Here's his answer to my latest email, when I tried to explain that it was FAR from boring to me:

[ QUOTE ]
Thanks for the poker comments. I didn't find the game itself mind-numbingly boring, but the slowness and solitude, and waiting forever for a playable hand. Also, the differential diagnosis of what opponents were holding got very repetitive, even over a single month.

[/ QUOTE ]

This guy really should be playing poker online. Help me persuade him. I'll send him this thread if I can get a few good answers.

Re: My gambler friend thinks online poker is boring
 

If he thinks it's boring, he thinks it's boring.

I like to play and I don't find it all that thrilling all the time.

I do agree that if he thinks slots are more exciting than poker, he must be on the drugs.

Re: My gambler friend thinks online poker is boring
 

if he doesnt want to play, there's really no need to convince him.

or, you could teach him to play shorthanded - maybe he would like to better. also, teach him about bonus whoring. seems right up his alley

Re: My gambler friend thinks online poker is boring
 

Some people just hate sitting in front of the computer all day, not much can be said about it I guess.

Re: My gambler friend thinks online poker is boring
 

Yeah, maybe I shouldn't bother. I thought I just wasn't explaining it very well, but maybe it really would be boring to him. Oh well.

Re: My gambler friend thinks online poker is boring
 

I think poker is a really boring game, but for some reason I still like it. Though I would not encourage anyone else to play.

Re: My gambler friend thinks online poker is boring
 

I find live poker to be very fun. I find tournaments online to be somewhat exciting. I find the daily grinding of cash games to be boring. I turn on music and am thinking of investing in a small TV to put in my workspace. But, it pays the bills. Therefore, I put up with it and I figure it is much better than sitting in some office all day.

Re: My gambler friend thinks online poker is boring
 

your friend is right

Re: My gambler friend thinks online poker is boring
 

I play online poker full-time, and I find it much more boring that gambling at casino games. At poker, you are doing everything in your power to get the most out of a hand, and you are more disappointed when you don't win what you feel you could have out of a hand than when you do win a big one (with some exceptions). Gambling is pretty exciting, because the outcome is out of your control.

Re: My gambler friend thinks online poker is boring
 

he will almost certainly make more money playing poker than the casino games.

online poker is my primary source of income but i don't enjoy it at all.