Re: What to do with a Child who plays SNG\'s?
 

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Have him learn chess.

[/ QUOTE ] Because no marriages ever spilt over father's obsessions with their children's chess careers, eh? How much time do you spend around first generation E Euro or Russian immigrants famlies?

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OP lives in the US I suspect. Courts are in US I suspect. Poker is illegal in US I know. OP - dowutchalike. I don't know dick about your family life and am absolutely unqualified to comment on it. I just have first hand knowledge of a marriage breaking up and to some extent the father's lack of discouraging his <10 year old son's poker career had an impact on the outcome. If somebody had warned the father, things might have worked out differently to a degree.

Re: What to do with a Child who plays SNG\'s?
 

I don't think the tension is because of the father's drive to make his son into a world class player, but that the wife doesn't like that he plays in the first place.

Re: What to do with a Child who plays SNG\'s?
 

Have you considered the more serious risks you are taking. Imagine your kid starts mouthing off at school and the teacher overhears. This is a poker forum but think of the general public's view on poker and how they would feel about a 9 year old kid playing, expecially the police or social services!

Re: What to do with a Child who plays SNG\'s?
 

I think what you should do is sit down with a pen and paper and figure out how many hours per week a "normal" kid should engage in different activities, then figure out how many hours per week your kid is spending on different activities. Then you can figure out what activities poker is taking away from. If it's taking away from video games or car-jacking (most 9-year-olds these days spend roughly 3 hours per week car-jacking), then great. If it's taking away from homework or socialization, then that's bad. Pretty simple. Adjust his time accordingly.

Re: What to do with a Child who plays SNG\'s?
 

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Your wife is a wise person by the sounds of it

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I believe you know the answer to this, but you're looking for someone else to be the goat so you can say "son, I'd like to let you keep playing poker, but some others do not think it's good for you...".

Children should not be participating in poker and parents should act like parents--quit trying to be you child's best friend and learn to say "NO" occasionally. A child needs to be a child, do not rush him into adulthood so early. A 9 year-old should be running in the woods, hunting, fishing, building tree houses, playing football in the yard, etc.

In taking on the responsibilities of becoming a parent, you have to guide your child with a solid foundation of rules of society and hope that when he is turned loose into this f'd up world, they learn to make proper decisions on their own based upon what you as his parent have taught him.

Sounds like you are teaching him to make poor decisions from an early age--where can he go from here?

Re: What to do with a Child who plays SNG\'s?
 

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A 9 year-old should be running in the woods, hunting, fishing, building tree houses, playing football in the yard, etc.

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yeah, your 9 year old kid needs to running around with a gun shooting stuff, not engaging in dangerous activities like poker!

Re: What to do with a Child who plays SNG\'s?
 

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Sounds like you are teaching him to make +EV decisions from an early age-- How can it go wrong?

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FYP

Re: What to do with a Child who plays SNG\'s?
 

OMG poker is turning into chess!

Re: What to do with a Child who plays SNG\'s?
 

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Re: What to do with a Child who plays SNG's?

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Get him a 2nd mom for Christmas and start paying off the mortgage.

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fyp

Re: What to do with a Child who plays SNG\'s?
 

1. I'm quite depressed that the guy outplaying me and raking my chips might be a nine year old boy.

2. I encourage you to encourage him not to discuss this with his teacher/principal/schoolmates.

3. I hope you've taken the time to educate him about money and bankroll management.

4. I hope you've discussed gambling addiction in great detail with him.

5. I hope you monitor his online activities very closely.

Re: What to do with a Child who plays SNG\'s?
 

Tell this kid to start posting on 2p2 I bet he's some kind of prodigy! Then get Daliman to teach him how to play BJ and pick up women taller then him (very important at his age). After that I'll teach him how to "take a year off" of school (Grade 4 wasn't that great anyways).

Re: What to do with a Child who plays SNG\'s?
 

Holy crap, it sounds like he is better than me!

Re: What to do with a Child who plays SNG\'s?
 

i think this has alot more negative potential than positive. however i think it can be positive if his playing time isn't more than moderate, and there's a good context as to why/how he's playing. you're walking a fine line, but ultimately you as a parent decide if that line is positive or not, which in this case it seems like you have things under control. tell him i said good luck at the tables.

Re: What to do with a Child who plays SNG\'s?
 

Sounds like you ought to invite a couple of his friends and their dads (or moms) over for poker night.

Re: What to do with a Child who plays SNG\'s?
 

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This would be a dick move, I say let him play as much as he wants until it begins to intervene with other things he needs to be doing.

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how is this a dick move?? do you remember having 1000 dollars when you were 9.. Imagine the education you could have paid for had you invested a simple 1000 at age 9 into some sort of rolling CD's or into a 10 year trust. But your right, trading a future for a chance to move up to the 20's is the right move.

But im just a donk

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I don't necessarily disagree with your suggestion of putting aside the money for college. But let's not get carried away at how much $1000 is worth.

If you earn 10% anually (which is btw very dubiuos unless it's in stocks, which would mean higher variance), $1000 will be worth $2593.74 in ten years.

Not chump change. But that would not have paid for one year of college at my public university when I went to school 15 years ago.

I agree that putting aside money for college is good because it keeps him from having delusions of grandeur due to his bankroll and because it encourages great money management skills.

But let's not lie about the facts: if his SnG ROI is even a paltry 5%, moving up would, indeed, make more money towards college than any rolling CDs ever could.

Again, debates about whether this would be wise is an entirely different discussion.

Re: What to do with a Child who plays SNG\'s?
 

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But let's not lie about the facts: if his SnG ROI is even a paltry 5%, moving up would, indeed, make more money towards college than any rolling CDs ever could.


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Judging by how adults handle downswings, I would strongly advice against this kid moving up. How would he handle a 30 buy-in drop at the 22s? I think keeping the buy-ins down is a requirement for this to be a decent idea. If the object is to turn him into a moneymaking machine, it will bring a lot of crap a 9 year old definately don't need or will be able to handle intellectually for at least a handful years.

Re: What to do with a Child who plays SNG\'s?
 

My 7 year-old likes wine. Maybe once a week we share a bottle (he sleeps really well those nights). We always do this in the privacy of our own home and he never drinks without me. I figure by teaching him to drink responsibily at this young age there will be a reduced likelihood of him getting into trouble with alcohol in high school or college. When we select our wine, we always talk a bit about the region it is from, so we get in a little education in the process. And, we often cook something special to go with teh wine, so we're spending a lot of quality time together on drinking nights.

Re: What to do with a Child who plays SNG\'s?
 

Is Freemoney his coach?

Irieguy

Re: What to do with a Child who plays SNG\'s?
 

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Have him learn chess.

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He's too old to start and be any good.

Yugoslav

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Wrong.

Re: What to do with a Child who plays SNG\'s?
 

MY VIEW ON THE BEST PROCESS TO GET AN ANSWER
While people on here are obviously intelligent people, I don't think they're the right source for parenting advice.

Chat to a non-poker playing friend (preferably who has kids) and see what they think - someone who knows you, your kid and your wife.

MY VIEW ON THE ISSUE ITSELF
While playing poker may or may not be fun for a 9 year old, there seems to be a whole lot of risk to your kid's development (social adjustment, gambling issues, criminal charges, divorced parents etc.), compared to the pay off ($1k? $2k?).

In the bigger scheme of things, I reckon your pot odds are really terrible - you're gambling the future of your kid against a few dollars. While the gamble may pay off, even if it does your kid is probably not on the path to life fulfillment.

If it works out alright, your kid has some money and something to amuse himself for a few hours a week. If it works out badly, your kid's f'cked for life.

Re: What to do with a Child who plays SNG\'s?
 

I think this is making it out to be more dangerous that it really is. There are video games (car racing comes to mind) where the player competes in a race/competition and if he wins, he gets to buy/upgrade his equipment and then he races again and repeats the process.

This kid is getting a bit more reality in his gaming.

Isn't there a WSOP video game? I wonder what it's like and whether playing that or online poker for real money carries more risk.

Re: What to do with a Child who plays SNG\'s?
 

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My 7 year-old likes wine. Maybe once a week we share a bottle (he sleeps really well those nights). We always do this in the privacy of our own home and he never drinks without me. I figure by teaching him to drink responsibily at this young age there will be a reduced likelihood of him getting into trouble with alcohol in high school or college. When we select our wine, we always talk a bit about the region it is from, so we get in a little education in the process. And, we often cook something special to go with teh wine, so we're spending a lot of quality time together on drinking nights.

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How much do u let him drink?

Re: What to do with a Child who plays SNG\'s?
 

Come on! My last paycheck bounced...my children need wine!

Re: What to do with a Child who plays SNG\'s?
 

My son is younger than yours, and I have given this idea some thought.

If it were just you and your son, I think you have an easier decision. What would your son be doing if he weren't playing poker? Is that a "better" activity for him?
I know you said he doesnt play video games, but I think for the average kid who does play video games, poker is generating higher level thought than most games. I would say in that situation it's a close decision, but probably reasonable for him to play.

Your wife being opposed to him playing is another matter. I think a lot of the other posters have elucidated good reasons this could go bad if she is really opposed to it. I would be trying to teach my son how and why we make certain plays, especially emphasizing the mathematical aspect of it. I think this would bring my wife around, but I'm not sure.

In short, without your wife's input, its probably about 55-45 in favor of letting him play. With her opposion, it swings it to a clear fold.

I'm sure I've been as clear as mud.

Doc

Re: What to do with a Child who plays SNG\'s?
 

Give the kid to curtains. He'll learn poker AND chess.

Re: What to do with a Child who plays SNG\'s?
 

Make him start showing the math of the game before he can play for the week. Pick a new prob/stat/game theory area to teach him each week and make him pass a test to play that week. When you run out of poker stuff move to calc or some other field. I don't know if that is good advice or not, but certainly there is a lot of great poker stuff that is applicable to all sorts of areas of life that most people never learn.

Also, you should probably make him put most of the winnings he withdraws into a retirement fund (or college fund).

There are certainly some possible downsides to gambling at a young age, but nothing you should not be able to steer him clear of as an active parent, and there is a lot of upside potential, too.

Re: What to do with a Child who plays SNG\'s?
 

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He put $100 of his own money in the account

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I feel like I'm going insane reading this. Maybe I don't have any idea how old 9 is, but I'm pretty sure I never had any of my own money untill I was like 14. How does a 9 year old kid have $100 and what would he use it for? For the majority of my college life I didn't have $100.

As for the OP's question, I don't know. I think the things I did when I was nine were a lot more fun than playing poker. But if he enjoys the game...

Re: What to do with a Child who plays SNG\'s?
 

I would say, have a week or so where you dont let him play. Teach him about self control, because one day or another he probably will start losing for a bit, everyone has their bad days. Also like others said, at the end of day cashout like half his winnings or so; itll only help him.
gl!

Re: What to do with a Child who plays SNG\'s?
 

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Have him learn chess.

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He's too old to start and be any good.

Yugoslav

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Wrong.

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Okay..how about this...he's *very* likely too old to be able to make a living playing chess if he starts learning now.

There is basically 0.00000001% chance he could be a world class player.

Yugoslav

Re: What to do with a Child who plays SNG\'s?
 

If it makes you feel any better, my son learned how to play poker at 5. He really likes the math involved and enjoys the game. I don't let him play for money, but he does play in the play money ring games and SnGs. I let him play a couple of games maybe once or twice a week. We also play heads up tournies with our own cards/chips [img]/images/graemlins/smile.gif[/img]

I think it is a great experience for him and is very challenging/fun for him right now.

Emphasizing that it is a fun thinking game where you have to make good guesses (with incomplete information) instead of emphasizing the gambling/money side is how I am handling it.

Goodluck,

Pokerscott

Re: What to do with a Child who plays SNG\'s?
 

Send him to live with Raptor. They're about the same age and he can learn how to pwn STTs, get broke on Pai Gow and Black Jack, and hook up with batches. All the while eatin' milk n' coooooooooooooookies.

Yugoslav

Re: What to do with a Child who plays SNG\'s?
 

spot on, kids shouldn't be playing with real money at this age. all i see is a gambling addict down the road.

Re: What to do with a Child who plays SNG\'s?
 

everyone is talking about him becoming a gambling addict but I dont see that happening at all. Being a gambling addict is a personality trait and I would think very rarely people that are good players are addicts. He is already showing he can win and if he continues to learn I think there is almost less a chance he will be an addict as he will understand the game better. Are any of us here addicts? I wish I was, then maybe I would play more. You know your son better than anyone here and from teh sounds of it, all thats coming from it is good and for that I commend you.

Re: What to do with a Child who plays SNG\'s?
 

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MY VIEW ON THE BEST PROCESS TO GET AN ANSWER
While people on here are obviously intelligent people, I don't think they're the right source for parenting advice.

Chat to a non-poker playing friend (preferably who has kids) and see what they think - someone who knows you, your kid and your wife.

MY VIEW ON THE ISSUE ITSELF
While playing poker may or may not be fun for a 9 year old, there seems to be a whole lot of risk to your kid's development (social adjustment, gambling issues, criminal charges, divorced parents etc.), compared to the pay off ($1k? $2k?).

In the bigger scheme of things, I reckon your pot odds are really terrible - you're gambling the future of your kid against a few dollars. While the gamble may pay off, even if it does your kid is probably not on the path to life fulfillment.

If it works out alright, your kid has some money and something to amuse himself for a few hours a week. If it works out badly, your kid's f'cked for life.

[/ QUOTE ]

Are you a comedy writer?

Re: What to do with a Child who plays SNG\'s?
 

ok, maybe not addict, but i just don't think it's a good idea for a child to be doing. just my 2 cents.

Re: What to do with a Child who plays SNG\'s?
 

1. This must be some kind of a joke?
2. If its for real; use playmoney instead. Makes it legal.
3. Even if its playmoney, your kid could get in serious trouble later in life, learning to gamble through it.
4. Focus on school education and healthy sparetime activities such as sports and friends.
5. When your kid turns 18, see if he's interested, but let him play with his own money.
6. Save your marriage, its more important than learning your child how to gamble. He will find out for himself one day, you can just pray that you have raised him to only gamble for the money he can afford.

I'm actually not as old as I sound...
kindest regards

Re: What to do with a Child who plays SNG\'s?
 

see this is what I dont get, I thought the people here were poker players and would understand that it shouldnt cause all these "problems" that people keep speaking of. Am I the only one here who doesnt have all these problems that come from poker or am I missing something. The negative stereotype is supposed to come from those that dont play because they dont know better.

Re: What to do with a Child who plays SNG\'s?
 

Wow... Just the thought that I might have got PWNED by a nine-year-old at Stars $10 SNG's makes me feel sick. I wanna puke right now...

Don't wanna be morally correct saying you shouldn't let your kid play with money at such young age. As long as you monitor his bankroll and teach him how to handle it, I guess it's OK. Who knows, maybe I too will teach my son/daughter when I get kids...

Re: What to do with a Child who plays SNG\'s?
 

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see this is what I dont get, I thought the people here were poker players and would understand that it shouldnt cause all these "problems" that people keep speaking of. Am I the only one here who doesnt have all these problems that come from poker or am I missing something. The negative stereotype is supposed to come from those that dont play because they dont know better.

[/ QUOTE ]How many times have we seen a post about someone who can beat the SNGs losing money at a casino game where the house has an obvious edge? Why can't the smart guys beating the SNGs lay off the video BJ?

Re: What to do with a Child who plays SNG\'s?
 

This reminds me of my 13 year old nephew who absolutely loves poker. My sister and her husband both have accounts at pokerstars, but do not let him play for real money. (He can play on the play-tables). Sometimes they will host a live tournament for some friends ($20 per person) and then they will let him play as well. The thing is, he usually wins!