[Al Schoonmaker]

Dan,

You have written many insightful posts, but I think this one is WAY off base. You forget one extremely important difference between you and most hiring managers: You play poker, and they don't.

You understand what it takes to play winning poker, and you respect those qualities. As I argued in "Nobody Understands Us," most people don't differentiate between poker players and other gamblers. You can read it at cardplayer.com; click on magazine, writers, and my name.

There is a HUGE stigma about playing poker, especially for a living. There have been dozens of posts here about negative reactions from wives, husbands, friends, children, bosses, neighbors, and so on. Televised tournaments have reduced the stigma, but it is still VERY powerful.

Even if someone does not have a negative stereotype, he will want RELEVANT experience for any significant job. How does a poker player prove that his experience is relevant to most jobs?

Because of my respect for you, I would normally send you a PM rather than reply so openly. However, you did say, "Want to argue against these points? Come and get me."

Regards,

Al