My only problem with Poker

[Charlie Kase]

I've been playing Poker semi-professionally now for about 21 months and I've been doing decent. My poker profits almost equal my salary and I usually only play every other night. My bankroll's at a good size and I've thought about going professional, play in all the big tournaments, which I haven't done yet, and do something I love for a living.

My only problem is when I think 20, 30 years down the road and I look back on my life as a professional poker player, I don't feel any sense of accomplishment whatsoever. I've imagined winning a ton of tournaments, achieving absolute and utter sucess in poker, and when I imagine myself at that state, I feel like I've contributed nothing to society. The point is when I die, I don't want to be remembered as a great poker player -- I mean, so what.

Currently I'm just lowly merchant banker, but if I think 20-30 years down the road at success in the field, I do feel a sense of accomplishment. I wouldn't mind going to my grave as a Soros or a Peterson -- especially if I can do some considerable philantropy.

All I know is I only have one life to live, and I want it to be enjoyable, but I also want it to be meaningful, to me, my future family, and society as a whole. Of course it would be best if I could die a great writer or philosopher, but I'm not showing much promise in those fields yet, haha. But to die a great poker player, who spent his life playing a card-game, I don't know, it's just depressing to think about.

Maybe you pros out there can give me some feedback on how you feel about the profession, and if I'm not seeing some bigger picture. Thanks.


- Kase

[Snoogins47]

I'm no pro.

But I guess you just kinda have to ask yourself what area you stress the most?

The fact that you have the ability to make a living doing something you enjoy... that's something many people don't have.

Many people do things they don't enjoy, AND get no sense of accomplishment from them.

I mean obviously, you're the only one that can answer the question as to whether or not you keep at it. If it's a depressing thought to be a pro, then don't be a pro, plain and simple. No matter what I or anybody else thinks ;P

From a mere personal accomplishment standpoint, I think that large amounts of success in ANY field, whether it's my living or not, is pretty tasty. And that's the key, I think.

If you keep poker as a hobby, and still stay a consistent winner... well, during your "hobby time," that magical period where you're doing something you love, making money at it, but don't DEPEND on it, you're still in the same boat... 'not contributing to society,' etc.


And my final say here? I'd love to be remembered as a poker great... a phenomenal musician... a brilliant writer...

But above that, I want the people close to me, the people whose lives I've touched and been a part of, and those that have touched me...

I have little care of "how" they remember me. I just want to be remembered as somebody who lived this 'life' thing, and tried his best to do it well. If it happens that I make some big scores and become a well known poker player, or if I have a platinum album, or a pulitzer... well, good for me, but if I end up teaching high school math somewhere, I'll still derive pleasure from music, writing, and poker.


But, I guess all I can say is to look in yourself for the answer here. I'm sure there are pros that love it. I'm sure there are plenty of people who could make a living playing cards, who don't. It's really a personal decision, that no amount of logical argument on either side can make for you.

I would just advise, personally, that you be careful to try not to identify your whole life merely on how you made money. I mean after all, it's just paper isn't it?

My ramble is over. Good luck to ya on whatever decision you make.

[curtains]

Just because you are playing pro poker, doesnt mean that you can't do anything else with your time to fulfill those other aspects of life.

The whole point of playing poker, is that you should have a lot more freetime, that you would never have if you didn't have a normal job.

You aren't forced to play 12 hours a day every day for the next 20 years. You can do charity work, some hobbies, or anything on the side.

[B1GF1SHY]

You don't want to be remembered as a great poker play, but you want to be remembered as a great merchant banker? No offense, but when you die I doubt society will remember you as anything unless you do something huge. If you're going to end up making something really big of yourself and become legendary for doing something great then screw poker. Otherwise, I think it's better to be known as a great card player who was respected by the poker community than to not be known at all.

[Trainwreck]

I too chuckled about his being a LOWLY merchant banker and how that could translate to meaningful.

Almost noone REALLY gets remembered down the LONG road.

Charlie needs an EGO check.

ICE AGE in 10,000 years WILL be doing a wipe and drop on us anyhow.

>TW<

[eastbay]

Not a pro but I agree with the sentiment. poker is not exactly a real worthy pursuit in terms of making a societal contribution. At best, it's charging people for the "entertainment" of playing you, and at worst, it's preying on people with psychological deficiencies.

You'll get endless rationalizations from some here, I'm sure, but I don't think that conclusion is escapable.

Now, don't get me wrong, there are many other things people do with their lives that are equally as empty.

But I keep my day job at least partly because at least there, I know I'm doing something which contributes to a goal other than simply taking other people's money by shuffling 52 pieces of paper around on a table.

eastbay

[MicroBob]

I used to deal BJ at a casino (for about 8 months) and that's where I had real issues about how I wasn't contributing anything meaningful to society.
You could say that my friendly demeanor helped some of the sad-saps who played at my table.....but I can smile to some stranger on the street and accomplish the same thing.

As a result, I don't have major issues about playing poker because it's something I enjoy doing and I am able to make more money doing it and have more free-time then I did at my other occupation where I contributed little to society.


Perhaps it's just a rationalization....but I feel my greatest responsibility is to myself.
If through playing poker I have more free-time for my current GF, for my friends, to exercise, to not have to live such a rushed and stressed life then I think I am doing a great service for myself.
I can take a couple weeks off coming up to help my Mom move from Wisconsin to Florida. This is extremely meaningful to her and is certainly something I would not be able to afford to do in many other employment situations.

If I am able to make enough money that I can afford to enrich myself with increased travel to other parts of the world then I'm pretty darn happy.


Finally, there are a lot of people who run around all day long working 75-hour weeks at their corporate-whatever-it-is because finishing-the-job is so freaking important. They give themselves stress-related maladies and ulcers and the like and often-times it's all part of an illusion that they are part of something important...when the reality is that if they left their job right then and there it really wouldn't make much difference to the company, much less society and humanity.

This is not to demean those who enjoy their jobs or get fulfillment out of them. My GF is a nurse at a hospital and I am sometimes kind of jealous. Afterall, she's actually saving people's lives and is REALLY making a difference for somebody somewhere. But, of course, the previous principle applies....if she just decided to stop going to work all of a sudden the hospital would still function and everything there would be fine.



No real conclusion to come to here...just some general random thoughts.

Also - agree with the guy who says 'if you don't like how it feels to think about it then you just shouldn't do it'. plain and simple.

And I don't think we have even mentioned the practicality of trying to play big-money tournament poker and actually succeeding.

[thirddan]

what about if you become a successful poker professional and have enough free time to raise a family and go to your kids soccer games and coach T-ball? I think that would make your life a success....

[TomCollins]

Win enough money playing poker to try to buy the presidency for your friend. You said you wanted to be a Soros, right?

[jakethebake]

I was thinking the same thing. I want to be Soros. I want to have more money than God, but I still want the government to tax the hell out of everyone else and give their hard earned money to people around the world that didn't earn it. I want the UN to run everyone's life. Please someone regulate the hell out of our citizens' every waking moment because they're too stupid to take care of themselves...Phew! O.K. Sorry for the rant. I'll get off my soapbox now. But it's just hard for me to imagine anyone actually looking up to that bastard.

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Win enough money playing poker to try to buy the presidency for your friend. You said you wanted to be a Soros, right?

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