Poker: A question of morality

[CrisBrown]

Hi Earthy,

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I once heard Cloutier say (or maybe i read it), when asked about playing poker for a living, something to the affect of "I love it, it works for me, but sitting at a poker table for 10 hours a day isnt glamorous, if you could be a doctor or a lawyer or something, do that."

Then I think about matt damon in rounders, who drops out of law school to play poker.

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Okay. T.J. Cloutier ... real life human being, experienced in the field. Matt Damon's character in Rounders... fiction. Hrmm....

Poker is, as so many people have said, "a tough way to make an easy living." It's very long hours, with no financial security, no health or disability insurance, no retirement plan, unless you buy them for yourself. And when you have to do it, day in and day out, whether you feel like it or not on a given day, because you have to make your monthly expenses ... it's not fun either. And it's especially not fun when you're in a cold run -- and they will happen, regardless of how well you play -- and you're griding away 10 hours a day and losing money instead of making it.

All things considered, I agree with Al Schoonmaker's advice in The Psychology of Poker: poker is a great second job, but not a great primary job.

Cris