Money, money, money...

[Predator314]

I get relatives asking for loans all the time. They don't realize that I actually put my poker winnings to good use. It's my real work wages that I blow on toys.

Since November, I've used poker earnings to pay all my bills, plus pay off two loans. The only "toys" I've bought with poker wages are 1.) a 50" HDTV for my parents for Christmas and 2.) a new laptop for me.

So, I have a "real" job too. I make pretty decent money and it's an easy job. I save about 1/2 of my monthly salary (trying to buy a house) and blow the rest on things such as girls, guns, guitars, bowling balls, pool cues, CDs (I buy at least one CD a week), etc.

I HAVE been accused of selling drugs though. I think it's a compliment. I'm living very well right now and some people just can't understand how I afford my lifestyle.

Also, I love it when people that I know (not friends) ask me to teach them to play poker. I tell them I'm not that good, just better than most of the chumps you see at the table. There are thousands out there better than me. Then they ask how to learn. I tell them to read a book and play thousands of hands. "Which book?" they say. "All of them; that's what I did", I say [img]/images/graemlins/smile.gif[/img]

[LinusKS]

I read somewhere (Miss Manners?) the best way to counter a rude question is by saying, "Why do you ask?"

Why do these people need to know, anyway?

Do you know how much they make?

If not, I'm not sure why they need to know your income.

[flub]

The first thing I say is; "I don't say".

If they're still curious I'll tell them what the average pot size is.

Or you can tell them about how much you lost in your worst day. People like to hear that.

cheers
-flub

[bear187]

Paying for music is definitely -EV. I'm dissapointed in you.

[MicroBob]

I don't have too many people asking me directly how much I make...but the one's who know I play poker, for the most part, are going to be the one's who I wouldn't have a problem with asking me.


There are some scenarios though where i just don't want to declare that 'online-poker pro' is my occupation in the first place and I say something lame like "I work from home." or something like that.
I've struck up conversations with players at the table at B&M and the occasional 'what do you do?' comes up and I just don't like it.


I'm on my 3rd different adult-league soccer team this spring (my teams keep falling apart). It's the 3rd straight team where I haven't mentioned what I do. I just don't want to go there. We're having scrimmages and pracitces now and are pretty friendly and some of the guys have talked about their jobs. It's a good group of guys...but they're all bartenders or working in a mostly-typical office-job or something....and I don't really want the attention that 'being the guy who plays poker for a living' typically generates so I'm kind of staying quiet about it. At least for now....if I get more comfortable later and someone asks and i feel like divulging because the moon is full or something then I will.


As far as others who know what I do asking how much I make I will sometimes say straight-up...or sometimes I'll just say that I'm making significantly more than I did at my last job PLUS I get to work from my home in my underwear if I want....whenever I damn well feel like it.
Mentioning how much I enjoy getting to 'work' in something that I enjoy doing and the flexibility of schedule tends to take the emphasis off how much I make.

But usually the ones who ask how much I make are also the ones who will be generally happy for me because they also know I spent several years making less money then almost anyone out there.

[mach3]

I still say there's no need to tell people and those who do are looking for some sort of attention. PEOPLE DO NOT UNDERSTAND THIS. They don't understand odds, +EV - all they think of is gambling.

[TommyTutone]

I don't play for a living, it is simply a hobby for me where I make money, rather than pay (glares at his wife's scrapbooking). That said, I have no problem telling folks how I do, and more importantly I tell them how EASY it is to make money playing poker.

I of course do this with the hopes that they will want to run home, sign up, and give me their cash.

Protip: don't do this with family

[MicroBob]

My closer friends and family have a better understanding of this generally.

One of my friends handicaps sports on the side and is reasonably good at math. He doesn't know a thing about poker but understands the general concept that if you have a very small advantage and get to hit it over and over that you will win in the long-run (obviously many people have trouble with this concept and say things like "yeah....but how do you know you aren't going to lose?")


I think the fact that I DON'T like talking about it with strangers (the soccer players...other acquaintances I have around....etc etc) indicates I'm not just looking for attention.


Some of my closer friends and I are close enough to discuss such matters. They might be struggling to find a job or are pissed-off at grad-school and don't really know if they want to move to Miami or not...etc etc.


I used to deal blackjack at a casino prior to playing poker.
So telling my friends who are still there "well...how much do you make?' is kind of stupid since I know EXACTLY how much they are making (and it's not much).
Other dealers get asked this as well from what i've seen as dealers frequently gossip about the going toke-rate from one casino to another.


These are the type of friends who I'm not necessarily close enough to be comfortable with them asking.
But I usually just say that I'm making more than I did when I worked here. Which I guess is kind of bragging since it's kind of saying "I'm making more than you now..." but not really,
because we made so little there that it would be stupid for me to be doing it if I WASN'T making more than I did at the casino.

Same thing goes when they would see a former dealer who moved on to different casino. They would always ask "what's your hourly-rate there?" While they don't know specifics, they do know that the answer they are about to get is going to indicate that he is making 30-50% more at his new job.

Friend of mine was working at 2 casinos (he needed to stay full-time at the crap-pay casino because of the health-insurance) and showed us his first pay-check with a toke-rate significantly higher than what we were used to.

We were all happy for him. He's a good guy.
Yes, he was kind of bragging obviously...but he was pretty much coming in and saying "all that stuff you heard about the toke-rate being higher at casino-B....It's true! Plus, the management is nicer. you guys should really think of applying over there ." that type of thing.


I usually encourage my dealer-friends to learn poker, and that I would be interested in teaching them. Because dealing-poker typically makes more than dealing BJ if you're good at it....
get to keep your own tips, etc.
Plus, you get to sit-down while you're dealing.


So perhaps this topic just happens to come up more in more of my social circles so I'm okay with it in certain circumstances.

[EStreet20]

Hey,
One suggestion if you're not a full time pro that I've gone with is simply say "I just play to supplement my income." To me this leads people to believe that it's like a part-time job, which most are familiar with and they'll usually shut up about it. Of course I'm still a low limit player so when I say it I'm telling the truth but if it gets people off your back you might want to try it.
Goo dluck
--Matt