On people who play poker for a living - Page 4

DonCaspero · #31 05-26-2005, 05:27 PM

I can only speak for myself as a resident of Scandinavia.

I bring huge benefits to my country as an importer of green american poker dollars to spend in Ikea, drive a big Volvo and buy 10.000 pounds of Lego for my kids, maybe even invest some of it in a Swedish meatball factory or a Danish pastry bakery and create 1000s of jobs [img]/images/graemlins/grin.gif[/img]

dstyle · #32 05-26-2005, 05:32 PM

I actually think there is a lot of truth to the post. In the service industries, you receive compensation for your service; in engineering, production, it's self evident what you contribute. You could argue that you provide entertainment to the others at the table by taking their money.

In Aces and Kings, Chip Reese talks about how he felt unfulfilled with his life for this precise reason (after having played high limit games for awhile); when he talked to his father about possibly going to law school (where he was headed before being sidetracked in Vegas), his father advised him to stick with his job b/c he enjoys it and not many ppl have jobs they enjoy working at.

Anyhow, here are two theories friends have come up with on the subject (both in a highly sarcastic and joking fashion)
1. You're contributing to society by taking money away from degenerate gamblers and thus lessening the money they have to spend on booze and drugs
2. You are improving the quality of mankind by taking money away from the dumber people, thus giving them less money to woo the opposite sex, leading to less of them procreating, leading to the overall improvement in the intelligence of the human race.

DeuceKicker · #33 05-26-2005, 05:33 PM

[ QUOTE ]
sole income => people who make their living, have all their comforts, drive their cars, all paid for by people who could have gone on vacation with their families or bought their kids a new toy or something or taken their wife out to dinner once in a while.

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Vacations? What does Disneyland contribute to society? A few days of sunburn when that money could be spent helping to support the family of a starving poker player? There's no denying that if all theme park workers died instantly, nothing would really be worse off.

Toys? What does Mattel contribute to society? A few hours of entertainment for a snot-nosed kid when mommy and daddy could use that money to directly contribute to the college fund of a young poker player. (Not to mention the choking hazard of many toys.) There's no denying that if all toy makers died instantly, nothing would really be worse off.

Dinner? What do restaurateurs contribute to society? A few minutes of gluttony which leech from the rest of society. For half the price you can eat at home every night and 'donate' the rest to the "New '05 BMW" fund of a local poker player. There's no denying that if all restaurateurs died instantly, nothing would really be worse off.

Who are you to say that spending money on the enjoyment factor of a vacation, or the enjoyment factor of a toy, or the enjoyment factor of a dinner is worthwhile, but the enjoyment factor of playing poker is not?

flyingmoose · #34 05-26-2005, 05:43 PM

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Trimspa spokesperson.

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touche

Voltron87 · #35 05-26-2005, 05:46 PM

[ QUOTE ]
I can only speak for myself as a resident of Scandinavia.

I bring huge benefits to my country as an importer of green american poker dollars to spend in Ikea, drive a big Volvo and buy 10.000 pounds of Lego for my kids, maybe even invest some of it in a Swedish meatball factory or a Danish pastry bakery and create 1000s of jobs [img]/images/graemlins/grin.gif[/img]

[/ QUOTE ]

hilarious [img]/images/graemlins/grin.gif[/img]

mhcmarty · #36 05-26-2005, 05:54 PM

Try Pay-check lenders, that took about 3 seconds of thought

palman · #37 05-26-2005, 06:07 PM

Assuming a poker player pays taxes.... isn't poker good for the economy? Please explain how the economy is hurt in the least bit by poker?

Suppose a 100 changes hands from you to me, opposed to you spending this money on goods.

If money changes hands from you to me, I pay 30% of that to the government, who in return spends that money for goods or services (that people get paid to either provide or produce) Then I proceed to spend the rest of the 70% on other goods or services. So all of it gets spent on goods and services.

I fail to see any way in which poker playing hurts the economy. If anything, it just adds an extra layer of taxation (taxed when I win, and when I spend), which just helps our country and economy even more. Since most losers can't claim gambling losses, but pay taxes on gambling winnings, the government loves it when people play poker. It's a no lose situation for them. They collect revenue that doesn't waste any resources.

flyingmoose · #38 05-26-2005, 06:35 PM

[ QUOTE ]
Assuming a poker player pays taxes.... isn't poker good for the economy? Please explain how the economy is hurt in the least bit by poker?

Suppose a 100 changes hands from you to me, opposed to you spending this money on goods.

If money changes hands from you to me, I pay 30% of that to the government, who in return spends that money for goods or services (that people get paid to either provide or produce) Then I proceed to spend the rest of the 70% on other goods or services. So all of it gets spent on goods and services.

I fail to see any way in which poker playing hurts the economy. If anything, it just adds an extra layer of taxation (taxed when I win, and when I spend), which just helps our country and economy even more. Since most losers can't claim gambling losses, but pay taxes on gambling winnings, the government loves it when people play poker. It's a no lose situation for them. They collect revenue that doesn't waste any resources.

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If money changes hands without a good or service being provided, that money gets taxed (removed from the marketplace) while skipping a step in the multiplier. If you don't know what the multiplier is, I'm not going to debate economics with you.

Brock Landers · #39 05-26-2005, 06:38 PM

I agree with the initial poster. I also think that anyone in the food industry is contributing to the major problem of obesity in the U.S.. (note:sarcasm)

Just because a small percentage of people have a problem with poker/gambling, that doesn't make it wrong. To the overwhelming majority, it is a form of ENTERTAINMENT; in my opinion, a necessary human experience.

flyingmoose · #40 05-26-2005, 06:46 PM

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Just because a small percentage of people have a problem with poker/gambling, that doesn't make it wrong. To the overwhelming majority, it is a form of ENTERTAINMENT; in my opinion, a necessary human experience.

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The OP directed his question to professionals. Sure a lot of 2/4 and 3/6 players play for entertainment, but how many 30/60 players intentionally cough up a few grand for a night of fun?