Winning $100,000 and Writing About How to To It

[andyfox]

David's recent post on RGP, which was also discussed here, concerned the ability of certain authors to win $100,000 playing mid-limit hold'em. There was some disagreement here on 2+2 over how many posters do (or could) win $100,000.

My sense is that David must feel it's easier to write about it than do it. David claimed, depending on how one reads his RGP post, that he is either the best mid-lmit hold 'em player in the world or the best teacher of it. Let's assume, for the sake of this discussion, that he is both.

David suggested he would need to wear a disguise to win that much. He had also said that he will make more money this year, thanks to Mason, than the president of the United States. And that his share of 2+2 publishing amounts to a lot more money than most might think.

Mason has also posted that he hasn't either played or posted much in recent months because he has been so busy with his publishing ventures.

So here are two of the best mid-limit hold'em players in the world devoting their energies to publishing/teaching instead of to playing. What does this say about the ease of making six figures playing mid-limit poker?

[M2d]

The old adage "...a hard way to make an easy living..." seems to apply here, but I think there's probably more than meets the eye. As you already pointed out, the publishing venture is likely more lucrative than we assume. Also consider that it's sustainable. If David and Mason bust their collective asses now, especially with the current boom in the game's popularity, they (and Ray...funny how that works out for our resident trout bum) should reap rewards far into the future with much less further effort. Given current and future potential, the publishing business is probably far greater in +EV than a regular 1K/2K game filled with fish.

[Ray Zee]

plus you have to remember we have all been playing for many years each and poker has lost its luster. as you get older you have much less incentive to sit down and waste a day of your life trying to make a days wages. all three of us are quite rich and would rather spend time on new ventures or easier things to make a buck.

[Zeno]

[ QUOTE ]
What does this say about the ease of making six figures playing mid-limit poker?


[/ QUOTE ]

That it is a grind, and becomes more of a grind as the years pass. I was alluding to this in another response to one of your posts related to this subject. I'm sure you caught it.

[ QUOTE ]
My sense is that David must feel it's easier to write about it than do it.

[/ QUOTE ]

I think this is an astute statement. This also may help to explain why there are so many poker books being written and that some (or most?) have bad, or questionable advice or are poorly written. Writing articles and books may be an easier way to make a buck, or at least supplement your poker income. In addition, writing well is extremely difficult - which is another reason why there is so much bland, uninspiring trash being cranked out as “poker literature”.

In my opinion.

-Zeno

[budman]

Also, even if someone where able to win $100,000 one year, they would consistently have to play well, as they might lose $40,000 the next year and then what good was the $100,000 year?

[andyfox]

Yes, it's easier to run bad at hold 'em than at writing about hold 'em, once you have a repuatation.

[David Sklansky]

No one who could make 100K in a year is going to lose 40K the next. Not playing medium stakes anyway.

[adios]

Definitions:

Labor Intensive - A process or industry that requires large amounts of human effort to produce goods.

Capital Intensive - A process or industry that requires large sums of capital resources to produce a particular good.

If "poker expertise" is a form of "capital" then IMO playing poker is labor intensive activity and writing books about poker is a capital instensive activity. You don't get the money as a player unless you put in the hours more or less (I'll condede that one could get lucky in a tournament and make a big score). On the other hand utilizing capital implies making an investment to reap future rewards. Leveraging one's knowledge about a subject or industry happens all the time in our economy and writing poker books is leveraging one's knowledge. Just a long winded posted to say that states that it's a perfectly rational economic and business decision that happens all the time in response to:

"So here are two of the best mid-limit hold'em players in the world devoting their energies to publishing/teaching instead of to playing. What does this say about the ease of making six figures playing mid-limit poker?"

[Bill Murphy]

Writing a book on, oh, say, no-limit & short-handed play would be pretty easy, wouldn't it?

Interviewing & reminiscing with Bobby Hoff, Steve Lott, Carl McKelvey, & Dan Harrington would be easier than playing against them, wouldn't it? [img]/images/graemlins/laugh.gif[/img]

[Jim Brier]

"What does this say about the ease of making six figures playing poker"

It says that people talented enough to make six figures playing poker can usually make a lot more money doing something else.

As an aside, there are other players who were making considerably more than $100K per year playing poker who quit to do something else. One example would be Dan Harrington. Dan was the 1995 WSOP champion and runner-up in last years WSOP (I think!). Dan was also a world-class high limit player. But he found that making bridge-loans on the Los Angeles real estate market was far more profitable so he doesn't play poker that much any more.