Is poker good for you?

[SNOWBALL138]

Is poker good for you? I mean YOU, not people in general.

Here's my answer:

-Makes me tough

-Sharpens my analytical thinking skills

-Healthy outlet for competitive urges

-Teaches me to avoid irrational responses to problems in my life

-Its fun

-In general, I no longer have a passive outlook on things. I don't think "hmmm, I wonder what happened in class today? I don't want to go because I'll look like an idiot for showing up so late and the teacher will disapprove"
I think "wow, I just missed the first 2 hours of class because I slept late but I can still make it there for the quiz at the end if I hurry"

Or instead of "Hmmm, I wonder if that neighbor girl likes me"

"I'm going to go knock on her door and try to hit it off with her. If it goes bad, at least I'll know that I tried"

So, instead of trying to anticipate things passively, I try to make the best decision I can at every moment I can.

If someone makes fun of me for something, or a car cuts me off in traffick, or a girl rejects me, or I have a spat with my father, or someone gives me a bad look or tries to start a fist fight with me, my fequent response is to weigh my options based on my goals, and the probability of achieving them.

Instead of thinking "wow, I can't believe there's a four flush on board and I have AA wrong suit" I think "This player is passive. I fold"

I think poker teaches me to make the right decision in the middle of a hardship instead of just when I have my head on straight. That doesn't mean I always make good decisions or that I'm not lazy and flawed. However, I can say with confidence that 2+2 has contributed to my overall decision making process.

So, how has 2+2 and poker influenced your personality and thought process?

[Pog0]

Hand reading also comes into play. Instead of getting mad at a person or coming to quick conclusions, one thinks "I wonder what she's thinking?" rather than focusing just on how you're selfishly reacting.

This thought sparked from Sklansky's mention of poker cheats back in one of the recent dating/ploy threads. He mentioned that he wouldn't be mad at them but rather understand why they are doing it.

[ThinkQuick]

[ QUOTE ]
Hand reading also comes into play. Instead of getting mad at a person or coming to quick conclusions, one thinks "I wonder what she's thinking?" rather than focusing just on how you're selfishly reacting.


[/ QUOTE ]

I agree with this as well. Maybe its just because I've grown from 17 to 21 over the time I've been playing poker, but I feel like I understand people better now. I understand when people are motivated by fear, machismo, or logic, and can respond to them better.

But, like snowball mentioned, I think that calculating rational analysis is the most important thing I've gained from poker. Most of the credit is probably due to my scientific training, but poker undoubdtedly tests and sharpens my logic and decision making skills. Once you realize that all you have to do is stop and think for a second and then you are capable of making the right decision, your entire life becomes much simpler.

Poker has also made me a lot better at poker. It sounds obvious, but I mean to say that it is significant that reading everything I can find and playing and discussing a bazillion hands significantly improved my decision making ability in poker. I think that that is a valuable lesson for all endeavors - the best way to make a quick decision that is correct is to ensure that you know as much about the situation as possible before approaching it.

I think it's good for anyone who:
-doesn't have a gambling problem.
-can deal with the losses a bad run of cards brings.
-is interested in learning and getting better at the game.

There's no doubt in my mind that poker has been good for me.

Poker reminds me that good play is not necessarily rewarded in the short term. This is just as true in your life. You can't be reminded of it enough.

Poker teaches me patience, something I'm in short supply of most of the time.

Over the long term, I win money playing poker. Most hobbies end up costing you money.

Poker teaches me to control my emotions and make decisions based on logic and observation. Training myself to do this in poker also trains me to do it in other situations, which is a good thing.

[VoraciousReader]

I agree with most of what everyone has said.

But just for fun, I'll take the "con" side. [img]/images/graemlins/grin.gif[/img]

Poker:

1) Is a highly sedentary activity, and increases the amount of time I spend indoors sitting on my butt.

2) Will occasionally cause me to lose significant amounts of sleep when I am at a really good table and don't want to leave.

3) Although this has significantly lessened over time, I will occasionally experience a significant spike in blood pressure when dealt a truly horrific beat. (More and more though, this is not true...I have learned to take these in stride.)

4) Has caused some strife with my SO and friends who are convinced that any form of gambling is addictive/immoral/both. (Ironically, it is my parents who really appreciate it...I guess I have the coolest parents on the planet?)

5) Has increased the amount of time I spend in loud smoky casinos. (Although this one is marginal, since the poker room is non-smoking and relatively low noise by comparison.)

[Mister Z]

[ QUOTE ]
I think it's good for anyone who:
-can deal with the losses a bad run of cards brings.


[/ QUOTE ]

I used to think poker was good for me until I hit this 200BB downswing. I really don't think I have what it takes to deal with it to be totally honest. I don't play all that many hands (maybe a few 1K a week). So when I hit these downswings, or just break-even swings (I wish) they go on for weeks. I'm on the verge of quitting poker after having enjoyed and studied the game for an entire year. I just don't know if it's a healthy thing - I feel like I have a gambling problem the way I keep sitting back at the table and getting my ass kicked by total fish. [img]/images/graemlins/confused.gif[/img]

[darydarling]

I spent a lot of time over the last 5 years working, working hard.

There were many weeks where I put in 7 days, 12+ hours a day doing what I feel now is mindless work.

It got to a point where my mind was slipping. I would be working on a project for a client and need to look up something on google and between the time I clicked on my browser button to go to google and when the page loaded I forgot what I was doing.

I'm talking split seconds.

Poker has helped me mentally. My memory is now recovering, I am more social in that I've spent so many hours in front of a monitor that I would rather play live than online.

so yeah Poker is good for me.

Back in early Sept. I made the jump from 2/4 to 3/6 with the occasional game of 5/10. I ran about average for a week or so. Then one day I dropped $400 in 3 hours. I was not pleased. But understood that if I continued to play 3/6 and 5/10 things like that would happen. It was then that I realized I wasn't quite ready to to move up mentally. [img]/images/graemlins/frown.gif[/img]

I never had to deal with a downswing of 100BBs, so I don't know how I'd handle it. When I run bad I just hop down to smaller stakes until I feel good about the game again.

[Xhad]

Poker is the only reason I have a savings of any kind.