My typical day

[DocMartin]

Interesting thread, couldnt resist chiming in.

Wife and I are both university profs (the money really isnt all that but the hours and freedom are fantastic) and we have arranged our schedules that one of us can always be at home. We have 2 kids (4 & 2) and they hit daycare twice a week for 4 hours a shot and we wouldnt object to them being there more frequently. The decisions of where and how often weren't made lightly.

We think it's great for them. Professional teachers/caregivers, social interaction, independence, and access to a variety of educational and developmental activities. It's also nice to have some free time and a break from the little maniacs.

I have no real poker schedule but made about 35K working my way up to 5/10 from .5/1 this year putting in an average of 10K-ish hands a month whenever its convenient.

The OP wasnt asking for advice on how to raise her child and much of it was overzealous and uninformed. She was asking for opinions on her choice to play poker instead of going back to a traditional job like programming.

So.. poker is a sweet gig right now especially for someone in need of a flexible schedule. As long as you are still enjoying it, making enough money for your needs, your husband is cool with it, and it allows you to have balance in your life it seems like a decent choice.

[scrapperdog]

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LOL, i just reread the thread and noticed only one person wasn't living in 1950 still. Children that are put in daycare between the ages of 3 and 5 develop better reading skills, speech skills, social skills, and are more ready to adapt to changing social environments. There are always crack house day cares, and there are always daycares that do fabulous things for children. The fact that a child is alowed to interact with other children on a daily basis in an academic environment is very positive. You can't reproduce this environment through networking with other parents. Anyone with kids who have them as their "top priority" should consider a good day care if it is affordable. I have two kids and have a good network of parents. We all put our kids in daycare, even though most of us don't need to.

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IMO most day care places are zoos. They are not teaching kids values and dicipline. I dont ship my kid off to some random stranger if she can be with me. Call me crazy but I trust myself to give her the proper direction a lot more than a random day care worker.

[MicroBob]

Is it too obvious an observation to point out that some day-cares are different/better than others?

[Freudian]

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Wow. Time in daycare is better than time with a parent, even with money issues aside? Good Lord.

Are you really telling me 40 hours a week in daycare and 10 with the mother is better than the other way around? And I'm the one with bizarre ideas?

You're really not too bright are you? Did you read this earlier?

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Are you using caveman-weeks with much less time here? Where the hell did that 10 hours/week come from? If you think she spends that little time a week with her baby you shouldn't talk about the brightness of others.

Anyway, since you are in a rut with your moral arguing I'm putting you on ignore now. I have no doubt you will continue to preach to others how they shall lead their lives without me. Five posts is my fundementalist limit. I don't want to O.D.

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But what if our poor player is so bad that there are no + or neutral EV 5-10 (let's say) games for him? What should he do? Drop down a level or two, of course! But he doesn't. If he did, he would no longer be a losing 5-10 player, but an even or winning player at some lower level. That's not who we are talking about.

Why doesn't he move down? Because the 3-6 game doesn't have high enough stakes to get him excited. So he stays in a -EV game despite the fact that he is destined to lose in it. He is choosing a -EV game because he wants excitement. In other words, he is, consciously or unconsciously, buying entertainment.

He had a choice to move to a + or neutral EV game, and he chose not to. He must now accept the consequences of that choice.


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I'm very pressed for time here, so unfortunately I can't give this debate the time that it deserves.

My reaction, though, is that there is no reason why the higher stakes game has to be -EV. Were there no pros, the fish would simply inhabit every level, their choice depending on their bankroll. Sure, it's exciting to play higher stakes. But you don't need to sacrifice expectation to play higher stakes, or at least, not by definition. To continue the casino analogy, the EV of a roulette table is the same whether you're playing at the $5 or the $100 tables. The excitement comes from moving up to stakes that are meaningful for the bettor, but the casino doesn't start paying out 30-1 on the numbers just because the stakes are higher, as if that's the higher stakes "fee" gamblers have to pay.

That the higher stakes games are -EV is not what makes the game exciting, it's an unfortunate trade-off for the excitement that the fish would rather do without. It's not "exciting" to be playing against better players: some TAG who lurks to your left, folds for 20 hands, raises to isolate you, and then grinds you down with aggressive play doesn't make the game fun. The stakes can be fun, but they will be considerably more fun if everyone is there to gamble and enjoy themselves. Someone who is there to suck up their money diminishes the experience considerably.

[Innocentius]

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I took care of my kid full time until he is 2. I think it's better he spend some time with other kids. My husband is a college teacher which means he has some days he doesn't have to go to office. but he is busy overall.

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Are you SERIOUS??? You honestly think it's better that he spend all day with other kids and a daycare provider than with his Mommy? Get a grip lady!! Have you ever thought of starting a play group? I am bothered by the fact that you pawn your kid of to a day care center so you can play poker. This is so wrong it should be illegal.

But hey, think of all the great things he will learn from those other kids - espacially the older ones. Believe me, he will get enough interaction with other kids from K-12 and you can play poker all day for 13 years. He's what, 3?? Yeah, you're making a BAD decision!

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What is this?! The middle ages? The kid might well be better or at least no worse of at a day care center.

Many people here play poker for a living. Many call themselves professional. If you see playing poker as your job and have kids, leaving the kids to day care while you are playing is a no-brainer.

Welcome to the 21st century.

[Innocentius]

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I sometimes feel guity spending all my time playing cards instead of doing some real work. But if I had a regular job I don't think I will have any time playing. Tough decision.

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Yeah, I'm still ranting on. She feels guilty that she's not doing real work and concerned that a real job would interfere with poker time. Hmmmm - poker or a real job. What about your CHILD? Don't you feel guity that you play poker instead of mother?? Does anyone else with kids have a problem with this??

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Why should she? Should her husband be ashamed that he teaches college instead of being home with his child?

[Innocentius]

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LOL, i just reread the thread and noticed only one person wasn't living in 1950 still. Children that are put in daycare between the ages of 3 and 5 develop better reading skills, speech skills, social skills, and are more ready to adapt to changing social environments. There are always crack house day cares, and there are always daycares that do fabulous things for children. The fact that a child is alowed to interact with other children on a daily basis in an academic environment is very positive. You can't reproduce this environment through networking with other parents. Anyone with kids who have them as their "top priority" should consider a good day care if it is affordable. I have two kids and have a good network of parents. We all put our kids in daycare, even though most of us don't need to.

[/ QUOTE ]

IMO most day care places are zoos. They are not teaching kids values and dicipline. I dont ship my kid off to some random stranger if she can be with me. Call me crazy but I trust myself to give her the proper direction a lot more than a random day care worker.

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I think most parents agree that "shipping" children off to "random strangers" isn't a very good idea. Therefore, I'm not going to call you crazy. However, you could do some research, visit a couple of different day care centers, and talk to the people working there. Find out what education they have, what kind of education and environment they offer for the children, and then decide which day care center to "ship" your kids off to. Out of a lot of "random strangers" the laws of probability suggest that some should be rather adept at taking care of children. Some of them may even be better at it than you.

[jrz1972]

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LOL, i just reread the thread and noticed only one person wasn't living in 1950 still. Children that are put in daycare between the ages of 3 and 5 develop better reading skills, speech skills, social skills, and are more ready to adapt to changing social environments.

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Some of the college students in this thread need to print out this quote and re-read it a couple of times.

My wife and I are both basically conservative traditionalists. When we had our first kid (he's 7 now), we were not happy about sending him to daycare but we thought that was a better all-around alternative than raising him on only one income. In hindsight, we were idiots to have been unhappy about it at all. Both our kids (our daughter is now 4 and has been in high-quality daycare since she was an infant) picked up reading and basic math skills way above those of most stay-at-home kids.

This is not just our lucky experience. Our son's kindergarten teacher told us last year that the gap between stay-at-home kids and day-cared kids is night and day in our community, probably because stay-at-home kids spend most of the day parked in front of the television.

On a semi-related note, both of our kids get pissy when we pull them out of daycare or after-school care on holidays, or if they have to be picked up early for some reason. When you were 7 you probably enjoyed playing with your friends more than watching a rerun of Jimmy Neutron on Nick too.

[jrz1972]

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IMO most day care places are zoos.

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I live in a community of ~20k, and we have two very good day care facilities (one of which is overtly Christian which is cool with us but that is admittedly a turn-off for some). Sure a lot of day-care places suck, but it's not that hard to find good care either.