Poker throwing off my sense of proportion with money

[MicroBob]

i'm more with you bernie.


the exception is that my GF and I go out to some nicer dinners and it's not a big deal and I really don't even notice the check (particularly when I've been running well).

This is as opposed to when we first started dating and I was pretty damn broke and she HAD to pick up the check a few times because I just couldn't.


My tipping is a little more generous too (for waitresses, etc)...but I have never been much of a skimper on that I don't think.


Other than not caring so much about dinners and entertainment....I will still go an extra block to save $0.02 on gas....or I'll hit the 2-for-Tuesday special at Subway because I feel good about getting a couple of foot-longs for $7.30 or something.


Looking at the flights to Vegas for my WSOP appearance I kind of laughed at myself for noticing one flight that was $20 cheaper than another.
I was only playing 4-tables of 5/10 while I was looking at the flights....And I thought it was weird that on one screen I was noticing a measly $20 difference...while on another table I was having some regular swings that were obviously much more than that.
On the table, if I flop a big-hand, bet at it, and induce a bunch of folds so that I only take in a $20 pot I will be a little disappointed that that is ALL I got.
On the other screen....I'm debating whether I want to screw around with my departure time too much because I feel bad paying $405 instead of $385 for a flight.

[man]

over a month this past semester, I built my bankroll from $50 to $550 on party poker. I thought nothing of it. then I took a step up in limits, and lost it all. I'm still trying to get my head around how much money I made in such little time, and how little it meant to me when it was on the site. but I guess it's just part of the business.

[DeezNuts]

Penny-wise, pound-foolish.

Newfound wealth is really an eye-opening experience, as it taught me the inherent futility of obtaining it. I did the whole "spend like there's no tomorrow" when I first started making substantial money in poker, but I eventually realized there were only so many things I could buy that I really wanted.

Enjoy your newfound wealth for a little while and upgrade the little things, but stay away from the large purchases and "flavor of the week" impulses. Invest wisely and enjoy the little things in life. Don't stress about where you buy gas and how much your dinner was, think bigger.

DN

[goofball]

There's a huge difference between losing $150 in one hand where you made a bad read, or suffered a bad beat, then spending $150. In the former case you expect that by doing similar thigns in similar situations you will make teh $150 more than you lose. Putting your money at risk when you have the best of it is vastly different then just spending it.

[BigBaitsim (milo)]

Mason has no idea, but he's about to get a positively brilliant article on systematic desensitization and gambling. Hopefully it will show up in next month's internet magazine. Stay tuned.

-Dr. Milo

[TStoneMBD]

i imagine that i have the same problem. my monthly expenses are relatively astronomical. im spending like an extra $700 over my approximated monthly budget and i have no idea what im spending it on. its not even like im buying furniture with that money. i approximate that i spend $600 on food a month. i basically throw dollar bills around like im rockefeller.

its not good.

[MicroBob]

One very obvious issue that I neglected to mention.

I pretty much have enough money to purchase a semi-decent car if I wanted to.
But right now I'm more focused on building my bankroll and just don't want to splurge.

I'm also going to take some of my left-over W$ on Stars and play a couple prelim events at the WSOP for possibly up to $8k in entry-fees (although I will likely not have THAT many W$).
Obviously I could sell these W$ for cash and do okay...but I've decided to buy my way into a couple of prelim events instead.


The prelim events don't sound like an extraordinary expense if you are doing decently multi-tabling the 5/10 game and/or have a decent bankroll or whatever.


But it does feel strange that I have a fairly reasonable amount of money and will be possible blowing quite a bit of W$ that COULD have been converted to cash on these prelim events...
YET I still am driving around in my dented 96 Chevy-Cavalier with almost 170k miles.

[goofball]

Oh I know. THe night I dropped 4k in the bellagio 80/160 (superbowl weekend shot) I drove hom in my 89 toyota corolla. I also drove home from the PPM 10k richer in that same car worth generously $1k.

[diebitter]

Funnily enough, I just finished the Al Alvarez book about poker, 'The Biggest Game in Town'. There's a section in it about how high rollers lose monetary perspective - one goes in a hamburger place, and only has hundreds and they can't break it for him! Another has a photographer trying to sell them pictures for $75, and they all grumble cos they got no change, so he just changes the price to $100, and they're all happy to pay!

Good book!

[bernie]

[ QUOTE ]
If I worried about $20 here and there at poker I'd be a crappy player

[/ QUOTE ]

It's ok to worry about this away from the table for non-poker related things.

b