Why Poker?

[wrto4556]

I could go the high road and say money or competition, but what I think it boils down to is free drinks.

[Al P]

SIIHP.

[SomethingClever]

I started playing because the game was fun, and it was exciting to win money (even though I was a fish).

I kept playing because I'm competitive and I wanted to destroy the competition.

Now I just play for money. Even though I have a full time job, I like to have it in the back of my head that poker is a safety net if I lose my job or decide to quit.

Also, I want to retire at 32. [img]/images/graemlins/grin.gif[/img]

[Surfbullet]

[ QUOTE ]
Why do you guys play poker?

For me, I play for a few reasons... and, surprisingly, #1 is not money. The #1 reason why I play poker is that it is a competitive game. And I like games, especially competitive games. I want to be the best at every game I play. Poker is just the first game I have found where I can also win a lot of money if I get good at it so I am not just 'wasting my time', whatever that means. So the #1 reason why I play is that it is a competitive game-- my competitive game of choice for the past few years. #2 is that I can win a lot of money playing it.

[/ QUOTE ]

I was explaining this to my girlfriend the other day - nearly verbatim. Eerie.

Surf

[Mig]

Same here. I want to retire early. I work full time and use my spare time in poker as well.

[Wynton]

I used to answer this question by saying it was all about the competition and the challenge. (Definitely not the money, since I'd make more money by working longer hours).

But while reading a recent book -- Diary of a Mad Poker Player -- the author said something that struck a nerve. He recognized that a major reason he played poker was simply to avoid doing other things. And there is no question that is a major reason for me as well.

[turnipmonster]

I enjoy the competitiveness of it as well, but if it weren't for the money I would feel like I was wasting time.

--turnipmonster

[Luke]

Why Poker?

The primary driver that got me interested in the game was the opportunity to compete with others. I simply love competition (and even moreso, winning [img]/images/graemlins/cool.gif[/img]).

More specifically, I love things where natural ability may give you a nice headstart, but then hard work and effort can get you much further. Sports for many years has offered me this same satisfaction and now poker is doing the same.

Being able to hone a skill and knowing that I can get improve as long as I put in the requisite time and effort is quite appealing and seems "fair" to me.

Of course, the fact that I can make money playing and working on poker is a nice plus and a great way to justify all the time spent to the wife. [img]/images/graemlins/smile.gif[/img]

Luke

[SA125]

Because there's few things more enjoyable than sitting down to a game and I like the idea that the winner gets money. Love playing live. Funny I'm tilt proof there like you, but not sitting by myself online.

I've always won live (I keep records) but only about break even online. I'm losing 245BB's over the last 30K hands and it's mostly because of a few big hands. I'm losing money with AKs-KQs-KJs, winning hardly nothing with AQ-JJ .06BB.

The "good games" have always been good for me live, but never online. Can't understand it. I've never seen a fish (fish = VPIP 50+ calling anything and everything) go broke. Never. I laugh when others say they're the moneymakers. I've never seen anyone feast on them online. I've seen them go broke live where they get up and run to the ATM, or walk around the room looking for loans. Seen that plenty of times. Never seen them go bust online. That tilts the sh*t out of me.

So, why poker? Because there's few things more enjoyable than sitting down to a game.

[Subby]

Poker/gambling is kind of complex for me. I'm married, have 4 young children, a house, a good job...couldn't be happier with how my life is turning out. My life is my family. My wife stopped working a few years ago and stays home full time with the kids, so really, every penny I make at my job is earmarked in some way for our monthly budget. We live in a fairly expensive area (Northern Virgina/DC Metro area) so there are not a lot of extravagant outlays for us beyond our monthly expenses.

Anyway, poker gives me an opportunity to enjoy something competitive and engaging without feeling guilty about "wasting time" (like when I used to spend a crapload of time on fantasy sports teams). I use the money for real life things like emergency car repairs or preschool tuition for my two littlest or to take my family out to dinner once in a while - stuff that would be much harder without poker/gambling.

Anyway, I guess I could have probably said "money" without going into all that detail, but I guess it also helps satisfy me on a bunch of different levels, too - self-worth, competitiveness, etc..