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Old 10-03-2004, 06:30 PM
benping16 benping16 is offline
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Default Nate in the trib

I assume this is the same nate that posts here...heres the story

RAISING THE STAKES
Players place bets on poker as career
Interest in online gaming explodes

By Rob Kaiser
Tribune staff reporter
Published October 3, 2004

Nate Silver quit his $55,000-a-year financial consulting job in April to play poker.

So far it's been a wise career move: The 26-year-old Silver expects to make more than $100,000 this year playing the card game, mainly on the Internet.

Silver belongs to a new generation of poker players who feast on the growing number of novices taking up poker after watching televised contests.

While few players go to the extreme of quitting their jobs, many spend their evenings stalking sites like PartyPoker.com and PokerStars.com, pocketing an extra $20,000 or $30,000 annually on top of their regular salaries.

And as more novices keep appearing, opportunity grows for experienced players.

"You'll see people make terrible plays routinely," said Silver, who lives in Wrigleyville. "For the most part these people call too much and play too aggressively."

Online poker has exploded along with the recent surge of interest in the game.

In January 2003, $11.1 million was wagered on the major poker sites. That number rocketed to $136.1 million last month, according to PokerPulse.com, which tracks activity on 21 of the largest poker sites.

Total gambling at poker sites will easily clear $1 billion this year, based on PokerPulse's figures, which likely undercount total betting since they do not include popular online poker tournaments that charge entry fees.

People trying to bank quick online profits are reminiscent of another recent Internet phenomenon--day traders.

Rather than making rapid-fire stock trades online, these gamblers seek profits by leveraging small advantages with their poker experience, discipline and statistical savvy. While their gains and losses vary widely day to day, experienced players say the odds are heavily in their favor in the long run.

Still, the easy money could quickly disappear if the current poker fad fades.

Mike Kim, who lives in Lincoln Park, said he plays online poker every day, sometimes for a couple of hours and sometimes for 12 hours straight. He said his average winnings are $15,000 a month.

"I had no idea it would become my full-time job," said Kim, who started playing online nearly a year ago while studying mechanical engineering at the University of Illinois. "I didn't find a job when I graduated so I just kept playing for money."

The 23-year-old Kim is no longer looking for a job, although his family is concerned he will lose money.

"At first they didn't like it because they thought I was gambling," Kim said. "When I told them how much money I made, they kind of understood I couldn't go back to a regular job."

Neal Salmen, a 28-year-old Chicago real estate investor who said he has made about $25,000 this year playing online poker, noted the anonymity of Internet games often makes new players more aggressive. In casinos, Salmen said, "You don't want to look too stupid so people play more conservatively."

Internet poker offers experienced players some advantages, particularly the ability to play at multiple tables at the same time. Online games generally go faster than casino games, and by playing three or four tables simultaneously, players can easily participate in more than 200 hands an hour.

The main disadvantage of Internet play for poker pros is the inability to "read" competitors--noticing small ticks and other mannerisms that can reveal if somebody is holding a strong hand or bluffing.

Even at in-person games, pros often have more trouble reading the novices.

"It's hard to read someone if they don't know if they have a good hand," said Jim Karamanis, a Chicago attorney who plays online and in-person poker recreationally.

Nobody tracks how many people play poker for a living, but the number appears to be growing.

"Certainly at this point there are thousands," said Greg Raymer, who left his job as a patent attorney at Pfizer Inc. after winning $5 million this year at poker's biggest event, the World Series of Poker.

The lure of Internet poker has intensified since Raymer and the 2003 World Series winner gained entry into the casino events, which were broadcast on ESPN, by winning online tournaments.

To prosper at Internet poker, players must be technically strong and quickly assess the thousands of scenarios that arise--betting aggressively on strong hands and folding when they're in a weak position.

Signing on to EmpirePoker.com late Tuesday afternoon, Silver put $1,000 into his account and folded most hands before the first round of betting, losing his $15 ante. On the first hand he played, Silver lost $170.

"If I lose $170 on a hand, it's nothing," Silver said. "You can't let it get to you."

Silver usually plays on weekday evenings and sometimes stays up until sunrise so he can play against aggressive Scandinavian players.

"My sleep schedule has been terrible recently," said Silver, who also does work for Baseball Prospectus, which does statistical analysis of baseball games.

Silver said he's done much better financially with online poker than he expected, though he and other players acknowledge their profitable poker days may not be long-lived.

"I'm just trying to ride it out," said Kim. "If poker starts dying down, I'm going to have to get a real job."


Copyright © 2004, Chicago Tribune
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  #2  
Old 10-03-2004, 09:36 PM
James282 James282 is offline
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Default Re: Nate in the trib

Wow - this is probably the most factually correct and well written article on the poker boom that I have read.
-James
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  #3  
Old 10-03-2004, 10:23 PM
Nate tha' Great Nate tha' Great is offline
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Default Re: Nate in the trib

Yeah, this is me. There's also a picture of me on the front page of the Sunday Business section. It's all pretty embarassing.

The guy wrote a good article. I'm glad that it was written as a legimitate business story and there wasn't some angle about "the hidden perils of online gambling" or something typical like that. He was also non-specific about certain things that I asked him to be non-specific about, which I appreciated.

I blatantly misplayed the hand that he refers to where I lost $170 (he came over and watched me play the other afternoon). I defended my blind with AJo and check-raised an uncoordinated, J-high flop. The turn was a K; I bet out and was raised. "I'm sure I'm beat here, I'm sure she has a K", I told the reporter, then called down anyway, paying 60 bucks for the privilege of showing off my hand-reading abilities and seeing her AK.

It's probably a little bit misleading to say that I quit my job to play poker. I quit my job for a number of reasons, the most important of which were that I was sick of it and it wasn't something I wanted to make a career out of doing. I knew that I liked playing poker and I knew that I also liked working for Baseball Prospectus. I knew that doing both of those things was impossible on a serious basis while I was also working a 9-to-5, at least if I wanted to maintain some sort of a social life or get more than four hours of sleep a night (about what I was averaging in November - March of this year). I'm fortunate that one of my favorite diversions happens to be relatively lucrative at the time being.

-Nate
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  #4  
Old 10-03-2004, 11:30 PM
sfer sfer is offline
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Default Re: Nate in the trib

Hey Nate, congratulations on the article, career change, success, and your hand reading. [img]/images/graemlins/tongue.gif[/img]
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  #5  
Old 10-03-2004, 11:54 PM
nolanfan34 nolanfan34 is offline
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Default Re: Nate in the trib

[ QUOTE ]
I knew that I liked playing poker and I knew that I also liked working for Baseball Prospectus.

[/ QUOTE ]

So, now that your BP identity is public, does this mean I get to start making Wily Mo Pena jokes? [img]/images/graemlins/blush.gif[/img]
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  #6  
Old 10-04-2004, 12:05 AM
Nate tha' Great Nate tha' Great is offline
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Default Re: Nate in the trib

[ QUOTE ]
[ QUOTE ]
I knew that I liked playing poker and I knew that I also liked working for Baseball Prospectus.

[/ QUOTE ]

So, now that your BP identity is public, does this mean I get to start making Wily Mo Pena jokes? [img]/images/graemlins/blush.gif[/img]

[/ QUOTE ]

.259/.316/.527, baby!!!
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  #7  
Old 10-04-2004, 12:13 AM
nolanfan34 nolanfan34 is offline
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Default Re: Nate in the trib

[ QUOTE ]
.259/.316/.527, baby!!!

[/ QUOTE ]

Following his line this year was EASILY one of my favorite parts of the 2004 regular season. Talk about validating a "questionable" output from your system (OK, sample size of one season post-prediction, but still).

I guess that's a topic for another web site... [img]/images/graemlins/grin.gif[/img]
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  #8  
Old 10-04-2004, 01:18 AM
Schneids Schneids is offline
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Default Re: Nate in the trib

Nate congratulations on being featured in a very well-written poker article.

You forgot to mention that you also played early into the morning to argue with some crazy guy about the Timberwolves.
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  #9  
Old 10-04-2004, 01:19 AM
balkii balkii is offline
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Default Re: Nate in the trib

Silver usually plays on weekday evenings and sometimes stays up until sunrise so he can play against aggressive Scandinavian players.

LMFAO is this true? Are these guys that bad?
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  #10  
Old 10-04-2004, 01:23 AM
Schneids Schneids is offline
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Default Re: Nate in the trib

[ QUOTE ]
Silver usually plays on weekday evenings and sometimes stays up until sunrise so he can play against aggressive Scandinavian players.

LMFAO is this true? Are these guys that bad?

[/ QUOTE ]

Some of the best games I've ever played have been at around 6am. It is very true IMO.
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