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#1
09-21-2004, 03:24 PM
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My good friend is a fish, and this is how he thinks
I see alot of posts where people ask, "What are they thinking?", after some pitifully played hand that the fish won on the river. Well, one of my good friends is a fish, and this is what he thinks.
Jeff has been playing Texas Hold 'Em for 5-6 years. In all that time, he's never read a book, magazine, article, website, or anything to do at all with the game. He learned as he went along. He plays HE for, as he says, "The action". He doesn't care that you have a VP$IP of 19.57 and a PFR% of 8.75, he doesn't know that these things exist, he just want "The action". 5 or 6 years ago, "The action" was 2-4 games. Then about 2 years ago he moved up to 4-8. That was followed one year later by 5-10 and recently 10-20. I've played with Jeff for hundreds of hours, perhaps thousands, and this is how he plays. He always limps pre-flop, EXCEPT if he's on a big roll, then he turns into TAZ and raises with any suited, any connected, and any 2 cards above 10. But usually, he's not winning, or not winning much, so he stays passive. AA? Nope. "Someone will just draw out on me." The flop is when Jeff comes to life. If he's got any piece of the flop, he's in til the river 75% of the time. If he senses weakness or thinks he might be ahead, even by a sliver of hope, he'll bet or raise. He'll only re-raise when he has the nuts or a monster hand. Jeff LOVES to bluff. But his bluffs come more frequently when he's ahead in a session, when he thinks his stack of chips is intimidating people. He LOVES to draw til the river. Pissing off TA-A players is like a drug to him. A 4-outer going to the river is a "Good hand" to him. Catching the miracle 2-outer is even better. Jeff doesn't shoot angles, doesn't engage in trash talk, but does like to converse with people while playing. Over the years, I've seen him lose tens of thousands of dollars, especially once he moved up in limits. But Jeff can afford it. This is his entertainment, save a movie once or twice a week. Jeff makes 150k a year. He's divorced, with one child whom he supports with more than the monthly payments. He doesn't drink, smoke, or do drugs and lives well below his means. Texas Hold 'Em, and "The action" is his drug. So now he's moved up again, this time to 10-20 online, I only go that high in limits in a B&M setting, so I just watch in awe. Dropping 300-1,000 bucks in a session is nothing to him now. The next session he wins 700, the next 250, the next he loses 625, and the pattern continues. Will he go broke? Probably not. He's got a bunch socked away, and doesn't have any bills. His house, car, furniture, everything is paid for. So look for Jeff online, and get ready to make some money. 
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#5
09-21-2004, 05:55 PM
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Re: My good friend is a fish, and this is how he thinks
I would just like to point out that this is a very healthy attitude on Jeff's part. He has found an activity that he enjoys, will have minimal impact on his social standing in the community, and has very little chance of spiraling out of control. He doesnt seem to be gambling to excess, and is fulfilling all of his emotional needs from the game. Jeff doesnt want to win all the time, or even to break even, and that works for jeff.
However, Zulu, you should get jeff to stake you. Just to cover his losses of course.... [img]/images/graemlins/grin.gif[/img] peace john nickle
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#8
09-22-2004, 03:17 AM
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Re: My good friend is a fish, and this is how he thinks
You asked, "Will he go broke," and confidently said that he would not do so.
You may be wrong. He shows some worrisome signs of being a pathological gambler. The fact that he makes 150K per year is meaningless. PG can lose ANY amount of money. Some have lost millions, and a few have lost MUCH more than that. Your friend has a problem, and it will not get better. He needs help, but probably does not want to get it. In fact, he probably denies that he needs it. He is probably on his way to very serious trouble. Regards, Al
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#9
09-22-2004, 04:32 AM
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Re: My good friend is a fish, and this is how he thinks
Wow. Dr. Al had a strong reaction, stronger than I was expecting.
I have to concur, though, as your friend seems to be denying reality. That always gives me the willies, and for whatever that's worth, I'll stand by it. You're either tuned into reality or you're not. Purposely playing poker in a non-logical way shows that you have room in your life for thinking that doesn't make any sense. And that's fine by you -- preferable even. I can't help but react to that and remember it when I see it. Pushing reality aside is never a sign of something good. When friends start babbling about astrology, palmistry, spirits, and UFO's and such, I tell you, my respect for them drops and I feel kind of sad that they're desperate or unhappy enough in their lives that they would rather believe in the unreal than make amends with reality and just get on with it. They may feel like they're experiencing spiritual awakenings, but I feel I'm watching a spiritual death. It's almost impossible to change another's willful flight from reality, though. Hopefully your friend denies reality just enough to keep himself entertained. The problem is, the threshold decision in denying reality isn't about denying it eventually too much; it's about whether you're going to deny it at all in the first place. He's not waiting to cross a dangerous threshold; he's already crossed it.
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#10
09-22-2004, 06:59 AM
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Re: My good friend is a fish, and this is how he thinks
Seeing the acceleration of his move up in limits does bother me. It took several years to go from 2/4-4/8, and then half that time for 4/8-5/10, and a fraction of that time to jump to 10-20.
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