I’ve been thinking about alot of things lately, and some of those thoughts moved to poker in general. I know I’ve been complaining alot lately (apologies for that), and self reflection has been one of the many ways in which I seek to improve.
With those thoughts, I’ve been thinking about all of the great things that poker has given us as players. The benefits are not just seen in money, but also in the way we think (a gift and a curse I think), the friends we gain, etc. I’ll give a view of some of the benefits of a poker player’s career (or semi-pro career)…perhaps to enlighten those who don’t play for a living (or at all).
I’ve been playing poker (seriously) for 4 years now. During that time span, I’ve seen some good benefits from learning and playing poker-
-Money- This should be pretty obvious. The money in poker is an opportunity that isn’t really seen elsewhere, at least right now. Maybe similar to the dot.net boom decades ago…but poker has allowed teenage kids to make more than their parents, and probably in less than half the time of working. In poker, obscene hourly wages are present, and you can make a living by sitting in your boxers in your parent’s basement for 2 hours a day.
-Freedom- This one should be another obvious. As with other self-employment jobs, poker is sortve ‘what you make of it’…you can make as much as you desire, granted that you put in the necessary hours of work (both study and play). The very best players do both a heavy amount, and those are the ones that truly love the game, that are truly dedicated. Instead of working some crappy 9-5 at Subway (me), you have alot of free time during the day to do what you please (probably something that alot of poker players do NOT take advantage of). You aren’t tied down in a normal sense and you can travel the country (or the world), needing only a laptop and internet connection to succeed.
For many, the freedom aspect is just as valued as the money…some are willing to take pay cuts from a normal job in order to gain the freedom associated with poker. Waking up at your own leisure is great, as is the ability to travel freely when desired.
-The way in which we think about things- As stated previously, this is both a gift and a curse (IMO).
Before poker, I rarely thought about expectation, optimization, the bigger picture, etc. I reveled in my own ignorance, and that was fine- I wasn’t upset about being being ignorant because I simply didn’t know any better. Now, whether you can attribute this ignorance to youth or other psychological/sociological aspects (meh), I feel like poker has enabled me to THINK in a different light. And not that I’m a genius or anything, but poker has helped me analyze people and situations in a more calculating manner.
Reading about poker hands, thinking about alternate lines, thinking about other ways to play the hand, some of the math associated with it, the innate learning I’ve held, all of these aspects have improved my logic in many many ways. 2+2 and discussions with friends have helped me develop ways to structure arguments and debates, to help me organize my thought process- not just in poker, but in life as well.
These days, I constantly think about the most +EV move. Just yesterday, I was thinking on my drive home from Lincoln to Omaha on the interstate. As I was traveling down, I saw a light in the distance, a light that I knew I would have to stop at. The light just turned red and I knew by the time I got there, it would be red. So naturally I took my foot off the pedal, knowing that I would have to brake shortly. Now, this might seem natural and thoughtless, but I observed many cars around me keeping the pedals up, keeping the same speed, only to brake harder as they got closer to the light.
Why would you do this? taking your foot off the pedal and cruising saves gas, and the purpose is the same- you are both getting to the expected destination (the light) and you are both going to have to brake (and stop)- it’s just a matter of when. I’m fine with arriving at the light a little later than them.
This entire thought process is probably pretty stupid, but it’s little optimization things like these that are present in my mind daily. Before poker, I can’t honestly say I thought about these things before, at least as much. I like to think about stupid scenarios as well, like when I’m entering new rooms or buildings, where the nearest exits are and what i would do if something drastic happens (where drastic = whatever scenario you’d like to imagine, I’m sure I’ve thought of it). I also think about the bigger picture alot more- little insignificant things (whatever you may deem) don’t really affect me as they did in the past. Some people flip shit over the smallest things, meh…
I could go on and on really…optimization is a subject that I’m thinking about frequently, and I was debating writing a post on it (perhaps in the future). As I was discussing with a friend last night, even though people like to optimize in the small things, they often screw up hard on the big things in life (probably me as an example). I have a very weird mindset with regards to expected value and optimization…For me, I don’t like to ignorantly waste time. That is, waste time without KNOWING I’m wasting it. Many people aren’t thinking about just watching t.v. for hours on end, they just do it. They don’t think about the consequences, the benefits, and the overall thought process behind the simple task of watching t.v. With that said, I don’t mind wasting time (or doing something that is wasteful and lazy) if I KNOW I’m wasting time (or cognizant of it). I know that must sound retarded, but meh… as you can probably deduct from reading this, I like to understand what I’m doing (and why). (And I realize that when I decide to watch t.v. for hours, it’s obviously the same action as someone else…it’s just that if I realize that I’m doing it, and that I’m wasting time purposefully, then that’s fine. (entire paragraph is stupid, maybe you understand what I mean, maybe you don’t…whatever).
Now, you might think, “oh, that’s cool, you get to think about new shit all the time! your life is going to be somewhat ‘optimized’! ” Well, no…I think that ignorance is bliss in alot of cases (and I can already see people much smarter than me thinking that ‘look at this ignorant fool, he’s a tard’- that’s okay, because I am). I sometimes wish I didn’t think like this, that I could just enjoy life more than I do. Also, after skimming this now, you must think I’m arrogant/ignorant/whatever for having this mentality- please do not think I’m arrogant or trying to boast, screaming “LOOK AT WHAT I KNOW!!”…that is not the purpose.
I have a friend…he’s not the brightest guy, but he works hard, has ambitious goals, and most importantly, he’s happy. He’s not the best at putting logical thoughts together, but as I said, ignorance is bliss, and I wish I could have more of his mindset.
Anyways, just a short sample of a poker mindset. Back to some other benefits-
-Friends- As with other social games or fraternities (like 2+2 is), discussing poker (or playing poker) with opponents or friends eventually leads to friendship (or hatred, one or the other). I’ve met some good friends through poker, some of whom I’ve talked with for the last 5+ years. I’d like to think that these are relationships that I’ll continue even after I’m doing playing poker, but who knows. I’ve met hundreds of people that I’ve met through the internet, people who I know just from discussing poker/life/etc almost every day with.
The sociology of internet forums is very strange…I know that there have been discussions on this topic, and it’s an interesting one at that. People find it so odd that I can meet someone in real life from the internet and have a great idea of what he’s going to be like, what his interests are, and other things. Poker is unique in that the exchange of money is present- I can give $2,000 to a friend and have him play with it without ever meeting him, and fully trust him.
Anyways, this is a long post…I’m sure there are many, many other benefits to playing poker.
With that said, if one attempts to take up poker based on money alone, it’s probably not going to happen. As with nearly all successful ventures, one has to be dedicated and passionate about it when deciding to learn something. I had some friends in real life who all wanted to play seriously…but they didn’t have the fire, passion, etc to learn. It’s not that they were mentally incapable, but that they only sought the money (and money only)…and if you do that, poker will never be for you. I’ll probably elaborate on this later on, when I discuss some of the ‘meh’ aspects of poker playing (it ain’t all a honeymoon, that’s for sure).