No marlins cap but these two sound like brothers. I will almost always say good night. I also say good playing with you. The thanks for playing thing is something the house sez IMHO

I view the "thanks for playing" in a completely different sense. Since I play in home games mostly, I view a "thanks for playing" as more of a thanks for helping keep the game running, more of a "thanks for helping keep this game running so that we can all continue to enjoy and play poker" not so much a "thanks for the money, sucker"

Of course it is dependent on who said it and how it is said

Sorry if I missed it anywhere, but when will you be on these shows, squid?

I did the show with +ev last night. I think skip or APD will poast up a link when it goes to archive or sumpthin

Dis thang posted on the inter tubes yet?

It is posted on the Above EV site.

Yep just hit my podcast catcher... Gonna listen now.

Great interview, squid. Solid read.

Great post Squid Face. Inspiring. I see some similarities in your story to where I am at currently, well minus the high win rate at cards :-) Nevertheless, I currently work on Wall Street and I'm tired of this diluted, puppeteer, corrupt world. Been playing since poker boom and recently have diverted a lot of my time at night to studying/playing live poker. Want to break free.

Also, in terms of social table dynamics. I started out my live career many years ago playing as a friendly open talking player (my natural tendency), but over the years have become tight lipped with my logic being if I am too friendly with others then they will play me soft and me being the person I am, will not correctly counter with aggressive and instead play them soft as well. But recently, after reading this post I decided to become friendly and talkative again and I must say I can see what you mean. I just need to remain discipline and not be afraid to bluff the guy to my left because we’ve had a friendly conversation. It’s a personal flaw (at the table) of mine. But your logic makes a whole lot of sense, not only at win rate but at enjoying the game and I will continue to try to apply it.

Great read.

squid you are a boss, and nice work Bob

The link is broke. Couldn't find the text through search engine either. Anyway to get a new link?

2+2 Mag only keeps articles up for six months. I've republished Squid's interview here, hope you enjoy!

That link doesn't work anymore either, is this interview available anywhere else?

Dunno why the link changed, thanks for pointing it out. Squid's interview is here.

Sorry, that one doesn't work for me either, maybe it's just on my end and is fine for others?

Don't mean to be a pain, I'll do a search on medium.com

This sounds great. I wasn't aware of it. I am also unable to view it.

I know it's been a while, but ... I'm very introverted by nature. Now a days, I'd cite people skills as a strength.

Ultimately, an introverted nature can be a strength socially in the same way not really liking to gamble can be for poker/AP. You don't have a fever for the game. Your self esteem and emotions don't have to be so tied up in it.

Realize, everyone is not just sitting around waiting to pounce on you for some social miscue. And if you make one, it happens, it doesn't matter. Learn to let it go. It's like poker. First time you played 1/2 you might have thought everyone was a pro who was going to soul read you every hand because you blinked or your finger twitched. You took some guy fronting with sunglasses and chip tricks seriously. In reality, many people are just messing around having fun. Few people are really all that good and most are bungling through, making their own mistakes and worrying about their own ish, only vaguely concerned about you as an individual.

I'd reiterate what Squid said about asking questions. It also helps to avoid the burnout squid has discussed.

I've met current and former pro athletes playing poker (even though I never play above 2/5). Fishermen, cops, lawyers, journalists, financiers, people in politics, taxi drivers, rock stars, soldiers and mercenaries... goes on forever.

Almost all of these people like talking about themselves. They have interesting stories to tell. They know stuff you don't know. They could be valuable professional or money making connections.

Sense of humor goes a very long way, but even if you aren't funny, just be Charlie Rose. Maybe have a few canned jokes or brain teasers.

I met a famous research psychologist once and he spent a good 2 hours giving me an interactive overview of his work. A guy who'd been in Iraq told me unbelievably vivid war stories. Later I gave him some pot. He took it for PTSD/sleep, but it was still medical and he hadn't wanted to travel with it. He was so happy, and it felt great. I met my current teammates through poker and they've proven to be great friends. I played and chatted with this cool guy for a couple days and only learned at the tail end that he had been on my fantasy football team. Then he bought a couple $40 pizzas for the table.

Yeah, not working for me either. I tried to search medium.com and was still unable.

sup yall,

My medium account was mistakenly suspended. After talking to support, it's been reinstated. The link should work (please lemme know if there's a problem).

As some of you know, I write about poker and have been fortunate to interview dozens of players. Squid's interview remains one of my favorites and, along with DGAF's thread, contains the best advice I know about crafting a balanced, successful life as a grinder (or crafting an exit strat ). Hopefully we can keep the conversation going.

I can relate to this for sure. I enjoy being around people and am relatively comfortable in social settings, but being around others saps me of energy. This is doubly true in the casino environment—which is "an energy suck," as squid puts it—and I often find myself completely exhausted after a long session. The last thing I want, usually, is to be around other people.

Staying healthy and focused involves a lot of work away from the tables, of course, but one way that I gain energy at the table is exactly what you describe here:

There's an endless supply of fascinating people at the tables (many of whom we'd never cross paths with in "real life") and you can often enliven a boring sesh by asking people about themselves—that's the key, I think. It's often tempting to withdraw into a hoodie or headphones or a book, which I'll do sometimes, for sure, but chatting/listening is a nice alternative, and it has the added benefit of creating an atmosphere that's "good for the game."

Link works now.