Quote:
Originally Posted by DumbosTrunk
There are plenty of people who play for fun. My post wasn't really referring to them. My comment was more directed towards the serious regs/pros playing to make money.
I can't imagine someone playing full time who doesn't become cynical at some point. You see a lot of crap here every day that erodes your once optimistic view of human nature.
You don't seem to disagree with my basic premise that poker is zero sum and dog-eat-dog. The original post seemed to imply that poker was not about being selfish. Do you even agree with that? Or is your point just to tell me to lighten up? We seem to be two ships passing each other in the dark here. You're making an unrelated point.
100% of the people who are winners and play everyday that I've come across are very nice at the poker table. You could say that that is being selfish in a way because it benefits their bottom line to be nice. And they have zero cynicism. The cynical players I've encountered all happen to be big losers. And I've won more than I've lost playing poker and I play for fun. It's a mindset. I'm trying to play my best and win as much as I can but it's still a game and I still view it primarily as a way to have fun rather than make money.
Again whatever crap you are seeing from other players eroding your optimistic view of human nature is probably in some degree blowback from your own attitude, behavior, and response to other players.
What the other poster is saying about surviving in poker not being a selfish parasite means that there are numerous advantages to being a friendly, likable pro. Take Garrett Adelstein from LiveAtTheBike for example. Does that guy seem like he has the same mentality as you? No. Fun players want to play against him even though they know he is a beast at the game. Ask yourself why.
Most of the fun action players (or whales as you might call them) understand that they are playing a gambling losing style of poker. If someone put a gun to their head they could probably play a lot better. If they wanted to. But they don't want to. They enjoy gambling and they want to play a loose and fast style. Usually they are well off enough financially they can afford to lose big and they don't care. Of course they want to win but they are willing to gamble it up in order to have fun. Like people who play blackjack or craps, they're gambling for fun. These players will purposefully avoid players like you. They will refuse to give you action and play harder against you because of the way you see them and the way you see poker and the negativity you espouse. Poker at the highest levels is not about being predatory but about fostering a good fun environment for people to enjoy themselves. If it's your business you want repeat customers right? I'm not saying you have to play bad, but does it cost anything to be nice?
Shortstacking is not that bad but you also need to look at poker in a different lens then trying to get every edge you possibly can all the time. Hypothetically if the fun player comments that he doesn't like shortstacking then it might actually be very +EV for you to offer to add on more. Even if you think you have a bigger edge playing a shortstack at a table of deeper stacks.