I'm interested to here how you have benefitted from poker not from a money standpoint. For instance my ability to read situations and understand what actually happened based on the fact that the previous events would not have occurred otherwise. I think the game has made me into a much better critical thinker.

If I lose $1500, I don't want to drink myself to death anymore. Now I would just drink until I pass out.

That's an improvement, right?

Poker makes me realize how small the world is. I always meet someone who lives close to me!

Sometimes you're playing 100/200 Life and you get gutshotted and ... you just have to deal with it. It helps when you've been playing 10/20 NL and gotten runner-runner gutter-guttered.

Wait ... you need an reason to drink until you pass out?

I must be doing it wrong.

helped me make life reads on "normal" peoples bull**** comments. people just talk crap all day its crazy.

I spend money more freely, not because I win so much but because I know it is possible I could lose it playing poker. So I enjoy better food and a few more toys and buy more drinks for friends.

I would say I have benefited from poker in two ways.

1- I have met a lot of good friends from poker (of course I have met scummy people too).

2- Thru poker I have learned to examine situations and weigh all options. In my personal life, I have been be able to predict a lot of other people's actions just by thinking about all of the possible variables they can choose. So ,in that sense, a lot of things don't come as a surprise to me in dealing with people.

1.Learnt to lose gracefully and enjoy competition.
2.Less results orientated in life.
3.Money management.

Fortunately this thread took a turn for the better. Lets keep it that way, please.

For me poker has helped me in a couple of ways.

• I've met a lot of great people, both from here and from poker groups in town.
• I've learned to deal with anger on things I can't control.
• I'm learning to place value on things in my life and perspective on my discretionary funds.

Ditto. I've made a fair number of friends. And by that, I also mean people I socialize with outside of the card club, not just folks I like to BS with at the club (although I also like that).

It's not who you know, it's who knows you... and MApoker knows me.

I've learned to trust my instinct - the gut feeling. I feel more confident in how I make my decision and stick with it. I'm also not as shy as I used to be. It's helped me to think more freely about money and not be petty.

Playing poker also reassured me that I have a great memory. I remember everyone I played against. I never forget their faces.

1. I've learned to deal with disappointment much better than I did before poker.
2. I've expanded my understanding of probability and risk/reward considerations, leading to better decisions in other game situations and in financial situations in general.
3. My deductive logic skills are very much improved, leading to better insight outside of poker.
4. Poker gives me a major social environment I wouldn't otherwise have. I work from home and only have a few other hobbies (numismatics, fishing, shooting, and video games), all of which are fairly solitary activities, for me anyway. Poker forces me to mingle with other people.
5. Poker provides an outlet in which to act out my secret contempt for stupid people in a socially acceptable way. (Public throat-punches were really not going over well.)

I've learned what constitutes a good decision in life vs a bad one isn't necessarily whether it works out or not. just because somebody put all their money into a penny stock on a hunch and it booms doesn't mean that was a good decision - it was dumb luck. When I'm watching American football, just because coaches play didn't work doesn't mean it was a bad decision.

Great reflective thread OP.

I'd say the lessons I've learned from the game of poker have really framed my life. If I had to reduce the many lessons to three pillars I would write home about, I'd say that the game has made me more finically astute, generally skeptical, and generally optimistic (or, put differently, less results-oriented).

Skepticism: Simply put, "trust, but verify." As a result of poker, my default setting is to understand how a life situation came to be rather than accepting it for face value.

Optimism: If I have my head in the right place and arm myself with the requisite knowledge to solve problems and make correct decisions, I'll be a net-winning player in life.

Poker has helped me:

- Develop an autodidactic and polymathic disposition
- Become process-oriented instead of result-oriented
- Control my emotions and remain stoic in high stress, frustrating, and even dangerous situations
- Use Microsoft Excel to solve math problems, or at least gave me the motivation to do so
- Realize I'm a lot smarter & more capable than I give myself credit for in some instances
- Realize how clueless I can be even when I'm confident that I'm correct
- Develop a sense of humility
- Think creatively to find small edges that can help make me more money, work more efficiently, or just make life easier
- Meet people from all over the world and develop understanding & appreciation of different backgrounds and cultures

I used to be a very sore loser.. notoriously so. A few pretty embarrassing stories about me.

Through this site and just from getting older, I have conquered that. I played the daily 7 PM Aria tourney a couple weeks ago and bubbled.. after 8 hours of playing.. and the old me would have exploded at the table (because it was bad luck, but that'll happen) and made an ass of myself.

Instead I shook hand with most at the table and wished everyone good luck. Then went and sulked privately with a drink like normal people would. I was oddly proud of it. I feel like the poker Gods were testing me, and I passed.

And because of my new attitude I made friends at the table and had a fun time.. so all was not wasted.

This is why I've always been drawn to poker.. it symbolizes so much in life.

1) realized how much scratch tickets suck

2) made friends

3) found a constructive outlet for my theory constructing abilities

I've had sex with an Asian chick.

Much better now at reading body language (and more aware of it) even outside of poker.

Made business and personal connections.

Learned lots of interesting stuff from people's life experiences and professions. The wisdom probably couldn't have been gained in a different kind of setting.

Now better at lying in the real world (not kidding... that wasn't a lie... haha).

Also, I learned better emotional management and careful thinking before making decisions, even sometimes one's you'd think are automatic (like choosing the best route to a destination... without GPS. No, **** GPS, it's a crutch.)

Wow dude, looks like resume writing material there.

So Goddamn true.

Poker gave me the incentive to travel to new cities that I probably would never have visited otherwise (following WSOPc, etc)

Definetly a plus!!!

I can control my phsycological state much better than before I started.

I hold less value on money, which is good for the family as I have been a life nit for years.

I have always known I can always make money in anywhere in the US. but pokerz have increased this greatly and road trips are much more exciting.

I no longer worry about retierment as I to can be a old guy nit...lol. weeeeeeeee

Agreed!

Really? I think you mean holding less value on money as in poker has resulted in surplus money which allows no need to be thrift conscious. I would have figured it'd be the opposite for others who play poker as it is for myself. For me, utilization of the principles of value from poker translates into a greater appreciation of value in other aspects of life, particularly related to money. For instance, I plan to retire early as a benefit related to poker... . And not due to the additional income that poker provides, but more so because my enhanced sense of value contributes to better decision making on purchases, less spending leaks, and having more investment opportunities as a result.

I drop fat stacks all over town bc I rationalize it as "it's just one double up"