Quote:
Originally Posted by esspoker
I've been trying for the last 5 years maybe to get over any concern for money, as that's supposed to make you a better poker player (and probably better business person as well). As Little Finger said in GOT, "money is just numbers on a page. As soon as you realize that, it gets easy." (or something like that).
I've been broke (dirt broke) and unable to pay rent. I've also had money. I think I'm finally getting to see the light. It seems that having self confidence is the key. Namely, in the ability to make money. Then you lose your attachment to the money itself.
For instance if you're a mediocre poker player trying to go pro you probably feel insecure deep down, or if you're a bad stockbroker trying to make it in the field you feel insecure... but once you find something you can make money at, and feel like you'll be successful, then money loses it's hypnotic effect and the career becomes more valuable.
On a personal note, I just dropped a relatively large amount at a poker game. And I don't feel bad. I played good poker, up until one hand I think I misplayed, but mostly I felt I was one of the best players at the table and one of the most seasoned. Even though I don't have a roll, I might make another stab at it... which is an exhilarating feeling. I know my friends and family won't think so... but I'm more ambitious than any of them, and I think that to be wealthy you have to not care about money. You have to get to an objectivity about it. And wealth isn't just about money. Wealth is a state of mind, where you feel effective and powerful (not powerless) to do the things you want to do, and to be able to help those who might be in need. To be a provider and not a burden.
Again getting personal: usually when I lose a lot at a game, I feel a sinking, bad feeling. Today I didn't get that. It might be the first time. Another unusual thing is that it doesn't matter how much I lose, but I usually feel bad after a loss, whether it is 20 dollars or 500 dollars. I wonder if that is a common experience. With the 500 though, I sometimes think about it longer than the 20 dollar loss, and I think about it in terms of having more value (i.e. I could have bought more stuff, etc).
I want to think about the value of money though. Money is, as some guru once said, the smallest possible representation of value. It has almost zero value in itself (just paper). But it represents something of value. What is that thing? Most people are slaves to this green piece of paper, which is mostly an abstraction in bank accounts now anyway. That's understandable, since we need it to survive. But do we?
Money isn't what provides for us. We provide for money. We create money, not the other way around... I think this is the essence of understanding how to attain real wealth (10 million and up in net worth). To make boatloads of money, you have to be disassociated emotionally from money. And you have to create value, create something which money can attach itself to.
What does creating value mean at the poker table, where the object is simply to take money? Well that's an interesting question, but I think the reason most people play poker is not just for money, it's for the love of the complexity of the game. A Phil Ivey loves the game. Loves the competition. And I bet he plays it to be the best, not just for cash. And in innovating, coming up with new ways to beat people, in understanding game theory, there is inherent value, far greater than in the money itself.
I think its a lot more likely that dude plays poker because he is a degen. Ironically, Phil being a degen is what made him rich. He was playing poker since he was 18 before there was any thought of "the poker boom" that ended up turning those guys into celebs.
The takeaway point I am trying to make is that getting rich requires a lot of risk and "dumb luck".
If you want to be a millionaire then you should be chasing risk the way the cops chased OJ.
Most of the people who got rich would be low-class nobodies if they didn't make it.
Do you want to risk being someone who pumps gas at age 45 because you took all-or-nothing path of a long-shot chance of becoming a multi-millionaire?
If so, I support that. Hell, I even admire it. But nonchalantly acting like money doesn't matter is a super dumb mindset to have and is just cognitive dissonance to make yourself feel better when you lose it.
On a social level, you won't get a trophy for trying. Winning will be the only thing that others care about.