[x] someone failing to understand the term existential to any significant degree
[x] someone who feels like searching for meaning is dumb amd thinks they are clever for it
[ ] good attempts at humour

I could go on.

I find it interesting that a post highlighting some of the possibly negative aspects of poker is reacted to like a child having a tantrum by some people. But it's always the same, denial in waves and poker is perfectly well and good. A utopian dream come to life and everyone is agreed that

there is no problem at all.

Just my opinion, but - GREAT POST. I also feel- To each his own. I also believe that many of the young stud college drop out, I am going pro and make myself filthy rich kids of today will be the future's deadbeat bums. Majority of people LOSE at gambling, regardless of what the masses would like you to believe. And one thing is certain, you never master poker, and the money is NEVER enough.

i am thankful that i discovered poker 10 years ago, right out of college, and never had to get a real job. poker has been very good to me. i make much more money than any of my working friends who mostly dislike their jobs and are jealous of me. im thankful to not have a boss or a schedule or deadlines or drive in rush hour traffic. i guess i must be in denial and have been for a decade though.

I thought you were perhaps someone who had played poker online for what could be considered a long time.I could tell you had second guessed your poker pursuit and wondered if you had spent too much time in the solitary booth. It's healthy to at least ask the question. If it is met witha catergorical "no" then all the better.

I guess your friends have the luxury of not having a job where you can lose a weeks salary on a bad beat and have a losing month. By the way, you need new friends if all they are is jealous of you. Good look at the tables.

JWD, prepare to have all your points falsified on the basis that you must be a losing player to spew such drivel. Infact, me agreeing with you is only out of some kind of neurotic denial and we are linking hands through a weird and twisted defiance and alliance over poker beating us like Daniel Negreanu's imaginary Anvil. We are at the side of the road, railbirding and dribbling, empty not from what poker has done to us, but from what we have done to poker and how we abused it and didn't master it well enough. We should be pointed at amd ridiculed, lolitoed and have dust kicked in our faces for questioning even for one moment the lifestyle of a "pro" poker player and all that encapsulates the existence.

what exactly makes you think i second guessed anything?

and i play well within my bankroll, so i dont stress out too much about downswings, thanks for your concern though. losing months, and ive had a few, are not a big deal either. since, again, i think more long term than that, and have never made less than 6 figures a year in the past 10. sorry you arent capable of being a success as well.

your reaction of vitriol on the first page, making mass assumptions about me despite having clarified in the very first post made me think that. I am glad that "thinking long term" is the tunic that saves you from running bad for months in poker. Wish I had never left home without it. For what it is worth, I do ok at poker. I won more than I've lost in the last 2 years, although I have only been playing 3 years and I have known people to run bad for a year or more.
But thanks for your concern; I guess true success in life is measured by how you do at poker and whether you make 6 figures; maybe when I get to 25/50 my life will make sense.

Very good post.
Good read.

Does poker suck the life out of you? Only if you're good at it.

i basically agree with everything that brit always says

why is this guy still allowed to post?

it's an absolute scandal isn't it?

BOOOOya A+ sir

thinking long term isnt what saves me, the bottom line is what saves me.

a question for you: if you made 500k a year, would you have posted this?

I hear you Brit. I am a winning player on both sites I play (FTP and Stars), as I believe you are a winning player too. I remember the slumps (variance) that simply grind you down, no matter how good a player you are. That is why so many good poker players go bust, because you can do everything right, and still lose! That is the aspect of the game that wears on you, wether you like it or not.

curious for an answer?

If the variance gets to you then you probably aren't bankrolled properly or playing too high.

yes because I am driven by much more than money, and not even 500k would eradicate my wonder.

WTF. How did you get a shot of my screen?

We all win and lose sometimes. For every winning pot there is a losing pot. If you would like me to admit that what I said automatically makes me a losing player then you would be mistaken. I meant that sometimes if I drop a few buy ins I try too hard to force it back within a small amount of time and sometimes suffer more as a result because I dont want to quit as a loser for the session.

i knew youd lie, thanks for not disappointing me.

proof you are indeed a lifetime loser in poker.

zzzzz

stop making these threads

hear ya
understand ya
its not the game
it's you

When you hear about a poker player being 'tough' its not because they make superstar plays it's because they can handle all of the bad beats and bad runs that are a part of everybodys game.

Your first sentence basically says that you are not a winning player. You cant only count the times when you are 'on your game', you have to count all your wins and losses. You are probably not as good as you think and should probably take up a less stressful game. Think Magic the Gathering, or professional Wii golfer. fwiw

Sorry? you aren't making much sense. Speaking of a bad habit doesn't mean one always has the habit or plays in such a way. I'm sure every poker player has suffered tilt and some point or another and that isa manifestation of tilt. Does that make me a lifetime loser at poker? Not necesserily.