sick life

I gave a talk on poker and I had those questions:
-How much did you win ?
-blabla $
-How much did you lose ?
-Do you count cards ?
...

Finally I think they understood. They're just damn boring with the "can you teach me ?"...

"how can you go all in with AA ? it's just one pair, how do you know they are not going to make trips if you haven't seen the flop yet ?"

that's what my brother said to me today i was shocked, people really have no idea how poker works

I tried to teach my mom poker and she thinks like this, and its actually surprisingly hard to explain how its a good idea if they think otherwise.

Well some people are so risk-averse that they wouldn't do it even once they understand fully that they'd be at least an 80/20 favorite over any hand. Think about the nitty live players you see once in a while that never, ever, ever bet/raise without the nuts, and even then not until the river when they can't be outdrawn. You could probably spend all day trying to explain why it's not profitable, but it probably makes them physically ill to get all their money in with any reaonable chance of losing. There are a lot of mental mindsets that make it impossible to be a successful poker player, even if one is relatively intelligent/math-savvy.

Coming from online poker, I find it surprising that the absolute majority of the ppl I play with in live cash games thinks of bets in terms of money (like $25) instead of big blinds, regardless of how big\small the pot is. Some of they once in a while try to be accordingly to the pot size, but most will bet something like $50 into a $475 pot OTR and the very next hand bet the same $50 into a $35 pot OTF.

I think this is the best topic in whole 2+2. I also think letting anyone but your close ones know you play poker is -EV and can cause TILT for days.

Can't believe anyone gets an inquisitive response, I just get a look like I just told them im a pro tic tac toe player.

Yeah.. if you tell them "Because i expect to win about 80% of the time against a random hand", they say "So you lose 20% of the time? It's about luck then."

I'm pretty amazed at so many posts in this thread.

It appears obvious that over 95% of the posters here are microstakes grinders.
Anybody discussing how their parents/girlfriend don't understand what they do during their free time just don't get it. Yeah, it's only natural for ignorant people to wonder why you spend hours playing in front of a computer. They just can't SEE why you're doing it, because there is NOTHING to see. You just don't make any money playing microstakes. You know it, they know it, yet you try and argue with them how poker is a game of skill.
Ridiculous.

If any of you microstakes grinders (omg my mom told me to cash it out before i lose it all LOLOLOL !) made any decent amount of money playing poker, then your family would understand WHY you're doing it. You guys DO look like degen spending 6hrs a day playing poker and not making any money off of it. Be realistic.

I can assure you that all higher stakes players making good money at poker have NO PROBLEM dealing with their family. Your income is often bigger than theirs, they get to see everything you buy for yourself and how poker helps you have a much better lifestyle. They realize you just don't need their financial support anymore. What can they say ?

It's important to not associate microstakes grinders, who only play poker for a few bucks, and "real" poker players who can actually make a living off poker. That's two very different worlds. Be realistic about your situation. Don't act like you're great poker players because you know a lot more than a random guy. If you don't have any numbers to back it up, there's just no point getting into an argument. People need proofs. If you don't give them one, they'll always think you're a jerk (and once again, it's only NATURAL for them to think so)

When you DO make money out of poker, the only tricky question your friends have is "wow, you're always spending so much money on whatever you want, how can you afford that?"
The answers to that question are numerous, and it's very easy to get away with it if you don't wanna go into the poker discussion.

Answering any question about how much you make at poker is ridiculous. Tell them you make thousands, they're just not gonna believe you. Tell them you make a few hundreds, they're gonna think it's not gonna last, at best.
You can only discuss that with your closer friends, when they can SEE for themselves what kinda lifestyle you have.

Microstakes grinders, keep in mind the game you're playing will never get you anywhere in life. You should just consider it a hobby, a past time that SOMETIMES makes you some money. As such, don't ever consider talking about it to people as if it were any different. Keep it simple, and you'll be fine.

^ condescending much?

Thank you, Phil

Came to this thread expecting a new story, came away with an angry rant that I'm still not sure what the point of was

I made the mistake of telling someone at work that I play poker. He asked me how I was doing and said something like "last 2 vacations were from poker money".
Now, every single time he comes on my floor he starts yelling from the other side of the room "HEY MAN HOW'S POKER? DO YOU WIN OR LOST IT ALL?"
****in moron!

Not everyone still lives in their parent's basement. When you're not home and are making decent money and don't have a job, tell your parents it's from poker, and many still won't understand/believe you. The same goes with friends.

What a stupid post. (I can be condescending too, yay!)

This month I expect to be my biggest in a long time, about $1500 from playing micro 20nl. Yes the majority of it is from rakeback/bonus/rake race but that's still from poker. Which is actually a really good monthly income in my country. Go back to your cave playing nosebleeds with durrrrr and ivey please

took a couple days of reading, but finally finished this thread..
easily one of the best threads on here.. i love all the stories.. even tho we all hear the same ones.. its pretty funny to know so many of us go through the same pain. Daily.

You haven't finished the thread keeps growing, you'll be reading this forever.

my mom is funny, shes super paranoid about me getting addictions to gambling, everytime she gives me a lecture about gambling addicts who lost their families before my buddies come over to play 5$ buyin games. but then shes happy about me winning in online poker.

HAHA yourt a joke, i would bet my roll u cant beat nl10 and it pisses u off

its just the rareity of it.

it would be like if u met a porn star or rocket scientist

im sure you would have questions.

im with you though, i get annoyed telling the same story over and over

obvious troll is obvious

I want to say "no I wouldn't" but that's only really because of this thread. It's nice to get some perspective. I'd like to think I'd now think about common questions people who work in unusual occupations face.

Even if 90% of the people in this thread are social ******s.

Ok ppl may not like this but...just tell them what they want to hear.

"Yeah, I lost it all. Every cent. Yeah thats why Im pissed all the time, now leave my alone, quit kicking a guy when hes down."

You know what'll happen? Theyll snicker and laugh, maybe tell a few ppl, then LEAVE YOU ALONE. How can u b so sure? Theyre idiots w/ short attention spans, theyll just turn to something else.

Just ignore them, and just like in elementary/middle/high school, once you ignore the ******s and dont say anything, they look for something else to make ****** comments about.

Ive learned this the hard way w/ poker and some of the martial arts Ive studied

"Oh you study that? Saw that on TV once, doesnt look like it would work....I bet I can kick your ass"

FACEPALM

If you can show someone a flashy car and house you bought while you don't have a job I agree it would be easier getting people to understand so I guess I can't completely disagree with this post.

Let's be real, you can't beat 5NL.