Yep. I'm still a busto microgrinder but I've even stopped telling my flatmate (and one of my best freinds) any numbers.

Sweet thread. When people argue me with "It's all luck" I simply say...

"So I guess poker pros play the lottery as a side income."

Have yet to get a logical reply.

what's your stars name?

I'm in a job interview the other day and the guy asked me my hobbies and i think to myself "say anything but poker," but of course poker is my only hobby so after nothing else comes to mind I say I play a bit of poker.

-"Do you count cards?"
-"uhh no."
-"you'll never make money then."
-"oh"

I don't tell people I play poker anymore because their reaction is like a caveman watching a spaceship. A) They don't really comprehend it and B) I can't explain it because they don't understand anyway. Peoples understanding of poker is gambling and a fun party game. Beyond that they're clueless unless you have a lot of money to show for it. Which I don't so I don't even bother.

excellent thread.

opposite time.

"why i DO tell some of my degenerate friends i DO play poker online"

this is how it usually goes. which can be convenient.

- they think they can win with little to no knowledge.
- no matter how much i tell them they will end up losing their money they still think they can win and wana make a deposit.(don't ever try to explain variance to an uneducated poker player)
- they are not able to make a deposit(US).
- ask me to transfer them money on full tilt.
- i get periodic payouts in cash without having to wait for a check
- PROPFIT!

i look them up after transfers and say i send $100, there's a 50$ or 25$ sng being played. heh.

and also trying to explain why BR management is important is almost as hard as variance.

i gave up trying to get them to stop playing, or learn more about the game before playing and just say 'yeah sure how much you want?' whenever they ask.

although one time i did get a 300 transfer back on ftp after a degen friend won alot before i saw him again(mildly dissapointing), i think like 3.5kish, then of course asked for 300 more the next day hah.

oh well, ftp cashout sucks so getting random money like this is nice while building a roll/trying to move up limits. gg.

Back about 2 years ago I got a DUI and had to go to the weekend intervention program. At the time I was a huge donk that donated $50 a week to ftp. They asked me what my hobbies were so i obv said poker. counselor started grilling me about poker blah blah blah. I told him I like texas holdem because thats where i win the most money(LOL). Long story short, he said I was going to have to go to GA and AA meetings once a week for the next two months. Made me sign the papers for it and everything. Obv got my lawyer to get me out of the classes.

i just tell ppl im in adult entertainment

haha ^^

I know, it sucks

why have I never thought of this?

since when did it become acceptable for people to ask each other how much money they make? it's rude and annoying as hell

You guys that get the "you're a degen" look when u say u play poker must look like one. Everyone who knows me knows I play serious poker and I guarantee if the word poker was brought up I'm the first name that comes to their mind.

Look, if you look like 90% of the people that frequent casinos obv people are gonna lump you into the same group as them cuz that's what people do. If you look and act like a "professional" than that's how people will treat you. No stranger in their right mind would look at me as a degen when they see me dressed fresh to death and carrying myself as a businessman cuz that's basically what I am. I'm an independent self-employed businessman/entrepreneur.

I got this friend who plays the same limits as me and is probably worth more but he dresses like a raggety ass bum and never shaves and just looks lazy so yeah people prob think he's a degen gambler when he says he plays poker but in reality he's very successful and just doesn't care what people think. All in all how you present yourself as a "poker player" will have an impact on how others view you.

PS I don't know how you guys could have a poker convo with someone who doesn't play poker. FFS I get tilted like a mother****er if I try to have a poker convo with pretty much anyone who plays poker. They always think they know the perfect play and are never open to adapting to table dynamics and just interrupt and I end up blatantly ignoring them until they STFU.

P.S. that new Shwayze **** is dope

Two situations...
I'm in my calc class playing a few 25nl tables so i dont fall asleep and the girl next 2 me sees the tables up (first mistake)
convo goes as follows:

Girl: are you playing online poker? you know that its rigged against you
Me: Yeah but im a degenerate gambler, i need to play or i cant make it through the day (partly true, partly a level )
Girl: How much money have u made?
Me: do i ask you how much money you make at your job?
Girl: well this is different than that...
Me: How so?
Girl: because it is...
Me: you know that makes no sense right?
Girl: I just want to know how much money you have.
Me: Cool, show me your bank account statement and ill show you how much money ive made

2nd story when the GF suprises me at my house and my friends dont warn me so i still have 4 tables of 100nl up (this is her first encounter with me playing poker)

GF: Is that poker your playing
me: Yeah
GF: You know your going to lose... everyone loses at one point
me: Then how would there be people with this much money online (as i exit my tables and pull up the 2k/4k game on ftp with 500k on the table)
GF: they all just put all that money on there but they all lose
me: So who do they lose to?
GF: I Dont know... each other
me: so doesnt that mean some1 has to win?
GF: your just in denial because your addicted 2 gambling
me: Sigh...(holding back the urge to run out of my room screaming)

I love it when I get asked this. I tell them I already have been on TV. Than they usually either get really excited like I'm a celebrity or something (older people usually) or act totally unimpressed like it was standard that all poker players get on T.V. (people my age usually).

That is a great idea. I'm going to start telling people who ask I've already been on TV as well. lol, genius.

I really was on TV so i'm just telling the truth, but it'd be funny if u tell them you got like 4 bracelets and have over 6M in lifetime winnings.

Awsome thread.

Here are some of my favorite questions and statements (forgive me for any repeats):

1. You can make money doing that?
2. What happens if you lose?
3. Have you ever lost?
4. Can you teach me how to make money doing that(this is always someone who has never played poker)
5. How much do you make?
6. Online poker is rigged.
7. Why aren't you playing in the WSOP?
8. I'm not lucky enough to win at poker.
9. I tried that but I always take bad beats.
10. What if you go all in and lose? (thinking your entire bankroll is on the line every hand)


The funniest thing was finding out that my brother n law, a fellow poker player got put on the prayer list at church for his gambling problem. lol

classic

If I give you $50 can you turn it into $1000?

You just told all of us!

I ran into an old neighbor today. I haven't seen her in a few years and she is probably 60 yrs old now.

her: Do you still work at Lowe's?
me: No
her: So where are you working?
me: I am playing poker for a living now.
her: Is your mom disappointed in you?

WTF

or course, but its gonna cost you 100% of the profit.

The thing that kills me is when i am talking to a bunch of smucks that have 70k jobs that they think are the ****, and i have to stand around and say o wow that is really cool, i am a grad student. when i really wanna say wtf get off your high horse, i own you and am gonna slap you with my ****.

I also got most of the comments above, even though I only play NL100 and NL200 so far.
The explanation that works most seems to be comparing playing poker to owning a business, you invest money, you often win but sometimes lose as with a real company, and you're always on the lookout for dumb people just like marketers and salesmen do.
Somehow, that sometimes gets across.