People either think that:

- The only skill in poker is physical tells, so that's all you need to work on.
- The only skill in poker is bluffing, so that's all you need to work on.
- Poker is all luck anyway.
- Poker is all skill, so if I've lost money recently, I must have been playing poorly.

I've been suggested that I borrow like $10k (micro player) to turn it into even more. Uh, yeah. Why not at least $100k? I'll be earning millions far quicker.

Id never invest in you, ur a nit. How much u make like 1bb/100?

wat?

This kind of respons is fairly normal, cuz for your friend 12k is a lot of money and poker is something untangable for him. So that money is in his eyes the sum of luck , but in your eyes the sum of skill. If you felt like you got that 12k lucky and not so muck through skill ( like winning a BBJ or something while playing micro's) you would be more compelled to withdraw it as well. Matter of perspective imo.

Yeah, there's no way I would be accepting that deal.

Yeah I have similar stories... the can I give you 20$ and you make it X is very common...

OMG yes people finding out you play competitive scrabble is the worst thing ever... 10x worse than poker...

Omgfmgffmg You must read the dictionary 12 hours a day lolz do you know the whole dictionary ur such a nerd lolz... How much moneys can you win... how can you play if you dont even speak englihs or aren't a good speller ??///? ??<
CAN I PLAY YOU... I BET ILL BEAT YOU... I HAVE A FRENZ HOO RLY GOOD SCRABBBEL N SPELINg and so on

****ing ******s.

I have been doing this for quite a while too

OMG OMG OMG! I was asked THE question last week in college. Some chick who ever since she overheard my pokerwinnings is suddenly talking alot to me in class all the time asked me:

"So uhm, If I give you like €100 can you double that for me? I'm kinda short on cash"

I replied: "No."

She: "why not?"

me: "If you would stake me €25k we might talk, but €100, it's not even a buyin for me. I explained abit about how I played 6 tables 200nl for witch I would need $1200 to even start playing, then I explained about needing at least 30 buyins for a stake etc etc.

best part:
-"I only play small stakes tho, like 200nl"
-"200nl? Whats that?"
- "That you buyin for $200"
- "200?! wtf : o you call that small stakes?!"
- "Its not like those dollars are worth anything nowadays anyway"

"But what will you do when your luck ends?"

I hate this phrase

so you play poker
for like real money?

no bit@h i play with goddam play money!

then i bang her

works every time but the last time

I just tell them I hold investments in Texas.

Him: "So I hear you are a poker player. Are you good?"

Me: "No, I'm just lucky."

My biggest problem is trying to get my point across. It's really hard to try and articulate something that you have never witnessed anyone else do.

An example of this would be attempting to pick up a girl. If you have never seen anyone do this you would have no chance of succeeding. Well I have never seen anyone try and explain poker to someone else, therefore I just jump around from examples and ideas to the other.

I guess half the problem is me.

I tell my wife that if anybody asks what I do for a living, to tell them I sell insurance. Nobody ever really WANTS to talk to an insurance guy.

Phone survey:

Woman: Are you in full-time or part-time employment?
Me: Uh... kinda self-employed.
Woman: What do you do?
Me: Uh... play online poker for money.
Woman: Uh... hmm... I don't think that counts.
Me: Uh, well... you can, uh, make money from it.
Woman: Hmm... thanks for your time.

I got the impression she probably thought I was some kid just gambling online thinking his upswings due to luck were enough to call a "job". Pretty embarassing.

I only read the first 2 pages but didnt see anyone mention the "have you ever had a royal flush? WOW, how much did you win with it?? must've been alot!!" question.

I get this all the time

This has got to be one of the best threads ever...it was started in 2006 and is still going strong. It resurfaces like once a month.

me :i won $xx amount today
them :have you ever seen any of the money??

I actually have had some good experiences. Lots of the standard stuff mentioned here too, but I was dating a girl for a few months a while back.

She asked what I do and I told her I play poker. She said, "thats pretty crazy, but if it works it works." She pretty much didn't ask much more than that. I heard her tell one of her fiends, "He's a smart guy and he makes money, so I'm sure he knows what he is doing. It really doesn't involve me."

Too bad she wasn't much fun in or out of the sack, smart girl though.

i met this girl outside of tryst and she was like what do you do and i said i stole a lot of money when i was younger and i also play poker. and she was like, "do you have to have a fat weener to play that game?" and i said, "no, but it certainly helps." and she was like, "why dont you come back to my ****bag room at the las vegas hilton and jam it up my butt." YEAH! GO ME!

that is brilliant, i think ima adopt that one, thanks


so what do you do for a living?
I am an equity analyst.

ORLY? What does that mean exactly?
I determine the value and return of investments, both short term and long term.

Are you rich?
Are you disease free and put out?

I read this whole thread, so Ill bump it.

I have mostly had good experiences with telling people I play poker. all my friends are supportive, and I have mostly avoided the "OMG DOUBLE MY $100" stuff. I don't go around saying exact amounts I win or anything though.

Two friends of mine wanted me to teach them, so Ill give them some time while im not busy. Can't be that hard to teach a couple smart individuals how to beat idiots at 25nl.

I have been asked "Are you playing in the WSOP this year?!" "Isn't online poker illegal?" etc. but nothing too bad.

But how much did you LOOOOOOOOOOSE?

a) This is 100% correct.
b) It became sadly apparent that I could win a ton more money with much less work playing poker, which has killed my Scrabble game.
c) Do I know you?
d) I wonder how many crossovers there are on 2+2. We should have a tourney.

I applied for a USD CC today (need one for spending when I travel in USA). I was w/ a friend, I'm 19 and when I got to the part about employment I was like huh... self-employed? I dunno.. I make $ monthly but not a fixed revenue, etc etc. I didn't mention poker. I'm 90% sure she thinks I'm dealing coke/weed/etc.

Fun times.

Also my school is sort of small and most people know I'm the poker guy and am winning. It's kinda awkward when I chat up a new girl and she's like "so I hear you make lots at poker huh", wtf am I supposed to answer? YA BITCH?

just unzip your pants, she'll know what to do. it aint rocket science.