The Reasons We Play Poker
Posted by Nathan Gamble
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Hey Nathan great vid
I wanted to add some reasons people play poker and introduce my thought process. I’m curious what other people think as well.
1 - they have a gambling problem. Some of these folks start with competition or financial incentives as the driver, or use camaraderie as an alibi. M
2 - cash in, cash out creates some opportunity to shuffle gray market and black market money around and basically launder it.
3 - growth/improvement. I think it’s probably fair to call this a part of competition.
As for me, I’m a serious rec. I think competition is the best driver, but even that creates problems - when I get tilty, I have something to prove. So it winds up being a combination of competition, growth/improvement and finances.
Alright, this is a very different list than I expected to hear!
Gambling addiction or other forms of addiction are usually substitutes for other holes in people's lives, so they are probably still playing to fill a social, competitive, or financial need; they just won't actually be able to find the missing piece through poker as there is something much deeper going on - take it with a grain of salt, no expert on this thankfully.
Money Laundering - I think we could say they are still playing for financial reasons, just... different ones than people playing to profit off poker. They are usually a mix of competitive, camaraderie, and alternative financial and will quickly melt at the table in a financial sense. I'd mainly lump them under camaraderie style players. "A good poker game has 2 drug dealers, a great one has 3, and an amazing one has 4 or more!" At least that was the saying growing up in underground games...
Growth improvement would probably mainly fall under competitive as it is an innate desire to learn, get better, and move up in ranks.
For your personal journey I'd recommend checking out some of Elliot Roe's videos either with or without Phil. Sounds like you know why you play and have a strategy in place but could use some help implementing it at all times; mental space is a huge component of the game, not only in knowing the information but in implementing it correctly and walking away when you are no longer in control.
Cheers!
Hey Nathan, wonderful video, I think it’s really important to understand why we play.
I think in general, if you’re strictly only playing for the money, especially at the low stakes, it’s such a fucking mental grind man.
IMO you have to love it, genuinely love showing up everyday and sitting down, playing and studying the game as well. The swings, ups and downs, you have to accept that all of these things will happen.
Absolutely agree, a true passion for the game is absolutely imperative if you want to make a living/profit off of poker in general. Honestly it may have been an entire category that I overlooked of one of the main reasons that people play the game - passion. It is at the heart and soul of why a lot of the greatest players are truly great. Great call out, very much appreciated!
This slide really resonates with me, I’m generally a cash game player, trying to win as much money as I can as well love and appreciate the journey.
It's something that Phil's videos have reinforced throughout the years; you can say you are a professional poker player, but to truly imbody it then you most conduct yourself professionally. I recommend looking to the comment above as we talking about being passionate as well as it will truly see you through the roller coaster of poker as the love of the game will help mitigate so many trials and tribulations.
Thank you great video,do you think you can make a living playing 1/2 in Texas because we play a hour fee
I've played in Texas a few time and it is one of the few places where you can probably make a quality living playing those stakes. There are a few reasons why but also special considerations at hand that you have to account for:
The game is either uncapped or match the stack in the majority of TX locations, so the blinds are kind of irrelevant in relation to how much money is on the table.
The overall quality of play is... lackluster in comparison to the majority of locations. Last time I played at the Lodge I drew a comparison to the PLO game and someone sitting down at a slot machine and feeding endless dollars into it hoping to get lucky, there is a strong urge to put money in the pot with little regard for skill.
Those are the good points, this being said the main consideration is you have to have resolute patience, not give into the pure gambling mentality, and have an absolute stone clad bankroll management system. Interestingly you should be more apt to take shots at bigger/juicier games because you have ample ability to rebuild, but you just have to maintain a minimum (and higher) threshold to resort back to 1/2 if necessary. It is a highly volatile environment that can chew you up and spit you out if you don't manage it carefully
Hey Nathan, Def not playing poker entirely for money. Just for the love of the game for myself :)
Absolutely makes sense! The pure passion for the game is something I didn’t highlight and it certainly helps push anyone playing (especially for profit!) to do even better
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