James Vogl After a winning session against a poor player but a successful businessman, we had dinner together. I will never forget what he told me, "James, there are no winners in poker. The losers lose and the winners, if they are smart enough to make a living playing poker, could make infinitely more in other endeavours in life."
I admire the way you've lived life from the last time we crossed paths over 10 years ago at the Vic, but I feel the need to rebut you when it comes to the advice offered by the allegedly sage businessman.
Firstly, I think there is no merit at all to the idea that there are no winners in poker. While it is correct to realize that monetary success does not equal happiness, fulfillment, or self worth...for some people poker is the best pathway to these goals. It is rare of course, but so is becoming successful at any other aspect of life.
I also think it is a bunch of poppycock and a loser (at least at some facet) projecting on you his localized perspective of life. The fact is that you won. Not only that, you won big. You had no better use of your time at that period of your life, and it could be argued you wouldn't have been successful afterwards at anything else had you not gained the experience in professional gambling despite being from a good family. You made the correct choice to quit for your life (in my opinion), but that doesn't mean other people are blessed with as many options as you were. You are projecting your pathway of success onto others here just like that businessman who lost. Perhaps you internalized some faulty logic from him even though you turned out a winner.
Most winning players I remain friends with (I don't associate with either losing poker players or life losers) came from similar backgrounds. Broken family, Jewish, previously competitive at a high level in another sport, and gifted at instinctual game theory (they learn unsolved things fast). Every single person of this group who found poker with me was handicapped in life compared to you in at least one way. It could be social class, criminal record, physical, emotional, or situational, but everyone had a wall that poker allowed them to overcome. It is of course possible some of them could make more money doing other things, but people choose the path of least resistance that gives them the greatest chance of success in life. Your life fortunately afforded you more branches and the cognizance to be aware of those branches, but I guarantee you that it was the path of least resistance just like everyone else who is still making a living playing poker.
My personal story found me at a 3rd rate university in a freshman business class at 17 years old with a bunch of losers except for the assistant professor from Russia. I had a meeting with him one day because I was frustrated with how unchallenged I felt by everything. He was secretly a successful himself from hard work trading, but nobody in the class was smart enough to realize this guy knew what he was talking about. He was only teaching at the school so he could earn his doctorate and be credentialed enough to run a fund in the US. Nobody else ever came by his office except to whine. He didn't need to work at all, and said I didn't need school. He encouraged me to leave university behind to pursue poker because he accurately predicted almost every single thing that would happen in the industry. He said I may never have a better opportunity to make so much money in my life and to take it. I could always return to school.
He has been 100% right so far. Despite my diverse knowledge of business, every single company I have created or ran has failed so far despite many innovations I am quite proud of. This does not mean i will stop trying or that poker is the end all for me, but it is the only thing I am currently sure of at 31. I am an expert at what I do. Not many people can claim to be an expert who has been at the top of their field. I can.
Life is extremely short, and the professor was right...I haven't got the opportunity again to plunder the low hanging fruit I once did. I'm still here grinding some of the time and mostly spend my days trying to execute my ideas successfully. I know now exactly what I am capable of, and that is something poker has given me. I would have never been given the opportunity to leave the US, meet my wife, or have any of the amazing friends I have without poker. I might not be doing so great financially currently, but I am definitely a winner from poker, and in life.
I admire the way you've lived life from the last time we crossed paths over 10 years ago at the Vic, but I feel the need to rebut you when it comes to the advice offered by the allegedly sage businessman.
Firstly, I think there is no merit at all to the idea that there are no winners in poker. While it is correct to realize that monetary success does not equal happiness, fulfillment, or self worth...for some people poker is the best pathway to these goals. It is rare of course, but so is becoming successful at any other aspect of life.
I also think it is a bunch of poppycock and a loser (at least at some facet) projecting on you his localized perspective of life. The fact is that you won. Not only that, you won big. You had no better use of your time at that period of your life, and it could be argued you wouldn't have been successful afterwards at anything else had you not gained the experience in professional gambling despite being from a good family. You made the correct choice to quit for your life (in my opinion), but that doesn't mean other people are blessed with as many options as you were. You are projecting your pathway of success onto others here just like that businessman who lost. Perhaps you internalized some faulty logic from him even though you turned out a winner.
Most winning players I remain friends with (I don't associate with either losing poker players or life losers) came from similar backgrounds. Broken family, Jewish, previously competitive at a high level in another sport, and gifted at instinctual game theory (they learn unsolved things fast). Every single person of this group who found poker with me was handicapped in life compared to you in at least one way. It could be social class, criminal record, physical, emotional, or situational, but everyone had a wall that poker allowed them to overcome. It is of course possible some of them could make more money doing other things, but people choose the path of least resistance that gives them the greatest chance of success in life. Your life fortunately afforded you more branches and the cognizance to be aware of those branches, but I guarantee you that it was the path of least resistance just like everyone else who is still making a living playing poker.
My personal story found me at a 3rd rate university in a freshman business class at 17 years old with a bunch of losers except for the assistant professor from Russia. I had a meeting with him one day because I was frustrated with how unchallenged I felt by everything. He was secretly a successful himself from hard work trading, but nobody in the class was smart enough to realize this guy knew what he was talking about. He was only teaching at the school so he could earn his doctorate and be credentialed enough to run a fund in the US. Nobody else ever came by his office except to whine. He didn't need to work at all, and said I didn't need school. He encouraged me to leave university behind to pursue poker because he accurately predicted almost every single thing that would happen in the industry. He said I may never have a better opportunity to make so much money in my life and to take it. I could always return to school.
He has been 100% right so far. Despite my diverse knowledge of business, every single company I have created or ran has failed so far despite many innovations I am quite proud of. This does not mean i will stop trying or that poker is the end all for me, but it is the only thing I am currently sure of at 31. I am an expert at what I do. Not many people can claim to be an expert who has been at the top of their field. I can.
Life is extremely short, and the professor was right...I haven't got the opportunity again to plunder the low hanging fruit I once did. I'm still here grinding some of the time and mostly spend my days trying to execute my ideas successfully. I know now exactly what I am capable of, and that is something poker has given me. I would have never been given the opportunity to leave the US, meet my wife, or have any of the amazing friends I have without poker. I might not be doing so great financially currently, but I am definitely a winner from poker, and in life.
Sept. 11, 2014 | 1:31 a.m.