Great post and great points Piers. Undergrad and grad school have been some of the best times of my life.

I think there is a difference between poker being a profitable hobby and poker being your life. Hobbies are great, because when you stop having fun you can step away. I don't know what I would do if poker was my life and I stopped enjoying it.


-Jus

The difference is that someone who has a professional degree and a job in the field can play poker for fun, go on a -10k run, dust off and be able to continue their lives. Someone who depends on poker can have a bad run, get stuck and have absolutely nothing to do besides gamble (and will reach a point where they are too in debt/have got broke too many times) for anyone to stake them.

-Jus

(more thoughts to come)

i think that being a "professional" poker player is akin to being a professional entertainer with two audiences -- fellow players and, at the higher levels, the general population.

until they reach the big time, i see most professional poker players as something similar to minor league players in baseball. they are making enough money to scrape by while they improve their skills. some of them drop out when they realize that they will never make it to the bigs, others stay in perpetual minor league limbo as it's the only life they know. when the end does come, some just leave baseball outright, and others keep it as a peripheral part of their life (e.g., announcer, coach, etc.)

as such, i think that the true professionals need to aim for the big games and big tournaments. everything else is just grinding and will ultimately grow old. beware.

the exception to this is, of course, if one can play poker while living in a low cost-of-living developing country. Piers does this, and there is no shortage of people doing things like moving to Thailand and playing poker for income. while poker may still be a grind, it can allow for a fantastic quality of life in perpituity... as long as one is willing and able to move to the next low-cost country if the current one ends up developing.

anyway, i guess my point is that i completely agree with what Piers said and I am expanding on his comments a bit. if you want to be a "professional poker player" and are not aiming for the big games, i think that your career will be limited. that being said, poker can be a fantastic hobby and source of supplemental income if kept on the periphery.

sorry to hijack your journal, piers.

Well a sucky day poker wise, not wasting time with the blow by blows just posted the result.

Went back and redeposited into Empire. Certainly not the number of games that there were but it seems they have infused the ones that are there with a shitload of idiots.

Party Poker 3/6 Hold'em (8 handed)

Preflop: Hero is UTG with , .
Hero raises, 1 fold, MP1 calls, 2 folds, SB 3-bets, BB calls, Hero caps, MP1 calls, SB calls, BB calls.

Flop: (16 SB) , , (5 players)
SB checks, BB checks, Hero bets, MP1 calls, SB calls, BB calls.

Turn: (10 BB) (5 players)
SB checks, BB bets, Hero raises, MP1 calls, SB calls, BB 3-bets, Hero calls, MP1 calls, SB folds.

River: (21 BB) (4 players)
BB bets, Hero calls, MP1 folds.

Final Pot: 23 BB

Results in white below:
BB has Jc 7c (one pair, jacks).
Hero has Ah As (one pair, aces).
Button doesn't show.
Outcome: Hero wins 23 BB.

Party Poker 5/10 Hold'em (10 handed)

Preflop: Hero is UTG+2 with , .
UTG raises, 1 fold, Hero 3-bets, 2 folds, MP3 calls, CO calls, 3 folds, UTG calls.

Flop: (13.40 SB) , , (4 players)
UTG bets, Hero raises, MP3 calls, CO calls, UTG folds.

Turn: (10.20 BB) (3 players)
Hero bets, MP3 folds, CO calls.

River: (12.20 BB) (2 players)
Hero bets, CO raises, Hero calls.

Final Pot: 16.20 BB

Results in white below:
Hero has Ac Kc (one pair, kings).
CO has Th 8h (straight, ten high).
Outcome: CO wins 16.20 BB.

Party Poker 5/10 Hold'em (10 handed)

Preflop: Hero is CO with , .
UTG calls, 3 folds, MP2 raises, MP3 3-bets, Hero caps, 2 folds, BB calls, UTG calls, MP2 calls, MP3 calls.

Flop: (20.40 SB) , , (5 players)
BB checks, UTG checks, MP2 bets, MP3 raises, Hero 3-bets, BB calls, UTG folds, MP2 folds, MP3 calls.

Turn: (15.20 BB) (3 players)
BB checks, MP3 checks, Hero bets, BB calls, MP3 calls.

River: (18.20 BB) (3 players)
BB checks, MP3 checks, Hero bets, BB calls, MP3 calls.

Final Pot: 21.20 BB

Results in white below:
BB has 8c Jc (one pair, jacks).
MP3 has Ac Kc (one pair, aces).
Hero has Jh Jd (three of a kind, jacks).
Outcome: Hero wins 21.20 BB.

Another shit day at the office thus far. After clearing the Empire bonus still down about 100.

Well hell the cards finally turned for me a little bit and I made a nice run at the 5-10 6 max table in a short session.

Pokerroom 15-30 5 max limit, 13 hands, 30.75
Empire 5-10 6 max limit, 277 hands, -26.75
Empire 3-6 6 max limit, 304 hands, -6.45
Rake: 7.58
Various: 94.54
------------------------------
Total: 99.67
Time: 2h40m

Short morning session before heading off to a science extravaganza here in Caracas today.

The exhibition was alright. Tried some pumpkin wine, papaya wine and pumpkin wine with spice (cinnamon was the one I could decipher). The spiced pumpkin wine was very nice and the pumpkin wine was as well. I did not care for the papaya wine. Also tried several different shell fish which were all tasty and had my first encounter with kumachi as well, a nice treat although VERY spicy.

Just spent a little time 10 tabling burning through a couple of Party bonuses at 0.5-1.0 limit, what a joy that was.

Martins PLO8 50, 8 hands, 7.35 euro (8.69)
Martins PLO8 20, ca. 16 hands, -3.2 euro (-3.78)
Martins 0.50-1.0 limit, 20 hands, 5.65 euro (6.68)
Party 0.5-1.0 limit, 366 hands, -6.50
Rake: 12.60
Various: 23.91
----------------------------------
Total: 41.60
Time: 1h10m