Giants Fan 85 Posted March 26, 2015 A simple gauge is to look at google searches for "poker" over the past few years on Google. It's use has dropped by more than half, in 4 years, and was already low. The "poker boom", in case you missed it ended about 4 years ago, and it continues to decline in popularity, killing off all the fish leaves the sharks hungry. There's some big reasons why poker is "dying". I put that word in quotes, as Joe Hachem recently famously said it. Others agree. It's less than a zero sum game. A lot of people, like myself, have seen my edge slowly go down. Here's the thing, if you don't at least know what pot odds, implied odds, and reverse implied odds are, you are at a disadvantage. You will be playing against players, like me, that not only understands these concepts, but can do the math in my head. So, because this knowledge is so easilly available to anyone, as basic concepts, people who used to be bad are now at least decent, if they study the game at all. GTO freaks believe they are on the path to solving the game. And it's true that Game Theory Optimal poker would be an amazing thing for a human being to do. I believe that I have solved Gin. I play an optimal game, and it's probably more complicated than you realize. In real games I would often have to stop players from fanning the dead cards, "Nope. You gotta remember what's gone." and the good ones would know, I can tell you every card that's gone. i took a deck of cards recently, as a test, flipped up 51 cards, and I knew the last card was the 8 of hearts. Stu Ungar supposedly did that once into a six deck shoe. Anywqy, my particular memory skills, while it does serve some advantage when I have played poker with you before, I quickly recall what my opinion of your game is, but that all goes away, as people start to remember you. Anyway, memory, which is just a gift (or a curse) is a lot more helpfull in Gin, and combined with some basic game theory ... it's almost like a math problem where you can see the expected value of every move and play a perfect game that will be 50/50 against an opponent playing the same way, but ahead of everyrhing else. The point I am getting at is, even if you are a really good poker player, and you understand all these concepts, your edge is not as much as you think. I have a theory that there is a plateua for the human brain to "solve" Texas Hold 'Em. It's far too complex, because of bluffing and randomness, aka, luck. But the fact is, if you play 100 hours of a 1/2 cash game, and in the end you are up $2000, after tips, that doesn't mean much. Ok, so let's look at that for a sec. Let's say that is playing 20 hours a week, like a part time job. Of course it takes more time and money than that, because you take breaks, you travel to and from the casino, etc. that's going to take you over a month, and likely closer to 6 weeks to actually log that 100 hours, at a casino where you might get an entry into a tournament, comps, wmhatever for logging 100 hours. Overtipping can be a big leak. If you tip $10 on a big hand that you get once a session, that could be $500 by the time it's all said and done. And you may say, OK, I did that, I made money, even after tipping and the rake. $2k profit. $20 an hour. It's not that simple. That's a small sample size. 100 hours is nothing. You gotta be a winning player to break even, right? So, let's see you do that for a year. Then maybe you have a realistic average. Anyone who has ever really put in hours, knows what the bad run is. i am not talking one night, I am talking, session after session, where just eveything goes wrong. It can be a real monkey wrench, and last for months. i remember just like 6 months ago my roll was $5k. And I needed money for expenses, so I would kinda dip below that 5k. And every time I dipped under that $5k mark, I seemed to make a comeback, and I kept that $5k intact, until this year. Been the worst run, prolly ever, and recently quit. BR is down below $2500 and I still want to do shiat like paint my car. So, guys like me, not world class, but pretty good players, that have tried to play an honest game, we are finding our poker rooms only have the jerk, try and con you mfer that mighta just gotten out of jail types left. That's about what it's been reduced to. That's the best opponent you could hope for. Of course, I have lots of stories, learned a lot about people. People are greedy focktards, pretty much. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
jerryskids 5,206 Posted March 26, 2015 Awesome, great idea to quit. I asked before where you plan to channel your energies now but didn't get an answer. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Giants Fan 85 Posted March 26, 2015 Right now I want to finish my car. That's what I was working on today. If I can get it halfway decent, where all the holes are there for the trim I want to put back on it, and I can get like a $1k paint job and maybe sell it. It needs a lot more work than you might think. Ya know, finishing, getting the details right can take a long time. But at some point I will take it to Maaco and get it painted and then put the trim back on it. this car has come a long, long way in 5 years, but it still has a lot of work that I could do myself, that is more rewarding to me. No money in return though, unless I sell it. Not gonna make much profit on this one, if any, but again, I learned a lot. So, long story short, I am trying to get SSI. Not SSDI, which is disability, but SSI which is a suplimental income for people who are disabled. I might qualify and I could still work part time. That would be great and solve, pretty much all my financial problems. Working on trying to be a healthier person. Would like to be in great shape, but c'mon, I'd like to not have anymore pain in my shoulder. Baby steps. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
kilroy69 994 Posted March 26, 2015 He wants to finish his van down by the river so high school girls can come blow him for beer Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Giants Fan 85 Posted March 26, 2015 Back before 2+2 banned me, I was explaining this....oh shiat, I just got it. The title for my poker book. Phil Helmuth wrote, "Play Poker Like the Pros" and I actually think it is required reading. I have it on audiobook. My book should be, "Things Poker Pros Don't Want You To Know" because of course nobody talks about collusion and things like that. The ways people cheat. I know because I have gotten away with it. I have a 500 tournament chip from my local casino that i pocketed during a table change during a low stakes tourney. But I could do that with a 5k chip, and ya know, I don't think the staff cares much. Anyway, back in the day, while people conceded that it takes 3 plus years playing live to even be able to talk about an hourly rate. I know guys that play 200 hours a month, and every single one of them is a money grubbing,,untrustworthy, scamming, POS mfers with a bad attitude. To the last. You might think there is one Zen guy who is always calm, no ... each one of these guys, friggin do one thing wrong, seen a guy accused for slow rolling, just wanted to see the guys cards, he got all mad and said it was a slow roll. And it's not fun to be like that. i don't want to be like that. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Giants Fan 85 Posted March 26, 2015 Lotta hot shot kids, since Black Friday. Saw "Lucky Me" and thought it was easy to pawn a ring and run $150 up into $10k in a day. Do you know how many times I won over $10k in thousands of sessions? Once, I lost in a bad beat jackpot. I mean, do you realize how long I been hustling people playing cards, without cheating? All my life. i remember dealing poker hands to myself, over and over again, trying to hit a royal flush, when I was like 6 years old. i finally did, and you can imagine how long you have to play. Didn't get any action and only one of my cards played. Think it was like KsJh ... pretty standard hand, and nobody bet the Ah, Kh, 10h flop and th the Qh came on the turn. Got a free jacket from the casino. Also have the hat you get for a straight flush, multiple times. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Giants Fan 85 Posted March 26, 2015 Ya know, I got memories. I got poker chips that I played with in Arizona, Washington, Nevada. I got one chip autographed by Greg Raymer. Nifty little poker chip collection, and each one has a story. Didn't buy any of them on ebay or anything like that. I believe I have 3 chips from the local casino that have no cash value, but should also not be out of the casino. Totally shoulda stole a WSOP tournament chip when I played some sattys last summer, but I didn't. Why? i'm a focking poosay, remember? Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Giants Fan 85 Posted March 26, 2015 They give you a pretty substantial ticket stub, actually. No need to steal a tourney chip. If you do anythng significant, the tourney stub from the satty is the thing you want. Anyone can steal a tourney chip. I know people who have done it. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
DankNuggs 305 Posted March 27, 2015 Ya know, I got memories. I got poker chips that I played with in Arizona, Washington, Nevada. I got one chip autographed by Greg Raymer. Nifty little poker chip collection, and each one has a story. Didn't buy any of them on ebay or anything like that. I believe I have 3 chips from the local casino that have no cash value, but should also not be out of the casino. Totally shoulda stole a WSOP tournament chip when I played some sattys last summer, but I didn't. Why? i'm a focking poosay, remember? I have a pokerstars WSOP card topper chip from playing in the main event. Bunch of other knick knacks, those swag bags they would give you for winning a package are pretty cool. Have a set of unopened trading cards, Moneymaker is the top one, not sure who else is in there, but probably the original bunch of sponsored pros on the site. PS hockey jersey, basketball jersey, baseball jersey, leather jacket, hats T shirts... Wife wanted me to throw it all out... I refused. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
GobbleDog 816 Posted March 27, 2015 Ever meet Sam Grizzle? Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
WhiteWonder 2,172 Posted March 27, 2015 you just now realizing the poker craze ended a long time ago? you were late to the party, as usual. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
NorthernVike 2,080 Posted March 27, 2015 A simple gauge is to look at google searches for "poker" over the past few years on Google. Where else would I look for google searches? Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
frank 2,145 Posted March 27, 2015 He wants to finish his van down by the river so high school girls can come blow him for beer You say that like it's not a good plan. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
The Moz 69 Posted March 28, 2015 Had my monthy casino trip (horseshoe Hammond) last night and pulled 12 session when I go to play I play from 8pm to 7-9 am as I know I am going to drink so I just stay and play poker untill sun up. Played 2-5 to start put down the 500 max buy in ended up cashing out for about 1200 at night end but after all the drinks, smoke breaks playing roulette, and food I maybe took home 700 in profit. I have to say the Poker Room at Horseshoe is one of the biggest I have seen outside of Vegas and LA and it used to be PACKED on Friday nights where there was a 1-2 hour wait list now you just show up and play - after about 2am there was only like 3 - 2-5 tables going. Personally though I would rather play against people that know how to play rather than the donks. GF - if you want to play poker as a carrer move to Vegas even you could consistently win at the Venetian and MGM the 2 biggest fish bowls on the strip. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
titans&bucs&bearsohmy! 2,745 Posted March 29, 2015 GF - if you want to play poker as a carrer move to Vegas even you could consistently win at the Venetian and MGM the 2 biggest fish bowls on the strip. But then he would have to find his own place to live! Not to mention losing access to that sweet miata! Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
