LarkMarlow
Legend
Silver Level
Several months ago a dealer in one of the riverboat rooms, who has become a good friend of mine, said that one of the things she first noticed from the time she started working there was how much I love poker. I was kind of taken aback and laughingly asked "Does it show that much?!" She laughed too and replied "Sure does. So tell me, why do you? Is it the strategy? Is it the game itself? The competition? Going up against the guys?!" I thought for a minute and then said, "You know what? It's all that and so much more. The culture, the community, and even the controversy."
Since that conversation, I started to give a lot of further thought to her question and began to jot down notes and collect quotes.
In the book Risky Business, by A. Avarez, a quote about the poker community by Eric Drache describes part of why I love this aspect of the game. He says, "…there are no prejudices. Poker reduces everyone to a simple level. Degrees, languages, education, colour, none of that means a thing. All that matters is the amount of chips in front of you. You cannot find a more open-minded group of people than poker players."
I would also add interesting and endlessly fascinating people. People I would never be likely to encounter in my day to day life. In addition, poker transcends age and, as I have said before, gender too. online poker expands this experience exponentially via the plethora of sites and wonderful forums like CardsChat.
In a CardPlayer magazine interview conducted by Justin Marchand, Jack Binion "says that poker prowess also translates well into professional success. Complex problem solving [in poker]", he says, "is a microcosm of life. You are making decisions, putting yourself at risk, and every two minutes you are having a life crisis", he laughs. "In poker, all strategies are almost like a life condensed into a couple of hours to me."
In my own experience, I absolutely concur. I can’t even begin to describe how playing poker, and much more importantly working on learning how to play better, has helped me deal more effectively with all manner of life situations--from the personal to the professional.
I have so much more to share along these lines. In the meantime, I'd really like to hear why everyone else loves poker as much as I do. I just can't imagine that I am alone in my passion for and perceptions about the game.
Since that conversation, I started to give a lot of further thought to her question and began to jot down notes and collect quotes.
In the book Risky Business, by A. Avarez, a quote about the poker community by Eric Drache describes part of why I love this aspect of the game. He says, "…there are no prejudices. Poker reduces everyone to a simple level. Degrees, languages, education, colour, none of that means a thing. All that matters is the amount of chips in front of you. You cannot find a more open-minded group of people than poker players."
I would also add interesting and endlessly fascinating people. People I would never be likely to encounter in my day to day life. In addition, poker transcends age and, as I have said before, gender too. online poker expands this experience exponentially via the plethora of sites and wonderful forums like CardsChat.
In a CardPlayer magazine interview conducted by Justin Marchand, Jack Binion "says that poker prowess also translates well into professional success. Complex problem solving [in poker]", he says, "is a microcosm of life. You are making decisions, putting yourself at risk, and every two minutes you are having a life crisis", he laughs. "In poker, all strategies are almost like a life condensed into a couple of hours to me."
In my own experience, I absolutely concur. I can’t even begin to describe how playing poker, and much more importantly working on learning how to play better, has helped me deal more effectively with all manner of life situations--from the personal to the professional.
I have so much more to share along these lines. In the meantime, I'd really like to hear why everyone else loves poker as much as I do. I just can't imagine that I am alone in my passion for and perceptions about the game.