Poker - Lifestyle Trap

Ventoman777

Ventoman777

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The trap is revealed when you raise your standard of living as your income rises. Your salary is raised and you buy a new car. You find a better paying job and buy a new home. Received an award - it's time for shopping. We were all in a situation where we received additional money, but still remained penniless for the next paycheck.
We've heard a lot about how many players go bankrupt and are left alone with their gaming problems. I would argue that the lifestyle trap is perhaps one of the main reasons for their financial woes. It is common for young gamblers to be under the delusion that they are capable of printing money out of thin air, and just as quickly blowing it down the drain.
 
gena31

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it is a trap for young people who do not know life, as well as for patients who are ready to risk everything for the sake of playing
as well as for those types of people who live one day
 
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HungryLyan

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It's such a shame that too many young players forget about the concept of gambling responsibly and patience. So fall into the trap thinking they can win big and forget they can lose it all. Where's the bankroll management? I think that's gone out the window.
 
milka1605

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Traps exist for people who have not gone through life experience. A person who knows and looks at the front will not commit such actions.
 
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Younger people without life experience are seldom guarded with their spending, period, A young poker player making making a big score is unlikely to invest it wisely much of the time. That sort of comes with the territory as so many poker players are attracted to the gambling aspect of life.

I would presume that those who were attracted to poker via a background in mathematics or stats rather than say sports betting might have a better handle on their finances.

As I come from a non-gambling background I have never quite understood the entire 'rite of passage' totally losing their bankroll most poker players seem to feel is a mark of poker credibility. If they were a young entrepreneur it would be the equivalent of repeatedly going bankrupt.
 
hugh blair

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It is just rake attrition at the higher levels in the long run win a flip lose a flip raked both times every time and down long haul unless bink a massive score.
Every time you deposit 5k for example even if play ok and cash for over 100k in a few months you still got to pay roughly 10k rake out of the buy ins too never invest more than 10% of your earnings that are disposable in poker.
House always wins while players in a long sample who are down after winning 1 in 2 heads up games,1 in every 3 spin games, 1 in every 6 games in a 6 seater for example are studying the 1000s of set up coolers and flips won and lost wondering where did they go wrong to make money you need to beat the average by a mile.
 
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messats

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traps

The trap is revealed when you raise your standard of living as your income rises. Your salary is raised and you buy a new car. You find a better paying job and buy a new home. Received an award - it's time for shopping. We were all in a situation where we received additional money, but still remained penniless for the next paycheck.
We've heard a lot about how many players go bankrupt and are left alone with their gaming problems. I would argue that the lifestyle trap is perhaps one of the main reasons for their financial woes. It is common for young gamblers to be under the delusion that they are capable of printing money out of thin air, and just as quickly blowing it down the drain.


this quote has truth to it and it doesn't only apply to poker but everyday living, when we get pay raise we increase our spending instantaneously. it takes discipline to control and manage money. the one thing that is hard to make and easy to spend
 
Zvezda kz

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A tough question about poker. In my opinion, not everyone can consistently make money in poker. For most, this is entertainment and a hobby, but, unfortunately, not everyone realizes this and spends a lot of time trying to catch luck by the tail.
 
MishkaZL

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I believe that if a player is disciplined and patient, then no traps threaten him. Obviously, patient and disciplined players have a chance to become successful players. We need to get used to the idea that in fact everything depends only on us.
 
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sexbobomb

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no matter who good you are or how what you run poker is still gambling and needs to be respected as such
 
Maxmustdie

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striving to live better simple human desire
eat better and healthier, be healthier and happier
 
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CliffieDeuce

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I can tell you from experience. Gambling addictions are not about winning.
The feeling when you are losing is greater than the feeling you get when you win.

It's difficult to explain. When you are chasing a win and losing your money, the rush of endorphins is far greater than the rush when you actually win.
That's why addicts keep playing, and no matter how much they win, they will lost it just as fast as they won.
 
Evan Jarvis

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The trap is revealed when you raise your standard of living as your income rises. Your salary is raised and you buy a new car. You find a better paying job and buy a new home. Received an award - it's time for shopping. We were all in a situation where we received additional money, but still remained penniless for the next paycheck.
We've heard a lot about how many players go bankrupt and are left alone with their gaming problems. I would argue that the lifestyle trap is perhaps one of the main reasons for their financial woes. It is common for young gamblers to be under the delusion that they are capable of printing money out of thin air, and just as quickly blowing it down the drain.

thank oy for sharing this Ventoman, I think it's a very important message for people to hear and one that I can relate too.

In my younger years I certainly fell prey to this, trying to keep up with the jones', wanting to live the fancy MTV life that I'd seen on TV and as a result living beyond my means.

IT created a huge amount of tension, stress, worry, anxiety and pressure on me which I could never put my finger on. I just knew I felt like I had to work harder to keep up with my expenses, and so i did and fortunately I was able to keep pace (but constantly afraid of burning out).

When I finally got into yoga and started unwinding the tension I realized that so much of it was coming from the excessive financial pressure and demands I had place on myself. The danger especially comes when singing onto long term loans, leases etc. that seem affordable but quickly add up.

This is especially dangerous for tournament players. It's so tempting to go off when you hit a big score, to try and maintain the huge high that comes from a gambling score, and to ignore the luck that came with it (much like a lottery winner). As a result I have blown thru 6 figure scores before... but fortunately the second time I landed one I was a little older, a little wiser, and smart enough to put the majority of it into investments.

Thru getting my money to work for me, and then progressively cutting down my major expenses I've felt less stress and more bliss as a result. I hope that I can continue this process of chipping away at expenses and freeing up energy to work harder and earn more.

I hope my little post here will help anyone who is tempted to, or is going thru a similar situation to realize they're not the only one and that little changes can go a long way! :icon_sant
 
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sanman17

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Greed is a strange thing that will make people do things that they normally wouldn't do.
Hard work, patience and living within your means is the only path to being sucessful.
 
hubcio96

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Greed is a strange thing that will make people do things that they normally wouldn't do.
Hard work, patience and living within your means is the only path to being sucessful.

So true, we live in a world of instant gratification, when everything moves so fast. With so many young “millionaires” ( not just in poker), most younger people think that if you didn’t make your Mark by the age of 30, it’s too late. They don’t get the hard working, patience, and consistency win the race ( even in poker). Other part of the issue is that younger generation live in “everyone gets a trophy” time. They don’t learn early in life the taste of defeat, and urge to work harder. They live in an world of entitlements. Just my $.05
 
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pvenditto88

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Business 101 maximize profits minimize expenses.
 
Mati532

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Unfortunately there are many people who play to play, that is, they are recreational, they do not think about their hands. This is so because they still don't know what Poker really is.
 
heguli82

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I`ve had this impression that it is specifically younger generation with better over all understanding about poker and what it takes. Living healthier, understanding variance, managing bankroll, all this. But this is just a gut feeling, based nothing. Or based that i havent heard that there has been new Viffers or Matusow etc. :)

It is different world where born today then it was older generations. If you have to point fingers to somebody for today`s youth lack of diligence, i say its older generations who were first to live time of strong growth and well being, enabled by global market economy, industrialization, free trade etc. Their work ethic build systems but were never passed on because there was now individualism instead of traditions, rights more then duties, comfort rather then sacrifice, etc. Not sure at all though, how many more generation are able to enjoy all of this.
 
mervin88

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this is a very nice thread just play within your means and have fun we will not be in trouble

nice story @gripsed, thanks for sharing
 
Wrathchild

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Unfortunately there are many people who play to play, that is, they are recreational, they do not think about their hands. This is so because they still don't know what Poker really is.

That's... not unfortunate at all. I don't understand this mentality about recs/bad recs; we want players like that at our tables if we want to book winning sessions.
 
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Eidde4891

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I think the same can be said about anyone who gets a good paying job. As soon as you get that promotion and start bringing in bigger paydays, most people automatically start living outside their means.
 
pljosko

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While reading the first post on this topic, I remembered a quote from a beautiful Croatian song: "He is not happy who has a lot, happy is he who needs little, happiness cannot be bought with gold ... "
A man who has excessive appetites will always be poor, no matter how much money he provides, and that hunger usually leads to the abyss. Modesty is the greatest wealth.
 
mandachuva

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Key to success is a called bankroll

It's such a shame that too many young players forget about the concept of gambling responsibly and patience. So fall into the trap thinking they can win big and forget they can lose it all. Where's the bankroll management? I think that's gone out the window.
This famous concept is nothing but the key to success in poker
 
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