Making Friends Through Poker

Hey All...

I've often read where alot of poker players are "friends" with their fellow poker players. I get that you should discuss strategy with other players but how are they actually friends if the sole purpose of the game is to win money and at some point, you'll have to beat your "friend" out of his bankroll? On top of that, wouldn't your friend know your moves/strategies and come up with ways to beat you? I guess I'm more inclined to separate the two groups into poker associates and non-poker friends.

Any thoughts?

Friends is maybe not the right term especially if you're talking online. It's more like "people you're friendly with and enjoy joking around with" in my experience.

At the tables you're just trying beat them in the game/session you're playing against them, not take their whole roll. No reason you can't be friendly while doing that.

+1 kd, also some poker players who associate as really good friends with other poker players will not play them at least in a cash game aspect. I only indicate this thinking back to the durrrr challenge where the challenge went out to anyone except.......(i forget his name now lol)......but I'm sure you probably remember this as well.

Also if any aspect of brm is use as a player you shouldn't go break in a single session, as must have some stop-loss in place and know when to quit the game and so a single session isn't usually a make or break scenario (unless your talking millions online like durrrr, isildur, gus etc swing in which case I don't know if you could ever consider someone a friend that beat you out of millions unless you are a billionaire and it doesn't matter lol).

I think live poker has a great social aspect to it and allows you to be able to make some friends, but in the online world its different and you could still acquire friends of sorts for sure such as through a community like cardschat, but perhaps it depends on your definition of friend.

Yeah I remember durrr saying this about Phil Galfond where the $1 million challenge was open to everyone except him. So I'm guessing that they're friends away from the tables and not just acquaintances.
Live poker does have a great social aspect to it as you can talk about damn near anything for hours on end, play a few hands, joke about the guy who went all in with K8o, take his money, wash, rinse and repeat. online poker is different in that you all have a common interest (poker), situations (how to play pocket 88 from the SB) and strategies but other than that, that's it. If by chance these online players meet in person and a bond outside of poker is formed, then they would be considered friends I guess.

Lots of people are friendly on CC that does not mean they would not stack you if they had the chance.

steveiam said:

Lots of people are friendly on CC that does not mean they would not stack you if they had the chance.

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^^ This! Plus +1

Friends are friends. Poker is business.

I have a solid group of friends on skype that I made from right here, CC. I don't play much now but even when I played lots of poker we played different stakes/style (MTTorCash) so it was rare that we ever played vs one another and even rarer you play a pot vs one another.

But even then it's fine, its not like you're taking their life roll or something by stacking them.

nothing wrong with having a few poker friends that you can bleather while playing a few games with....be a lonely world if we didn't have anyone you didn't like or to share poker/sport stuff with.

You can still have friends and try to take their money... I even play poker with family and I will try to take every cent they put on the table (lol)

Poker isn't personal it's just poker and it's important to be able to differentiate a friend while on the felt and while off the felt

MMA Fighters are friends but they still try to kick each others asses in the Octagon (yes it's true that some won't fight each other because of friendship)

NFL players can be friends with other people from different teams, same with NBA and whatever other professional sport there is and they are trying to beat you and even try to keep you from achieving your dreams of winning a championship so they can win one..

Your friends can be friends off the felt but your business men on the felt

AlfieAA said:

nothing wrong with having a few poker friends that you can bleather while playing a few games with....be a lonely world if we didn't have anyone you didn't like or to share poker/sport stuff with.

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Yeah, like who would blame you for breaking online poker if you didn't have poker friends LOL

When I first started playing poker it was with friends. We all knew we were each there to win. Sure feelings get hurt, people got upset. Things happen but the following week we were all right back at that table as if nothing happened.

I would always look forward to playing poker. We became closer friends because of the game.

A friend taught me how to play, and I will never play him for real money. If we crossed paths in a tourny in the future, and it was him or me. I would no doubt try to knock him out, and he would do the same.

As for as playing online, I prefer to play people that are not members of CC, but I'm never changing my game just because we are in a pot together.

BluffMeAllIn said:

Yeah, like who would blame you for breaking online poker if you didn't have poker friends LOL

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hehehe that's what its all about bluff, abit banter eh ....but i'll still be trying to bust your ass at the tables..

I have made a lot of good friends on here and I love them to bits

I don't even care if they beat me in the CC freeroll, I will always wish them luck to go on and win it, sheesh I even say GL all when I get beat in the bankroll and I don't have any friends that play them, they never reply tho, ignorant bunch

AlfieAA said:

hehehe that's what its all about bluff, abit banter eh ....but i'll still be trying to bust your ass at the tables..

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Wouldn't want it any other way, competition is a driving force in poker and I for one used to enjoy a lot of playing games at a pub on a regular basis so playing with the same faces essentially. I had been missing this a lot and perhaps this is why I'm so GOGOGO in regards to the forum, the league and the freerolls because its something I greatly enjoyed about playing poker.

I for one am happy to be here, and do imagine there is always possibilities of making great friends from the forum, and well then there is Alfie haha seeya on the BCP felt tonight I'd imagine.

I hope to be part of the cc community for a very long time now that I'm here, and hope I get a chance to meet lots of you someday. Maybe someone will win wsop ME and bring all the reg cc members together for a party lol.

You know what they say keep your friends close but your enemies closer lol!

I look at it as any other sport. Take football for example, on the field, I am going to try to sack you if you are the QB. If I am a cornerback and you are a receiver, you jump for a ball, you are going to get popped. I may even offer you a hand up after the play. Friends off the field, mortal enemies while the time clock is running. I think it is totally possible to be friends on and off the table. Most of the pro's understand that chips are not money. They are part of the game. Once the chips are in the pot, they are no longer yours until you win the pot. Shake your friend's hand when he beats and give him / her shit about it over a beer later. Somethings can not be quantified with chips or money!

I have lots of poker friends and sometimes we end up on the same table. None of us have any problem at all taking chips from each other. We might feel a little bad about knocking each other out or taking a big pot from each other - but it never stops us from doing it lol.

dakota-xx said:

I have lots of poker friends and sometimes we end up on the same table. None of us have any problem at all taking chips from each other. We might feel a little bad about knocking each other out or taking a big pot from each other - but it never stops us from doing it lol.

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+1

Poker is a money game, so i guess friends is not correct word where moey starts friendship ends

Poker is still just a game (besides money). If you win something that is a + , but try to have fun with your friends while playing. Simple as that.

Not taking your friends money in poker is -EV

I am competitive with my friends with poker and many other games. With poker, at least for me, the game is not just about money. Money is great benefit, but it gives me more pleasure to make better decisions and learn how to exploit your opponent. The game experience because more intense when you friends know your tendencies. You will have to think more about the game and it will test you to see if you can counteract players trying to exploit your weaknesses.

If I am going to lose money in poker, I would rather lose it to a friend then some unknown villain.

When I'm playing with my girlfriend and her brother (the guy who taught me the basics of the game) with play money, I try like hell to take every last penny from both of them but I don't think I would ever play my girlfriend's brother for real money. That's a feud waiting to happen especially when his financial situation isn't the best.