Because i´m a tournament player: It´s for the money and i´m also very competetive. I want first places, big scores, victories, good stats, challenges, high roi, good graphs and so on..
For me poker is a battle of wits as much as a battle to see who wins.
in the end the money is just a way of keeping score.
I hope one day to be good enough to make some profit out of a game I love but in a game in which it takes little time to learn but a lifetime to master the odds seemed to be stacked against me but i guess the first guy to scale everest must have thought the same.
I play because I enjoy it. The money is an added bonus, but I don't play enough volume to really make anything. I just find it a fun source of entertainment.
I guess I'd say I play for the money and challenge. I too do not play enough volume to say pay for my kids college. But it has paid for several vacations and I enjoy the time I put into it so Ill keep on plugging away.
Have enjoyed playing cards since I was young. Playing for money can bring the best and worse out of people. Best is they bring there "A" game to the table so you get a competitve session. Worse is when money is involved you have more critics and poor sportsmanship.
There is a lot of great poker that can be played with very little money or none at all. Finding those and enjoying that is reason some play.
pretty much Daniel72 says it all for me and i have fun with it and love the challange of playing with good players , sometimes if u watch and listen to other players, u can pick up on things that might work for yourself ,always open to learn more....
I play poker because it fits my lifestyle, I work as much as 6 days a week at times, and its nice to just sit back and enjoy some poker, it's very enjoyable and a pleasant distraction from my job.
i play for fun and i play about 7or8 hours a day but have no major wins but still havent made a deposit in over a year so i guess im getting better.i just love the excitement and the added bonus of the money.
To get away from reality. Work, wife, whatever. Don't get to play hardly anymore with kid, but it's all good.
I like being able to just focus on the current hand, trying to figure out how others are playing instead of listening to the nagzilla.
I used to play to rip on the donkeys that would make stupid calls only to hit their 1 outer on the river. Because I like to tear people down to make myself feel better. That can be fun too.
Well, that is a complicated question. My very competitive nature wants to win all the time, even if I am playing my daughter in checkers. I set a goal to win as much as I could before retirement to help with some vacations and other things. I am not going far on my winnings but since I have never made a deposit I am ahead of the game. Winning money is always sweeter than working for it.
I played for one reason and one reason only, to win big money like the pro's.To one day absorb and gain the ability to beat the game of poker. $$$$$
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For me, it's a combination of money, competition and challenge. I quite enjoy the fact that it's math and psychology that need to come together to make it all work well.
Both for money and enjoyment. I got really deep in the Daily Forty Grand the other day and was 2nd in chips with 12 people left. Tangled with the chip leader in a hand which I should have just 3bet pre flop and won but instead i ended up stacking off and busting. Was gutted as 12th paid $300 ish but 1st got just under $8K. Was upset at the money drop but also at how poorly I played the hand. I guess its a fine balance.....