[Closed] Is talking about poker and/or income a dumb thing to do?

Hey guys, thank you all for your insights, and I think these two sum it up pretty good. I don't feel like lying, but not mentioning above average income seems pretty logical. I think I'll just say something like "it gets me through the month".

Originally posted by alejandrosh
I used to be open about it with everyone, it probably made me look like the asshole I surely am.

I don't think cover up stories are the solution since it will make you look shady. I like being vague , now I just make up numbers when people ask me how much I make unless they are close friends.

Originally posted by fuzzyfish
It reminds me of all them janitors and warehouse workers who come to Estonia as tourists and think they kick ass because they make more than a local doctor.

Well, the reality is that comparing your income to the average local income doesn't really tell anything about you and your abilities. So if you don't want to be a dick, be modest when it comes to discussing your income.

oh yeah, and i just pulled out some interesting keywords from this discussion, food for thoughts :

asshole
dick
gambling degenerate
jealousy
douche
gambling addict
not nice
outsiders
awkward
shady
vague

I'll talk about poker and the opportunities it can bring. "not that I'm a high roller"

But usually I curve the conversation like you should try out pokerstrategy and learn how the game works etc.

I find very few actually want to learn. Some I'll watch play and they are not making +ev plays. I try to explain why they should push with 6 big blinds fi in late position with moderate hands but they argue with me so i tend to refrain from giving advice to people who won't go learn on their own.

If you say you make 3k a month etc "who cares" it's just bar stool banter. I wouldn't feel bad earp.

I liked the comment "say your in the shipping business. or you could say your a fisherman.

Now when you win the WSOP I would keep that to yourself and not tell random people.

Agreed about trying to teach people how to play ♠_confused: It's pointless. Most people really don't give a crap about learning, i've tried to explain stuff to my flatmates before, really simple concepts about being tight and aggressive, and every time I see him playing online he's limping with all sorts of crap. I have to fight the urge to scream at him when he tells me "Yes, two pair with 94".

"WHY ARE YOU IN MIDDLE POSITION PLAYING 94 ARRRRGHHHH" ♦

Now I just leave him to it, if he wants to donk his money away i'll let him

Video is related to this thread.

I have so many stories about this subject.

First : I don't make much money with poker yet but I did ship a few online tournies or had good cashin but each time I speak about how much poker I play I encounter usually 3-4 different types of people. I try to change subject or not speak about it anymore after all the bad experiences.

Hold em has become quite popular so it is kind of easy to find people who enjoy to play the game. (In Canada anyways) and a poker night should be something that you like to do.

Here's the 4 types of people I usually meet when speaking about the fact that on saturday for example I will play lots of poker.

1) The person who thinks you are a degen gambler. Usually it's the most common one. (See video above for explanation) It's sadly more often girls than guys
2) The guy who sees poker on TV and think he is a poker genius. He will usually lie about hands he had to impress you (Full house over quads, quads over quads) to try to impress you and will make up fake tournament cashes as well.
3) The guy who played poker once in his life and pretend to know everything about it. He usually will say something, Poker is only luck and don't try to convince me otherwise. He probably won the 1 SNG he played because he luckboxed it.
4) People who will be jealous of you. Less often, you need to actually know somebody who tries to play serious online but just fails. I suppose for you guys who lives out of poker you must see that one way more often. (Specially if you tell them you live out of it.)

Last one I guess would be : The person who doesn't give a fuck about poker. (This one I like, you can speak about anything else :))

Anyways, the other day I played poker with a bunch of beginner and it was a nightmare. Nobody wanted to listen for blinds, the stacks were weird so I just gave up and got drunk.

So to answer the thread title : Don't speak about poker to anyone, even people who plays unless they are close friends. It can't really gives anything good. And please don't mention it on a first date, there is no shame in playing poker for a living but it is probably a little bit too much to handle for somebody who just don't understand.

Edit : I forgot one kind of people!

When you mention about ONLINE poker, Those people say right away : RIGGED IT'S ONLINE IT CANT BE FAIR LOLOLOLOLOL

I think better to everyone not to speak about poker. Better for you because you don't have to explain oneself, dont have to bear the stereotypes and better to other people because for them it's just mostly confusing. Of course the closest friends and members of the family are exception imo.

probably the most annoying is the one that your luck will run out some day