It’s much like a yo-yo
I was reminded today of the volatility of no limit poker as I dragged a $200 pot in my new favorite No Limit Omaha/8 game. It’s a beautiful thing, but you’d have to be crazy to think that a weekly paycheck based on poker winnings wouldn’t be emotionally trying. In the last World Poker Tour even at the Foxwoods, I noticed Tuan Le, who’s an excellent player, make a few bad decisions but get saved by drawing from the shallow end of the statistical pool.
In an interview with him, he talked about how he’d promised his friends he was only going to play poker until he made his "number", and then he would stop. He implied that the emotional roller coasters that you ride on your statistical roller coaster has a real negative toll, one that his friends had confided in him that he needed to get away from.
According to the WPT database Le has won US$4.4 million thus far. Let’s hope he doesn’t develop a leak in either his personality or his game that causes him to fail to attain his goal.
When I was rocking the $10/$20 stud8 game on Party for months on end, I seriously considered immigrating to Canada and becoming a full-time gambler. According to my spreadsheet, I was making more than I was at the current job I had at the time.
Then I woke up and realized if I got bored/miserable trying to grind a couple hundred dollars, how miserable would I be when I needed to grind a couple thousand, and had the stress of a mortgage and all the associated bills that relied on gambling income to pay?
Not to mention the negative health effects and the stress I’m sure a gambling-related job would put on a marriage.
It’s a romantic idea, but not for me.
You are wise beyond your years, my friend.