It’s been suggested to me numerous times that I take up Texas Hold’Em and other forms of live poker to supplement my income. I always decline. “But those guys make so much money!” I am told. Yeah, the best ones do. But so do Tiger Woods, LeBron James, and 50 Cent, and nobody is suggesting I take up golf, basketball, or rap music.
A guy generally has the right to decide not to do something without making his reasons public, but since I regularly address “why I do something” in the gambling world so talking about this doesn’t seem like an invasion of privacy. So let’s talk about it.
To be sure, everyone figures things differently. My reasons may or may not be relevant to your situation. Poker and video poker are part of a small list of casino games where a good player can make a living so you can bet that many players looking for an edge try both games to see what fits them best. As did I. And different people come up with different answers.
First of all, I’m enjoying my life as it is. Playing video poker along with teaching and writing about it takes up a lot of my time. Although we are not rich, we likely have more than enough money to last us “for the duration.” (Although with the recent Wall Street crisis, who can know for sure?) You can never have too much money, I suppose, but there is not a need for more income.
Second, in years past, I haven’t been particularly successful at poker. Although it’s been years since I played, and when I did it was draw poker in California card rooms, and occasionally seven-card stud in Las Vegas, I wasn’t a natural at the game. To be sure, there are hundreds of how-to-play poker books out there and I’m sure I could get to a certain level of competence by studying them. Still, to get REALLY good, there needs to be a natural aptitude which I simply don’t have.
Third is the age factor. I’m 61 years old as I write this. My memory isn’t what it was and I can’t sit and remain alert for as long as I used to. Poker is a young man’s game. For every Doyle Brunson (who’s quite a bit older than me and has been in the top echelon of poker players for decades) there are dozens of tournament winners in their twenties. It’s more difficult for a senior citizen to become good at something new than it is for a younger person.
Fourth is that video poker opportunities still abound. Times have changed and the games I play and casinos I play at are different than they were a few years ago, but I can learn a new video poker game well in ten hours or less. It would take me YEARS to gain the experience in poker to become competent in that game. Once I no longer can find video poker games to play, maybe, but not until then.
Fifth is that certain types of people skills aren’t my strong point. I am not particularly adept at figuring out when someone else is telling the truth nor am I that good at disguising what I have in my hand. These skills are generally not required in video poker, so these “failings” don’t hurt me much. In live poker, these failings will prevent me from ever becoming a great player.
Sixth is that I like to play fast. Live poker is dreadfully slow, and once opponents learn I get impatient with slow players, they will ALL slow down against me. To be sure I could play on the Internet and play in ten games at once, but playing in real casinos would drive me nuts. And becoming annoyed wouldn’t help my skill set at all.
Finally, I simply don’t “love” the game. To get good at anything you need to really want to do it. I’m fortunate today that I can earn a nice living playing a game I love. Why change that to playing a game I’m probably not going to succeed at and I don’t particularly like anyway?
Bob Dancer is America's best-known video poker writer and teacher. He has a variety of "how to play better video poker" products, including the software "Video Poker for Winners," Winner's Guides, strategy cards, his autobiography Million Dollar Video Poker, and his two novels, including Sex, Lies, and Video Poker. Dancer's products may be ordered at www.bobdancer.com or by telephone at 1-800-244-2224 M-F 9-5 Pacific Time.
