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are you honest w/family and friends about poker?


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Do you tell your family and friends how much you actually play poker? Most of my family and friends don't know how often I visit the casino b/c frankly I don't want to worry them. I know if they knew the actual amount of time I spend there they would automatically assume the worst. So for now I just keep the amt of time to myself and only tell if someone asks. I also keep my winnings to myself as well. The only person who knows exactly how much time/money I spend at the casino is my husband. I do love the fact that he is my biggest supporter and encourages me to go every night. No one else seems to understand though!Are your family and friends supportive of you playing poker?

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I know most of my family doesn't consider it any more than a diversion or a hobby, something to be done recreationally. Which, would mean, probably only on weekends, and never excessively. On the flip side, I am looking for a girlfriend that will be supportive of poker, or, even better, play poker too.

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My mom did not like my taking up poker because my dad likes to gamble recreationally once a month at a casino and she always saw it as a waste of money. They aren't together anymore. She didn't see a difference between that and poker. Once I became a winning player I started to keep careful records so that I could ease her fear and also tried to explain why I won consistently. Now she is afraid that I will drop out of school to play full-time, which I don't plan to do. She also constantly nags me about dedicating too much time to poker. It's kind of a no-win for me. I don't want to upset her but I shouldn't have to give up something I enjoy that is yielding me income at the same time. As far as I'm concerned I have the right to make my own decisions regarding what I do with my money so I'm not going to quit. But I constantly have to try to be nice while not giving in.

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why hide it? it's not like it's a bad thing (anymore). at first my parents were skeptical and kept telling me im going to lose all my money and blah blah blah and when i showed them that it takes more than just luck to beat the game, it''s just whatevers now

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If your husband is encouraging you to go out every nite, you are either winning a ton of dough, as in enough for him not to work, or paying off all the bills etc. OR he wants you out of the house everynite. I hope that it is the first. Of course if he's going with you that's all different.

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why hide it? it's not like it's a bad thing (anymore). at first my parents were skeptical and kept telling me im going to lose all my money and blah blah blah and when i showed them that it takes more than just luck to beat the game, it''s just whatevers now
I don't really hide it I just don't advertise it. I am a grown woman but sometimes my parents refuse to accept it. Rather than try and convince them that what I do is right or ok, I just don't tell them. Now that I think about it I guess I don't tell them a lot of things...my dad is super paranoid and my mom is extrmely quick to judge. I hate that I don't feel like I can confide in them...I pray that I can be open minded with my boys and that they will be able to come to me with anything.
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Well at first I lost a lot of money playing. About $2,000 last year. And my g/f was obviously really upset (even though she didn't know the full amount) but for the last year I have been reading and studying and improving my game, and I have finally been able to show a profit from the limited amount of time that I can actually find to play, so she's starting to come around. She's actually quite good herself (she won me about $100 today on the $1/$2 tables) and enjoys playing recreationally. She really hates the idea of me playing poker as a means of financial stability, but that seems to be the route I'm taking so she'll have to find a way to cope, since right now I make more playing poker than the two of us combined at our 'real' jobs... another couple months putting together a bankroll and I should be ready for the grind of the tables rather than the grind of the rat race...My parents are a different story. They have always supported me, regardless of what I wanted to do so I don't think they'll have a problem with it. They worry about gambling, but once they realize that this isn't a gamble, then I'm sure they will be supportive. Especially once they see how happy I am. Good luck to all on finding a supportive network of friends and family. I found mine...

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At first my fience wasn't too thrilled with me playing poker. Both of our familys are not to thrilled about it either. As time has passed she has come to understand that I can make a little side cash playing online or at the Hard Rock casino. Shes not on me as much anymore, so its nice.

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It's hard, because a lot of people who don't play poker dont' realize a lot of things about it.They don't realize that downswings are possible even if you play every move right and dont' realize that you need to analyze your play in the long run.they look at it session for session and just see a win or a lose.i tell my parents if they ask jsut because i think that if i'm untruthful they'll think i'm addicted. but i don't think they'd really understand so i dont' try explaining it to them

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i'm a college freshman right now.two years ago, i was seriously considering music as a career. i was heavily involved in jazz performance and composition in high school, and my director was very supportive of me auditioning for conservatories like julliard and eastman and making it my life.my parents, on the other hand, were completely against it. they are foreign immigrants, and they were both raised in a society where everyone became a doctor or engineer. music and other art forms were usually shunned at youth, and even though both my parents definitely saw value in them at the time, they heavily refused to even consider the possibility that i could make a living off of it rather than get a full education through a "normal" college, etc.after a while, my parents eased a little bit into the possibility. one night, they invited a family friend, a professional guitarist and composer who gave my brother recreational guitar lessons at one time. we sat down at the dinner table and talked about his history, what he had to go through to play music professionally, and any advice he might have for me if i decided i wanted to do it.he said one thing that has stuck with me since..."there was a time, when i first started out, that i had to sleep in my car for a month. i never told my parents, and to this day, they don't know. i was broke, but i was determined. since that month, i have never had to sleep in my car again, and i know that i will never have to."he is currently the president of the National Guitar Association or something similar. he is also a world-class award-winning classical and flamenco guitarist, etc.how does that relate?well, my foreign parents, as you can probably imagine, are very much against gambling. they don't really know much about poker, but they've given me a speech in which they compared gambling to drinking, smoking, doing drugs, and having premarital sex.maybe they would understand if i convinced them for a long enough period of time. but in all honesty, it's not worth it, especially right now when i rely on him for financial (and other types of) support and when i'm just barely at the beginning of my poker life.since coming to college, i had built up a decent bankroll of around $400 playing live games at the nickel-dime level. recently, i gathered up the courage to give the bigger games here a try, and in a few sessions, i've gotten spanked badly. i am -$800 or so in about four sessions, and i've had to dip into my personal money when my bankroll emptied (yes, i was playing above my bankroll, and i learned my lesson in that, too). specifically, i am in the hole in personal money around $300 or $400, and i am slowly but surely making that up via online poker.regardless, this is not something i would ever share with my parents. they would only see this as a prime example of the ruin caused by gambling. i have decided that this is similar to the guitarist's story of sleeping in a car... i am in the learning stages right now, and i have suffered a bad streak. i am confident that i can rebuild and eventually beat that game, but i do not see any sense in sharing that with my parents.as for my girlfriend, i am mostly honest with her. at one point, when i went through my terrible cheating (deck stacking) phase, i never told her about that, and when i was found out, my girlfriend was pretty disappointed in me, both in the fact that i cheated and that i kept it from her. aside from that, i have never lied about a session (though every losing session, i hear the classic "stop playing poker", etc.), although i may lessen both wins and losses on big sessions (see daniel's article about this idea...).basically, no one close to me is supportive of poker... not my parents, not my girlfriend, not completely my brother. my girlfriend and brother at least understand to some extent, but i'm not ready to tell my parents, nor do i feel that my parents are ready to listen. i am hoping that when this becomes a serious source of income (hopefully in a year or two, or maybe after college), i can be more open about it with my family and those close to me, and i hope that the same people will be both understanding and supportive.aseem

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I am a grown woman...
I think your avatar confirms that! :wink:As to the OP, the only person that matters is my wife. She doesn't understand poker, however is willing to learn so she can understand my 'stories' better.Her only initial concern wass that I'm not 'spending' excessive amounts of money on it. I'm sure if I was losing regularly she would still be fine as long as it was a manageable amount. ie The cost of a hobby.That said I'm not losing and I explain the principles of BR management to her so she understands that I'm not playing outside my limits.Having been open with her is a big plus. I can walk into the kitchen now (where she is chained to the sink! :club: ) and say "Hey, guess what!? I just blew $600.00 in a real fucked up session".It will raise her eyebrows of course, but she trusts me not to run amok and I can let off some steam.Best approach I feel.
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I tell my wife every thing. She knows how much I play, how much I win and how much I lose. I'm still new. I play the $10 and $50 NL tables on Pacific and after 3 or 4 months I'm up a whapping $25. I also play a bi-weekly home game tournament style with 7 others $20 buy in, I'm up about $1000 on those games.

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The only person who knows exactly how much time/money I spend at the casino is my husband. I do love the fact that he is my biggest supporter and encourages me to go every night.
Your husband is boffing your best friend. :wink:
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hey, this is a very interesting topic brought up......me just like akishore....am a son of immigrants to Canada.....hence they want their kids to be either DOCTORS or ENGINEERS.....which is y im doing 2nd!......well they dont know i play poker or how much time i spend.......prolly gonna tell em this summer....gotta come out some time since im gonna spending most of my summer playin poker!.......schemr

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My parents think I am a compulsive addicted gambler, regardless of the profit I make. My friends think I'm insane but they're also jealous of the Prada I can buy now. And I dont' think I could possibly date a guy who has no clue about poker.

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Both of my parents didnt understand how seriously I was taking it for a while. My mom now understands and supports me, just tells me I better finish college can get my degree, and I fully plan on it. My dad still thinks that i'm bringing all my money to the table and am going to lose it all on 1 big hand.... I try to explain, but he is just being stubborn.Some of my friends just thing im an addict, and others understand. If people want to know, I tell them, if they dont understand, I dont worry about it.

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haha i always have to cut corners in my family when it comes to gambling.. i went to the casino twice (when i first started playing) i mentioned something about it to my mom and she blew up on me... now i just never mention that i go to B &m at least once to twice a week but she knows i am always playing online poker... she doesnt mind cause i started with the free 10 bucks from royal vegas and have done nothing but increase my bankroll since i started online.. but she can be a real headcase if she knew i was still playing b & m games.. ohh well

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The only person who knows exactly how much time/money I spend at the casino is my husband. I do love the fact that he is my biggest supporter and encourages me to go every night.
Your husband is boffing your best friend. :wink:
Good thing my best friend lives over 6 hours away :wink: Plus he has 2 babies to take care of...
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I'm not too worried what my parents think (They don't like it). But I am a bit worried about what my in-laws think because I want them to feel that I'm taking good care of their daughter. My wife is ok with it as long as I keep the losses manageable (I'm just beginning and like akishore am in the "sleeping in car" phase of playing) and as long as I keep going to school and work.Shock

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