This is the Edge. The edge of reality. The razor edge.
We cut deep into the issue, deep into our experience…
Even if the experience is deemed as ‘inappropriate.’
This is my RESUME. You don’t like it, that’s fine…
I’m not asking you to HIRE me…I’m saying you should FOLLOW ME.
Our mess is our message…
Yes, I have GAMBLED.
Yes, I’ve taken stupid risk.
Yes, I have sacrificed the good things in life for the THRILL of a BIG POT.
Yes, I have qualified as a “PROBLEM gambler”, after checking every single one of their ‘Bubble Tests.’
Yes, I have stayed up for almost two days STRAIGHT playing cards, while drinking and smoking cigars.
Extreme. Crazy. Abnormal. PATHOLOGICAL.
I don’t regret it. I’ve learned from it.
I don’t wallo in the dark part of my past…I EXPOSE it, so as to impart my wisdom into others.
I don’t call myself a ‘RECOVERING Problem Gambler’…I’m a RISK TAKER, who wasn’t managing his risk properly…
Pressing on. Moving forward, out of the abyss, into the light…
The new vision for the ambitious, hit it BIG quick, gambler is THIS:
We are shuttling our ‘JUICE’ into worthy endeavors.
Our risks benefit mankind, from now on.
We leave ourselves OUTS.
We take our pizazz and our panache and shuttle it into providing VALUE.
We sow seeds of PROSPERITY, INNOVATION, and INSPIRATION into others.
We aren’t trapped in a MONEY-GAME anymore. We are FREE.
We free other entrepreneurial spirits, trapped in the MONEY GAME GAMBLING MATRIX…
We reap the rewards of our EFFORTS.
Cards aren’t dealt to us anymore, we DEAL ourselves the hands, through the power of our subconscious THOUGHTS…
There is no such thing as RISK, when you live in a mind-state of ABUNDANCE…
Daring Greatly,
Chris Bielke
Gambler Philosopher
Chris (unfortunately, this comment field may not paragraph),
I found your YouTube video searching ‘leaving poker’ in Google. I watched a couple of the videos.
I have played professional poker for over two years now, as my exclusive source of income, while living between LA (commerce and hawaiian gardens) and Las Vegas. I did this because my former college roommate and business partner went to LA for USC grad school and ended up making millions playing cash games in LA.
He has consistently been a winning poker player at the highest levels (20-40 NLH to 100-200 NLH). Through his friendship, I met many of the world’s top cash game players, and now call many them my friends. It is very possible to make a lucrative winning by precise analysis, emotional detachment, and passion to invest time and thought (5000hrs+). I have seen it first hand.
Though I have not seen the extent of success they have, I still made a decent living for over two years that allowed me to live comfortably in Naples Fl, Atlanta, Las Vegas and Los Angeles.
I’ve said all this to argue that poker does allow for considerable creativity– it is the defining feature of a great poker player, a feature that differentiates the great from the very good players, from the grinders. Yes, these confines of poker rules are limited, but to an expert, these confines can have an infinite quality and be continually rewarding sources of accomplishment and intrigue.
BUT, this is extraordinarily rare. I saw hundreds of guys ‘playing for a living’ come and go. They’d usually stick around for a month or two, then vanish and never be seen again. There are thousands like this. Where I play, I’m part of a community of about 25 regular, winning players at Commerce Casino (worlds largest poker casino) in the 10-20 NL; there might be less than 50 that profitably play smaller games like the 5-10.
Yes, there are many serious flaws with playing poker for a living, but many tremendous upsides. For me, I just can’t do it any more. Either the stress, the frustration with never making it big, the mediocrity of my income, the constant struggles with moving up in games and getting punished, the hard living party culture (drugs and strip clubs), the social instability, lack of community, lack of meaning, 8-10 hours a day in a casino, the psychological torment and upheaval. SIGNIFICANT downsides I should say. Again, these are the downsides for me. The downsides for others could be far more serious (drug addiction, gambling addiction, insanity)
The upsides? No boss, no schedule, freedom, the consequent emotional and mental strength, the opportunity for a big score, life is rarely dull, each day is a new and unique challenge, cash money, living outside ‘the system’, potential for an exotic lifestyle (though rarely lived by many of the pros I know).
I read an article recently that demonstrated how about a third of the population is genetically predisposed to nicotine addiction– the other two thirds have to work at getting addicted and can quit more easily. But that one third LOVED their first cigarette. Gambling, I think, could be argued to be very similar. Some people have predisposition to gambling (many asians and american indians) that follow the same lines as alcohol addiction. This is to say that not every one will go on raging tilt and spend 40 hours straight trying to get their money back. Some people just get bummed and go home only to never return to the casino.
Each individual is very different. Gambling is a narcotic in every sense of the word. It strongly influences serotonin, norepinephrine, and dopamine. But some people have difficulty getting addicted to even dangerous drugs like cocaine and methamphetmine. (Disclaimer: I would never want an addict to use this as rationale to avoid treatment. “I’m immune to addiction” mentality.)
Great poker players tend to flirt with this fine line between addiction and passion. It is necessary to kind of be addicted to have the energy and focus to play long hours and to stick with it even in the toughest of times. But it’s a line so thin, that most of us ultimately fall in, one way or the other.
I support you 100% in your endeavor to encourage others to leave poker. It is a vice for almost everyone I’ve seen, great, good, average and bad players, each with its own complexities. There’s no voice out there, and we badly need one. Poker is complex and deceptive, and in many ways a unique animal from gambling, and consequently deserves a voice.
Josh Teyler
Josh,
You truly exemplify your knowledge and wisdom in this post.
Your mind is keen. Your writing is very structured and high level.
I appreciate your support. You are one of us…stick around, GREAT things happening.
-Chris