Steve,
I am not sure I could handle that sort of stress losing that sort of money at any stage, how do you do it?
Hell in my profession I think the stress is killing me, but atleast the stress points are once or twice every couple of months not every day.
(IT Managed Services)
You get used to it
. One of the biggest weaknesses a poker player can have is going on 'Tilt', when they get upset or stressed out about losing. Last Friday my best poker-playing friend played a $6000 pot badly against me (because he was extremely drunk) and won and then proceeded to laugh at me (a lot!). If you can't deal with that without getting upset, you can't play winning poker at this level. In fact this friend (Dhanesh) is an expert at 'verbals', putting people on Tilt by making fun of them, or berating them or sometimes just being being deliberately obnoxious
. It's not my style but it works as he is also a professional player.
However, almost all of my regular opponents are very good friends. It might seem strange to spend most of your work time having a very good time chatting and laughing with great friends while simultaneously doing your best to take all their money but that's my life
. For example, on New Year's Eve, I was invited out by a friend of mine called Abed to his very nice Italian restaurant. Myself and my wife Linda spent the evening with Abed and his wife Wendy, eating great food and drinking large quantities of great wine and champagne, all on the house. I know Abed because he loses a lot of money to me at the poker table
. My natural style at the table is to be friendly and chatty so that people are relaxed and don't get upset at losing money to me, which is pretty much the polar opposite of Dhanesh's approach. In fact, my experience is that the higher stakes you play, the generally more friendly and relaxed your opponents are. The big egos, trouble-makers and and show-offs are usually playing the low stakes tables because none of those personalities will last long in a decent standard cash game, especially with expert wind-up merchants at the table
The best thing about my profession though is that I have total freedom in my life. I don't pay income tax (as poker winnings are non-taxable in the uk), I play when I want, take time off when I want, get up when I feel like it and go on vacation at a moment's notice. I don't have to rely on employees, put up with annoying bosses or search for customers. For all that freedom, a little stress is well worth it.
Steve
