Poker and Free Time
 

To me, being a poker player has always been about free time more than money. In poker, you can come and go as you please and set your own schedule. I have always played poker to keep from working. For several years in my youth, poker and bridge tournaments were all that I did. However, I played more poker, therefore working more hours, than I have ever done at anything else. We'd start playing poker around three in the afternoon and it often went on all night. Posters here on TwoPlusTwo are always talking about going for it as a pro, I say do it. If if does not work, try something different.

For many years, I worked part-time as a salesman, then a University Lecturer. I was free every afternoon to play poker. For some years, I have played by the clock. Play three hours and go do something else. Pay attention to time! How you spend each day. Poker can make that perfect for you.

Here is an excerpt from my novel about time:
Matthew "Slick" O'Malley has been a Texas road gambler for fifty years. He wants to teach his nephew, Dylan, everything about poker: its strategy, culture, language, history, pitfalls, songs, movies, books, gambling joints, and web sites. "Did you ever want to be anything other than a gambler?" Dylan O'Malley asked his uncle.. "There's no percentage in regrets, boy. To me, it's always been about time, not money. I found early on that I was up for about fifteen hours a week of hustling as a gambler. I have always watched everyone hurrying off to work. Not me." Dylan had saved $250,000 in poker winnings in two years. He said, "I love poker. I can't see going back to renting my life out by the hour. I can go anyplace I want all over the world and no-limit Texas Hold 'em will be there waiting for me. It's the purest form of freedom.".

That's poker. The purest form of freedom.

Johnny Hughes

Re: Poker and Free Time
 

Johnny H your posts are always top tier [img]/images/graemlins/smile.gif[/img]

Re: Poker and Free Time
 

Hurry up and come to Ireland already!

Re: Poker and Free Time
 

Agreed, and nice post Johnny.

The money's good, and the ability to manage your own time is better.

Re: Poker and Free Time
 

The post makes it sound like someone pay you for your service. Dont forget you're income is based on people handing you money.

Re: Poker and Free Time
 

Thanks, I enjoyed the read.

Re: Poker and Free Time
 

good post [img]/images/graemlins/laugh.gif[/img]

Re: Poker and Free Time
 

definitely one of the biggest pluses to playing poker for a living. I'm loving it also.

Re: Poker and Free Time
 

Nice post...I enjoyed reading it.

Re: Poker and Free Time
 

Thanks to all.

Re: Poker and Free Time
 

Good read, I love all Johnny Hughes posts. Keep them coming man!

Re: Poker and Free Time
 

One of the most dramatic differences I noticed between professional gamblers and the businessmen players was their attitude toward time. That is a major theme of my novel, Texas Poker Wisdom, just published. People with schedules, budgets, and bosses are in a hurry all the time. Gamblers are not in that big a hurry. Having an urgent feeling about time is bad for the heart and also puts you on tilt. I look around the table and guess how much of a hurry each player is in. In West Texas, if someone is playing fast, too many hands, we say, "He tied his horse in a red ant bed."

I loved the way the gamblers moved slowly getting their tasks done in the mornings where they would be ready to gamble in the afternoon. The average number of hours I worked a day in thirty years of work was about three. Many people spend more time going back and forth to work than I ever spent working. I am lazy. I am just not going to work very hard at anything. I am most proud of that. If you are lazy, poker may be for you. But you can't be lazy about learning all you can about the game. I might play poker today. I might not.