Two Plus Two Newer Archives - 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