CBS columnist bashes gambling, WSOP

[UtzChips]

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LMFA & ROFL @ 1000$ Life savings (in the US that is.... ).... if you suck that bad at life, gamboling is the least of your worries !!!!

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That's cold.

[UtzChips]

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LMFA & ROFL @ 1000$ Life savings (in the US that is.... ).... if you suck that bad at life, gamboling is the least of your worries !!!!


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right , but if 1000$ is all you have to your name, what on earth would make you take it all to a casino? That doesn't seem like a gambling problem to me, but rather being just plain stupid !!!! (And I have a hard time feeling sorry for people that behave like that. So I think it is safe to assume that they make the same quality decisions in the rest of their lifes) And yes I do feel sympathetic towards people that get into tough spots by acts of god / accidents... but those are not the type of people that take life savings to Casions....

.... but then on second thought.... maybe that is part of the gamboling problem.. I really don't know anymore (and will just STFU)

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How many times has Matusow won big & gone bust, having to borrow to pay the rent? I've lost count.

How hard is it to open up a poker site and find someone who is spewing off the remainder of his/her bankroll while on tilt?

Is it my imagination, or do the poker books tell us to seek out the weak and pounce on those who are on tilt? Steer away from the tough games and seek the meek.


That is why, on High Stakes Poker, players paid Matusow 5k to not leave. That is why, the others don't whine when Farha goes on a run, as they know it's coming back sooner or later.

Some are sicker than others. I guess when Farha stated in 2003 that he needed to win against Moneymaker to break even for the trip, that was cool, since he's a millionaire and can afford it.

If you dress really nice, look cool rolling a cigarette in your mouth and drop 2.5m, that's cool.

But if you're on welfare, and spend $20 a month on lottery tickets, as that's the only way out of the gutter, cause you were born to a crack head mother and have limited skills with a low I.Q., well that's sick and disgusting.

[KurtSF]

Rich people can do what they want. Poor people have to do what rich people say. Did I miss anything?

[chucksim]

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I agree with the 3rd to last paragraph he wrote, but I don't agree with his overall lumping of poker in with the rest of gambling. Problems occur, addictions arise but it cannot all be poker's fault.

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Yeah. If he has a problem, he can also look at the slots and the pit games that are, by definition, IMPOSSIBLE to win at. Even though most don't have the skill to win at poker either, at least the game isn't rigged against you.

Granted we don't have a World Series of Slots and the associated spectacle, but without a doubt a vast majority of gambling's major losers dumped their cash at those games.

[UtzChips]

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Rich people can do what they want. Poor people have to do what rich people say. Did I miss anything?

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You missed the fact that a lot of us put our heros on a pedestal. Point in case: Gus calling all in this year with 22. It's the call of the tournament. He's here to win and not many have the ballz to call with what he had.....

Oh really? 2003. Dutch Boyd goes all in on the flop, that is all med/low numbered cards. His lone opponent struggles with the decision and finally calls.

Boyd turns over KQ.
Moneymaker turns over a medium pocket pair.

Can you find a thread on 2+2 on how brilliant of a call that was? Of course not, there is no way Moneymaker could possibly be better than us and be able to read Boyd that well AND have the ballz (that the majority of us wouldn't have) to call.

I'm not knocking the call by Gus. I would love to see Gus at the final table. I'm just saying I haven't seen anything negative about the play posted.

Then there is the guy who posted in this thread that said that after he walked thru the casino to get to the poker room that he felt like he needed to take a shower because of the type of customers he had to walk by......LO FREAKIN L

Like he got a breath of fresh air once inside the poker room. Not unless it was an enclosed high stakes room.

[NajdorfDefense]

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LMFA & ROFL @ 1000$ Life savings (in the US that is.... ).... if you suck that bad at life, gamboling is the least of your worries !!!!


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The majority of Americans don't have this much in savings...they are in fact deeply in credit card debt.

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You are wrong, in fact, wildly so.

The average American has >$1k in savings.

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I beleive in fact the first time in US history the average American was in debt, hopefully someone will clarify. Possibly a misleading statistic.

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Sigh, the economic ignorance of a typical 2p2er, and belief nonetheless that they know everything about everything never ceases to amaze.

The Federal Reserve's Report on U.S. Family Finances comes out every three years.
"The Fed said the net worth of the median American family -- the one smack in the statistical middle -- was $93,100 in 2004. Net worth, the difference between a family's assets and liabilities, rose a robust 10.3% between 1998 and 2001 and 17.4% in the three-year interval before that."

Also:
Median Net Worth of Americans by Age, [Survey]
25-34 $15k
35-44 $94k
45-54 $133k
55-64 $217k
65 over $200k

Only 11% of Americans have a negative net worth, 11% also have a net worth above $500k.

Net worth is assets NET of liabilities, for those unsure of the definition.

On June 7, the Fed released its “flow of funds” data on first quarter changes in the household balance sheet. It showed new records for household savings both in terms of net financial assets and total net worth.

'The U.S. household sector is showing rapid growth in most types of savings. At $29.1 trillion, U.S. households have more net financial assets than the rest of the world combined. By this measure, at end 2006 Japan had $9.8 trillion, the UK $4.8T, France $2.6T, and Germany $3.2T (end 2005). Broader measures including tangible assets (e.g. houses and autos) are even more favorable to the U.S.

In the first quarter, U.S. household net worth (assets less liabilities) rose to $56.2 trillion. Household liabilities rose to $13.4 trillion. Household liquid assets (deposits, credit market instruments, equities, mutual funds) totaled $21.0 trillion, a new record and up from the fourth quarter’s $20.7 trillion. The multi-decade accumulation in U.S. household assets and savings is a key factor in the economy’s sturdiness and strong long-term prospects. ' ~David Malpass

http://www.federalreserve.gov/RELEAS...rrent/data.htm

dj, perhaps spend 5 seconds on teh interweb or read a business periodical or two if you are actually looking for statistics and wish to end your ignorance. They are quite easy to find.

[llleisure]

I don't have any desire to play a bunch of -EV table games even if I'm running awful at poker. I may take a break from poker - and go do something other than gamble. "Break from poker", for me at least, does not equal go play craps/blackjack/etc.

Seems like the author of the article fails to notice that all forms of "gambling" aren't the same.

Personally, I see slot machines as another aspect of gambling which I have absolutely no desire to participate in. Why anyone wants to pay money to sit and hit a button at a -EV game is beyond me. At least with Pai Gow or the like you can get drunk, it doesn't tend to cost much and can be fun to play with friends.

The author is lumping ANY gambling with any other gambling. I guess with regard to folks who do happen to have a gambling addiction gambling = gambling and it really doesn't matter what it is. But he's way over-sensationlizing and simplifying the issues.

Maybe in 5 years when I'm just a massive degen I'll look back and say "wow that guy was right its all evil and the same" but I seriously doubt it lol...

[Rant]

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You can blow through your paycheck in a gambling binge much faster than you can an alcoholic or other drug binge.

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How about the stock market? You can blow your life savings there with the push of a button.

[wisehandpoker]

Just posted a response at espn

[TheFilmGeek]

Howard Lederer heard some quotes from the article and commented in the EI podcast.

link