Need Help - Staking/Smoking Pot Question

[MJBuddy]

Grunching the entire thread to hopefully repeat the correct answer:

This is a business deal where you are investing in someone; you set the terms and they have to follow or they can get the [censored] out.

[PLOlover]

if he multitables, I can see it being -EV,

if he just single tables some higher tourneys then I don't think so.

[bobneptune]

clearly, if you are not comfortable with your friend playing while high, then you should end the relationship as far as staking is concerned.

those that say they play better or the same while high cannot say that because they have no control to measure their "enhanced" results against. but i can say a few things with metaphysical certitiude from my years studying biochemistry.

THC effects the receptor sites (mostly in the mid brain that control short term memory)and not just as temporarily as you think. THC has a 30 hour half life in human (it's fat soluble and hence you will test positive for >6 weeks after getting high).

if there is anything important in poker , it's organizing and remembering information on playing patterns that took place recently at the table and you just cannot do that as well if your mid brain is operating sub optimally.

the person who is himself high is the worst person to make an objective judgement about his cognitive abilities.

i'll tell you a related story. i used to count cards, and i did it well enough to be 86'ed from the mirage. i could count down a deck < 15 seconds, etc

i always had a rule never to drink while counting, because you really need to concentrate to get a small edge vs the casino. anyone one day , i had one drink before playing and i caught myself making 3 errors in 15 minutes, errors i'd never make when completely sober.

it takes very little impairment to effect one's cognition..... you just don't recognize that fact at the moment.

[augie_]

It's not unreasonable to ask him not to smoke pot while he's playing with your money. However it's likely that even if he says yes, he won't actually stop.

For obvious reasons I think I'm an expert on this subject. He's lying if he says weed has no negative effect on his game.

The effects are very subtle...while coming down, I become very bored, which makes me either quit playing, or smoke some more. This is where the real problem is. If I'm playing tourneys, I pray that I don't flop top pair medium kicker, because I'm thinking to myself, even if I bust here, I can go sit on the couch and watch Ninja Warrior.

But thank God the guy didn't say "weed makes me play better." If he says that you should drop him immediately, because he's delusional.

[ianisakson]

I don't smoke weed because it's ILLEGAL. OMG BAN THESE CRIMINALS.

Seriously now, don't get into a deal you're not comfortable with. I don't smoke so I will probably never back someone that smokes since it makes no sense to me. If the stakee thinks he plays better high he'll have to work something else out since I don't believe that you can play significantly better high/drunk/on coke. Maybe you make some different plays here and there but they probably even out in the long run.

[0evg0]

If I want to play my A game for 1 hour, I play sober.

If I want to play my B game for 3 hours, I'm high by the time I sit down.

That may sound like an indictment, but how often do any of us even play our B game consistently?

I can play longer periods of time while keeping an even keel (no tilting, spewing, etc), even if my play isn't 1000% my best.

Put into concrete examples, let's say if I'm playing my A game I can beat my usual stakes for 12ptbb. Now, that's awesome, but the problem is it is incredibly difficult to maintain peak performance over the course of many hours and hundreds/thousands of hands.

Now, let's say when I'm playing kinda ripped, I have an 8ptbb winrate. Again, not really that close to as good as my best, but the upside is I can play this 8ptbb winning game for two, three, six hours if I want with little to no drop off.

Considering how often we play neither our A nor B game, I think you can see how both have their situations when one is more desirable than the other depending on time available, motivation, etc.

[augie_]

what constitutes playing your B game? if i play very well up until the 500/1000 blind level and then try to resteal from some tight player with 97o, is that A, B, C, D, or F?

[WarDekar]

[ QUOTE ]
what constitutes playing your B game? if i play very well up until the 500/1000 blind level and then try to resteal from some tight player with 97o, is that A, B, C, D, or F?

[/ QUOTE ]

LOL at the number of times I've done something retarded like that. Sometimes it probably has to do with being high, other times it just has to do with me being a retard.

Sometimes I'm sure it has to do with me NOT being high and wanting to go do other things, so I'm like "meh, decent spot to resteal, POOOOOSH"...instacall... "[censored]...AA"

[sheetsworld]

This does not have to be an 8 page thread. The OP (I said "OP" tytyt) is asking if he should make it an issue, not whether smoking pot is good or bad for playing poker.

It is your money sir, and if it bothers you in any way that one of your players smokes pot, does cocaine, drinks orange juice, or likes the Red Sox, then you can choose to make it an issue. If his drinking orange juice or smoking pot makes u feel uncomfortable about his ability to perform, then you certainly have a right to raise the issue. The player certinaly can discuss the pros and cons with you but in the end you need to make the decision as to whether his orange juice habit is something that you are willing to accept.

I will say that forbidding him from drinking orange juice creates many issues, not the least if which being a built in excuse for the player if he should lose. Give us the power to change what we can something or other and the power to know when we someotherthing.

sheets

[shaundeeb]

sheets no one would back a redsox fan if they knew it ahead of time. They all suck at poker just like their team does in the longrun.

Shortterm variance makes them feel inflated [img]/images/graemlins/smile.gif[/img].