Looking for "Legitimacy of Poker" as a Profession Thread? Legal???

[marathoner1977]

I would appreciate a referral to any old threads that discuss the "legitimacy" of poker as a profession. I am just sick and tired of "you do what" for a living - family, friends, etc.. IT NEVER STOPS. I address it as a "business" as I indeed treat it that way. I pay taxes like every other professional in every other field, etc... I try to tell them that the work I have put into becoming a successful, winning player, exceeds the effort I put into earning a Masters Degree in Education!

It just doesn't seem to answer all the questions though.

Also, with all the legislation "scare" of late, what is the best thread discussing online poker as a completely LEGAL profession and (as long as I pay taxes) not in jeopardy of any legal implications?

Any suggestions?

TY

[athought]

Can't direct you to a new thread but I'll throw a couple ideas out there.

1) A professional poker player is an entertainer and is providing a service. Your casual player is playing for entertainment and his long term losses are a fee for his action over the long run. The casino takes its cut for the cost of providing you a place to play and the poker pro takes a performance based fee based on how tough he plays the casual player.

2) I think there are a bunch of threads talking about your other question. I believe that online poker is still legal if you play in a state where live B&M poker is also legal. The new legislation only makes funding these sites illegal, because it was previously possible to fund these sites in locations where playing live poker was illegal.

Additionally, another analogy for a poker pro and this recent legislation would be that of a bar owner back when prohibition went into effect.

Just something to think about.

[permafrost]

Where is your 'business'?

[Mitch Evans]

Why do you care? You do what you want to survive, and that’s that. Who cares what people think? The [censored] people come up with trying to make it sound “professional” is ridiculous. As already mentioned, the “entertainer”. Please, you’re not entertaining anyone by being a 12/7 nit at the table. Get over that one. “You’re helping tables get started so fish have games to play” No. There would be games available for fish if professionals didn’t exist, and their money would last longer.

Understand that when you explain in detail exactly why you play poker and how it’s possible to win long term, it sounds just like someone explaining their roulette system: it all sounds like addicted junkie stuff to people that can’t/won’t understand the difference.

Despite being able to support yourself, a lot of people just think you are SO addicted to gambling that you don’t have time for a job. Think about it. You have a master’s degree, yet you choose to spend your entire day gambling. Can you see why the average person just might think you’re addicted to gambling despite not having any financial problems?

Realize the more and more you talk about it, trying to “legitimize” what you do, the more they think you’re just a sick degenerate because not only do you do it all day long, but you also need (from their viewpoint) to talk about it when you’re not doing it.

[athought]

There's a couple interpretations of the word professional.

One connotation is that your play is done to support you as a primary income. There are pro golfers and amateur golfers. The pro is the one who gets paid, the amateur is the one who pays to play. It's very black and white.

The other connotation of course is more subjective. This is the one we're debating. Is being a professional golfer a professional career? That's an opinion. The ananlogy I drew to an entertainer was simply that an analogy. Some think that being a professional athlete, or entertainer (i.e. stand-up commedian, artist) are not "profressional" professions. If you can't get them to accept those as careers, I find it hard to think you can get them to ever accept pro card playing. Otherwise, I think personally, that a pro card player is not much different than a career in sports, or as an entertainer.

[ChexNFX]

[ QUOTE ]

Understand that when you explain in detail exactly why you see why the average person just might think you’re addicted to gambling despite not having any financial problems?


[/ QUOTE ]

[Mitch Evans]

Not sure why you would reconstruct a quote for me, but as it reads, it can be interpreted a couple of different ways. Care to clarify?