why do normies love poker so much?
>le high stakes know when to hold/fold em cowboy
>>24721477
Feels good to win money due to luck, also because it's intense when two people bet a lot of money and then it turns at the last card.
because you can win money, hang out and drink beer with your friends
Poker is a meme.
>>24721477
Poker is one of the few gambling games that can be beaten in the long run. Also just because it CAN doesn't mean that it WILL BE. Something like 90%-92% of all people who play poker are long term losers but you don't lose consistently. Even shit players will go on a heater every now and then just by dumb luck. So poker is like intelligence. Just like everyone thinks they have above average luck and are just lazy/don't meet their potential, every poker player thinks they're good but has bad luck/bad beats.
During the heyday of online poker (2005-2006) and the semi-boom period (2007-2009 or so), poker was the ultimate robot job. Since I was used to playing Street Fighter and Warcraft seriously, poker was just another game except I could make real money and never go outside. I'd just sit on my computer and play a few hours in the morning, go work out/hang out with people (still had friends then), then play a few more at night. Start with 4 tables, then 8, then 16, then 24.
First year I made 35k. Second year, 65k. Third year 100k, then the boom was dying and the tables were getting tougher so I went back to college and decided not to be "that guy" chasing the dream for the rest of my life.
Man I miss online poker though. That period when I was making big money and only working like 4-6 hours a day but having 3x the money of people in my group who were working professional jobs. Those were the days...
>>24721603
So how is poker now in almost 2016?
>>24721477
It's fun and easy.
>Like your mother.
>>24721603
What are the important aspects of poker? Probability or psychology/strategy?
>>24721656
Depends where you live. If you're in Europe, it's mostly same as ever just harder games and way fewer bonuses. It's hard to play in the US but some people do. The guy who won the world series is basically a neckbeard stereotype (pic related) from Philly but he found enough games to get really good and get super rich.
A lot of the long term grinders from those days like me either moved to Europe where it's still legal or got real jobs. One of the guys I knew from the Street Fighter days is a guy named Randy Lew (aka nanonoko), he's still grinding, still making millions.
The thing is though, that those people are actually super good at poker. My thing was that I knew I wasn't good I just had more patience than most people. In those days, there were like 30 different competing sites and they'd always offer bonuses.
Play 1000 hands, and get a $50 bonus.
Deposit 500, keep it on the site for 2 weeks, play 2500 hands, get a $100 bonus.
Since I could play 24 tables, I could clear 1000 hands in an hour. I'd just keep a large bankroll, spread it out over a bunch of different sites, pick up on those and even just playing breakeven poker you'd make a shit ton of money. I said I made 65k my 2nd year playing "pro" (2005 calendar year). Only like 15k of that was actually from playing poker. I made 50k on bonuses.
In 2006 when the US tried to kill online poker all that shit ended so I figured I could either "git gud" or move on with life. I chose to move on with life since I knew I wasn't that good and was just propped up by bonuses/rakeback and shit.
So tl;dr poker money is still there if you're good. I knew I wasn't and got out. I didn't want to be part of the 90%.
>>24721791
Did you move to finance?
>>24721764
The basic math of poker is arithmetic. It's basic calculus to come up with optimal theory but it's plug-n-chug to apply it to hand situations. If you got decent grades in high school math, you're good to go.
Poker is almost exclusively discipline. Almost everyone who's read a poker book knows the basic math. It's about 38% to complete a flush off the flop, if you're getting 3 to 1 pot odds, stick it in, etc. Everyone knows that.
It's having the discipline to play solid hour after hour after hour. Your earn rate at NL holdem poker for a good player is 2-4 PTBBs/hr. So you're playing a 1/2 NL, your earn rate per table is $8-16 per hour. If you're good.
You have to have the discipline to play smart for the WHOLE session. You stack off for $200 just because you're mad at something or you're trying to get some guy, you just lost about 20 tablehours worth of work.
THAT'S why people lose at poker. Everyone knows the math, everyone knows you win money long term by folding. But man you want to fucking nail that little prick in seat 5 and dammit I bet he's bluffing THIS time.
>>24721791
>In 2006 when the US tried to kill online poker all that shit ended so I figured I could either "git gud" or move on with life.
What?
>>24721477
Because they see it in movies and television that make it look cool and rarely know any other card game.
I speak of course of your average "i like to play poker on the weekends" wageslave normy and college frat boy. Professional poker players are a different breed entirely.
>>24721821
Close. Accounting. My dad was a CPA so around 2007 when I saw the writing on the wall he was like "boy, you won all this money, don't be dumb, just be like me" and I did.
>>24721887
Thats interesting. I'm a math major so that shouldn't be a problem. Its the game theory aspects that i'm interested in.
>>24721901
In 2006, the US passed this.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Unlawful_Internet_Gambling_Enforcement_Act_of_2006
This seriously damaged online poker in the US. Party Poker (largest operator in the industry at the time) pulled out of the US almost instantaneously. A bunch of other operators either restricted US players or cut them off pretty quickly after that. Because there was less competition, bonuses dried up. Since a lot of people thought "oh poker's illegal now" the fish quit depositing and games got a lot tougher.
People kept playing in big numbers up until Black Friday in 2011 when PokerStars and Full Tilt pulled out in the US. But 2006 was the end of the real poker boom in the US.
>>24721764
You do have to have a sort of killer instinct if you want to be really good. Willing to takes risks and attack weakness.
Bumping hoping you guys are still around.
There were a lot of rumors about poker stars, full tilt, ultimate bet being rigged.
All I really know is some people had software to see all the whole cards. Also what were your opinions about all the bots running amok?
Poker is alot dependant on when you're willing to trust your luck and on what amount. It's kind of like card games, MTG, but for normies.
>>24723428
>Also what were your opinions about all the bots running amok?
Legit there have been cases of players who were cheating and likely the sites they were playing on knowing about it too. If you want a good guide of places online to play poker, check here:
http://wizardofodds.com/online-gambling/articles/getting-started-with-online-gambling/
The wizard will hook you up
Hearts is the greatest card game ever invented. Prove me wrong
>>24721477
I like poker, wish I had some friends to play with though.
>>24724203
That's not canasta
>>24724203
>look up rules
>get this http://www.bicyclecards.com/how-to-play/hearts/
Fucking Christ Bycicle, get a proper hand model (or atleast someone who takes good care of their hands) the next time you wanna take a picture of someone shuffling cards. That is atrocious.
Because they're too stupid for mahjong.
>>24724203
Nah it's definitely eucher
