I wanted to post what I said in Mythrilfox's blog because it is really how I feel, and not a sentiment I see very many other places. It is far more likely to see various forms of "wtf am I going to do now, I am not qualified to do anything else, poker was my life." I understand that it is easier for me to cope, most likely, as poker was a part time gig for me and a fairly small portion of my income each month. Even as I aspired to be more successful as a poker player, I never wanted to confuse it with who I was as a person (which I think is a good caution to have no matter what profession you are in). I enjoy playing poker and am a little sad that only a few months after winning with any sort of regularity it all seems to have gone away. All the same, I can't seriously believe that it is gone forever, and I will continue to study up and stay sharp so that when it does come back in some kind of government regulated form I can hopefully pick up right where I left off again skill wise. I will probably make an attempt to play live once a month or something like that. In the mean time, I will just grind out the wine knowledge that much more, and I am moving up my expectation of taking the advanced level Sommelier test from one and a half years to nine months or one year.
In the mean time, I can still play on AP even though I am in the USA (because they are shady, I guess), but I am sure I won't be able to cash out. I seem to be playing really well, too.
Below is what I wrote in Drew's blog:
I certainly don't want to disrespect your feelings, and I understand how a major part of your life just got put to an unexpected end. But really, I just don't understand this whole "what can I do now?" attitude. If you have been beating poker on a regular basis, then you have succeeded in discipline, self-control, unbiased self-analysis, and self management in general on a level that very few people have been able to achieve. Honestly, what can you not do? I think it is here that most poker players have talked themselves into their roles as outliers in society, even to the point where they don't see their own value outside of their niche, and I just don't share that opinion. You have already, to a large extent, created your own level of success in the poker world. It is unrealistic to think that the skills you have used to do that do not apply to the "regular" world. And what is the regular world? It is a collection of someone else's sub cultures and niches.
I realize online poker is a fairly isolating experience. But I think if you were going to continue down this path of seeing yourself with value as a poker player and as little else, then maybe this is one of the best things that could have happened for you. I am sure I will get all sorts of crap for that last sentence and probably a lot of people aren't ready to hear it right now. But I am only saying it because you seem to be in such a bad way over this. Think of it as an opportunity for transformation. It isn't only in poker where you take bad beats, and if you have bounced back after losing aipf with Aces, then that same mental toughness you have developed will serve you well.
(At any rate, honestly, I don't see poker going away for good. There is just too much money involved, and let's face it, that is how our country works. People are already adjusting.)
Play well. Do good work. Keep in touch.
PFJ
