In my previous post I said that I would talk about what kind of things I study. Later, I realized that I had already done that as part of a recent Facebook posts. Here it is:
I just read an online article titled "How a British town became a home for porn, poker and online scams." As a poker player who plays tournaments both live and online, I have to respond.
First, the headline was incredibly misleading.
The article describes how shell corporations work and how a lot of people in the same British town had their names on the paperwork for such companies, often without knowing anything about what the companies did. Out of many business types under the umbrella of shell companies, the headline writer evidently decided that pornography and poker were the most scandalous examples.
This isn't 1950. Poker players don't sit in a smoke filled room with their guns nearby if they're needed. They aren't shady characters. Poker, as much as chess, is a form of intellectual combat, in fact, poker is one of the games recognized by the International Mind Sports Association along with chess, go and other games. In legal disputes about poker rooms in various states, judges have ruled that poker is a game of skill and that under the law poker should not be treated as a game of chance.
I got interested in poker when I saw two people playing a hand on TV. The players were Dr. Michael Binger (theoretical physics) and Dr. Chris Ferguson (computer science and artificial intelligence.) That told me all that I needed to know about what kind of game poker is.
I play poker tournaments. That is my job. According to the US Department of Labor, that makes my job title Professional Poker Player. I work at least 40 hours a week, playing, studying and taking care of occasional administrative tasks.
As this point I should be completely honest about some of the things that I've done in the last few days. I hope that it's not NSFW.
1. I read a 60-page database manual to learn how to keep better records of my time, money and tournaments.
2. I Studied "Weekly Poker Hand" videos made by a World Poker Tour Player of the Year.
3. I used flash cards to memorize or review different poker odds, outs, equities and situations.
4. I played both single-table and multi-table online poker tournaments.
5. I spent time on poker forums exchanging information and ideas with other players.
None of the above had anything to do with pornography or shell corporations.
As always, feel free to make a comment or ask a question.
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