why poker
Why do we play online poker?
Hi you all and welcome to my online website introducting the wonderful world of Backgammon & Poker, the two games i love. If you are already a Poker and a Backagammon player, you dont need to be told the fascinations about two of these games. I know that for me and many others, it was love at first sight. In regards to Backgammon I wondered what those funny diagrams were on the back of the folding chess board and in regards to Poker, the movie I love was Tombstone that made me really want to know what Doc Holliday’s Poker is an honest trade all about.
One day, or in fact, one evening at an all night party, I was introduced to the game on the reverse side of that chess board. I remembered it quite well. After watching and asking questions for an hour or so, I decided I could play. Well, I did sort of, by the time the sun came stealing in to remind us of the hour, I had managed to lose most of the games, a few dollars, and not a little pride.
This ofcourse would never do, and it became clear that the game would have to be learned properly. Unfortunately, as with most games, it must be learned by doing rather than by reading and playing online games. We can read about a game but until we actually play, we cant really become involved. So far, however, reader’s participation has been missing from backgammon publications, and I hope to correct this situation.
Now, just some bits and pieces about what the website has to offer. This first website I made is focused on poker, I have made other sites that are more focused in Backgammon.
This website lays the foundation by discussing an unusual topic, why you play poker. Most poker websites have ignored this subject, because the entire poker culture is uninterested or actively opposed to looking at ourselves.
If you doubt me, just listen to cardroom conversations. You will almost never hear anyone talk about why they play poker (except for macho nonsense such as “I play only for the money”), nor do people discuss how their own drives and attitudes help or hurt them. It just isn’t done.
Instead of looking at ourselves, we talk about specific hands, luck, or strategy. If we discuss psychology, the focus is on other people and the ways to beat them, not on ourselves. However, as Pogo once said, “We have met the enemy, and it is us.” Or, as Roy Cooke put it: “Only in love do I see more self-denial, lack of honesty with oneself, and bad decisions based on emotion than at poker.”
We beat ourselves because we do not know ourselves. We repeat our mistakes because we do not perceive why we made them. We do not objectively assess our own strengths and weaknesses, nor do we understand how our own drives – including irrational ones – affect our entire approach to the game.
The next posts will begin the self-examination process that continues throughout the entire website. First, we will look at the attitudes and skills that separate the winners and losers. Then we will analyze why you play poker and why you have chosen your playing style.