My roommate, David (Sandmanness) was knocked out of the tournament a few moments earlier but he's not handling it nearly as well. After busting, he slammed his mouse down, sulked in his chair, and has now moved the moping party to his room. Before the tournament began, I told him I didn't think he should be playing in it and instead be focusing on grinding games/building back his 'roll. I've been staking him for a few months and I thought him putting $200+ on the line in one high variance tournament was a horrible idea. But he was really excited at the prospect of winning millions and honestly, who wouldn't? I can't blame him, I felt similarly.
What bothered me most about the conversation was something he said towards the end of it. He implied that his parents were almost more enthusiastic about it than he was, as they'd get a chance to watch a big tournament and that'd be much more exciting than the 150+ SNGs he grinds on a daily basis.
That didn't sit well with me. I'm a SNG guy. Pretty much always have been and I don't see that changing any time soon. Are they less exciting than other forms of poker? I won't deny that. But who gives a shit? My bills aren't paid with excitement, they're paid with actual dollar bills. And how do I earn a lot of those? By playing SNGs. I don't play for the rush -- I play because it allows me to live life on my own terms.
I don't mean to disparage the idea of playing poker for entertainment. That's fine. But most people who play for fun aren't trying to make a living out of it and that's good, because a very high percentage of those people would fail. As I've said many times before, being a professional poker player is a job and needs to be treated like one. This doesn't mean you're forbidden from enjoying your work -- but the key word in that sentence is 'work' and the main goal should be financial stability not chasing a pipe dream.
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