I think it is fine to introduce a friend to professional poker (poker with the serious goal of winning -- not just fucking around on a weekday night) as long as you're honest and upfront about the hard truths:
1) Nearly all poker players are not long-term winners
2) Even players who have the potential to be long-term winners get seduced into playing over their head and giving up whatever profits or edge they might have at easier games
3) Even the best players will go through long and brutal periods of loss and self-doubt. There is absolutely no way to avoid swings within your bankroll.
And also, I have always felt that there is a place for good, but losing players. It is fine if somebody is willing to drain away some money intentionally. It's no different than draining away some money at the craps table or in a slot machine. As long as you know that you are in fact losing in the long run, and you understand how much edge you're giving up, then you're just having some fun with some disposable income.
There seems to be an attitude among some poker players that if you're not winning, or trying to win, then you're an idiot. You don't see that attitude (as much) over at the high-stakes roulette wheel.
In particular, if a player gets a big thrill out of bluffing, then they should learn to weight their bets to situations where they have some outs if they're called. Sure, other players might catch on and call with better hands. And sure, this tendency might make the person a long-term loser. But the player will get much more bang for his buck. Sometimes he'll get called, spike an out, win a monster, and send some young pro all pissed to the rail.
So maybe the right response to a new player is, "Sure, I'll teach you some things. It'll be hard to make you a long-term winner, but I can teach you how to think about the game and have some fun."
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Two things for newbies
Date: 2006-02-27 02:25 (UTC)1) Nearly all poker players are not long-term winners
2) Even players who have the potential to be long-term winners get seduced into playing over their head and giving up whatever profits or edge they might have at easier games
3) Even the best players will go through long and brutal periods of loss and self-doubt. There is absolutely no way to avoid swings within your bankroll.
And also, I have always felt that there is a place for good, but losing players. It is fine if somebody is willing to drain away some money intentionally. It's no different than draining away some money at the craps table or in a slot machine. As long as you know that you are in fact losing in the long run, and you understand how much edge you're giving up, then you're just having some fun with some disposable income.
There seems to be an attitude among some poker players that if you're not winning, or trying to win, then you're an idiot. You don't see that attitude (as much) over at the high-stakes roulette wheel.
In particular, if a player gets a big thrill out of bluffing, then they should learn to weight their bets to situations where they have some outs if they're called. Sure, other players might catch on and call with better hands. And sure, this tendency might make the person a long-term loser. But the player will get much more bang for his buck. Sometimes he'll get called, spike an out, win a monster, and send some young pro all pissed to the rail.
So maybe the right response to a new player is, "Sure, I'll teach you some things. It'll be hard to make you a long-term winner, but I can teach you how to think about the game and have some fun."