My current 2+2 Magazine article, Gray Friday, is one of the most personal I’ve published. It’s about what was going through my head around the time of the online poker indictments and by extension a reflection on my relationship to online poker in general:
It still seems surreal to me, so many years later, that I can make any living, let alone such an extravagant one, clicking buttons on a computer screen. What purpose does this serve? Who is helped by my facility with hand reading, range analysis, and turn overbetting? Would the world, or even any person other than myself, be any worse off if I were no longer able to ply my “trade”? We may be about to find out.
The whole thing has always felt too good to be true, and now I feel like I am waking up from a dream. Something about this seems right and proper, in a cosmic sense, like someone has finally realized I’ve been getting away with something for too long.
Good stuff.My final conclusion to your article will quotations from Mason note:
As the great Milton Friedman once said, we should be “Free to Choose.”
So you are free to choose.
the eternal optimist.
what a great read. I’ve never played poker for a living, so I cannot relate perfectly, but your writing has painted a much better picture than that of which I’ve read on the forums. I’m happy you can find peace with the situation, you’re ahead of the curve when it comes to reaction to things that are out of your control.
Andrew, your blog has not only been helpful and informative, but your random musings are fun and uplifting to me. I have confidence in you that you’ll make a difference in many people’s lives someday, and I admire that. thanks for keeping this blog up, and sorry for the saccharin-sweet gushings, but I am a fan of your outlook on life.
Ditto. 🙂
Great article as always.
Excellent article Andrew, thank-you for sharing you’re personal thoughts and experience. You clearly have a good insight into what is really important in life. Whatever you end up doing, you should figure out a way to be involved in writing for money, as I’ve read almost all of your 2+2 articles and your blog and it is clear that you have a nack for writing. Not to mention poker. Failing that, there’s always Montreal or Toronto, or my personal favourite Vancouver.
Good luck and have fun in Madrid Andrew! Been reading your blog for a while and thoroughly enjoy it.
Wishing you all the best in the Grand Finals.
Regards
Victor from Malaysia
Thanks everybody for the comments – Andrew may be slow to respond here and on twitter this week, he’s in Madrid for the EPT with no local cell phone and possibly no wifi at his hotel…
“– even most of those who are working are involved in the marketing and selling of products or services that nobody really needs. Listening to the national discourse on employment, it’s clear that we don’t need all these people as producers; we need them as consumers.”
Lately I’ve found myself thinking a lot about the same stuff. I’m currently working at a marketing & communications company, although I’m actually a journalist, who’s been forced to quit his job at a national broadcasting company.
As time passes by, I’m becoming more and more cynical and pessimistic about almost everything. In other words, I’m becoming this indifferent person, who I always sweared I’d never become.
It’s not just that I find people do all these meaningless things for money, it’s more that they don’t seem to question their motives at all. Sure, they might say something like “yeah, my work isn’t really helping anyone or making me happy, but one’s got to pay the bills, right”. To me, that’s just an obvious, shallow way of justifying everything they do without having to actually confront all the real problems.
Years ago I really did think that I could make a difference as a journalist: in other people’s lives but also in my own. Nowadays I’m constantly wondering if that’s even possible anymore, even if I was working in a place I found to match my personal values and goals.
However, all this doesn’t mean I’ve given up. I’m not saying you’re the biggest reason for this, but you’ve definitely helped me retain at least some of my optimism – and not even knowing this yourself, of course.
I truly believe that you, Andrew, will ultimately find your place in this world and wind up doing something that will help other people. You are just way too intelligent and kind-hearted not to.
So, I guess what I wanted to say with all this is thank you. Thanks for sharing your thoughts on poker and life in general, I hope you continue blogging in the future.
All the best, take care!
Jaakko
Great read, Andrew, really enjoyed this.
Nice perspective and very inspiring! We all need to take a step back sometimes, but often we need something to push us there. Great title also!
GO!GO!GO!!!!GOOGOGOGOGO!!!….OH AND RUN GREAT!
I am pretty sure you may do 6 figures a year working part time by writing about effectively anything :).
Good luck in all of your efforts, hopefully the gray time will soon over soon.
FWE
It was wonderful to read your thoughts. Keep writing sir.