<p>I don't want to start a debate, and I hope I can have my opinion without snarky remarks.</p>
<p>Anyway.</p>
<p>Gambling can be addictive, if you let it.. I know a student who gambled so much that he started betting his college tuition on poker.. it all starts off casually, you know. But anyway. If you are wise and play in moderation I guess it can't hurt, though, like anything, it can morph into a very bad habit. And if you have $150 to spend/possibly lose (depending on your ability) without feeling bad about it then obviously it's your call</p>
<p>don't do it. that's a ton of <strong><em>ing money. and it sounds like you consider the other people better than you. assuming you're accurate, you will lose your money. i know i couldn't afford that, but it's your money.
i don't wanna sound like an *</em></strong>**, but it sounds like you're not gonna win. don't play for the money. if the thrill is worth $150 to you, go ahead, but i doubt you can just throw around money like that.</p>
<p>jpps1's right. the payout structure is a bad one. the final table of 5-6 should profit, the 2nd place should be split among them, with last getting his money back, second to last doubling. this way it's very un likely you'll come out on top.</p>
<p>if you do enter, play crazy conservative. aggressive play is nessecary in table games to force action, but in the long events you'll come up short eventually. until you're closer to the end, don't take big risks, because if you take enough, eventually one won't pay off, and then you're out for good. you can step up the pace later, but wait it out in the begining. the last tourney i played (like 50 people i think), 2-3 people from my table of nine were out before i saw a flop.</p>
<p>People need to lay off the public service announcement tone. he plays poker. he has, he will in the future. he's not asking whether he should pick up a gambling habit, he's asking whether he should enter a certian event. (he shouldn't)</p>
<p>we know that gambling can be addictive to some people. that's not a valid reason to avoid it like an infectious disease. it's not some evil spectre trying to take over our lives.</p>
<p>First, I can tell you right now that if you're worrying about the money, you're not going to win this tournament. Don't worry about the money, it's only $150.</p>
<p>Second, that's hands down the worst pay-off structure I've ever seen. A thirty-five person tournament should pay out the top five places.</p>
<p>Third, the thing with a "gambling addiction" is that it's only a problem if you're losing. If you're winning, there's no problem, right? Professional poker players don't have gambling addictions, do they?</p>
<p>Fourth, as for your "Who plays?" question - I've posted about this before, but I've seriously considered dropping out of college to take poker more seriously (granted, I still have another year to wait and consider and even still, I doubt I'd play it professionally, as expenses for a professional player are ridiculous. One of the reasons I came to New Orleans for school though was so I could be within a half hour walk of the Harrah's :D).
I have a few friends that have gone professional or considered it in the past year and they're doing very well for themselves. One of my home game buddies recently won a World Poker Tour title and $2.2 million. Since then he's made another $2 million at Foxwoods and $800,000 online. He's not even the best one in our group. . .he's just the only one that's 21. The people you meet through this game are ridiculous.</p>
<p>EDIT: Sorry, I don't play NL Texas Hold 'Em anymore. I almost strictly play Omaha Hi/Lo online and ONLY play Seven Stud/8 at casinos. I've only played three NLHE tournaments at the casino and have won one ($1,292; $40 bounty, 96 players), finished 3rd in another ($2,499; $100 shootout, 119 players), and finished 21st in the last one (3 from the money, horrible horrible beat).</p>