Do poker players live in a bubble?

We are often told that professional poker players don't understand the real world, but is this the case?

If you have stumbled on to Twitter this week you’ll have seen one of the most heated debates in recent times has divided the poker community, that of the ethics of tipping dealers when you win. While the tipping discussion is an interesting one, the really striking thing is how nasty the debate became from all sides of the argument. Despite poker being just a game, it is remarkable how heated debates about it can get.

Speaking privately with people about it this week I many times heard the comment that ‘poker players live in a bubble’. That the vitriol that can come from the poker community over trivial issues is evidence that the poker community, or professional players at least, are somehow isolated from the rest of the world.

It’s a common joke that poker players don’t have some of the basic life skills everybody else is expected to have. We also often talk about how well poker players would do in the ‘real world’, which again suggests that poker exists outside of the rest of society.

So do poker players live in a bubble?

Not a 'real' job?

The short answer is yes, but stick with me fellow bubble dwellers.

For a number of reasons, many of which are the appeals of the game in the first place, professional poker players can go a long time avoiding otherwise everyday occurrences most other people experience.

They make their own hours for example, so rarely do they experience anything like the 9-5 commute, nor do they have to worry about going to bed early to be up for work the next day. The money amounts wagered in a single hand might be life changing to somebody with a ‘real job’ and as such, poker players perhaps do not have the same attitude towards money. Poker players often put in very long hours at the table and spend their leisure time on poker forums, so a lot of poker players don’t follow the news like some others do. Most people in regular careers are beholden to a customer or at least a boss, and as such have to modify their behavour and be more appeasing to earn a living, a poker player is their own boss with no customers.

Not everybody lives in a bubble in poker, there are players whom I think are very politically engaged, appreciate the value of money and if you look at some of the fantastic charitable ventures poker players have raised money for, they clearly understand (and care about) the world beyond their nose.

The Filter Bubble

While I do think a poker bubble exists, I think it is very important to point out that we all live in a number of bubbles. It’s human nature to form groups but in particular the Internet, which promised to bring the world together, actually encourages us all to live in bubbles. Rather than broaden our horizons, we often use the Internet to find likeminded people who think just the same as we do.

The Internet is also optimised to show us what we want to see, which is referred to as a Filter Bubble (I highly recommend the book of the same name). Facebook, Google, Twitter and YouTube all have algorithms that show us what they think we will like based on previous activity. A search for ‘Donald Trump’ in any of these portals, for example, will show vastly different results for a Democrat and a Republican. We only see things we are likely to agree with, which is perhaps why we are becoming ruder to anyone who disagrees with us.

The one great defence of poker, before I make it sound like everyone is shielded from reality, is that it truly is a global game and likely has got more of us traveling and meeting people from far afield than we ever would have in normal employment. I have friends all over the world because of poker, I got married in New York with an American best man because of poker (I'm British), and I have seen the world because of poker. The game broadens your horizons, if you’ll let it.

Poker is a bubble and it is perhaps more of a bubble than most bubbles, because many of the skills required to be good at the game are the opposite of what are required in ‘regular jobs’. However, if you are looking to get out of the bubble, I'd first look at how you use the Internet (and perhaps spend more time away from it) rather than trying to change your poker habits. 

Do you think professional poker players live in a bubble? Share your views in the comments: