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I to have that same goal, (please see link: "http://sneezing.blogspot.com/") but I have not made a decision as to whether or not it is attainable yet. No one we know understands or Appreciates what it takes to get to a final table like the two of us do. Our family and friends think its stupid, a big waste of time, and an addiction. It is not an addiction, but an accomplishment that could be compared to the decisions an investment banker has to make every single day. Putting his ass on the line knowing that every Decision he makes could wreak havoc on his life. This achievement could be compared to having made the right decision 99.5% of the time over a 4 day period, not easy to do. Yes its a GAME but so is Chess, and if you ran into a world champion chess player or Bobby Fisher for that matter you would praze him and ask for his autograph. Texas holdem is not much different then chess. Both have a tournament style game play, require a lot of intellectual thinking, and most of all requires an Extreme amount of discipline that not everyone can master. Its a game that will punish you for making emotional decisions, and reward you if you could show no reaction when a Opponent does something you know is wrong. Don't get me wrong LUCK plays a huge part in it, but luck works both ways, and it makes it even harder for you to make the right decision when that decision is putting everything on the line.

OK, yes it is a GAME some people even call it a sport, and as games go its not one that is widely accepted in society. But keep a thing or two in mind before you start judging this "sport." One: no one has ever died while playing it, two: it has never insighted an riots where life and property were destroyed, three: its a game/sport that you don't have to be a freak of nature to play, its not just a sport for the top 1% of the world. Anyone can sit down and play, winning is a whole different story, four: its virtually corruption and rig free unlike all of the main stream sports play today, Five: there are no owners, managers, PR people, or contracts to Negotiate, and for the most part players are for the most part humbled to make a final table, hence the no corruption. And six: there are a lot of very very smart people that play this game we are talking MIT graduates, Mathematician, accounts, bankers, doctors, and patient attorneys. These are just a few of the obvious reasons why playing this game is not as mindless and pointless as people think. Is it safe to say that PLAYING Texas holdem is 10 times more stimulating for the mind then someone sitting down and watching baseball or football games all day long? Someone that remembers the stats of all the players in any sport is kind of useless, unless you are on a game show or playing a sports trivia game? Unless your are betting an the game the winner has no bearing on one's life, but yet people that are that obsessed with the game will argue and fight over their favorite teams. There are people that make there living on betting on sports games, and why is it totally acceptable for a person/family to take a vacation to Vegas or AC and lose anywhere from $100 to hundreds of thousands and we joke and laugh about it, but if someone plays poker when they are not at a casino it is not socially accepted. For the most part it is a hobby, and the people that play derive somekind of pleasure from it. Why is that any different from someone who collects stamps, bird watches, bowls, or goes camping for their pleasure???

On the flip side there is an opposition factor and a monetary factor that can wreak havoc on one's life and marriage, but it is no different then someone obsessed with any other hobby or sports or sports betting hobby they are involved with.