People have always asked me questions about being a poker player. What do your friends and family think of poker? What questions do they ask?

My Mother played bridge and golf and traveled to tournaments. She has always been cool with me as a card player. So was my wife and, later, long term girlfriend and Goddaughter. When friends and associates ask questions, I usually give short, curt answers that say, don't ask. I've had people imply I was lying after saying I won on a trip to Las Vegas. The image of a poker player has really improved. Most people think it is pretty neat and different, even admirable.

I started playing before the big poker boom. People thought I was a compulsive gambler who happened to get lucky. A few years down the line, the poker boom was still in it's infancy, but it was easier to change people's minds when I could show them all the things poker has paid for and the consistency of winning. I think a lot of people still don't understand it, but they come to accept it with poker's current image and the results.

Lee

It's only a problem if you're losing

I've told people that I took up poker so that I wouldn't have a gambling problem, since otherwise I'd just play blackjack and craps.

Wait, I still play blackjack and craps. But not as much as I used to before poker. So I'm right.

Eli