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I find Texas Hold'em to be kind of fascinating and watch YouTube videos now and then. It obviously requires intelligence and practice to play it well. But I'm troubled by its incredible popularity with young bright men who might otherwise be pursuing productive careers. I read an essay a while back where one of the theories put forth by the author is that capitalism in its late stages, when the game is rigged and opportunity is not available on an equal basis, starts being dominated by speculation and gambling. Poker is not the only example of this of course. Untold numbers of young folks have been caught up in Robin Hood, thinking there is easy money to made from trading in the stock market. They may be sobering up by now but I doubt it - they are sheep waiting to be sheered. Another example is that so many folks have turned their houses into gambling chips (going to be a lot of bloodshed there as well).
In any event, whether it be Texas Hold'em or options trading it's a zero sum gain and nothing is produced. You make $10K playing poker or buying puts and someone on the other side loses $10K. But nothing has been added to the economy. Just another symptom of the lack of work ethic that we so often bemoan here I guess.
In any event, whether it be Texas Hold'em or options trading it's a zero sum gain and nothing is produced. You make $10K playing poker or buying puts and someone on the other side loses $10K. But nothing has been added to the economy. Just another symptom of the lack of work ethic that we so often bemoan here I guess.