Imagine being asked this question why you play online poker, many people will reply, for the money, but they would be lying to themselves. Nobody does anything for just one reason. For instance, many people don’t go to work solely for making money every month; they also seek added satisfactions like social status, social recognition, being busy during the day, and being productive. If we work for other reasons than the money, why would anyone think that playing a game is just for the money?
The idea that we play just for the money is supported by many Texas Holdem websites. Since winning is fundamental to these writers, they assume that some readers have identical set of priorities.
Nonsense! So many people simply want to win pots, even if by doing that they lose money overall. The kick of winning many pots matters more than a consistent profit. They know that being too loose cost them money in the long run, but the kick of winning so many pots matters more to them than being overall a profitable player.
Whoever saying that people play games to maximize their profits misses what actually is going on at the majority of poker tables. Of course when you use the full tilt bonus code, you are going to make money right off the bat, but this is the exception.
You will not comprehend any other player’s motives for playing poker until you find out that the belief that most people play poker to win is completely wrong. This theory is identical to the economists’ axiom that business people always seek to maximize their ROI. Until a few year ago profit maximization was an article of faith, a basic tenet of economics.
Finally, Professor Simon from Carnegie-Mellon University studied this question in great depth. He found out that what was previously believed was not correct. Nearly all business people strive for comfortable rather than maximum profits because trying to optimize would make them do many things they don’t want to do. Same in poker.