Recreational Player vs.
Professional Player
By Debbie Burkhead

The poker community is made up of two types of poker players: The recreational player and the professional player. My definition of a recreational player is a player who plays occasionally and has fun regardless of winning or losing. The professional player is only playing to win and is not having fun unless he is winning.

The recreational player sets aside X amount of money to gamble with and then sets out for a fun night of poker. These players can be dangerous. They are not looking for the best game in town nor are they expecting to go home a winner. These players just want to relax and play some poker. Win or lose won't change their lives.

Because they only play occasionally they want to play as much as possible in the time allotted. They don't have time to wait for premium starting hands. You can't put these players on a hand. This is what makes them dangerous.

The professional player has only one goal, to win money. These players are not in the game pass the time or make friends. Unlike the recreational player, the pro expects to win and they don't always take kindly to the fun loving player that draws out on them. These players want the recreational player in the game but sometimes have a hard time losing to them.

The recreational player tends to play many more hands then the pro which, in turn creates an illusion of winning more hands. The odds of winning are much greater for the player who plays more hands, but the odds of going home a winner is much greater for the pro. The casual player will appear to be winning when in reality he is just prolonging going broke.

The pro will eventually come out ahead because his opponent will continue on his self-destructing pattern of play until he eventually goes broke. Remember what I said in the beginning: the recreational player just wants to have fun, win or lose.

As long as the pro keeps his cool when his opponent puts a bad beat on him, he will survive. If the pro lets his ego get in the way of his play, he too will eventually self-destruct. Patience is the key.

The poker world survives on recreational players. Without them the poker community would dry up and be left with nothing but old pros.

The worst thing a pro can do is to humiliate or embarrass a recreational player. A true professional poker player should appreciate and welcome these players. Win or lose, if they had fun they'll come back. On the other hand, if the pros publicly humiliate or degrade the other's play, the recreational player might not return. Or worse yet, they'll leave with the pro's money.

Keep in mind, these casual players do not play by the book and most just want to be in action, which is why they play so many hands. Be thankful they really don't care if they win or lose. They just want to enjoy the limited time they have to play.

Be patient with them, let them have fun. Eventually you will be victorious and they will leave happy, looking forward to coming back another day.

Don't forget we were all casual players at one time or another. The casual player you play with today could be a future pro that you'll play with tomorrow. So be nice.

Now go out there and show them you can be a good sport while taking their money and showing them a good time.