I do not beleive in god for several reasons. The most prominate reason is that I find the whole idea of god rather unrealistic. In my eyes a relationship with god and a love of poker do not go hand in hand because to be truely succesfull at poker one must be very realistic; about ones own abilities and the probabilities of making a hand.

I am just curious what peoples views are on this. I would love to hear the thoughts of someone who is v. religious and loves poker.

Google this for very long threads elsewhere. Short answer is yes if you are religious, no if your not or for 95% ... total apathy on the question. Personally I have no faith my As will hold, but I do trust the statistics. Over 1 million religions in the world, statistically they must all be bollocks.

i worship Doyle the poker god. Other than that, I believe that when I die im not really gonna give a damn what happens to me. Have never believe in God.

Dont see why you cant if you play poker though.

To the OP, why does this matter to you if you don't believe?

Just a question, please don't feel it's a put down, condescension, or anything along those lines.

I only ask because I've not quite understood why people who claim to be non-believers ever even worry about things like this.

I believe in God. I believe that God created the law of probability. I trust God. Therefore it is easy to trust the probabilities.

It is also easy to forget about bad beats as soon as they happen. Bad beat stories annoy me, as do people whining about running bad. I probably trust the odds more than most.

Religion_LOL

<TABLE cellSpacing=0 cellPadding=0 width="100%" border=0><TBODY><TR><TD>Do Religion And Poker Go Together? </TD></TR></TBODY></TABLE>
NO

Dip, you are insinuating that one cannot believe in God and have an honest analytical mind at the same time? That's what I took from your post, correct me if I'm wrong.

that's also the impression i got from him.

the old "people who believe in god are insane" line.

I play at Garden City with a pastor probably once a week. I asked him "I didn't know you were allowed to gamble." he said "Everything in moderation."
All I know is that Religion and Poker Forums should NOT go together.

I think plenty of people believe in god and are succesful at poker but I dont think they are succesful because they believe in god per say. I dont believe in god and I dont think that will change whether or not I win at poker. If anyone can provide physical proof of a god and then provide proof that he will help you win at poker then I will convert quicker than you can say amen.

I believe in God and he has given me a lot of strength. I believe that poker can work with the church as I see nothing directly wrong (biblically, legally, whatever) with playing poker. However, the idea of a poker player has come under a lot of scrutiny because of the choices that people make. A lot of people are addictive personality types, drink lots of alcohol, party a lot, and a number of bad things. To the public eye, playing poker may not be a glorious thing, although the "big bang" of poker has made it more acceptable regardless of the legal aspects. I actually think that God has chosen me to play poker. The life lessons and abilities that I have learned from playing this game are incredible. It has made me a better person. I have quit smoking (weed or cigs) and rarely drink because I want to be able to focus. I have learned incredible patience (i.e. - playing through long cold streaks and beats). I have cooled my temper down significantly when I am put under stress. I also have been genuinely nicer to people I play against even if they do not treat me the same and get lucky, or whatever. These important lessons have expanded into me general attitude toward life and have made me a better person because of it. This is why I believe God chose me to play.

Iaspire to be people like Barry Greenstein or Men "The Master" for several reasons. These people have taught themselves to be the best in their fields through persistance, diligance, hard work, and patience. These guys are also respectable people. Barry donates all of his tournament winnings (minus expenses and entry) to Children Inc. Men "The Master" makes yearly trips to third world countries to help out by handing out food and donating money to people who really need it, not just to keep for himself and bask in his own glory. I think that is pretty noble and something I would like to become one day.

I pray for people like "Vinny" Vinh who have problems and need serious help. I do not necessarily blame him because it is very easy to fall into temptation and I hope he finds his way out. I also pray that the profession of a poker player become a more respectable position in this world, much like it is to be a Stock Broker.

If church is not for you, I would hope you all would reconsider finding God as he has given us all some great things, but he gave us the best gift of all, the ability to choose. I hope that everyone here chooses what is best for them, but for God as well.

GL at the tables.

A lot of interesting responses.

The reason I ask is because I have been regularly playing in a live game that is full of v. religious people. And they act so illogically - making stupidly -EV plays (that they know are -EV) and say stuff like "come on god!" before turns/rivers. And generally expecting god to get them out of crap situation, or even claiming that they were sure that god would get them out of a super -EV situations if they were to get into them during the game - which all results in them playing terribly. Appart from online this is the only poker I play so wanted to know if it was just this group of people that used religon like this.

PM WAR on details about poker players destroying llamas...

LOL @ you assuming a poker donk's -EV plays have metaphysical implications