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Extra: Gambling for a living

December 04, 2013 / 02:19

This episode features Brian Rast, a professional poker player from Las Vegas, discussing his journey in poker, the challenges of the game, and the allure of gambling.

Brian Rast shares his background, starting with limited funds in college and eventually winning two bracelets at the 2011 World Series of Poker. He explains his decision to pursue poker as a career for the freedom it offers, avoiding a traditional 9 to 5 job.

He highlights the risks involved in poker, noting that while some players achieve success, many do not. Rast compares poker to small businesses, emphasizing that over 90% fail within the first five years.

Rast also discusses the thrill of gambling, mentioning how the desire to win easily attracts many people to poker and other forms of gambling, like lotteries and slot machines.

He concludes by noting that successful poker players can earn significant incomes, particularly in Las Vegas, where poker is a well-known profession.

TLDR

Brian Rast discusses his poker career, the risks of gambling, and the allure of winning big in Las Vegas.

Episode

2:19
00:00:00
my name is Brian rast I'm a poker player living in Las Vegas Nevada and in the 2011 World Series of Poker I won two
00:00:08
bracelets I mean I got into poker when I was in college and you know I didn't really have any money and I started
00:00:16
playing with like the little money that I did have and I kind of like built it up I eventually dropped out of school
00:00:22
cuz I had enough money and I decided this is what I want to do with my life I chose poker for freedom but I didn't
00:00:27
want to work for anyone I didn't want a 9 to5 I wanted I didn't want to have a boss I wanted to
00:00:32
just do what I wanted there's definitely kind of a Mystique about it and you know
00:00:36
for every person that maybe has my story there's countless of people that it like
00:00:40
doesn't work out that well for them winning and losing in a lot of things in life and gambling with money something
00:00:46
that people care about like gives people a rush some people just want to feel something the the TV tournament poker
00:00:52
just looks like this seductive easy way to win a lot of money that's why people play the lottery that's why people you
00:00:58
know do a lot of things in life everyone would like to win a million dollars easily that's why people put a dollar in
00:01:03
a slot machine you know and so poker's like some people slot machine but a little bit more fun CU you have to think
00:01:08
poker players like small businesses it's like over 90% fail in the first 5 years
00:01:14
that's just the way things are it's a difficult game it's hard to become good enough to have Edge and win the truth is
00:01:21
if that you're not careful you lose all your money and if you don't have money you can't play poker you need money to
00:01:26
make money in poker there's poker players that have gone broken you know they like might try to borrow money and
00:01:32
if they can't then they'll like go find something else to do with their life and
00:01:36
that would kind of be the rational like hey I'm a normal person response to the situation but you know not everybody
00:01:43
works like that poker players especially in Las Vegas are kind of like many celebrities or you
00:01:51
know poker is something that's very popular in Las Vegas like most of the people know who poker players are a lot
00:01:56
of the people work in casinos so they're kind of around and poker players are kind of people that come in some of them
00:02:02
are successful they win you know a lot of money I mean you know if you're one of the better poker players at like say
00:02:09
the Bellagio I mean you could make over a 100 or 200,000 a year and that's I mean that's a lot of money by almost
00:02:16
anyone's standards

Episode Highlights

  • Brian Rast's Poker Journey
    Brian Rast shares his journey from college dropout to poker champion, winning two bracelets in 2011.
    “I decided this is what I want to do with my life.”
    @ 00m 22s
    December 04, 2013
  • The Allure of Gambling
    Rast reflects on why people are drawn to gambling, likening poker to a slot machine with more strategy.
    “Poker's like a slot machine, but a little bit more fun.”
    @ 01m 06s
    December 04, 2013
  • The Reality of Poker
    Rast explains the harsh realities of poker, comparing it to small businesses with high failure rates.
    “Over 90% fail in the first 5 years.”
    @ 01m 10s
    December 04, 2013

Episode Quotes

  • I chose poker for freedom, but I didn't want to work for anyone.
    Extra: Gambling for a living
  • Poker players like small businesses; over 90% fail in the first 5 years.
    Extra: Gambling for a living
  • If you're not careful, you lose all your money.
    Extra: Gambling for a living

Key Moments

  • Poker Freedom00:24
  • Gambling Allure01:06
  • High Stakes Reality01:10
  • Risk of Loss01:21

Words per Minute Over Time

Vibes Breakdown