When we were at the World Series of Poker earlier this summer, we were pretty surprised about a number of things. One of the things that surprised us the most was the fact that many well-known live and online poker pros smoked marijuana, and smoked heavily. We aren't just talking about casual Saturday night usage here; we are just about guys who smoked before big tournaments, during the breaks of big tournaments, and after big tournaments.
Some of these players just said that they were basically on vacation, and it was a 24 hour per day party for them. Other players told us that they believe that smoking weed helps their games.
1. Freeing your mind for some of that ninth level poker thinking. With your brain in a drug-enduced stupor, you are free to perform some of those fourteenth level poker plays that defy all logic and go against all traditional fundamentals of poker.
2. Short-term memory lapses. If you forget which two hole cards that you have, how will your opponent ever be able to get a read on you?
3. Table Image. If you are playing live, your glazed over and blood-shot eyes will convince your opponents that they shouldn't be playing big hands with you, for fear of getting their heads ripped off by you after a big hand.
4. Paranoia. When you are stoned, you will be certain that every one of your opponents will have pocket aces at all times. This will force you to work on your post-flop game, and become a well-rounded player.
5. Increased hands per hour. When you get sucked out on, instead of trashing your laptop and tossing it into the pool, you will laugh and hit the bong again. This will result in more hands played, which will result in more money, as you won't be spending so much of your time en route to Circuit City to buy a new laptop.
6. Increased sustenance. While you are stoned, you will be constantly seeking munchies. Compare this to a player who may spend hours upon hours playing without ever taking a break to eat. This would result in less than stellar results as the brain and body would be malnourished. Score another victory for weed smokers.