Poker CV

Author: Simon Dexter

As an avid poker forum reader (I rarely post, don’t know why), I came across the following interesting thread started by a law student.

“I’m currently drafting my CV to apply to a few big national and regional law firms. Now under the heading “interests” I’ve put a snippet on the usual stuff - played football for my county, enjoy reading etc.

“But do I put down that I play, and am quite successful at
poker

? I think that poker is a game of skill, tactics, cunning and in general I believe it shows a certain ability to reason, think logically and indicates a level of intelligence.

“You know the image sitting in a smokey (used to be anyway) bookies, pencil behind ear shouting at horses. Gambling my last fiver that I needed for electric etc. Do you think my potential employers will see it like this or categorise me as being a degenerate?”

The replies varied from the mundane to the ridiculous, but also to some very solid advice. In the end, the decision that arrrived was that is was probably not worth mentioning any interest in poker simply because there are still plenty of people out there who don’t understand that the game utilises many skills which would be valuable in the real world.

One answer in particular is worthy of a mention The writer said: “Just explain to them how it has helped you, tell them it is a mathematical game, helps keep your brain working, and makes you better at reading people and being a dude!”

I thought this was the best answer until someone agreed but then tempered his reply when he said:
“Poker includes tons of skills that can be used effectively in most jobs. Whether the average person acknowledges this, is debatable.”

So questions remain - Do you lie on a CV by not mentioning that you enjoy playing poker - even though we are constantly told not to make things up on a CV? What should be considered worse - spending thousands of pounds on scuba diving equipment and enjoying it or spending thousands of pounds on poker and enjoying it?