"Gambling is immoral!"

One of my aunts recently criticized my addiction to poker, saying that one day it would be the end of me. She envisioned a day that I would gamble away my mortgage payments and my children's college funds just for the thrill of a card game.

I calmly explained to her that while I was indeed very fond of poker in its various forms, the probability of the situation she described was pretty unlikely. First of all, I expect to retire from the game by age 35. Second, I know well enough to separate my poker bankroll from my general expense accounts. Third, there are many situations when the game is hardly gambling at all ... because I'm that much better than the people that I target. I am savvy enough to recognize who the sharks at a given table are, and who the fish. And so I take down the fish.

She pondered this for a moment, and then said to me, with a completely straight face, "Well, that's just immoral! Swindling money away from those poor folks! If you really are as good as you say you are, you ought to be ashamed of yourself for cheating them out of their hard-earned dollars."

I bristled at the words "swindling" and "cheating." I consider the money I win hard-earned just like tourists do theirs. Well maybe not always hard-earned, but at least earned. But I got over my intial annoyance, and managed to shrug. "I don't think it's immoral at all. They have a chance to win my money, same as I have a chance to win theirs."

And that's how I truly feel. Yes, people that play against me have a chance to take my money.

But not much of one.