Rob Gingras - the Happy Gambler?

So, who is Rob Gingras? He is probably the best unknown tournament player around. He tried his luck at the World Series of Poker in '98 and cashed four times, coming to the final table as the chip leader in a stud event in which he finished fourth.

I met Rob in Toronto when I was about 17 at a private club called Check N' Raise. Howard Goldfarb (who finished second to Dan Harrington in the "big one" in '95) also used to play at that club. Rob was from Ottawa, about a three-hour drive from Toronto, but he used to come by occasionally to knock off our weekly no-limit hold'em tournament. If my memory serves me correctly, he picked up that paycheck three straight weeks.

Unfortunately, Rob liked sports, too, and like many great poker players, he had to play good poker just to feed his real passion – sports betting. As a result, he was in and out of money all the time. He was broke mostly, but you always knew he'd have money again someday. He just played too well to stay broke for too long.

I remember being at the '98 WSOP with Rob and thinking to myself, "How depressing. Rob is in his late 30s and has nothing to show for all the money he's won playing poker. If I were in his shoes, I would be depressed all the time." But not Rob! Rob loved life. He behaved no differently whether he had $100,000 or just a couple of buffet tickets! He didn't care very much if he had a room for the night, he'd sleep in the beautiful garden at Caesar's Palace (he actually did that one night). How could someone go through all of those financial swings in life and not be miserable? I didn't know.

I'd been doing badly myself at the time, although I still had some money saved up. I went to Vegas with $3,000, while Rob went with $1,586.57. I was afraid to risk my bankroll, didn't want to play too high, and so on. Rob? He flew right in and played the $1,560 buy-in tournament the next day – leaving him with a cool $26.57 if he didn't cash! No fear, he'd been a gambler all of his life, since the age of 8, if you can believe it. Well, he knew some people and was able to scrounge up a few hundred to play satellites after not cashing.

I still couldn't get over his attitude. He was always happy and in a good mood. When he'd go broke again, he was the first one to poke fun at himself. He had few regrets and lived life the way he wanted to.

Who was I to say that he needed money management skills? Here he was, happy as could be being broke, and I was depressed because I'd lost $300. He didn't care much for material things; he liked good food, fine wine, partying, and poker.

So, you ask, what is the point of this little story about the happy gambler?

A rewarding, successful life is in the eye of the beholder. Just because you or I think it's a shame that Rob is broke is irrelevant. Rob is happy living the life of a road gambler, and that's more than most people can say about their 9-to-5 jobs.

What really annoys me about some people is the way they knock others for this or that. "Well, yeah, he can play poker, but so what? He'll be broke anyway." I never understood why some people measure poker talent by the size of your bankroll. That's not how it works. Those people who have nothing better to do than ridicule others need to take a good look inside themselves and ask the question, am I truly happy with my life?

There is more to life than money. I'm not recommending that you go blow your bankroll on the Green Bay Packers, or anything, that's not my point. Enjoy what you do. If you don't, it's hard to say that you can be truly happy.