AlCantHang asked me: If you had to chose just one, watching F1 racing or playing poker?
I tried to respond in his comments, but I evidently got long winded as I hit the limit of his comment box thing. Here’s my response.
F1 or Poker…Well, I’d have to say poker for a couple of reasons. Let’s start out by saying that I love F1, but I’ll never be able to actually “do” it. Watching it and going to experience a race is an incredible event though. My grandstands in Montreal literally shook when the cars went by. Nothing like 20 cars, pushing 900 bhp running at 19,000 RPM, go blowing by. I love the technology and the spectacle that is F1. If I had to choose to watch any one kind of racing, it would most likely be F1.
That said, poker is something to “do”. I can go to the casino if I want to be sociable. Of course, I’m a huge introvert, so that’s not usually the reason I go anywhere 
I met a couple people at the F1 race, but nobody I will keep in touch with. On the other hand, I’ve “met” (and in hdouble’s case, physically met) many great people via online poker. I routinely IM with some, email others, chat at the table, etc. with them. It’s something I can look forward to. I can go online and look for people, go to their table, and sweat them (and vice versa) and other such fun. It’s a great “community”. Granted, there are F1 communities, but they all revolve around the dealings of other people (the drivers and teams). Poker revolves around your own and other people’s actions. It’s much more personal.
Poker also gives me the chance to learn. I love to learn new things (hence part of my reasoning to get my master’s degree) and poker can definitely cause you to think and if you put in the time you can learn new things.
Lastly, let’s not forget about the money aspect. I’m not to the point where I’m making any real money at poker, but I do know that I spent over $300 for tickets to the Canada race alone, not to mention air fare, hotel, car, etc. I soon hope I get to the point where I’m actually making some “real” money at poker. I’m not planning on living off it or anything, but “real” money at a level of 3/6 or something where winning 5BB means something compared to 50/1. Once again, I’m not turning pro and I have no notion that I’m a great player by any stretch, but I feel I’m better than the average player (or soon will be) and can leverage that to earn a little extra.
I just hope I never have to make the choice though
Hey, you ever watch WRC? I think that’s a great one, though it’s probably the most TV-unfriendly motorsport out there. Still, who ever thought you could show poker on TV and get great ratings?
Yep, I love the WRC. Those guys are freaking crazy. I agree that it’s not the most exciting TV in terms of “racing” since it’s all time based, but watching them whip around is amazing. The “virtual spectator” thing where they show the differences in speed and such is way cool too.
Yeah. For anyone who’s ever actually driven on snow or dirt, knowing these guys are hitting 60, 80, or 100 mph on that kind of surface is amazing. Esp. since the surface changes every time a guy before you drives over it.