How do people feel about this situation?

I met a guy recently in a non poker setting. We became friendly and realised we both play so started travelling to some lie tournaments together. When in casinos he will happily play games like roulette and slot machines and it is not uncommon to see him lose £100+ ($200) in a night.

Last week I played him heads up cash poker for the 1st time. I took around $200 from him. I was clearly the far better player.

He wants to play again and I feel this could become a very regular thing. What should I do? I think he's a degenerate gambler. Is it ethical for me to consistently take money from a "friend"? If he is only going to gamble it away in one way or another is it ethical to turn it down and give it to the casino?

I feel unsure how to handle this situation. Any advice/anecdotes?

let him know up front you consider him a friend and that you feel you are the far better player and wouldn't feel right taking his money. after that if he still wants to go for it. take his money until he quits or gets lucky on you.
i find its best to be up front when dealing with people who i consider friends.

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f*cking it up for everyone else since 1969.

I have friends like these and a couple of them have become really good poker players because they get interested in the game and start learning it. Keep taking his money and the winner buys drinks when you guys go out afterward. Keeps it friendly.

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i agree with alex, take his money, but maybe switch to lower limits.. you and him both wont feel as bad if you just call it a 'friendly game' for 50$ instead of 200, and yeah he will learn from you and get better, i almost regret teaching some of my friends real poker theory

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"I feel the same way about disco as i do about herpes"- Hunter S. Thompson

Can this guy afford to lose the money? If $200 doesn't mean a lot to him I don't see a problem at all and you should keep playing him. It would be a nice thing to give him some tips on how to improve, after all he is your friend.

Take his money, but teach him the game as you go along. That way, you can consider it more of a fee

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