Quitting my job for poker was a great idea

[Pokeraddict]

I figured with the "quitting my job was a bad idea" thread I would start one about a success story. I hope I do not get flamed for this as I know poker is not a job many can do full time. As a matter of fact I would discourage most people from doing it. You better have great math skills that can work in a split second and the patience to deal with the massive suck outs that have caused me to break a mouse every few months. But those of us who left their good jobs, or in my case bad one, poker has been a life changing career.

I did not go to college, went into the work force delivering pizza and eventually managed a Papa John's. I managed and delivered for them for nearly 10 years. They were once a company that took care of people but this changed as, in my opinion, people who have no idea what they are doing took over the company and now have left it in shambles. I was injured in a car accident on the clock and had to take time off and after a while went part time. I had endless problems getting them to even pay for medical bills, something under the law they are obligated, especially since the bills were from the people they sent me to and agreed over phone with the providers to pay. The bigger the stink I made about these unpaid bills (I was receiving late notices in the mail) the more hostile the work place became.

During this break 2 years ago I started playing poker at Americas Card Room. Like many others I did not tell my wife I was playing online. I was already a Betcris customer so transfers were easy. Old schoolers will remember the 4 nights a week of free $50 for 200 hands. I had played poker all my life but not holdem. I know I was a fish. The only thing that kept me floating was all the free money.

After a while I established a decent game. I took a prop job at Big Bet and turned a few hundred dollars into over $10,000. I was starting to really feel the push at work to get me out the door as I could not manage anymore due to my back injury. Finally after they made up some total BS I quit and told my wife what I had been doing. She was pissed that I had been "gambling" online as she is very conservative. She got over this when I showed her I had 5 digits in my prepaidatm account. This was about 14 months ago.

After a few months I got so comfortable with poker income I made a sucks.com to my employer to tell the world how poorly they handled the situation and also as a joke. What a better way to tell an ex employer that screwed you how you feel right? I never could have done this without being self employed.

Now I am a full time 5/10 and 10/20 player. I am a 2+BB/100 winner full time and prop on the side still for extra pay. I am making more money then I ever dreamed. I even opened up a successful poker website which I have busted my ass in the last week to completely overhaul to make it look more professional. I will not post the link as that is spam but I am allowed to say it is in my profile.

The point after reading the horror story in the other thread is it can be done. I was once that fish that called raises with any ace, or after a berating after bad beating someone had the "It was suited" comment for my J2. Remember that idiot in your PT that is a -15BB/100 loser can always learn and become the next online poker pro. So can anyone who really puts their mind to it. Just remember that the best way to take the fun out of poker is to do it for a living.

Anytime I think about how well this has gone I still have to thank Jek for all his help, I may not have made it without his insight to proper play and how to keep in the anger at the fishies. At the very least it would have taken longer to get where I am.

[aflaba]

Nice to hear it has went so well for you.

BTW pople, it would be nice if more serious poker players shared their stories, good as well as bad. Maybe they have in what is now the archives though...

Hope things continue to go your way Pokeraddict!

[OldLearner]

Congratulations to you.

One thing about your post that I thought was strange is that this

[ QUOTE ]
You better have great math skills that can work in a split second

[/ QUOTE ]

and this

[ QUOTE ]
I did not go to college, went into the work force delivering pizza and eventually managed a Papa John's.

[/ QUOTE ]

don't seem to correlate.

At what point did you acquire your great, lightning fast math skills? /images/graemlins/confused.gif

[mmbt0ne]

It's not like he's derivating 3-variable equations at the table. I was doing algebra when I was 5 (math teacher mom+no money for babysitters=2 hours of class a day after preschool), so it's not hard to imagine someone being able to do pot odds calculations and the like with a high school education.

[kendal14]

No College != Bad math skills

Come one... I'm sure we all know someone who for whatever reason did not go to college, or went to a "lower tier" college and are probably some of the brightest people we know.

Well... I do.

Congrats on the success story and continued succes to the original poster.

[axioma]

Jesus, what a revolting post.

If your comments here correlate with you as a person I pity you.

[slickpoppa]

The math necessary for poker should be doable for anyone with an 8th grade education, if not much lower.

[BeantownCaller]

[ QUOTE ]
No College != Bad math skills

Come one... I'm sure we all know someone who for whatever reason did not go to college, or went to a "lower tier" college and are probably some of the brightest people we know.

Well... I do.

[/ QUOTE ]

I'm one of those people. Good math brain, decent at writing and misc. english skills. Went from AP math as a freshman to C's and D's in honors math by a senior though /images/graemlins/smile.gif. I'm just lazy and don't like schoolin', so I decided not to go to college. I can calculate pot odds with the best of em though!

Glad to hear this story. My current job is going to end this summer and I'm considering trying to play poker "for a living" 5 or so hours a day this summer. I'll have unemployment as a safety net however, I just want to see if I can still win against the day crowd and if I can handle playing 4 tables for 5+ hours a day, day in and day out. If I can't I've got a few bucks in the bank and plenty of cars in the driveway to wrench on til I decide what I want to do next.

But man...working on my cars in the daytime, play a little 5/10 at night, sleep in...that sounds like the life for me. Til it gets cold out. Then I hibernate /images/graemlins/smile.gif

THANKS FOR YOUR INSPIRATIONAL POST GOOD SIR. I AM PLEASED TO MAKE YOUR AQUAINTANCE. Toodles.

[Pokeraddict]

I did not do well in English and honestly was very bored with school. I do not see how that makes it hard to divide odds that pertain to poker. Some on the other hand cannot add but can read a 1000+ page novel and love it (my wife for example) I would rather watch paint dry. I do not see what having a degree has anything to do with instinctive math skills.

I am not offended by the post at all. Some have that stereotype. I decided to join the workforce at 18 as my friends went off to school. At age 31 I can tell you I make more then anyone else I grew up with, college degree or not. How many of them can go to work without leaving the house? Drink a beer on the job? Take breaks whenever? Not have to put their child in daycare to work their job? Work whenever they feel like it? Or I guess most importantly, how many of them are happy with what they do?

I even just recently told my parents what I was doing and to my shock they were supportive.

[Pokeraddict]

[ QUOTE ]
I just want to see if I can still win against the day crowd and if I can handle playing 4 tables for 5+ hours a day, day in and day out. If I can't I've got a few bucks in the bank and plenty of cars in the driveway to wrench on til I decide what I want to do next.


[/ QUOTE ]

Yes beating the day crowd can be one of the tougher things to do. Game are great until about noon ET and then for 7 hours they tend to suck.

I know this sounds stupid, but I think it is forward thought. I have enough canned food to last months if I ever bust, and I pay all my bills a month ahead. There is no telling when a skid will hit even though I have been lucky enough not to have one last more then 10 days or so. At least if it does I will not stress about eating or paying the bills.

[Al P]

He had to make change for all those $18.36 pizza deliveries - that's all the math he needs.

[Pokeraddict]

[ QUOTE ]
He had to make change for all those $18.36 pizza deliveries - that's all the math he needs.

[/ QUOTE ]

LOL If they needed change from that then they SUCK!

[mcozzy1]

[ QUOTE ]
I did not go to college, went into the work force delivering pizza and eventually managed a Papa John's. I managed and delivered for them for nearly 10 years. They were once a company that took care of people but this changed as, in my opinion, people who have no idea what they are doing took over the company and now have left it in shambles. I was injured in a car accident on the clock and had to take time off and after a while went part time. I had endless problems getting them to even pay for medical bills, something under the law they are obligated, especially since the bills were from the people they sent me to and agreed over phone with the providers to pay. The bigger the stink I made about these unpaid bills (I was receiving late notices in the mail) the more hostile the work place became.


[/ QUOTE ]

Are you that guy who started that website that was hating Papa Johns?

[aflaba]

lol, yeah I remember I was wondering about who would write that kind of site parallell to a poker site, strange interest to have I yhought :-)

[Pokeraddict]

Are you that guy who started that website that was hating Papa Johns?

Yes, I could not resist it. Laugh all you want it is more of a joke but they really deserve it too. They are scared of a lawsuit so they have not touched it. I am sure the statute of limitations will run out before they bother me about it as I get an email a week from it from lawyers wanting me to sue them. I am not sue happy, I would rather give them the finger on the net 24/7 even though it is about as open and shut workers comp harassment case ever. I really do not want their money.

[MikeyObviously]

I'm in college...I only had to take two quarters of math. I've been done since the middle of my freshman year. Unless your a math related major, your not studying too much math...

[MS Sunshine]

"Anytime I think about how well this has gone I still have to thank Jek for all his help, I may not have made it without his insight to proper play and how to keep in the anger at the fishies."

And America lose another damn pizza delivery guy. Thanks Jek.

MS Sunshine

[TxBuckeye]

I love Papa Johns.

[Pokeraddict]

Thats right, somewhere in Atlanta someones pizza is late and its all Jek's fault.

[BeantownCaller]

Screw the daycrowd then, sleeping during the day rules /images/graemlins/wink.gif

[OldLearner]

[ QUOTE ]
Jesus, what a revolting post.

If your comments here correlate with you as a person I pity you.

[/ QUOTE ]

Holy fk. Take your chill pills sonny.

I congratulated the original poster and thought it was funny that he stated that you require "great match skills that you can use lightning fast" and then stated that he didnt go to college, rather delivered pizza.

If you are so sensitive that you think that is revolting, I can probably get you to puke up your pablum in 2 lines or less.

[axioma]

i doubt that very much.

i think i and everyone else correctly took your post as being at minimum pretty degrading to the OP.

i was more mocking your attitude, than taking offence at it.

[MicroBob]

I didn't look at it as terribly degrading.

[axioma]

thats great but you werent one of the people i was talking about, seeing as this is your first reply to the post.

whatever, im not getting dragged into to anything here.

[AA suited]

link to the papa john sucks website?

and have you at least consulted w/a lawyer about this? that way you have more info to base a decision on.

in poker terms, you have JJ. flop = 2tone with 2 7 K. are you just going to check it down the river? cause that's what you are doing if you're not consulting a lawyer to at least get all the information you can before deciding on your next step.

[OldLearner]

[ QUOTE ]
i think i and everyone else

[/ QUOTE ]

I think you think very highly of yourself (you use i alot), so much so that you think that you can speak for everyone.

nuff said

[MicroBob]

yes...it was the 'everyone else' part that prompted me to reply since i considered myself a part of 'everyone'.

not sure why it matters if they had previously been participating in the thread or not but evidently 'everyone else' might have just been referring to that group.

[axioma]

mabey it should have said 'everyone else who responded to your post', but i thought that went without saying.

and leave out the pocketbook psychology BS. anyone that could type that crap with a straight face muct have a very high opinion of themselves.

my last post here.

[OldLearner]

LOL. Jesus H.

I just went through ALL the posts here and found that yours (not everyone else's or anyone else's) was the only one that thought I was being derogatory.

I found the "Great Lightning Fast Math Skills <-> Pizza delivery" to be a little amusing. I have a sense of humor.

Funny that you speak for ALL but I am the one with a high opinion of myself.

[Exsubmariner]

I'm sorry, pokeraddict. I just have to interject my $2 PSO (oops, wrong forum) here.....
You might just want to consider having a sit down and listening to what one of the lawyers who contacted you has to say. Just listen. Carefully. Then, when you decide that they are right, sue the bastards. It will take a long time and it will be arduous. You will get sick of it. In the end, you will be happy you did and it will cause them to think twice about doing it to the next pizza delivery guy who finds himself in the same situation. As slimy as lawyers are, we have them in our society to counterbalance companies like this who will not obey laws and not do the decent humane thing in order to make their profits fatter (greed). Sad state of affairs, but the way it is. I could go on and I'm sure others could too and I am also sure that there are lawyers out there who will want to sue me for calling them slimey. /images/graemlins/tongue.gif I think you get the idea....

[Pokeraddict]

[ QUOTE ]
link to the papa john sucks website?

and have you at least consulted w/a lawyer about this? that way you have more info to base a decision on.

in poker terms, you have JJ. flop = 2tone with 2 7 K. are you just going to check it down the river? cause that's what you are doing if you're not consulting a lawyer to at least get all the information you can before deciding on your next step.

[/ QUOTE ]

Since I was asked and this is a non profit site I will post the link. If I offend anyine at 2+2 I will take it down and/or will not be offended if it is deleted. I apologize if anyone feels this is spam but I was asked.

Papa John's Sucks (http://www.papajohnsucks.com)

As for suing them I have thought long and hard about this. I agree that it may be the only way for them to change their ways, on the other hand I do not want their dirty money and do not want the memory of that to linger for years. I am MUCH happier without them.

[wbrumfiel]

I had a friend that delivered for PJ and he ran into a pedestrian which if memory serves correctly (LONG time ago) he was just off the clock. Anyways, the management/company was willing to say he was on the clock so that he didn't get in as much insurance trouble.

[Oski]

[ QUOTE ]
I had a friend that delivered for PJ and he ran into a pedestrian which if memory serves correctly (LONG time ago) he was just off the clock. Anyways, the management/company was willing to say he was on the clock so that he didn't get in as much insurance trouble.

[/ QUOTE ]

Poker Addict: You can (and should) sue the person who hit you. Workers' comp. is only a remedy from your employer. The person who hit you is a third-party. If your back is legitimately hurt and especially if you have been treating, you will have a good claim. However, you may have a statute of limitations problem (in California, it is not 2 years for personal injury claims).

You can still seek recovery from your employer as well.

I think you are making a mistake by not pursuing this.

[Pokeraddict]

For tbe record I do have a pending action against the women who was talking on her cell phone who swerved into me. I do not want to go into any detail of that as I do not want to jeopardize the case. This same lawyer begs me to go after Papa John's too but says it can vbe won but is far from a sure thing, something I have not completely ruled out. but I sure enjoy being the top search on Google for many Papa John's searches such as Papa John's corporate office (http://www.google.com/search?hl=en&q=papa+john%27s+corporate+office) I think this is priceless.

I have not 100% ruled it out, especially if they try to take the domain away from me. I would love to teach them a lesson and have them have to admit it was wrong, but on the other hand the amount of money I would get hardly seems worth the hassle. It is not a guaranteed winner as Georgia is not a right to work state. I would have to prove the hostile work place came because of my injuries. They have the right to fire me for almost any reason in my state. Now the women who was talking on her cell phone who admitted to the police she was at fault after hitting me and running me off the road on the other hand is open and shut and she is the reason I will never be 100% and was injured enough to miss work and eventually lose my job over it. When I play rough with my kid and hurt my back or work in the yard and have to stop after a short time I blame the women who hit me and spun me off the road, not Papa John's. Although they handled the situation terribly they are not the ones who injured me.

I guess everything happens for a reason though as it got me into a much more enjoyable career. It was a blessing in disguise.