Re: Poker as a living. How to deal with my family?
 

Bernie is right, if you are supporting yourself, F your family if they don't accept it. Seriously, just like you don't want to keep friends who don't accept you, you should just dismiss your family if they don't approve of who you are. "Hi Mom, I play poker for a living, and when I get beat real bad I try to make it all back playing blackjack. Deal with it."

-Michael

Re: Poker as a living. How to deal with my family?
 

Hahah, well good point. I get along great with my family outside of this instance and would prefer that they understand and allow my choices rather than dismiss them as absurd and force their opinions on me. Not to mention I have to pay my own tuition and adding expenses to those I currently have does not help me do that in any way. It would be very nice if I could make a healthy living while living at home so I can set aside my tuition and maybe even start an IRA.

Re: Poker as a living. How to deal with my family?
 

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In fact 32 x 8hr x 5 days x 52 weeks= 66560 per year. I am a aerospace engineering major and it is something that I am VERY interested in doing for the rest of my life. The average starting pay for an Aerospace engineer is roughly 45000 per year.

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Yeah, but that aerospace engineering job will have all kinds of benefits that poker won't. You'll have insurance, employee pension plans, and pay less in taxes, at the least. You'll also have paid vacation time, which you won't have playing poker. If your heart just isn't in the school thing right now, then okay, but thinking that you'll make more playing 2/4 than in engineering is pretty stupid.

Re: Poker as a living. How to deal with my family?
 

Hi there,

Your parents' argument has turned from "poker is luck and irresponsible gambling" to "do something with your life". My parents' argument has turned in the same manner. And both sets of parents have a point. If all anyone ever does in life is sit at a computer at home playing a game, I think we all can agree that it's not exactly the most noble expression of offering ourselves to society. This is your parents' point.

Many people associate what you do with who you are. I told a girl friend of mine that I was seriously considering playing poker professionally. Her answer was, "Oh, but you could be so much more in life." This bears the misconception that your profession defines you. You can argue to your parents that it's not what you do, but who you are that matters in life. If you played poker for income, but spent time in your local community serving, coaching, leading, whatever, and also gave some of your money to charities, then your parents would see the balance they desire to see. Of course, with your intelligence, they want your profession itself to be something considered noble since you'll spent the majority of your time doing it. Perhaps you could be a volunteer lawyer (lol) or a campaign manager for the governor...something involved in politics or government that wouldn't consume too much time, but would satisfy their quench for your pursuing an honorable profession.

An argument for the poker profession being honorable would be the example of Daniel Negreano. His achievements in poker afford him the ability to give vasts amounts of money to the poor and other charities, tell the story of how God has saved him from his sins, and speak at varying community engagements.

No matter how you look at it, you wont make your parents happy unless you are a well-rounded person, as they define it.

Just some thoughts.

M

Re: Poker as a living. How to deal with my family?
 

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A 9-5 job that I am qualified for would be a complete grind.

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Just remember that poker will probably be the same way.

Re: Poker as a living. How to deal with my family?
 

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I have no intentions of not returning to school. I discovered the past semester that my heart just wasn't in school and I was not working nearly as hard as I should have and my GPA dropped because of it. I then decided that I should wait until my desire to learn has returned again.

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I would caution against this line of reasoning. It is my opinion that you are less likely to return to school the longer you are away from it. For what its worth, I agree with your parents. I don't mean to be patronizing myself, but by completing your degree you will always have something on which to fall back on, if the poker thing doesn't work out. The other poster makes a very good point regarding benefits you receive with a full time job, including healthcare, retirement, and paid vacation.

I wish you luck in whatever decision you make. Please take into consideration the advice people are trying to offer you here.

Re: Poker as a living. How to deal with my family?
 

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Hahah, well good point. I get along great with my family outside of this instance and would prefer that they understand and allow my choices rather than dismiss them as absurd and force their opinions on me. Not to mention I have to pay my own tuition and adding expenses to those I currently have does not help me do that in any way. It would be very nice if I could make a healthy living while living at home so I can set aside my tuition and maybe even start an IRA.

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So you want your parents to subsidize your living expenses while you play poker all day?

You need to grow up. Little boys try to please their parents. Grown men make their own decisions and support themselves.

Re: Poker as a living. How to deal with my family?
 

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You need to grow up. Little boys try to please their parents. Grown men make their own decisions and support themselves.

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Grown men can make their own decisions with one factor of consideration being what would honor the parents who brought them into the world and raised them. Although one doesn't "have to" please one's parents, knocking the desire is foolish; one day, you'll have children and it will inevitably please you if they respect your opinions and take your views into consideration.

M

Re: Poker as a living. How to deal with my family?
 

Leaving an aero engineering program to play 2/4 (or whatever) would almost certainly be the worst financial mistake of your life.

And this "I want to go back at somepoint, I just need a break right now" is exactly what every dropout in my program said on their way out the door.

Put poker on the side burner for now. Finish your degree and get a solid income. Supplement it with poker. That's my formula and it works fantastically well. I have a solid, variance free income that pays the mortgage and takes care of all the basics. I have poker to spoil my wife and I with extras and things for which we don't need a guaranteed check every month. We wouldn't have anywhere near the lifestyle we have if I tried to do poker alone as a living. Trying to give that up for a poker only living is just unimaginably stupid IMO.

I'm also trying to imagine how fast I would have been laughed out of the lender's office when I needed a mortgage to buy my current home if I said I was a professional gambler. This house has appreciated $250k in the past 2.5 years. Not to mention the health insurance that we need now that my wife is pregnant. There's lots of financial benefits to a stable job that aren't immediately obvious. Don't overlook them.

These may not be concerns on your mind right now, but they will be, and it may be too late for you once they are.

eastbay

Re: Poker as a living. How to deal with my family?
 

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You need to grow up. Little boys try to please their parents. Grown men make their own decisions and support themselves.

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Grown men can make their own decisions with one factor of consideration being what would honor the parents who brought them into the world and raised them. Although one doesn't "have to" please one's parents, knocking the desire is foolish; one day, you'll have children and it will inevitably please you if they respect your opinions and take your views into consideration.

M

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I do have children (a son). it will please me if he grows up and acts like a man.