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

I see the exact same post 5 times a week. If you want to 8 table 2/4 stakes on a computer for a living then go right ahead. I have the chills just thinking about it. I'd rather be a librarian. I might atleast have some insurance and won't have to deal with arthritis from too much clicking.

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

If playing poker for a living is a good decision, we must make the assumption that the games will be excellent for a long period of time (I would say at least 10 years, allowing you to play, build a bankroll, and invest in other things during that period). If you believe this to be true, then surely waiting two years to finish school before you start playing full time should not be a problem. Does that make sense?

It is very tough to motivate yourself to go back to school after being gone for several years. Go now, make your parents happy, play part time and put all your winnings into a bankroll, and when you graduate in two years (if poker is still strong) you can jump into a high enough limit game to make a quality income. If you go broke, then you go to work.

Dogmeat [img]/images/graemlins/spade.gif[/img]

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

I'm pretty much in the exact same situation. Luckily, I'm in Canada, so I don't have to worry about getting a job for health insurance.

I'm turning 20 in a few months, and I just finished my second year of undergrad. I pretty much convinced my parents by explaining that playing poker this summer can get me through undergrad without having to take a loan, and I should be able to help with my brother's and sister's education in a few years. I'm certainly not proud of my job, and I even got an easy volunteer job as a cover, but this is something I have to do. It would be really stupid to pass up what I think could easily be around 100k over the summer, so I'm just going for it.

I think my parents have accepted it and are ok now after the first month, but it was certainly tough to convince them. Of course, everyone is different, and your parents will look at poker and the world in a different way than mine, so your path to convincing them may have to be something else. I don't think I'd try playing full-time during the summer at 2/4 limit though. I'm playing 2/4 NL (moving to 3/6 tomorrow), and I'm feeling burned out playing about 10k hands per week (about 4 hours/day). 2/4 limit would really be a grind. I think it may be better to suck it up and get a job this summer, while working at poker during the night. I don't really know limit, but I think 10/20 would be about equal to 2/4 NL, and that's quite sufficient as far as income goes.

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

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.

Not that I'm disagreeing with the basic premise of your post (I'm not, that's exactly my situation), but you wouldn't be laughed at at all if you had the 2 years of Tax returns to demonstrate steady income any more than any other self-employed person would be laughed at.

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

Your parents are right. You should actually listen to what they are saying and take it to heart rather than treating it like some debate and trying to outwit them with clever counter-arguments.

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

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I am almost 20 years old

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

I don't think that you are going to convince your parents that it's a good thing to play poker in the short-term. If you are living at home, and taking a semester off of college, then I can see why they might be a little concerned that you are taking a big interest in playing poker. If, on the other hand, you were in college and playing part-time, and you were doing well in school, they might not be as concerned. If you were to get out on your own (I got the impression you were living at home), it also might not be as much of an issue.

They might also change their minds later if you are able to obtain a very high degree of success playing poker. It doesn't sound like an easy short-term situation though.

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

Your parents are right. They are merely trying to save you from a life of misery, addictive gambling, and having to associate with a group of people who are generally moral degenerates from the bottom rungs of society.

Go to college, get a good education, and get a real job that will be productive rather than destructive member of society.

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

Hi blackize. I play poker for a living and understand your struggles. However, I cannot stress enough to finish school and work a full time job! You need to establish yourself first (i.e. establish good credit, buy a home,...etc.). School and work will equip you with skills that will help you become a better poker player as well as give you a sense of contribution (as your parents mention). While establishing yourself, you can play when you have free time and work on your game. If you get to a comfortable financial situation (5,10,15 years maybe)....then, and only then, should you begin to decide whether you want to do for a living. Your parents are looking out for you. I wish you well.......

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

While I agree that playing poker for a living isn't the best idea for most people, now IS the best time to give it a shot. I'm sick of hearing people (my family too) saying: "poker will always be there your whole life, focus on X job or getting a good education, etc). Well poker might be there but it might not be as good (fishy) as it is now. The real truth is, if someone wants to get an education, college will always be there. And education continues to improve, while poker may not. Sure, going to college at age 31 or 32 isn't the best idea either, but neither is playing poker against a table full of pros. Of course, it IS probably hard to get a mortgage being a pg and not having health insuarnce would suck.