OT: My mom wants me to be a poker pro
 

After class today (Political Theory, which totally kicks ass), I had to take my mom to the body shop where she picked up her car from repair. On the way, she nonchalantly says to me, "You know honey, you should consider moving to Reno next year." "Oh really? And do what?" "Well maybe you could take a shot at being a poker player for a year." (slience) "What?" "Clearly you're very interested in the game, and you're always telling me how much you learned that day...if you love it so much you might as well give it a try for a while. Reno's smaller than Vegas so you'll adjust better."

Okay wait what? My mom WANTS me to take a break from college and be a poker pro?

It is getting kind of chilly here.

Re: OT: My mom wants me to be a poker pro
 

My parents were a little concerned at first, but after I showed them my continued success they have warmed to the idea. Now they totally accept it.

Re: OT: My mom wants me to be a poker pro
 

White people can't play the game that I do

Kanye

Re: OT: My mom wants me to be a poker pro
 

Well, my mom was very sceptical when i first started playing poker. But when i showed her some of my cashouts she kinda turned around. However, she would still go into a hissy fit if i even considered dropping out of college and going pro :P

Re: OT: My mom wants me to be a poker pro
 

Why not? Imho, this is no different a call than a good college athlete leaving college early to take a shot at the pros. If it doesn't work out, go back and finish. If it does work out, chances are good you'll make a lot more money than you would with a degree.

Congratulations. You've got a better Mom than I had, or still have. (She thinks I'm a degenerate gambler, but never misses the Tues Night Lotto and Sat Night bingo.)

CJ

Re: OT: My mom wants me to be a poker pro
 

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this is no different a call than a good college athlete leaving college early to take a shot at the pros

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Yeah there's a huge difference. It lies in the use of the word 'good.'

I appreciate the support though.

Re: OT: My mom wants me to be a poker pro
 

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Why not? Imho, this is no different a call than a good college athlete leaving college early to take a shot at the pros.

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Pretty sure this makes me the Matt Walsh of the SNG circuit.

Re: OT: My mom wants me to be a poker pro
 

I'm on the other side of these opinions: I agree that for years 1-3 you can make more at a 9-5er, but I'm not sure how high the ceiling can get. I always hear pros say that it takes huge mental and psychological stability to handle swings full-time, and this job comes without any benefits (medical insurance, 401K, life insurance, pension, etc) that greatly favor the normal working life.

Don't get me wrong; I love poker and have made quite a bit of money playing it, but I play at nights when the fish come out to play, and still have a (hopefully) normal life on top of that.

Re: OT: My mom wants me to be a poker pro
 

Meh.

-EV

Re: OT: My mom wants me to be a poker pro
 

[ QUOTE ]
I'm on the other side of these opinions: I agree that for years 1-3 you can make more at a 9-5er, but I'm not sure how high the ceiling can get. I always hear pros say that it takes huge mental and psychological stability to handle swings full-time, and this job comes without any benefits (medical insurance, 401K, life insurance, pension, etc) that greatly favor the normal working life.

Don't get me wrong; I love poker and have made quite a bit of money playing it, but I play at nights when the fish come out to play, and still have a (hopefully) normal life on top of that.

[/ QUOTE ]

Benefits:

No Tax (for me in the UK)
No need for medical insurance (it is free in the UK)
I put away a % of my monthly winnings as a "retirement plan"
No boss
Play when I want
I have a "normal" life

Re: OT: My mom wants me to be a poker pro
 

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this is no different a call than a good college athlete leaving college early to take a shot at the pros

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Yeah there's a huge difference. It lies in the use of the word 'millions.'

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fyp

Re: OT: My mom wants me to be a poker pro
 

You need to explain to her that online pwns live poker, and that it is best to stay in college and enjoy a (hopefully) profitable hobby. Mom's today, always wanting their kids to go pro, ignoring the hard work and downside, only seeing the dollar signs of fast, easy money...

Re: OT: My mom wants me to be a poker pro
 

[ QUOTE ]
After class today (Political Theory, which totally kicks ass), I had to take my mom to the body shop where she picked up her car from repair. On the way, she nonchalantly says to me, "You know honey, you should consider moving to Reno next year." "Oh really? And do what?" "Well maybe you could take a shot at being a poker player for a year." (slience) "What?" "Clearly you're very interested in the game, and you're always telling me how much you learned that day...if you love it so much you might as well give it a try for a while. Reno's smaller than Vegas so you'll adjust better."

Okay wait what? My mom WANTS me to take a break from college and be a poker pro?

It is getting kind of chilly here.

[/ QUOTE ]
Finish college, then take a gap year to give it a go. Better to get the education done and dusted first. You've got decades of work ahead of you - the last thing you want to be doing is finding you want a change after a few years from playing poker and then going back to college very late. Reno will still be there when you finish your education.

Re: OT: My mom wants me to be a poker pro
 

Reno is the sh1t hole of the gambling world. you arent going to play much live anyway. find yerself a nice beach or mountain with ski slopes. holla

Re: OT: My mom wants me to be a poker pro
 

seriously, if ur gonna play poker for a living, do it

a) overseas
b) on water
c) in the mountains
d) wherever else appeals to you

Re: OT: My mom wants me to be a poker pro
 

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Congratulations. You've got a better Mom than I had, or still have. (She thinks I'm a degenerate gambler, but never misses the Tues Night Lotto and Sat Night bingo.)


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Classic.. [img]/images/graemlins/smile.gif[/img]

Re: OT: My mom wants me to be a poker pro
 

Thats very odd, my parents are fine with me playing poker. It's the encouragement to go pro that I found different. Its good she is supportive though, but I have to agree with raptor, if you are moving go somewhere nice that you will enjoy for reasons other than poker.

Re: OT: My mom wants me to be a poker pro
 

Finish school first. Seriously.
(In 2+2 parlance: get through levels 1-3 before pushing).
Some things to consider:
1.Your degree will give you an amazing amount of options. Poker pro can be one of them.
2.You can continue playing online while in school, so you're not missing out.
3. Poker money (except at the very,very,very extreme upper-end) is chump change compared to a lot of other things that a young person with a sharp mind can be doing and earning.. (Homework -- what did Phil Gordon do _before_ becoming a poker pro? What's owning 5% of a $20M company worth? What's it worth if you make a 6 figure salary while your at it?)
4. Shackling up financial needs to a game you love playing changes the relationship. It's fun now making money playing when you can take time off for studying; dating; seeing concerts; going to movies; sleeping 18 hours straight -- you get the idea. Pro means professional -- you'll have to hit hard and not slack off or you'll get smoked -- ie it's a lot like work. The thing to realise is that your progress and efforts are not linear. There will be times when you're not very productive nor very focused and other times you'll be on a tear. When your on salary it's no big deal -- you probably won't even notice it. When you're self-employed it's a tremendous stress and strain. Really.
5. Mom will eventually come to terms with your being a college graduate.

Re: OT: My mom wants me to be a poker pro
 

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5. Mom will eventually come to terms with your being a college graduate.

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lmao

Re: OT: My mom wants me to be a poker pro
 

My mom thinks me being a poker pro would be similar to my sister being a prostitute. She actually said this.

Re: OT: My mom wants me to be a poker pro
 

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5. Mom will eventually come to terms with your being a college graduate.

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lmao

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LOL -- sorry if it came out that way, not the intention or the sentiment.

Re: OT: My mom wants me to be a poker pro
 

yeah, but did your sister make enough to support herself? j/k

Re: OT: My mom wants me to be a poker pro
 

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yeah, but did your sister make enough to support herself? j/k

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lol [img]/images/graemlins/tongue.gif[/img]

Re: OT: My mom wants me to be a poker pro
 

Someone once said 'Money won is ten times as sweet as money earned.' The problem with going pro is it now becomes money you have to earn. Finish college and continue to get better at poker.

Re: OT: My mom wants me to be a poker pro
 

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Finish college and continue to get better at poker.

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If nothing else because you basically have enough time to play semi-pro while going to school, and because university is an amazing time. I think I'd have way more fun at university now then playing poker somewhere else.

Re: OT: My mom wants me to be a poker pro
 

I'm a senior at UCF, graduating in August. I've been seriously considering taking a year off and playing poker. I visited my grandparents and spent 3 hours at Foxwoods up in CT. I made $64~ an hour at 2/4 limit and that was folding every single hand for the first hour because I got dreadful cards. You just start thinking to yourself...what job out of college would give you $64 an hour? And on top of that - would you love it? Even if you make it $50 an hour for 40 hrs/week it comes out to $100,000 a year full time. I'm not trying to toot my own horn but just bring up a point regarding people in my similar situation. My parents have warmed up to the idea but they were so concerned when I started playing. They thought I was going to become a gambling addict and get kicked out of school and all that craziness. There were some good points mentioned above about the lack of benefits from being a poker player. I'm just pretty much confused as lots of us fairly successful college poker players are. A lot of graduates take a year off to go skiing, travel the world and whatever, I guess you could consider this just something like that. Did anyone reading this thread actually do this? How did it turn out?

Re: OT: My mom wants me to be a poker pro
 

[ QUOTE ]
I'm a senior at UCF, graduating in August. I've been seriously considering taking a year off and playing poker. I visited my grandparents and spent 3 hours at Foxwoods up in CT. I made $64~ an hour at 2/4 limit and that was folding every single hand for the first hour because I got dreadful cards. You just start thinking to yourself...what job out of college would give you $64 an hour? And on top of that - would you love it? Even if you make it $50 an hour for 40 hrs/week it comes out to $100,000 a year full time. I'm not trying to toot my own horn but just bring up a point regarding people in my similar situation. My parents have warmed up to the idea but they were so concerned when I started playing. They thought I was going to become a gambling addict and get kicked out of school and all that craziness. There were some good points mentioned above about the lack of benefits from being a poker player. I'm just pretty much confused as lots of us fairly successful college poker players are. A lot of graduates take a year off to go skiing, travel the world and whatever, I guess you could consider this just something like that. Did anyone reading this thread actually do this? How did it turn out?

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RUNNING HOT. Jesus christ, it doesn't take a genius to know that if you were doing $64/hr at TWO/FOUR FIXED.

Re: OT: My mom wants me to be a poker pro
 

[ QUOTE ]
[ QUOTE ]
I'm a senior at UCF, graduating in August. I've been seriously considering taking a year off and playing poker. I visited my grandparents and spent 3 hours at Foxwoods up in CT. I made $64~ an hour at 2/4 limit and that was folding every single hand for the first hour because I got dreadful cards. You just start thinking to yourself...what job out of college would give you $64 an hour? And on top of that - would you love it? Even if you make it $50 an hour for 40 hrs/week it comes out to $100,000 a year full time. I'm not trying to toot my own horn but just bring up a point regarding people in my similar situation. My parents have warmed up to the idea but they were so concerned when I started playing. They thought I was going to become a gambling addict and get kicked out of school and all that craziness. There were some good points mentioned above about the lack of benefits from being a poker player. I'm just pretty much confused as lots of us fairly successful college poker players are. A lot of graduates take a year off to go skiing, travel the world and whatever, I guess you could consider this just something like that. Did anyone reading this thread actually do this? How did it turn out?

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RUNNING HOT. Jesus christ, it doesn't take a genius to know that if you were doing $64/hr at TWO/FOUR FIXED.

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Good God. Was that your first time playing B&M? I used to go to FW every week... trust me, that 2/4 game cannot be consistently beaten when they take $4 out for rake every time. YOUR SAMPLE SIZE IS TOO SMALL.

What limits do you generally play at? And are you really successful enough?

I think most people cannot grasp the difficulty of playing full-time until they've seen a 100 buyin downswing (like I had earlier this year) and live in misery for a week or two.

Re: OT: My mom wants me to be a poker pro
 

Your Mom obviously hasn't seen you play [img]/images/graemlins/shocked.gif[/img]

Re: OT: My mom wants me to be a poker pro
 

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Good God. Was that your first time playing B&M? I used to go to FW every week... trust me, that 2/4 game cannot be consistently beaten when they take $4 out for rake every time. YOUR SAMPLE SIZE IS TOO SMALL.

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well.. the game CAN be beaten, just not for very much [img]/images/graemlins/wink.gif[/img] you would make more workin at mcdonalds. holla

Re: OT: My mom wants me to be a poker pro
 

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100 buyin downswing (like I had earlier this year)

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more than likely, yer game has some SEVERE holes that need plugging. get to postin hands. holla

Re: OT: My mom wants me to be a poker pro
 

I have no idea what my parents think. I never thought to ask them.

Lori

Re: OT: My mom wants me to be a poker pro
 

Be smart, stay in school, get a good degree, then get a good job.

That is +EV.

As an aside think about this....

- If you play 20/40
- avg. 35 hands / hr
- win @ 3.0 bb/100 (Sure you can beat lower games for more, but at 20/40 the players are usually decent, not the donks you get at Foxwoods 2/4 game)
- play 8 hours a day (with breaks in there this would take up about 10 hours a day)
- and play 200 days a year

you will make......$67,200 per year, take off retirement saving, health insurance, etc. and you will be at ~$55,000 per year.

Guess what you will make next year - about the same, and then the year after, etc.

This doesn't take into account the RAPIDLY advancing poker population. (I don't buy into all poker 'drying' up over time, but I think that there will be a lot better players coming up through the ranks in the next few years, and that will drive the fish out of the upper limits quite quickly.)

I think that with a good degree you will at least be break even in a few years, with some decent post graduate eduction (i.e. CPA, MBA, PMP, etc.) you will be well ahead of what you can REALISTICALLY expect to make playing poker.

Just some thoughts.

Re: OT: My mom wants me to be a poker pro
 

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100 buyin downswing (like I had earlier this year)

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more than likely, yer game has some SEVERE holes that need plugging. get to postin hands. holla

[/ QUOTE ]

that was 8 months ago... running g00t now...

i think i wasn't maximizing bubble play, but thats history.

Re: OT: My mom wants me to be a poker pro
 

Totally OT:

Is Foxwoods consistently beatable (e.g. for someone like me, not for raptor)? I've only been twice, each time on a Saturday. I had to wait like an hour and a half for a $100NL table and both times I was placed at a table where the $100 buyin was paltry compared to the $2k stacks sitting around me. The $5/30 minutes rake was also killing me. Despite $2 blinds, raises to $20 were getting multiple callers. Each time I busted pretty quickly - blinds/rake whittled me down and then I'd move all-in for $60 with a hand like QQ and get four callers w/ Ax, Kxs garbage.


Only reason I ask is 'cause my roommate wants to go this weekend. I've already blown $400 there (point of reference: I play the $11s) so am not overly eager given my past experiences.

Re: OT: My mom wants me to be a poker pro
 

I've never tried the $100nl game there, but yes, 5/10 kill and 10/20 can be beaten quite easily. Esp on the weekends, when the donks come out to play.

My friends have said the $100nl can be beaten if you start a new table. However, if you join mid-day, there are way too many people sitting there with ginormous stacks.

Re: OT: My mom wants me to be a poker pro
 

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My friends have said the $100nl can be beaten if you start a new table. However, if you join mid-day, there are way too many people sitting there with ginormous stacks.

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umm.. thats when its the MOST profitable. holla

Re: OT: My mom wants me to be a poker pro
 

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I have no idea what my parents think. I never thought to ask them.

Lori

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Have you shared with them the fact that you're a smoking hot lesbian? [img]/images/graemlins/blush.gif[/img]

Or are you waiting on breakin' that news as well?

[img]/images/graemlins/tongue.gif[/img]

Yugoslav

Re: OT: My mom wants me to be a poker pro
 

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what job out of college would give you $64 an hour?

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The same job that can give you minus hundreds+ of dollars an hour or 0 profit over months.

My mom hates to see me player poker so I play when she's not at home. She'd rather see me spend my time studying or not see me at all and know I'm outside with friends or something.

Re: OT: My mom wants me to be a poker pro
 

I don't disagree. The play is horrendous on Saturday nights. I think I was approaching the game incorrectly.

This was the strategy I was trying to use due to the big stacks and pot-committing raises you needed PF: play tight, wait for a huge hand, push hard preflop (all-in if I'm even approaching $50). But the 5% rake/half hour + the slowness of B&M meant by the time I got a "strong" hand I only had like $60.

Suggestions?