Quitting Poker (LONG)
 

Not many of you know me on the forums because I have not posted enough or contributed enough information for anyone to really remember me but I have spent countless hours on the 2+2 forum brushing up my game. For this story to really be of any significance I think I should give you insight into my life about 1.5 years ago, right when I started to play.


I was 16 years old at the time and I had just broken my foot dirtbikng. The injury wasn't that bad, just wrap it in a cast, and don't put too much pressure on it for 6 weeks and everything would be all right. That would have been true if not for incompetent doctors. What the doctors didn’t notice was the 2 extra bones that were broken in my foot. Them ignoring these bones caused them to heal wrong. Only until the cast was removed and I complained of pain did they realize their mistakes. From this I went to a different doctor outside of my insurance. All in all I ended up with 3 screws in my foot and 2 joints in my foot that were permanently fused into place. I had a hard time recovering from the pretty major surgery. Missed quite a bit of school and was left in a wheelchair for 2.5 months followed by another 2 months on crutches and 1 month of rehab. My foot would never be the same. I can no longer bend my ankle side to side for the rest of my life and I have limited movement out of the ankle. My interest in running was ruined and I was hesitant to start riding my dirtbike again. By the time this was all over it was January. I was originally injured in July.


From that you could probably tell that I had a little free time on my hand. I was used to being fairly active. I would either be running cross country, track, or riding my dirtbike. Right after my surgery was when I got involved in poker. My dad would play every so once in a while and I would sit down and play a Sit n Go on party with him. This happened about once a week. Soon he started to let me play by myself under his name. He had taught me a few things and I am a fast learner so I picked up the game fairly quickly. I wasn’t someone that could kill the game but I was somewhere to a breakeven to a slightly winning player. I had made 100 to 200 bucks under my dads account and he agreed to let me set up my own account and transfer me 50 dollars. I kept on reading on 2+2 and steadily progressed in my play. My roll slowly started to grow and I never really came close to busting out. I was fortunate at the start to not bust with a limited roll but after that it was clear sailings.


By the summer I had accumulated around 3k and hit a real dry point in my play. I wasn’t profiting much but I was putting in a ton of hours. I was withdrawing a little money here and there to pay for things I wanted. My winnings did not really pick up until I concentrated on SitnGos. Around the fall I moved up to the 50+5 level and played a lot of the tourneys. I ended up putting in around 500 with a 21% ROI thus getting a healthy bankroll. I tried my hand at 8 tabling 5 10. Also I put $250 into the step 1s trying to qualify for a step 5 and ended up making the climb up the ladder and taking a second in the step 5 for a $2500 payday. I was ecstatic with how much I had progressed. I had turned a mere $50 deposit into 12k+ in 1 year almost exactly.


As any 17 year old would react with being able to make probably a minimum of 1k a month I was encompassed by poker. My grades were slipping and I was becoming pretty anti social. I was in my senior year and I wanted to do something with my life instead of playing poker. I was tired with going home after school and 4 tabling for 4 hours straight while my friends were hanging out with girls or having a good time. And I was tired of struggling in school and risking not being let into the colleges I was accepted to because my drop in grades. I was overwhelmed with all the indecisions I had in my life so I decided that it would be in my best interest to give up poker to focus more on school, and my social life. I was in no need of an extra 10k, it would be nice to have but it was not a necessity for me to have. I believe that if I had not chosen to give up poker for the time being that my grades would have slipped even farther and I would not be admitted into Chico or Cal Poly. I did not want to give up my social life or future to play some card game that I was decent at. I wish you all good luck at the tables but I must remind everyone that there is stuff more important in life than an extra bb or two especially if you are young like myself. It is too hard for a teenager or young 20 something to keep life into perspective when they have the ability to rake in more than any one there age should be able to.


I will probably start playing again in moderation during the summer when I turn 18 and I have more time in my life to play poker and have a social life at the same time.

Re: Quitting Poker (LONG)
 

Hey! Great post. Good luck to you!

Re: Quitting Poker (LONG)
 

It sounds like you are pretty leveled-headed. Good luck to you.

Re: Quitting Poker (LONG)
 

Very smart decision. Enjoy the college life.

Re: Quitting Poker (LONG)
 

A good head on your shoulders....Keeping everything in perspective at your age is impressive....You will dominate those college games (where will you go, by the way?)...When you're done with college, you can consider how poker will fit into your life, if at all....Something tells me we'll be seeing you again in a few years. Good luck.

PS. Try not to feel too bitter about the mistakes your doctors made. It may be tough, but finding who to blame for the problems in your life takes time away from doing whats more important -- looking ahead. (It seems like you know that but I sure didn't at 17).

Re: Quitting Poker (LONG)
 

senior year of high school was some of the best times of my life so far. you have your whole life to make money, but it's more important to enjoy where you are at now. good decision.

Re: Quitting Poker (LONG)
 

if u were a winning player than i am happy you are quiting.

Re: Quitting Poker (LONG)
 

Great post! Knock yourself out. The game will always be here.

Re: Quitting Poker (LONG)
 

Thanks alot for all of the positive responses!

I am most likely going to be going to CSUC in Chico. There is a slight chance that I will go to Cal Poly in San Luis Obispo. My brother currently goes to Cal Poly but I think Chico would be a better fit for me. Still haven't made my final decision yet.

Re: Quitting Poker (LONG)
 

If you will put the same intensity into your education as you put into poker, you will have a great career. The benefits of a first rate education in a field you love will give you a better life, just as poker has given you a better bankroll.

Re: Quitting Poker (LONG)
 

I started playing when I was a senior in high school on partypoker. I have to say that I am surprised that you are quitting. I didn't find it a problem to balance poker and a social life, much like many kids in high school have part time jobs. In addition, I was able to use the money I made to basically do whatever I wanted. Personally, I can see myself being a lifetime poker player. Poker will allow me to take a low paying job such as a teacher while making most of my income from poker. As for your grades, I highly doubt that a college will not accept you based on your senior grades, especially your second semester senior grades. My opinion is that you should prioritize. My priorities are something like this, 1) friends 2) poker 3) school 4) family 5) girls.

Re: Quitting Poker (LONG)
 

All the right moves. Great thought provoking post. You'll do great in the future, I'm sure of.

Adde

Re: Quitting Poker (LONG)
 

I dont agree with the ranking, but I alright have a job.

God 1st! Then after that


1) CPA Exam
2) Poker
3) School
4) Girls if i didnt date bitches it would be higher


SFWUSC

Re: Quitting Poker (LONG)
 

i thought this would be another BS post about some clown hitting a bad run and quitting poker. thanks for proving me wrong. good post.

i think a lot of young kids need to be careful regarding poker. there are so much more things better to do when you are that age. like someone said the game will always be here. but you won't always be 17.

congrats for figuring it out yourself, let this be a lesson to others.

Re: Quitting Poker (LONG)
 

1. pussy
2. ass
3. tits
4. stomach
5. face
6. hair
7. poker
8. food

thats all...

Re: Quitting Poker (LONG)
 

[ QUOTE ]
i thought this would be another BS post about some clown hitting a bad run and quitting poker. thanks for proving me wrong. good post.

i think a lot of young kids need to be careful regarding poker. there are so much more things better to do when you are that age. like someone said the game will always be here. but you won't always be 17.

congrats for figuring it out yourself, let this be a lesson to others.

[/ QUOTE ]

maybe im the only young player around capable of balancing his work (poker) and social life. Does OP no longer need money? Who pays for his lunch at school?

Re: Quitting Poker (LONG)
 

Not to knock you or anything Awesemo, but I just don't see how a highschool student can play at a high enough level to make it worthwhile to play poker, while still keeping a healthy balance of school and a socail life. And by making it worthwhile I mean you must be pulling in a minumum of 25k a year atleast for me. That level is probably considerably less to most teenagers but that is because I live pretty comfortably as does my parents. Although I am confident I could pull in those numbers I just would rather focus on other activities right now. I don't know the level that you play at but you have to put in a decent amount of time and really have to dedicate yourself to the game to do this when you have other things like school involved. It is simply a rough life for a teenager to live when he has to go through the phsycological problems that poker creates such as massive downswings. How many teenagers do you think can really drop 2k in one night and still feel good about themselves in the morning? Not to many that I know of. I know I struggled through my downswings.

Just from you ranking Poker above family and even girls when you are a highschool student shows to most people that you don't have a healthy balance of poker in your life.

Also colleges can reject you just from one D in your required classes even after you have been accepted.

Awesemo I am curious as to what stakes you play at and how old you are now?

Re: Quitting Poker (LONG)
 

[ QUOTE ]
maybe im the only young player around capable of balancing his work (poker) and social life. Does OP no longer need money? Who pays for his lunch at school?


[/ QUOTE ]

His parents pay, who else? I like the post but felt a bit more honesty as to his reasons for quitting would have made for a better story.

Re: Quitting Poker (LONG)
 

Okay, it's been a few years since I went to Poly so maybe I'm confused here. Isn't it like waaay better and harder to get into than Chico? Like they don't even seem like comparisons or something someone would be contemplating the different. Poly is hugely conservative, not a huge party school by far, and overall a very "good" school. Chico is liberal, party as all hell, and doesn't quite look the best on a resume.

I don't know wtf I'm trying to say here, but maybe something just isn't clicking with me when someone says they are choosing between Poly and Chico. Regardless, good luck with your endeavor.

Re: Quitting Poker (LONG)
 

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Also colleges can reject you just from one D in your required classes even after you have been accepted.

[/ QUOTE ]

They can technically drop you for any reduction in GPA... that being said I got into Poly, SCU, & UCLA with my wonderful 3.0 (weighted, no less) GPA and getting a D first semester english, D second semester sociology. Then again, my SAT score was around 1500 and I credit that as the single reason I got into those schools. College admissions are a joke.

Re: Quitting Poker (LONG)
 

[ QUOTE ]
I started playing when I was a senior in high school on partypoker. I have to say that I am surprised that you are quitting. I didn't find it a problem to balance poker and a social life, much like many kids in high school have part time jobs. In addition, I was able to use the money I made to basically do whatever I wanted. Personally, I can see myself being a lifetime poker player. Poker will allow me to take a low paying job such as a teacher while making most of my income from poker. As for your grades, I highly doubt that a college will not accept you based on your senior grades, especially your second semester senior grades. My opinion is that you should prioritize. My priorities are something like this, 1) friends 2) poker 3) school 4) family 5) girls.

[/ QUOTE ]

you are officially gay. The ONLY reason poker goes above the others in my case is because the rent depends on it. If it didn't, girls would definitely be much higher than 5th.

Re: Quitting Poker (LONG)
 

[ QUOTE ]
Not to knock you or anything Awesemo, but I just don't see how a highschool student can play at a high enough level to make it worthwhile to play poker, while still keeping a healthy balance of school and a socail life. And by making it worthwhile I mean you must be pulling in a minumum of 25k a year atleast for me. That level is probably considerably less to most teenagers but that is because I live pretty comfortably as does my parents. Although I am confident I could pull in those numbers I just would rather focus on other activities right now. I don't know the level that you play at but you have to put in a decent amount of time and really have to dedicate yourself to the game to do this when you have other things like school involved. It is simply a rough life for a teenager to live when he has to go through the phsycological problems that poker creates such as massive downswings. How many teenagers do you think can really drop 2k in one night and still feel good about themselves in the morning? Not to many that I know of. I know I struggled through my downswings.

Just from you ranking Poker above family and even girls when you are a highschool student shows to most people that you don't have a healthy balance of poker in your life.

Also colleges can reject you just from one D in your required classes even after you have been accepted.

Awesemo I am curious as to what stakes you play at and how old you are now?

[/ QUOTE ]

wtf are you talking about?

a half shitty poker player can easily make $30/huor on party mutlitabling.

if he plays 20 hours a week, about 3 huors a day, thats $600/week, 25,000/year

OP probally sucked at poker.

Re: Quitting Poker (LONG)
 

More honesty? I don't know what else I could say. Do you fell like I am leaving something out? I am curious what you mean by this.

Also I know that Poly is a much more respected school than Chico. I have already been accepted to Chico under a business major. My grades aren't super high and I don't have many extra curricular activities in the last couple of years due to my foot injury. Because of this the only way I felt I could get accepted into Cal Poly is if I picked an easy major. I chose the same major as my brother which happens to be basically the easiest major to get into the school, AG business. Also you can't go into Cal Poly under one major and then switch, it is basically impossible. So with this I feel that it would be the best for me to pursue the major that I truly want, business, instead of Ag business.

Re: Quitting Poker (LONG)
 

Hey bud, great post! You're definately very mature for your age and it doesn't surprise me that you'll be fine in the the future.

I had a similar story when I was 18. We didn't have online poker then as I learned to play poker when I worked as a dealer at the casinos. I would always see the same people win all the time so I knew very early on that poker was definately a game of skill.
It was then that I started playing a lot at the B&M's and spent a lot of my time at the underground casinos. I didn't know what I was doing at first but learned very quickly afterwards.
I was making a lot of money then and built up a pretty good reputation for myself at the undergrounds. I remember countless days where I would skip all my clssses to play poker. The worst it ever got was when a friend and I once pulled a 28 hour marathon playing poker. Needless to say my grades at school were in the toilet. I was an honor student prior.

It was soon after that I met the love of my life. The most incredible girl I've ever met. Our relationship was great except for the fact that I was still spending a lot of time playing poker. I remember feeling like crap that I left my girl at home while I was playing poker till 7 or 8 in the morning at the undergrounds. I was making really good money for an 18 or 19 yr old but I really hated my life. I knew I needed to change.

I look back now and I'm so glad that I stopped playing poker for those years because I really had some of the best times of my life afterwards. Poker was great and I never really had to worry about money like a lot of my friends but being 19 I didn't want to spend the next few years of my life grinding it out for endless hours like that. I was there everyday.

Now it's a different story I'm back at poker although this time it's online which I prefer much more (money is better).

I totally understand your situation and respect it. Good luck with everything and go enjoy your life. Money is not everything and poker will always be there when you decide to come back.

Re: Quitting Poker (LONG)
 

[ QUOTE ]
Do you fell like I am leaving something out?

[/ QUOTE ]

Most certainly.

Re: Quitting Poker (LONG)
 

[ QUOTE ]
[ QUOTE ]
Do you fell like I am leaving something out?

[/ QUOTE ]

Most certainly.

[/ QUOTE ]

Care to elaborate more on that? It seems like you know what I am leaving out but I am unsure what you mean.

Why don't you just come out and say it?

Re: Quitting Poker (LONG)
 

[ QUOTE ]
More honesty? I don't know what else I could say. Do you fell like I am leaving something out? I am curious what you mean by this.

Also I know that Poly is a much more respected school than Chico. I have already been accepted to Chico under a business major. My grades aren't super high and I don't have many extra curricular activities in the last couple of years due to my foot injury. Because of this the only way I felt I could get accepted into Cal Poly is if I picked an easy major. I chose the same major as my brother which happens to be basically the easiest major to get into the school, AG business. Also you can't go into Cal Poly under one major and then switch, it is basically impossible. So with this I feel that it would be the best for me to pursue the major that I truly want, business, instead of Ag business.

[/ QUOTE ]

the most important thing to do is get laid and smoek alot of pot.

what do you think all these old fucks on this website would rather go back and do: get laid or get a better degree from a better university?

Re: Quitting Poker (LONG)
 

You expect us to believe that your parents never offered any encouragement for you to change your evil ways after your grades fell off?

Re: Quitting Poker (LONG)
 

It was mostly my Mom that would put pressure on me to limit my play but it was I that made the sole decision to stop playing poker. My grades didn't drop as drastically this semester as it did my Junior year. I went from about a 3.7 avg my first to years to a .8 my first semester of junior year. A large percentage of this could be contributed to me missing so much school and being so down from my injury but part of it was poker. I ended up having a meeting with all my teachers and they agreed to give me 1 month to turn in any late work and make up any tests I could. I ended up bringing it to a somewhat respectful Gpa.

This semester I got a 3.0 which isn't anything bad but I am capable of much more than that. If I would have wanted to continue to play I would have been able to play all the way through the summer into college. My parents realize that I am a pretty smart player and they would let me continue to play at my own free will.

It was completely my choice to give it up. Very little influence came from them.

Re: Quitting Poker (LONG)
 

Nongice you are right with your numbers, I was just trying to make a point with the poster. It wouldn't be to hard to make 25k a year playing but it would take a considerable amount of your life away while still going through high school as a teenager.

Re: Quitting Poker (LONG)
 

Just to chime in on the whole Chico/ Cal Poly thing..

I applied to both and got accepted to Chico and not Poly. I didn't want to go to Poly anyways (I grew up there) but it's much harder to get into to. I got into Chico with the bare minimum really.

Chico is a fun school -- very social, lots of partying, lots of free time.

Re: Quitting Poker (LONG)
 

[ QUOTE ]
It was completely my choice to give it up. Very little influence came from them.


[/ QUOTE ]

Thanks for the additional information. Your parents are quite shrewd.

Re: Quitting Poker (LONG)
 

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i thought this would be another BS post about some clown hitting a bad run and quitting poker. thanks for proving me wrong. good post.

i think a lot of young kids need to be careful regarding poker. there are so much more things better to do when you are that age. like someone said the game will always be here. but you won't always be 17.

congrats for figuring it out yourself, let this be a lesson to others.

[/ QUOTE ]

maybe im the only young player around capable of balancing his work (poker) and social life. Does OP no longer need money? Who pays for his lunch at school?

[/ QUOTE ]

it's not that nobody can do it, clearly.

Re: Quitting Poker (LONG)
 

[ QUOTE ]
Awesemo I am curious as to what stakes you play at and how old you are now?

[/ QUOTE ]

I'm 18 and I am a freshman at Wash U. I used to 4-table $55s and just started 8 tabling the $33's.

[ QUOTE ]
Just from you ranking Poker above family and even girls when you are a highschool student shows to most people that you don't have a healthy balance of poker in your life.

[/ QUOTE ]

My family is not a very strong unit like yours may be. Even girls? I speak with Snoop Dogg and Dr. Dre when I quote, "We don't love dem hoes."

[ QUOTE ]
And by making it worthwhile I mean you must be pulling in a minumum of 25k a year atleast for me.

[/ QUOTE ]

I don't see why it should have to do with a yearly expectation. It being worthwhile is purely based on the hourly expectation that you have. As for a minimum of 25k, you must come from a rich family. My parents don't get me [censored], and even working at Papa John's was worthwhile for me.

[ QUOTE ]
Also colleges can reject you just from one D in your required classes even after you have been accepted.


[/ QUOTE ]

This is an extreme case. You actually have to completely ignore school to get a D in a class. However, in my experience, I can get at least a B with minimal work. Also, it is highly unlikely that you will get your admission revoked unless you do not graduate.

[ QUOTE ]
How many teenagers do you think can really drop 2k in one night and still feel good about themselves in the morning?

[/ QUOTE ]

All I can say to this is that maybe you should drop down to stakes that you feel comfortable playing.

[ QUOTE ]
you have to put in a decent amount of time and really have to dedicate yourself to the game to do this when you have other things like school involved.

[/ QUOTE ]

Why do you think that? Honestly, I think I could not play poker for several weeks and still play poker just as well. The great thing about playing poker is that you decide when you work, you don't have to "dedicate" yourself to the game to keep making money.

[ QUOTE ]
It is simply a rough life for a teenager to live when he has to go through the phsycological problems that poker creates such as massive downswings.

[/ QUOTE ]

Yeah right. You fail to mention how rough it is that if you make $20+/hr you can basically buy whatever you want and still keep accumulating money.

For me the decision was simple. Whenever my friends were doing something or wanted to do something, I would hang out with them. Whenever I was sitting alone at my parents' house I would play poker. This is what I mean by prioritizing.

Re: Quitting Poker (LONG)
 

Thanks for your input Awesemo. Your response really gave me a different perspective on playing poker.

When I play I always like to be improving. If I played poker and didn't read up alot on the site or the new books I would feel like I was doing myself a disservice by not applying myself to my fullest potential when a decent amount of money is on the line. This causes me to play excessively/ spend vast amounts of time involving poker. When this happens my life starts to change, something I don't like.

Therefore if I am going to play I am going to apply alot of time and energy and constantly be trying to improve. I just dont think I would have the restraint to kinda half ass my way through a session and grind out 30 bucks/ hour. If I know I have the potential to make more money I will devote my time towards that. I guess in a way this is good for me as a poker player but also bad for me in my real life.

That is why I am going to limit my play to where I will still have time to apply myself fully in poker and still have plenty of time to enjoy my socail life. The summer will be the perfect time for me to start pokering it up again and make some money to take away to college.

Re: Quitting Poker (LONG)
 

"Also you can't go into Cal Poly under one major and then switch, it is basically impossible. "

Is that true? If so, what moron at Cal Poly decided on that bit of idiocy? Decide on your major before you really know much about what is about and what it entails, and not have the ability to change if it isn't what you expected (or if you simply change your mind over your first year or two of college, not exactly an uncommon event)??

If that's truly the policy there, I would advise anyone to avoid that school like the plague.

Re: Quitting Poker (LONG)
 

It is so people don't pick some random major with no one in it and then switch to a harder major that is filled up with alot of people.

Even though Cal Poly does this I wouldn't avoid it like the plague simply because it is one of the best state schools in California.

Re: Quitting Poker (LONG)
 

[ QUOTE ]
It is so people don't pick some random major with no one in it and then switch to a harder major that is filled up with alot of people.

Even though Cal Poly does this I wouldn't avoid it like the plague simply because it is one of the best state schools in California.

[/ QUOTE ]

That's why most universities have something called "undecided" or "undergraduate studies" or something similar. You get admitted to the college and have a year or two to find a major that you want (and will accept you).

When you are stuck in a major that you no longer have any interest in, the quality of the education is ultimately irrelevant. Either you flunk out, are forced to transfer to a different school anyway, or (maybe the worst option) tough it out and graduate with a degree in something you have no interest in - having wasted years of time and money.

Re: Quitting Poker (LONG)
 

im a first year university student who started playign senior year. me and 3 other friends play quite often and post quite regularly. i stopped for about 2.5 months at the start of the year. i stopped because i was worried about the workload from the program i'm in, as well as the constraints on social life that it would create.

after those 2 months, i went back to poker partially to because i have to pay for the majority of my living expenses (not meal plan/res fees, but eating out, going out, boozing and such). while i'm glad i'm back, its important/hard to balance poker/work/fun (although poker = fun).

i'm glad i took those 2 months off, it was a good break and helped me put poker a bit in perspective.

however long you plan to take off, best of luck and enjoy those college games.

stealthcow-

Re: Quitting Poker (LONG)
 

I'll admit it was nice to read this post as well. My senior year i only played poker with my friends for fun once or twice a week. It was only for fun and most of the time we were drinking as well-so it met both qualifications. I would strongly advise any one else your/my age (i'm 18) to slow down on playing poker and enjoy their senior year. I wouldn't trade any poker prize for any moment or second that i spent with my friends/girlfriend over that last year.
I never even started playing online until i got to college-i was amazed by how much free time i have around here! Its really easy to balance a social life, playing college athletics and finding time to hit the tables for (what is for me) a little fun. When you get here-have some fun and do what you want. But college is amazing also-so don't waste it staring at a screen either.
Good luck in college with whichever you chose, and i'm amazed chico doesn't have an undeclared/general studies option.
Also-to whoever put girls last........what girls have you been hooking up with?