poker is a way of life vs. poker is just a hobby
 

Just wondering how some of you other successful high-stakes players weigh the attraction of full-time poker, and the attendant wins, vs. a more intellectually & emotionally satisfying career. In the midst of a bit of an existential dilemma here.

Right now I view myself as a part-time poker player. (This may be self-delusion.) I spend about 20-25 hours/week playing. It's been my primary source of income for a while now. For a comparatively long time, I made a comfortable sum basically nut-peddling at $2/$5 NL; I was playing at that level for about a year while other strong players who opposed me moved up in limits. I never did. Now I've had to; thanks to some structural changes at the site I play, I've started regularly playing bigger games, $5/$10 and $10/$20.

Anyway. Moving up out of my "comfort zone" has caused some embarrassing mistakes (yesterday alone I dropped three buyins that I had no business dropping, for a $4K hit!), but there is, of course, much more earn potential.

But to play at those levels and win significant sums, I really need to clean up my game. I've been essentially a gentleman amateur. I don't even have pokertracker or a rakeback deal, fergoshsakes. (No need to offer me one, thanks.) I have plenty of leaks, and it would take significant study, discipline, and introspection to turn myself into a consistent big winner at a level where nut peddling is not enough.

I'm also a graduate student. Poker has pulled me about a year off-schedule and if I don't get my nose to the grindstone right now I'm basically never going to finish my degree. Intellectually, I find poker interesting, but since I'm working on an English degree it's not a similar sort of thought to what I'd viewed myself spending the rest of my life doing.

My girlfriend is not a poker player but is very amused at my poker success and supportive. My parents are not so amused.

I imagine stockbrokers and other "sellouts" go through the same sort of angst when they realize/consider that they're spending a lot of time in an essentially meaningless, stressful profession whose sole point is the accumulation of money.

Since I've essentially been "kicked upstairs" to these higher limits, I feel I'm at the point where I need to either acknowledge that this is my life now and I need to get all the tools of the trade and spend my spare time and brainpower working on improving my play, or admit that it's just a hobby, ease back on the hours, focus on finishing my PhD, and treat it as a profitable sideline.

I am also reminded that the guy who got me into this game was originally a physics grad student who dropped out to play blackjack, and who has since convinced another mutual friend to drop out of his grad program to play blackjack. Seems like a common result.

Anyway, comments from those who have faced similar decisions, or found a way to balance poker and profession, would be appreciated.

(This post may amuse those who play against me, since I probably seem like a "full-time player", but, really, I'm not! Really!)

Re: poker is a way of life vs. poker is just a hobby
 

I was thinking about exactly this question the other day for many of the same reasons.

Even if you have the skills, to make real money (e.g. $200K per year), it seems to me that you either have to multitable like a maniac at lower limits, which isn't particularly fun and can feel a lot like data entry, or you have to play scary high limits (often 25-50 NLH or higher), which I assume is nerve wracking and often unacceptable to family members and loved ones.

Bottom line -- I am a winning player and that is good enough for me. My wife doesn't want to be married to a professional poker player and who can blame her. I can make more money (with a lot less risk) doing other things. I don't see myself ever progressing beyond gentleman amateur status, and I don't much care.

Re: poker is a way of life vs. poker is just a hobby
 

My advice is to drop down in limits and finish your PhD.

You can still hone your game part time.

Poker will still be around long after you have your degree.

If you then become a "pro", at least with a degree you'll have something to fall back on should you need/decide to do something besides poker.

Re: poker is a way of life vs. poker is just a hobby
 

My recommendation? Focus on other stuff and keep poker a sideline. There's a ton of stuff much more interesting (some of which is also more profitable) than poker.

Re: poker is a way of life vs. poker is just a hobby
 

Like wrestling.

Re: poker is a way of life vs. poker is just a hobby
 

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I was thinking about exactly this question the other day for many of the same reasons.

Even if you have the skills, to make real money (e.g. $200K per year)

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To put some of this in perspective:

Based on the last year and a half, I am certain that I could hit $200K by putting in more hours, grinding/multitabling ~$3/$6 games.

I would be aiming for significantly more than $200K if I were looking at fulltime 10/20.

Re: poker is a way of life vs. poker is just a hobby
 

when you look at it in the end, it depends on how you maximize expected utility, rather than maximizing expected value.

everyone's expected utility with respect to money is probably a function that's a negatively convex function. (ie, every dollar you gain is going to make you less and less happier as you gain dollars) as a result it depends on how you view the extra money you would be making as a result of going pro, versus if you were to choose a much more fulfilling career.

questions to consider could be:
how do i plan to spend the money i make?
how long do i plan to play per day, and how will playing affect my personality?
how much money can i make doing something else i enjoy, such as reading, writing novels, grading idiot 7th grade papers, etc.

also, there's a certain volatility to going pro. you never know how available games will be in the future (ie illegalization of online gambling) and your life may be dependant on where good games are. if you're not comfortable in living in places like las vegas, and atlantic city, this may not be optimal for you.

i like other suggestions of finishing your phd etc. you'll always be able to improve your game in the meantime, and you'll have a better idea after you set out further in what you want to do with your life.

but don't listen to me, i'm just a college student.

Re: poker is a way of life vs. poker is just a hobby
 

I play online for a living, albeit doing lower stakes than you play. Nevertheless, I have a comfortable living, especially compared to the living I had with my last job (financially speaking).

However, lifestyle wise, I would say I am less happy now than ever. I can seldom afford to take a day off, if I drop several buy ins in a day I start to get stressed, the earnings variability from week to week is tremendous.

So what are the positives? Well you might make it big time like those guys on tv. (Although remember, a number of even those guys are backed and broke much of the time.) You are your own boss. You set your own hours. The amount of money you can make is mostly capped by your ability and ambitions.

You might ask why I play if there are all these problems. Well that's a long story, but without going into too much detail, I ended up getting forced into it by losing my job for one thing, and secondly it has ended up being a lot different than I thought it would be. Also, my educational status makes it difficult to become a rising star in the business world or whatever.

But if in theory someone offered me a career where I could end up making a 100 K a year plus, I would go for it in a heartbeat rather than play poker for a living. In fact, I would go one better. If I could find a job that pays what I'm averaging a week now I'd even take it.

Hope this helps,

David
I constantly feel the need to advance in limits to hopefully be able to play less hours and have more money, but I turn into scared money at levels I'm not comfortable at.

Sure I can wake up late, but its more by necessity than choice (the games in the daytime aren't very good), compare pot sizes at different hours of the day if you don't believe me. So your schedule ends up being completely different from your friends.

I'm working on building up my credit, but not having a job will frequently interfere with you getting the things that you want if you don't have the money to spend now.

Oh and if you want to know the easiest way to make a girl run for the hills, tell her you play poker for a living. Yes, it will excite a few, but the type that most would want a serious relationship with, it will seriously dissapoint.

It will also most likely alienate you from your family, and even some friends believe it or not.

Even if you have a lot of money, a lot of it you won't be able to touch, as if you're smart you will keep a few months expenses aside and 20 buy ins for your bankroll. There is always the risk of going broke.

When you play poker for a living, you can't afford to have an off day. You have to be sharp all the time. Don't get enough rest at night? Probably a losing session the next day. Have a fight with the gf or wife? If you're smart you'll take the day off, if your stupid, you may lose several buy ins.

Health insurance? You have to pay for it? Retirement? Same thing. And don't forget that after fifty a poker player's skills decline, so hopefully you can retire by then.

Re: poker is a way of life vs. poker is just a hobby
 

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Oh and if you want to know the easiest way to make a girl run for the hills, tell her you play poker for a living. Yes, it will excite a few, but the type that most would want a serious relationship with, it will seriously dissapoint.

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I dont have much to add, as im in a similar yet different boat (leave of absence from college to... you guessed it... play poker) I tried renting an apartment, told real estate agents I played poker professionally... that didnt work so well.

had to stick with the line of just a student. which is partially true.

as for the women front, most dont care what i do, (although they're enthused i have more money then any guy my age) but i can imagine if i told women 2-5 years older then me they too would run for the hills.

Re: poker is a way of life vs. poker is just a hobby
 

"as for the women front, most dont care what i do, (although they're enthused i have more money then any guy my age) but i can imagine if i told women 2-5 years older then me they too would run for the hills."

Yeah I'm 25.

Re: poker is a way of life vs. poker is just a hobby
 

I guess you are right. If you play 40 table a hours a week, $100 an hour comes to $200K. I don't play as often (or as well) as you do so it is sometimes tough for me to estimate.

Re: poker is a way of life vs. poker is just a hobby
 

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My recommendation? Focus on other stuff and keep poker a sideline. There's a ton of stuff much more interesting (some of which is also more profitable) than poker.

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I'd like to hear your recommendations. I am graduating from a small college with an unspectacular 3.0 GPA in Physics in 18 days and I see no reasonable alternatives to a poker career. FWIW, I am a 15/30 limit player.

Re: poker is a way of life vs. poker is just a hobby
 

creedofhubris,

it always amazes me to hear people casually throw out 200K a year and imply that is easy to make playing poker or to obtain in the real world. it ain't. your PhD in English will never get you there. (you can become a bestselling author without a PhD, so royalties don't count.) unless you are willing to put high hours into a profession or open your own mundane-but-cash-brilliant business, poker is where it's at right now. on the other hand, if you have half a brain and are willing to put in the hours, there are still several easy businesses for making that.

i also doubt many people here can make 200K a year playing poker. 25 hours a week is one thing. 40 is quite another. also, while it's nice to think you can maintain $150 or $200 an hour playing, i contend most of the posters here cannot.

to be very successful at poker in the future, you will have to spend time studying your opponents and the game for real. it will get harder. also, the ups qand downs and day-to-day emotional toll are great. a lot of players makiing 100K a year aren't the happiest people in the world.

i have given it some thought. if the situation in my profession gets much worse, i may give it up and turn pro. however, there would have to be something else to keep my attentiion focused. most likely i would end up writing a book or starting a poker-related business - or a separate cash cow business - while continuing to play 20 hours a week. i can't see maintaining 35 hours a week outside of WSOP and WPT event trips unless the games were ridiculously easy, in which case the positive reinforcement might be sufficient to keep me playing long hours.

if you can play reasonably well and consistently, be satisfied with 120K a year, and have the emotional makeup to weather big money swings, it could be a phenomenal job.

matt

Re: poker is a way of life vs. poker is just a hobby
 

I'll give you some possible insight from my experience.

I am a lawyer and a partner at one of the big firms. Make a lot of money, but have a pretty difficult and stressful job. I play a lot of 2-5 and 5-10, and some 10-20, nlh (profitably at the 2-5 and 5-10, not enough sample size to tell at 10-20 yet, but so far so good).

I travel around a bunch with two other lawyers I'm friends with from a different city, meeting in various places to play tourneys, and we spend a lot of time with pros that one of the guy knows well from LA. And I've got to tell you--it stopped looking like a fun lifestyle a long time ago from watching the guys who really do it (and that's not even the multi-table crap you'd more likely have to do on line to make money in the long run, assuming we're me or you, who can beat jellybeans regularly at 2-5 nlh, rather than top pros on the tournament circuit).

These guys mostly live on the edge, as do the on-line guys, worried all the time and not knowing what the future looks like at all. Any time I and my friends are at lunch or dinner with guys like that, there are a few minutes of poker stories (mostly from them, they've got the more interesting ones), and a lot more time spent by them wanting to talk about business ideas and other ways they do or want to make money away from playing the game.

Get your Phd--you can always be the most well-educated and professional individual at the table later if you want to turn "pro", although you quite likely never will. I don't (not even close), although ten years ago I though it looked pretty good when I used to play in Vegas (as a student). It just looks better than it is.

p.s. I saw Eric Seidel (sp?) get interviewed recently on the Travel Channel or ESPN, and it was in a piece about how the top pros really live. Showed his nice big house outside of Vegas, pool, etc. But the thing that stuck with me was the part when he said that, since he hasn't won any big events in a long time, he kind of worries, and has had the thought that, if he doesn't start winning some money soon, he might have to sell his house. And we've all heard of him, and he's considered one of the top guys. Think about that--when's the last time you heard one of the top professionals in any other field say something like that? That's why it won't make your parents happy. They're right.

Re: poker is a way of life vs. poker is just a hobby
 

I've debated playing poker professionally, but the only way I would do it is if I had a lot of other stuff going on with music that made me happy but didn't pay well and I just needed the money. my personal feeling is that it wouldn't be a very interesting way to spend my time, and as much as I dislike my day job at times I still get to solve interesting problems and sometimes invent things and stuff.


--turnipmonster

Re: poker is a way of life vs. poker is just a hobby
 

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But the thing that stuck with me was the part when he said that, since he hasn't won any big events in a long time, he kind of worries, and has had the thought that, if he doesn't start winning some money soon, he might have to sell his house.

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Yeah, those tourney pros have really high variance; long swings of losses. So do limit players. So does my buddy the blackjack player. But I'm talking about cash games. That's what I play, that's what I'm gonna keep playing. You're not going to see me on a TV tourney, except as a lark.

Since I play cash games, I'm really not worried about losing runs. I mean, if the other players are too good for me, I will lose over time, but if I'm a winning player, I'm not going to have months of running bad. That's the virtue of: NL, capped buyins, multitabling, and lots of hands. They all work to limit variance.

Re: poker is a way of life vs. poker is just a hobby
 

FWIW, I am very skeptical of the 200K/year stuff as well.

Re: poker is a way of life vs. poker is just a hobby
 

"if you can play reasonably well and consistently, be satisfied with 120K a year, and have the emotional makeup to weather big money swings, it could be a phenomenal job.

matt"

what is the average wage in america?
and what percentage of the population is below the poverty line?
i dont think the issue here is whether $120k a year is sufficient
especially for someone with an english degree,which won't get you many jobs that make half that.

Re: poker is a way of life vs. poker is just a hobby
 

the biggest advantage for poker players is the ability to travel and live in cheaper BETTER country. I spend about $700/month living a life style that would run me atleast 5-6K in the States.

Poker online is essentially THE PERFECT JOB...


[ QUOTE ]
Just wondering how some of you other successful high-stakes players weigh the attraction of full-time poker, and the attendant wins, vs. a more intellectually & emotionally satisfying career. In the midst of a bit of an existential dilemma here.

Right now I view myself as a part-time poker player. (This may be self-delusion.) I spend about 20-25 hours/week playing. It's been my primary source of income for a while now. For a comparatively long time, I made a comfortable sum basically nut-peddling at $2/$5 NL; I was playing at that level for about a year while other strong players who opposed me moved up in limits. I never did. Now I've had to; thanks to some structural changes at the site I play, I've started regularly playing bigger games, $5/$10 and $10/$20.

Anyway. Moving up out of my "comfort zone" has caused some embarrassing mistakes (yesterday alone I dropped three buyins that I had no business dropping, for a $4K hit!), but there is, of course, much more earn potential.

But to play at those levels and win significant sums, I really need to clean up my game. I've been essentially a gentleman amateur. I don't even have pokertracker or a rakeback deal, fergoshsakes. (No need to offer me one, thanks.) I have plenty of leaks, and it would take significant study, discipline, and introspection to turn myself into a consistent big winner at a level where nut peddling is not enough.

I'm also a graduate student. Poker has pulled me about a year off-schedule and if I don't get my nose to the grindstone right now I'm basically never going to finish my degree. Intellectually, I find poker interesting, but since I'm working on an English degree it's not a similar sort of thought to what I'd viewed myself spending the rest of my life doing.

My girlfriend is not a poker player but is very amused at my poker success and supportive. My parents are not so amused.

I imagine stockbrokers and other "sellouts" go through the same sort of angst when they realize/consider that they're spending a lot of time in an essentially meaningless, stressful profession whose sole point is the accumulation of money.

Since I've essentially been "kicked upstairs" to these higher limits, I feel I'm at the point where I need to either acknowledge that this is my life now and I need to get all the tools of the trade and spend my spare time and brainpower working on improving my play, or admit that it's just a hobby, ease back on the hours, focus on finishing my PhD, and treat it as a profitable sideline.

I am also reminded that the guy who got me into this game was originally a physics grad student who dropped out to play blackjack, and who has since convinced another mutual friend to drop out of his grad program to play blackjack. Seems like a common result.

Anyway, comments from those who have faced similar decisions, or found a way to balance poker and profession, would be appreciated.

(This post may amuse those who play against me, since I probably seem like a "full-time player", but, really, I'm not! Really!)

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Re: poker is a way of life vs. poker is just a hobby
 

i've gotten into these discussions many times, and got some good posts if you can find it in the archives in the NL section unders someething like "poker journal." everyone is going to tell you don't drop out of school, keep it a hobby. every once in a while for a few days i'll plya a lot of poker and think i could do it for a living, but i'm only do that for a few days and even then i'm not really happy doing it. stay in school

btw matt i am very surprised to hear you say that.

Re: poker is a way of life vs. poker is just a hobby
 

but what if you get a 'real' job and find out that you dont want to do that for 40 hours/week either?
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i've gotten into these discussions many times, and got some good posts if you can find it in the archives in the NL section unders someething like "poker journal." everyone is going to tell you don't drop out of school, keep it a hobby. every once in a while for a few days i'll plya a lot of poker and think i could do it for a living, but i'm only do that for a few days and even then i'm not really happy doing it. stay in school

btw matt i am very surprised to hear you say that.

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Re: poker is a way of life vs. poker is just a hobby
 

[ QUOTE ]
but what if you get a 'real' job and find out that you dont want to do that for 40 hours/week either?


[/ QUOTE ]

Get a different job.

Re: poker is a way of life vs. poker is just a hobby
 

if you really want to be a pro imo you have to study the game just as much as you play it.

Re: poker is a way of life vs. poker is just a hobby
 

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if you really want to be a pro imo you have to study the game just as much as you play it.

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I agree.

The question is whether to do so, or to continue to treat it as a fun hobby that is also quite profitable.

Re: poker is a way of life vs. poker is just a hobby
 

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My recommendation? Focus on other stuff and keep poker a sideline. There's a ton of stuff much more interesting (some of which is also more profitable) than poker.

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Realllllly? I find alot of things interesting, but I would have assumed that everyone answering this post, especially you sir, would at least agree that poker is extremely interesting. I don't think there's anything wrong with being immersed in poker, any more than there's anything wrong with being immersed in literature if that's your thing, or a balance of the two if you so choose. I dont think anyone can really tell you which you're more interested in, but whichever it is should occupy a proportionally greater amount of your time. Sounds like you've got the scrill already and don't even give a [censored], so that's a non-issue.

Re: poker is a way of life vs. poker is just a hobby
 

"the biggest advantage for poker players is the ability to travel and live in cheaper BETTER country. I spend about $700/month living a life style that would run me atleast 5-6K in the States."

Where might that be?

Re: poker is a way of life vs. poker is just a hobby
 

If the only way you're going to be "pro" is by playing the 10-20 game you aren't comfortable doing, then keep it as a hobby. However, If poker has been your sole/primary source of income for over a year and 1/2 now... it seems like its time to by the pokertracker, check out a few books from the library, and realize.. you already are playing poker porfessionally. Also, if you can make 200k a year playing poker and your current 2/5 3/6 game, whats the need to jump up in stakes. You're making a better living at 200k a year then you will doing anything with your english masters.

Re: poker is a way of life vs. poker is just a hobby
 

I have been thinking about this a lot lately, as well. I've taken a 3 week break to think about whether or not I want to make this my life.

I am a Junior, with one more year to go to get my Soc degree; a major which is basically an admittance of not knowing why you're in college. There really isn't much to fall back on with this major unless you like doing charity work or you want to go back to school to get a PhD (which I may end up doing).

For a good month I was playing 3/6 and started trying my luck at 5/10. I was making pretty good money, but my life seemed so vapid and meaningless when I did it. I did little schoolwork and I wasn't really happy, which really confused me. Poker, I thought, was about making money, and money, I thought, would make me happy. I am realizing it doesn't. What I'm realizing is that money doesn't make you happy, but you still need it to be happy. The difference is so minute, so subtle, but it's so profound to me.

So now my predicament is deciding how to devote what percentage of healthy 20s to making money and how much I should dedicate to being happy? And I am having a consistently harder time figuring out which will be longterm better for me.

Poker itself makes me happy, when I play for extended hours I feel meaningless. And I'm starting to come to the conclusion that I want to fail at something meaningful than succeed at something meaningless. But it seems like there have to be better options than just these.

I'll tell some friends the money-making capabilities I have when it comes to cards and they are astonished. They wonder why I don't play non-stop, and when I explain that I'm beginning to resent poker in that it's such a selfish form of making money, the disconnect begins. They can't understand why I would be hesitant to continue down a path that makes easy money. And I agree to an extent; until I remember the long hours, the eye strain, the sore back, the feeling that what I'm doing are not furthering myself as a human being. I think above all that is what is most important to me. I want to further myself as a human being, and poker does not add to that.

To end this rambling I just want to reiterate that am completely understanding of what you are going through Creed. I think one of my biggest fears is that I'll choose the wrong path for myself and end up regretting it because I'll have done nothing with my life. At 20 this is somewhat extreme, but I admit, I'm terrified. Money really is not everything.

Re: poker is a way of life vs. poker is just a hobby
 

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with one more year to go to get my Soc degree

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No, I said I wanted LARGE fries with that angst.

Re: poker is a way of life vs. poker is just a hobby
 

"satisfied," not "sufficient."

Re: poker is a way of life vs. poker is just a hobby
 

which part surprises you?

Re: poker is a way of life vs. poker is just a hobby
 

this is the second greatest benefit of internet poker for pros - the first being more hands/hour. god if you're an internet pro go live somewhere fun and cheap and live relaxed.

Re: poker is a way of life vs. poker is just a hobby
 

I believe it was David Sklansky that said, "There are 2 kinds of people that will be pro poker players (that make money.) Those with a feakish skill set, or those that could make more money doing something else, but choose not to."

One of the other issues I have with 'going pro' is you don't build up any transferable job skills. Say you become pro and it turns out you make 100k a year at it, great. And in 5 years you want to do something else, well good luck finding a job that starts paying at that! People change winning lots of money at poker seems to be a win 'right now' not an over time win if it's money you depend on.

Don't get me wrong, I'm sure there are plenty of pros that dig what they do and it's fine. There are people that shovel [censored] at the race track, people that do math problems for a living, people that write articles, people that are trained killers, and they are all fine. I think what's important is to find a profession you like enough to do 40 hours a week that pays enough. Sure I'd like to be a kayak instructor, but I want more money. I like technology and solving puzzles, so I'm a computer guy and the money is fine. I could get a harder computer job that pays more, but I don't want to kill myself at my job.

Money is important, it makes things in life easier. But if money is all you have and no life, you have nothing to make easier.

Re: poker is a way of life vs. poker is just a hobby
 

If you want to quit poker later on and you can't find a job, become your own boss in anything eh?

Re: poker is a way of life vs. poker is just a hobby
 

Where do you live Kane ?

Re: poker is a way of life vs. poker is just a hobby
 

i think of money as a means to an end rather then an end in and of itself.

if you operate under this paradigm then it doesn't matter what profession you choose, so long as it allows you the freedom to do whatever it is that gives you satisfaction.

and while you may not find the satisfaction you desire from your choosen profession, so long as your profession affords you the time and money to pursue other activites outside of the workplace, you shouldn't have a problem.

it seems as if poker is the perfect profession because if you are good at it you will have an abundence of free time in which you can do whatever it is that gives you a sense of accomplishment or satisfaction.

Re: poker is a way of life vs. poker is just a hobby
 

I graduated with an English degree and vowed I would NEVER go back to school again. I hated it. If I want to learn something now, I go get a book. Since then, I've been bass player/front man for a successful cover band, sales and marketing rep for a multitude of large and small businesses in high tech, owned a design firm with a friend, sold credit card machines and now run a family Potpourri company in a small town in east Texas(www.shirleyspotpourri.com).

I can say without a doubt that poker is the ONLY thing besides music at which I've enjoyed earning a buck. Being in charge of a business is a challenge and fairly interesting and I have a great schedule, but in the end I have no love for it. So, I've got some great people who work for me now and have given them more responsibility. My wife has a knack for making money and when my youngest gets ready for school, well that will come into play also. So I guess we're going to piecemeal it. The potpourri company will provide some income, the wife will throw some in, and I'll make some playing poker. My wife is supportive and every morning I wake up excited to play the game and learn the game. I have no idea where it will lead but I'm really enjoying it right now. If I cease to enjoy it, I'll stop and do something else. But right now with the poker explosion, it's like getting in on a great opportunity on the ground floor.

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this is the second greatest benefit of internet poker for pros - the first being more hands/hour. god if you're an internet pro go live somewhere fun and cheap and live relaxed.

[/ QUOTE ]

Which brings me the above quote. I live in the country and it's fairly cheap. I'm building a new house for $78/square foot on an acre of land. In the back of it closest to all the woods and furthest away from all the humans is my poker office. If I start to hate poker, then it will be some other kind of office.

Consider the opinions of those close to you by all means, but in the end make a descision that you're comfortable with. I mean it's just life. You can ALWAYS change directions.

Re: poker is a way of life vs. poker is just a hobby
 

creed,

I am at a similar crossroads in my life. Like many other youngish players, I began playing poker about a year ago online with my $50, and have earned enough to have realized that I have the potential to relinquish my studies and profit off the enormous poker boom by "going pro." It seems a very attractive and easy way to make a living.

I started playing poker halfway through my senior year of high school, and before the first day of college I was already nearly certain I was going to drop out that year and use poker as my source of income. (To be clear, I did NOT drop out "to play poker" -- there were many personal reasons for that and poker was just the means that allowed me to do so. And I do plan on going back to college in the future, so ignore this issue.) Anyway, I've been doing well enough and as a result I'm being pulled in both directions. I love my current poker lifestyle, yet I want to, as the phrase goes, do something with my life.

So as you said, the problem is whether a poker player capable of succeeding on a high level (thus GENERALLY rather intelligent, talented, ambitious, etc) chooses to play poker exclusively, or chooses to instead play some poker but concentrate on a career where the benefits, socially and personally, are more than just monetary. To this dilemma I don't think there is a right answer. I believe most people will feel a desire to apply their skills in another way eventually. However, I certainly would not fault someone who is perfectly happy multitabling a 3-6 game and pulling in 50-200k a year for life.

My personal situation/view is this: I love poker. I am fiercely competitive, fiercely independent, and am not bored by repetition. Thus, playing poker for long periods of time solely to win money is satisfying to me on many levels. I am only 18 and the freedom I have doing this is a blessing. I am young and taking a break from school to essentially live an adventure is, well, awesome. I just want to have fun, travel, do what I want, and enjoy life with the money I win for a few years. Eventually I think I'll head back into academics or start a business to begin living a more societally fulfilling life, but who knows. I want to enjoy life now, and poker is a great means for doing so.

I think I rambled a lot, might add more or clarify later....

P.S. I play in the same games as creed, and maybe our games are ridiculously soft or something, but I don't see 200k/yr as unattainable at all. I am highly confident he can beat it for more than that amount.

Re: poker is a way of life vs. poker is just a hobby
 

I'm just curious what site you guys play on that has/had 2/5.

Re: poker is a way of life vs. poker is just a hobby
 

pokerroom

2-5 was the top limit there for a looooong time, and many regulars were beating it for quite a bit I'm sure. It felt like one of the best midstakes games on the net. (I feel weird saying that since I have extremely limited experience on other sites to compare it with.) My biggest criteria is just a feeling I've gotten when other games have been described on this board, contrasted with the general play I saw at the 2-5.