How do you explain your career?
 

I just hate when a woman or a new friend ask what you do for a living, now that i play poker for a living. I was just curious if anyone has a good way of telling people this. Or what is the alternative, assuming one would want to keep this on the downlow, what other ways to not answer the question directly, do you tell them your in investments? or is there any ideas you could promote. Another words what if you dont want to be upfront about your job as this is my only job. What do yuo suggest saying.

Re: How do you explain your career?
 

Just say you "work with computers."

Or tell people to mind their own business.

Re: How do you explain your career?
 

"I make a living sitting at home in my boxers and playing on the computer"


sounds alright to me

Re: How do you explain your career?
 

Why are people embarassed to say that they make enough money by playing a game to not work? Usually when people find out I know people who can pull that off, they are envious.

Re: How do you explain your career?
 

"I'm rich... I don't have a job."

Re: How do you explain your career?
 

I say I play poker for living.

Re: How do you explain your career?
 

Just say that you are retired.

Because you pretty much are, right? And it's pretty cool to be retired at 23 or however old you are.

Re: How do you explain your career?
 

I work with retards.

Re: How do you explain your career?
 

Get a part-time job, and say you do xx and supplement your income playing poker.

Re: How do you explain your career?
 

[ QUOTE ]
I work with retards.

[/ QUOTE ]

YES!

This is the perfect reply.

Re: How do you explain your career?
 

I have buiseness cards

Statistical Internet Evaluation

Re: How do you explain your career?
 

Start by having had a "respectable" job prior to your poker career, then say, "I used to be a (respectable job), but now I do something pretty unusual....(pause)....."

Usually, they'll expect something crazy and be relieved when you say "I play poker for a living," and the conversation flows from there.

If you're 22 or something, go to your Plan B (whatever that is).

Re: How do you explain your career?
 

"people pay me to show them my nuts"

Re: How do you explain your career?
 

Learn to be comfortable with yourself and become confident enough (extremely confident - almost "too" confident) that you honestly don't care what other people think of you. Then you can say or do anything you want, and if somebody doesn't like you, then that's there problem.

Re: How do you explain your career?
 

[ QUOTE ]
I work with retards.

[/ QUOTE ]

The proper job description if tard wrangling. And like real tard wrangling, sometimes the online tards use their online super strength to kick your ass and take all your money.

Re: How do you explain your career?
 

the nice thing about telling people that youre a pro poker player is that if you arent really all that interesting as a person, as soon as they hear that you are a pro poker player you become the most interesting person on the planet.

Re: How do you explain your career?
 

When I tell people I play poker for a living, I get one of three responses:

1. Really? That's cool.

2. Oh.... ok. How's that workin out for ya?

3. Hmmm... and what does your mother say about it?

Re: How do you explain your career?
 

I'm self employed

Re: How do you explain your career?
 

"I'm an indie filmmaker and a pro poker player. Only one of them is gambling."

or

"Job? Why the hell would I get a job?"

Re: How do you explain your career?
 

Job? How could I sit around and smoke crack all day if I had a job?

Re: How do you explain your career?
 

I tell them I kill people for money. When the shock of that has worn off, I say that I am a professional gambler.

Re: How do you explain your career?
 

In my 16 years as an online poker professional, I find that the best answer to that question, other than 'I work with retards', is :-
"I'm an online personal actuary', if they can be bothered figuring it out, then I explain that life is all about odds and reraise the conversation with 'I provide covert tactical logistics regarding provisional permitations of seven variable equations'

That generally shuts them up.

Re: How do you explain your career?
 

Son, I make my living
by reading people's betting
and knowing what their cards are
by the way they bet their hands
{I use playerview too, of course)

Re: How do you explain your career?
 

Yeah the hot girls love that [img]/images/graemlins/laugh.gif[/img]

Re: How do you explain your career?
 

Say you're an aquarium manager.

(This is not mine, but comes from a much older thread on the same topic.)

Re: How do you explain your career?
 

Well I have concluded your all insane and that we need to get together for a drink, lol. I like the whole trying to confuse them so they dont ask other questions tactic. The reason for this post is because I have a very close friend who advises me to not mention it, and think of something else to say for fear of something bad happenening, for instance I live in Indiana and they recently pass laws to regulate online gambling to a degree. Good thing I always obey the law. HAHA. Thanks for the colorful replies.

An aquarium manager<-- nice

Re: How do you explain your career?
 

I tell them i am a professional poker player and if they have a condescending type look or reply, i accidentally drop the keys to my Beamer in plain view.

Re: How do you explain your career?
 

You could always tell them you're a gentleman jewel thief.

Personally, I prefer having an artistic pursuit to fall back on. When I say I'm a fiction writer, naive people assume I make a ton of money, while informed people are impressed I don't need a day job.

Re: How do you explain your career?
 

People think poker is no different from table games, that your a degenerate gambler.

I don't mind this at all though, it keeps a lot of otherwise good players from getting into the game.

Re: How do you explain your career?
 

nh

Re: How do you explain your career?
 

I'm only 19 so when i say poker nobody takes me seriously except my friends and i end up coming off like a jobless idiot ...so i just say i'm a cook, nothing beats a good old fashioned cook.

Re: How do you explain your career?
 

I used to be really vague and say that I 'work from home' or 'on computers' or something stupid.
It didn't really work that great.
Although if the lady at the bank still asks then I usually just stick with that in a "I'm going to be vague and kind of rude because I don't want to tell you" type of tone.


Now I'm comfortable enough with it to just say that online-poker is my job to almost anyone but the lady at the bank.

Most people are fascinated which is actually kind of annoying because I would usually rather talk about ANYTHING else but "How does that even work?"
or
"Oh yeah. My friend likes to play poker a lot and he's really good."

now there are a handful of people who think I must have become the greatest poker god ever through all that hard work because I played in the WSOP.


Anyway, I've decided that just being up front about it is the way to go. If it's someone pretty new in my life and they ask then I'll usually qualify the "I play poker on the internet for a living" with something like "this is going to sound kind of crazy.....but...."


When I told the coach of my rec-league soccer-team that he responded "doesn't sound that crazy. I used to play a lot when I was in the Navy..what site do you play on?"
He now plays play-money and 1/2 on Party and I have encouraged him to play tighter. He has since brought his VPIP all the way down to 60.

Re: How do you explain your career?
 

I tell people I play internet poker for a living, and then they look at me like I am a bum and a liar.

Re: How do you explain your career?
 

Speculator...

Re: How do you explain your career?
 

I tell them I hunt donkeys for a living.

Re: How do you explain your career?
 

[ QUOTE ]
In my 16 years as an online poker professional, I find that the best answer to that question, other than 'I work with retards', is :-
"I'm an online personal actuary', if they can be bothered figuring it out, then I explain that life is all about odds and reraise the conversation with 'I provide covert tactical logistics regarding provisional permitations of seven variable equations'

That generally shuts them up.

[/ QUOTE ]

I like all of these. I generally use "I'm in high-risk short-term investments." But I also have a day job (self-employed) anyway, and that's usually more interesting. Plus I make like $4/hr right now playing poker, so that's definitely NOT my primary source of income.

I'll try to remember your line here, tho I'll probably phrase it as "I provide covert tactical logistics regarding provisional permutations of multivariate equations -- usually of seven degrees, of course." The 'of course' is key, cuz usually they'll clam RIGHT up, thinking "omg what a schmuck" or "omg what a genius, I wonder if he'll buy me a drink?", both of which are bad, which is why I'd use this with ppl that I want to go away.

Re: How do you explain your career?
 

"I'm a currency trader."

Re: How do you explain your career?
 

[ QUOTE ]
You could always tell them you're a gentleman jewel thief.

[/ QUOTE ]

Awesome. Can we wear a cravat?

Re: How do you explain your career?
 

[ QUOTE ]
I tell people I play internet poker for a living, and then they look at me like I am a bum and a liar.

[/ QUOTE ]

...or a drug dealer.

I'd probably get more people to take me seriously if I did that.

Re: How do you explain your career?
 

[ QUOTE ]
...so i just say i'm a cook, nothing beats a good old fashioned cook

[/ QUOTE ]

Iam a cook, believe me everything beats a cook.