A Note to \"WannaBe\" Pros
 

This business is HARD...Make sure that your plan to quit your dayjob & become a "poker pro" has a "Plan 'B'" in case Plan 'A' doesn't work....If your reaction to this advice is: "He's an old fool that doesn't know squat"; I hope you will ask the younger posters that know what they are doing.
Like = SuitedSixes/Lacky/UnArmed/Irieguy/and others

Re: A Note to \"WannaBe\" Pros
 

Im sure this is true, but running any business is hard. I think you have to have the same dedication to poker that you would have to starting/running any business. Are there any posters here that ran a more conventional business before switching to play poker full time? I'd like to know what their thoughts are of the differences between the two.

Re: A Note to \"WannaBe\" Pros
 

agree 235,000%

i am very disturbed at the 'i'm dropping out cuz i had a badass month!!' trend

college is more +EV than any of you students on heaters can possibly know

great article by Ed Miller on the topic


edit: fox i did, i ran a company for about a year before 'going pro'...i like playing about a million times better overall, its a whole lot less like having a job and a whole lot more like personal freedom. even if you 'own' your business you still can't do whatever you please, you can't just not show up etc. with poker you can take a month off if you aren't feeling it, or do your job from another country or whatever. there may be companies that allow these perks but mine was not one of them.

aside from perks and drawbacks...i think the skill sets are very very similar...you need a profound trust and faith in yourself and a complete disregard for the opinions and input of others (many times from people close to you). you also need money management, time managament, discipline, honesty with yourself and a bit on insanity to make either of them work IMO.

Re: A Note to \"WannaBe\" Pros
 

Ed Millers articles drive me insane for some reason. Quotes like the following are pretty insulting:

"I think people are dropping out of college because they see poker as their “way out.” Poker isn’t a way out of anything. It’s a game, and it can provide some nice extra cash. Some really nice cash if you are good. But eventually you are going to have to (or at least want to) live like a normal person again. Normal people finish college."


Anyway there are a lot of things that "normal" people do that aren't very appealing to me. Also who is he to say how someone else is going to want to live.

Re: A Note to \"WannaBe\" Pros
 

Yah I am a college student and I make enough to make poker better than working at a fast food joint, however that does limit my bankroll. Once I get my engineering (true love)degree, I'll be making enough money that poker will become a nice recreational activity that happens to make me money.

I don't ever plan on going "pro", I just don't think that life would hold enough meaning for me (not to try to take anything away from those who are professional poker players), but I've heard in interviews about how many players feel unaccomplished since they have spent their lives playing cards. Of course, this is true of many people throughout all walks of life. I just remember hearing John Juanda say that he wanted to go back to college and graduate and get a degree in medicine to become a doctor.

But yah, playing poker is hard, and taking big swings when you have bills can crush your soul. This is why it is hard to play your A+ game for like 40 hours a week consistently over the long term.

Re: A Note to \"WannaBe\" Pros
 

[ QUOTE ]

Anyway there are a lot of things that "normal" people do that aren't very appealing to me. Also who is he to say how someone else is going to want to live.

[/ QUOTE ]

Generalizations don't need to apply to everybody to be good generalizations. I think it is almost certainly true that more people think they can go pro and hack it than actually can, and they better have a backup option. Considering all kinds of other factors rather than just raw ability - getting bored with it in 2-3 years of grinding, the dubious legality of internet gambling, etc. - I think it's definitely wise to be thinking about what one will do if it doesn't work out.

Re: A Note to \"WannaBe\" Pros
 

[ QUOTE ]
I hope you will ask the younger posters that know what they are doing.
Like = SuitedSixes/Lacky/UnArmed/Irieguy/and others

[/ QUOTE ]

Funny that the average age of what you consider the "younger" posters here is ~15 years older than the average poster here....

Course, you DO have seniority on Methuselah, so who am I to quibble.

Daliman- 15 years older than the average poster here himself.

Re: A Note to \"WannaBe\" Pros
 

that is a bit insulting...

however quotes like this one are pretty dead on IMO:

[ QUOTE ]
College provides general knowledge, preparation for jobs, and, for better or worse, social status. If you knew you would play poker forever, maybe going to college wouldn’t matter so much. But you don’t know that, and furthermore, you probably won’t play poker forever. Most of you won’t be playing poker fulltime even five years from now.


[/ QUOTE ]

Re: A Note to \"WannaBe\" Pros
 

[ QUOTE ]
agree 235,000%

i am very disturbed at the 'i'm dropping out cuz i had a badass month!!' trend

college is more +EV than any of you students on heaters can possibly know

great article by Ed Miller on the topic


edit: fox i did, i ran a company for about a year before 'going pro'...i like playing about a million times better overall, its a whole lot less like having a job and a whole lot more like personal freedom. even if you 'own' your business you still can't do whatever you please, you can't just not show up etc. with poker you can take a month off if you aren't feeling it, or do your job from another country or whatever. there may be companies that allow these perks but mine was not one of them.

aside from perks and drawbacks...i think the skill sets are very very similar...you need a profound trust and faith in yourself and a complete disregard for the opinions and input of others (many times from people close to you). you also need money management, time managament, discipline, honesty with yourself and a bit on insanity to make either of them work IMO.

[/ QUOTE ]

Hard to Believe that you were once the "hated" GauchoFish [img]/images/graemlins/shocked.gif[/img]...Good Post [img]/images/graemlins/smile.gif[/img]

Re: A Note to \"WannaBe\" Pros
 

[ QUOTE ]
[ QUOTE ]
I hope you will ask the younger posters that know what they are doing.
Like = SuitedSixes/Lacky/UnArmed/Irieguy/and others

[/ QUOTE ]

Funny that the average age of what you consider the "younger" posters here is ~15 years older than the average poster here....

Course, you DO have seniority on Methuselah, so who am I to quibble.

Daliman- 15 years older than the average poster here himself.

[/ QUOTE ]

You're an IDIOT [img]/images/graemlins/crazy.gif[/img]Book it [img]/images/graemlins/crazy.gif[/img]You have only one redeeming grace = You like the same drink I do [img]/images/graemlins/laugh.gif[/img]