This is a very important post for me...
 

So this is my first really really important post. I'd like all the help I can get with this decision. Thanks in advance.

So I am 18 years old, freshman at a Big 10 school. I just finished up my first semester, gonna have something like a 3.4 GPA, got a girlfriend etc. But I dont feel like I am getting a lot out of college. Sure I go to classes, am in honors, etc but I somehow got stuck in a [censored] living arrangement - substance free, engineering girls hall (none are even remotely hot/cool - and havent really made a lot of good friends. This is foreign to me, as everywhere i have gone i have had great friends- i have many "best" friends etc and so it sucks. In addition, I am not self motivated enough to do the newspaper or anything likle that. Never have been, not a result of poker. Sometime i bet i will be not now tho. Basically, while studying for my last final I realized i needed to take some time off. I want to live the poker life etc etc. Part of this is I recently qualified for EWSOP on first shot, ran hot at 10-20 won a 30 rebuy etc. But I am also a winning player of 2.5 years, playing a lot and winning for two summers in a row. I play a few hours a day at schoool. I have about 50,000. In a fairly short sample size I am a winner (big) at 10-20 NL and everything from 15-30 liimit to sit and goes up to 215's etc. To make the point short, I am not concerned with my ability to win. I know im a bit over my roll with the 10-20 but i feeel like I can beat it and when i lose at all i go to 5-10 religiously.
I want to take next semester off and move to NYC to play poker at clubs, turning stone, EPT events, and online. My brother goes to Columbia, i know a few girls there, and two of my best friends go to NYU. I will have good friends there, will be able to live an adventure, not have to deal with my boring living situation which makes it hard to meet people, and go back to college next year. Thanks to AP credit I can graduate in 7 semesters anyway.

So I will rent an appt in NYC for like 1,200 a month and see how it goes. If i lose, i go back to school more interested. If i Win i had a hell of an experiance. My grandma told me to go to gamblers annonymous. My mom told me I am caught in the vortex of gambling. My dad says do it. I dont want to regret not doing this.

THIS IS NOT DROPPING OUT OF SCHOOL. I WANT A DEGREE AND I AM GOING TO GET ONE.

So, do I do it or not. Am I forgetting anything in my analysis? I intend to 4 table 5-10 NL, and probably jack it up to 6-8 tables evenntually instead of playing 1 or 2 10-20 short handed tables so my variance is reduced. Again, I dont think skill / bankroll management is really the problem. But is my life going in the right direction?

I am prob going to make a decision tommorow/next 48 hours. What you all contribute will go a long way towards giving me guidance. Thanks in advance.

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sounds like a good plan, so long as you dont get carried away and decide never to go back to school. btw unless you go to illinois, i wish the worst of luck upon your basketball team.

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Well you already know what you want to hear considering who you are asking for advice...

I am doing it now and it is going great so far but I wouldnt recommend it to anyone unless I knew more about their situation.

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no U of I... better than that [img]/images/graemlins/smile.gif[/img]

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better? impossible.

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revlis, i think this may be fate that i am reading this post. I go to NYU, i just took this semester off (not to play poker) and am starting back up again at the end of january. I currently play poker online, but have just started. i'm about break even at the moment because i play in games that are a bit too tough for me, (5-10 and 10-20 NL). Anyway, if you are interested in a roomate and someone to help you find a place to live, I am your man. I'm not [censored] around here. I'll be moving back to the city in a couple months and would love a roomate that i could talk poker with. PM me, even if you don't want a roomate, i can help you out with finding an apartment.

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Michigan holla?

I say get degree first, play poker later. But that's just me. Since you have so much AP credit, you might as well become partime, so finish 7 semesters of work in 4 years, taking like 10 credits a semester and basically chilling and still being able to play poker. NYC is a retarded choice for poker city. WTF. Either pick LA or Vegas, or just play online, [censored] hot bitches, drink alcohol, get retarded, learn a little bit of interesting stuff, and graduate.

College is not hard, anyone that thinks it is, is an idiot. It's an issue of time management. If you are partime, it will be EVEN EASIER to do well, play poker, and learn.

I mistakenly played an excessive number of hours senior year of college. I regret it.

PS I'm also moving this to psychology.

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Dammit.. I had written a lengthy reply when Internet Explorer crashed... Grr

Short version:
Do it. It seems like you've given this a lot of thought and you've played poker for long enough to know what it's about. You won't be happy going around listening to your parents the rest of your life. As for "your life going in the right direction"... Well you have plenty of time to change direction whenever you want to. I don't think you'll be content playing poker for the rest of your life, but a year or two in NY won't ruin your opportunities. On the contrary I think they'll broaden your horizon and give you a good experience however the outcome is.

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He must be kidding about a better school than Illinois....Anyway, you definitely want to limit the variance. I played 3/4 tables of party 10/20 NL during this summer after consistently winning at 6max 5/10. My swings were ridiculous. With over a 100k roll I had 65k down swing(some maniacal playing + tilt) , but made most of it back(26k in one night). Now you will probably not see that 2 tabling and playing TAG, but I thought it was worth pointing out. I might be an extreme case, but 50k is not a lot of money at 10/20 NL shorthanded. Just be careful with it. A lot of times after I big loss I would think about how I could be 8 tabling lower stakes full tables and slowly building up my roll. Also how much are you going to have to pay in taxes? Anyway I would still try it out. Good luck to you.

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I dont know eaxctly what i've made this year but its somewhere int eh neighborhood of 75 k ... but i dont owe till april so thats the coool part. ANy other negative criticisms of the plan besides AZK raining on my parade? Jk i want the alternative point of view , thats very important to me. And, like, I've never done anything lie kthis before. cept when i went to europe on my $ for 5 weeks last summer... what the hell do i do to get this all started? fly from (chicago) to NY and appt shop? i have friends who can/will put me up... or do I waiit till xmas break is over, spend it with family and then just bring a big suitcase and ship my comp/monitors? i feel naive... but im ambitious and excited...

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Based upon everything you've written--especially the reasons why you want to be in New York--you sound somewhat homesick and bored with your social life at your school, versus being overly dissatisfied with school itself.

Consequently, have you considered simply transfering to a school in the NYC area?

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THIS IS NOT DROPPING OUT OF SCHOOL. I WANT A DEGREE AND I AM GOING TO GET ONE

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In journalism terminology, you buried the lead. Sounds like a foray into poker is a strong draw for you, but you still have your foot firmly jammed in the college door (your GPA is good)...so as long as you stick to your pledge to not miss out on a degree, what's the problem?

And what's with the engineering girls? At my school there was just one really hot one and she was playing for the other team...sheesh.

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How many hands of poker have you played at the limit you plan on playing once you make the move?

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I say get degree first, play poker later.

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who knows how long the current poker environment will last. legislation and/or the advent of bots could kill online poker at any time, so the poker landscape could look very different by the time he gets out of college. if he really wants to do it he needs to do it now; make hay while the sun shines.

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NYC is a retarded choice for poker city. WTF. Either pick LA or Vegas, or just play online

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this is true. why nyc for poker? clubs here have all been shut down, a/c and foxwoods are at least 2.5-hrs-drive away, it's frickin' cold as a mother--and i say this as someone who LOVES the city. i guess the op being 18 is a snag for playing in most casinos, but just get a fake id.

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ok hang on... i know tstone is a while away and i dont plan to make it a base. im jus saying its something i can do for a week...also, i have a contact who deals at the clubs and he has told me there are some good ones going as we speak... but the main reason to go to NYC is I used to live there until 3 years ago. All of my friends go to school on the east coast within 1-2 hours of NYC. Basically it is the city that i feel like i will be least lonely in, have the most familiarity in, and can use to fly places like some of the EPT events etc. Its not just go to clubs and tstone... not that naive. go blue.

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I haven't read the rest of the posts, but I say DO IT! College will always be there, no need to hurry to get out.

Let me tell you my story (not poker).

I joined the Army National Guard when I was 17. I started college in the spring (a semester behind). Then in 2003, I was activated and sent to Kosovo. I missed 3 semesters. Just recently, this past May, my high school graduating class started graduating from college. I still have 2 years to go.

This Fall 05, I started, and 3 days into the semester, I got activated and sent to Louisiana after the Hurricanes. I had to withdraw from the semester. Now I'm 4 semesters behind.

My biggest dream in my life was always to become a police officer. It's just been one of those things that I have had the biggest passion for. Being down in Louisiana, seeing all of the police and the lights and all of that, it made me realize that I want to make my dream come true.

I applied to take a municipal police officer training course (Act 120), and got accepted. Now I am taking the spring semester off of school, and getting further behind. (5 semesters). At first I was going to wait, but now I feel that I have to do it and college can wait. I'm in no hurry.

I'm the same way you are, I don't feel like I'm getting anything out of college although, I WILL GET MY DEGREE, eventually. I'm not going to drop out.

So my advice, DO IT, don't regret it. College will be there.

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IMO, get your degree and play poker as a lucrative hobby.

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[ QUOTE ]
So I am 18 years old, freshman at a Big 10 school.

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Transfer to Penn State, it's the best of the Big 10.

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Short answer -- get your degree first. You'll never be sorry you did, and you'll always have something to fall back on.

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You sound like an intelligent guy and asking for advice from others demonstrates that (although asking poker players is somewhat more dodgy [img]/images/graemlins/wink.gif[/img]).
Chesspain makes a good point (what else would you expect from someone with a Freud avatar)about your mixed motivations for leaving your college. You are not enjoying your lifestyle there and you love playing poker, but there is no real reason why you should put these 2 things in opposition as a choice.
If location and friends is the issue then transfering to a NY college seems like an answer to that.
College vrs playing poker is a different question and you might make a mistake if you continue to think of it in terms of loneliness living somewhere you don't like vrs playing poker for a living. In fact it may even be an error to think of it in terms of college vrs poker - they are very compatible, why full time?

However on the whole poker vrs college choice I don't think there is any harm in giving poker a try if you really really want to do it, think you can, and have the funds. That is assuming that returning to college if it doesn't work out is an easy thing to do.
Also full time online poker during the day isn't the healthiest thing for a young man to do.
Whatever you decide I wish you luck, and I hope it works out for you.

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Maybe you can mollify your family a little by taking a class or two towards your major during your "semester off".

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[ QUOTE ]


Transfer to Penn State, it's the best of the Big 10.

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If you mean best by the worst, then yes, transfer to Penn State! j/k

I go to IUP. [img]/images/graemlins/laugh.gif[/img]

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LOL. All you people saying "do it" are retarded. As someone who just dropped out of college, you really should stay in school for at least another semester.

[ QUOTE ]
ran hot at 10-20

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won a 30 rebuy

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This is like a really bad gimmick. Go back to school, work hard playing poker over next semester and the summer, and then decide. Also, earned 75k but only have 50? Well, the government will want 25k of that, and health insurance won't be cheap either. Have a 5 buyin downswing and your life will suck.

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Do it. You're only young once. It sounds like you've got your head on straight, so take a crack at it and have an f'n awesome experience.

Did I say you're only young once? Let me say it again because when you're 34 like me, you'd give just about anything to have another crack at your youth. Seriously, as long as you're sure you'll go back to school, there's absolutely nothing wrong with living it up and taking a crack at your dream. You've got your whole life to do the 9-5 and believe me it is a grind.

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Definitely do it. You only live once.

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[ QUOTE ]
who knows how long the current poker environment will last. legislation and/or the advent of bots could kill online poker at any time, so the poker landscape could look very different by the time he gets out of college. if he really wants to do it he needs to do it now; make hay while the sun shines.

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Don't be silly. Every time the waters receded after every previous high-water mark for poker, they wound up at a higher level than before that flood. The poker economy is not going to increase without limit, but after it peaks and withdraws things will still be better than they were before the current boom. And then the next boom will come along.

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(1) You're just 18, and that poses something of a problem for live game play in most jurisdictions.

(2) New York is not the ideal place for a live-game poker pro to live. Los Angeles would be much, much better for you, assuming you could play in the cardrooms without getting in trouble for being underaged. Las Vegas or the SF Bay Area would also be good.

(3) If the poker would just be a way to make a living while you enjoyed life at home, I rather think that Chesspain is right: don't quit school; transfer to somewhere you'll be more happy.

(4) And sometimes it can take a while to find your groove in school. You've been there just one semester.

(5) You can just about always come back to school (unless you wind up married and with kids to support) I dropped out when I was 18, went back to school when I was 22, graduated when I was 25 and went on to graduate school, and dropped out again when I was 29. Now, at 46, I've been in school again for a year ... and have been making my bloody-awful expensive tuition by playing cards.

In your shoes, knowing what I know at 46, I think I would stay where I was at least until the summer break, getting a full year under my belt. Things could change. You could find a girlfriend. You could find your groove. You could win a seat in an online-sponsored tournament in Aruba and win it and make a million dollars. If things look tough right now, just remember that This, Too, Shall Pass. If nothing else, having the poker-playing escape to New York as an option may give you the strength to carry on where you are.

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I think this sounds like a terrible idea. If you don't like your living arrangement, change it. Getting back into college after taking time off is tougher than you might think.

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I say stick with college cause if you go on to chase your poker dreams and fail, you are screwed. Get a degree and career and have poker as a hobby not as a job.

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Now that I think about it, why not push through spring semester/quarter and do this in the summer? Hell, do it every summer. It's the best of both worlds - you're staying on track in school and your "summer job" is something you enjoy.