keep trying to overwhelm them with evidence that it's not simply degenerate gambling. any type of gambling does have a very negative connotation with alot of people, and it's not unusual that this worries your parents. I've convinced my parents that poker is more then just gambling, my father (a shrink) is cool with it, my mother is convinced that A:it's going to spiral out of control B: i'm victimizing people. i'm not worried about A, and i've come to term with B. (Alot of professions involve screwing people out of their money, atleast in poker we're up front about it. I'm a 22 year old college student as well. I like to travel alot. After highschool, my parents stopped paying for my frequent traveling. I upped my poker playing, essentially to pay for my frequent traveling. I only told my parents about the extent of my poker earnings earlier this year after my mother asked me if i was "selling dope" because i'd gone on a couple 10 day vacations to california and costa rica. While there is no reason to expect your parents to support your poker playing, you should not feel guilty, even in the absence of their approval. Keep assuring them you plan on getting a "real job" after school, and let the proverbial chips fall where they may.