Convince me this is a terrible idea.

[Klepton]

I play 4 table 3-6

I make 40/hr

I'm got kicked outta school because of bad grades while playing poker all day.

I'm trying to get back into school.

You've made 700 at MICRO limits

STAY IN SCHOOL

[Trainwreck]

You sound like me at that time in my life.

Although at the time POKER wasn't exactly an option.

Question I have is, HOW have you not flunked out already if you are a horrible student at a good school?

At least get some certifications such as A+ (starter comp job cert. for example) if you decide to drop out.

Best of luck, this is one of the hardest times of your life, been there!

>TW<

[marley81]

i'm a senior in college and trust me i hate school as much as anyone, however quitting to try to play poker for a living isn't that great of an idea in my opinion. There are only a limited amount of pro's and most of them have been playing for years. 10k hands of experience is like 2 or 3 days for some people. So many people have your same ideas, and to consistantly win enough money to pay bills while still learning the game seems virtually impossible. I've won about 2k online, and i consider myself a decent player at best, no where near a professional. I suggest you stay in school at least for another 1 1/2 to get ur BA. After that you can go after your ph.d whenever. Don't forget these colleges are constantly changing there requirements, if you lose a year or two of time, you might have to take additional classes or even retake classes to finish your BA. I suggest you continue going to school and playing poker in your spare time. But thats just my opinion. Good luck with whatever you choose.

[JoshuaD]

[ QUOTE ]
Question I have is, HOW have you not flunked out already if you are a horrible student at a good school?

[/ QUOTE ]

I've failed a few clases, but I tend to get A's in classes I'm interested in. I've probably got a 3.5 for in major classes, and somewhere around a 2.5 over all.

If it's something I'm interested in, I don't need to study for the finals, and I just do the work because I enjoy doing it.

[pokerswami]

JoshuaD:
Here is something that I'm surprised hasn't been suggested to you yet.
** If you require being interested in something to do well at it without it being abhorant drudgery, then that will hold true of poker as well.
** You are interested in your CS curiculum.
** As interest in poker is growing rapidly, there is a growing need for CS types who know poker.
** Having a background in CS and poker will make you a more attractive employee.
** If you get your degree you will have demonstrated to all potential employers that you have the fortitude to complete a difficult, long-term project.
** If you get a poker related CS job, your degree + your stable work history + your experience + your greater knowledge will make your work and life possibilities much, much easier.
** The time you spend on the job(CS) will add to your understanding and command of gambling and poker. You will have an even greater advantage over most poker adversaries. You will be getting paid money, health insurance, retirement, enhanced life opportunities, and more while you learn to play better against your many struggling, near bankrupt poker foes.

You're smart enough to grasp at least some of the implications here.
Plus this is one of the main implications of the previous posts:

***** If you finish your BS degree there is ZERO % chance of your ever regretting not having finished your degree. *****

Take it from me - if you don't finish it, then you will regret it.

I edited this post after I first posted it. You can't go back in time and edit your life. I didn't learn that early enough in my life. Learning that there are no do-overs in life is part of growing wiser. You can learn this truth from others experience and willingness to teach you, or you can wait until you've made enough mistakes that you come to realize it on your own. That there are so many libraries in the world is evidence of our ability to learn from the experience and insight of others. You can choose to learn from us or not. It's your choice.

[ucfryan]

[ QUOTE ]
I'm 20 years old in my third year as a Computer Science/Math Major at a good school.

I'm a very smart person, however, I've never had a good work ethic. I never studied and I've never had much patience for classes I wasn't interested in. Simply put: I'm a smart person and a terrible student.

[/ QUOTE ]

Wow. I am in the EXACT same boat right now. I'm a 20 year old/3rd year Comp Sci major/Math minor at a good school and I've lost interest in school the past semester. Now to read the rest of your post..

Alright, it really does sound like we're in the exact same boat. I'm taking next semester off to clear my head and I'll be working and playing poker. My parents aren't going to continue to pay my rent and my bills if I'm not in school, so I figure for food + entertainment + rent I have to come up with around $900 for all of that, and any remaining will probably go directly to my poker bankroll.

The thing is though, it's been a really rough semester for me. I started really playing poker seriously at the beginning of the semester and fell behind early. Two of my classes are pretty much a complete wash, and the other two I've done just enough to get by. My parents will probably cut me off completely as far as money goes if I tell them what's happened so I don't really know what I'm going to do about that.

I guess my plan is kind of similar to yours, work and play poker for a while. I do, however, plan on coming back and finishing up, but I guess the question is when. I'd either have to work and go to school at the same time (which I'd rather not do considering I'm not a very hard worker and a severe underachiever), or save up enough money playing poker and working to where I can pay my rent/tuition/food for a semester or two. I don't know if it would be to stressful to rely on poker to pay the bills while I'm attending school. If I start running bad, I've pretty much screwed myself because there's no guarantee that I can find a job in time.

In any case, I think it will be an interesting few months and I'm looking forward to it. Everything happens for a reason though, so I'm gonna take this road and see where it leads me to. It seems you are a lot like me though, and the fact that our situations are so similar is kind of funny. I wish you luck with your endeavor though, have fun with it.

[phixxx]

[ QUOTE ]
I edited this post after I first posted it. You can't go back in time and edit your life.

[/ QUOTE ]

I like that line. I think I'll use it from now on.

[JoshuaD]

[ QUOTE ]
[ QUOTE ]
I'm 20 years old in my third year as a Computer Science/Math Major at a good school.

I'm a very smart person, however, I've never had a good work ethic. I never studied and I've never had much patience for classes I wasn't interested in. Simply put: I'm a smart person and a terrible student.

[/ QUOTE ]

Wow. I am in the EXACT same boat right now. I'm a 20 year old/3rd year Comp Sci major/Math minor at a good school and I've lost interest in school the past semester. Now to read the rest of your post..

Alright, it really does sound like we're in the exact same boat. I'm taking next semester off to clear my head and I'll be working and playing poker. My parents aren't going to continue to pay my rent and my bills if I'm not in school, so I figure for food + entertainment + rent I have to come up with around $900 for all of that, and any remaining will probably go directly to my poker bankroll.

The thing is though, it's been a really rough semester for me. I started really playing poker seriously at the beginning of the semester and fell behind early. Two of my classes are pretty much a complete wash, and the other two I've done just enough to get by. My parents will probably cut me off completely as far as money goes if I tell them what's happened so I don't really know what I'm going to do about that.

I guess my plan is kind of similar to yours, work and play poker for a while. I do, however, plan on coming back and finishing up, but I guess the question is when. I'd either have to work and go to school at the same time (which I'd rather not do considering I'm not a very hard worker and a severe underachiever), or save up enough money playing poker and working to where I can pay my rent/tuition/food for a semester or two. I don't know if it would be to stressful to rely on poker to pay the bills while I'm attending school. If I start running bad, I've pretty much screwed myself because there's no guarantee that I can find a job in time.

In any case, I think it will be an interesting few months and I'm looking forward to it. Everything happens for a reason though, so I'm gonna take this road and see where it leads me to. It seems you are a lot like me though, and the fact that our situations are so similar is kind of funny. I wish you luck with your endeavor though, have fun with it.

[/ QUOTE ]

I hope you read the rest of the responses in the thread, and change your mind. Everyone in this thread is right when they say finish the degree. I can't say it any better than anyone here has, so read the thread, take the advice to heart, and finish college.

You and I are wrong to leave school, like someone else said, we're looking for a way out, and we won't find it in poker. Anyway, this thread convinced me that I need to stay in school, I hope it does the same for you.

Thanks for the good wishes, good luck to you too.

[Dick in Phoenix]

... [img]/images/graemlins/smirk.gif[/img] ... Dick

[Dick in Phoenix]

Joshua - I'm glad you decided to stay in school. Take special note of pokerswami's post above - I'm disappointed that I didn't have that idea for you myself.

I would have LOVED a career programming games of any kind. But it has also been fun writing software to either detect or attack enemy planes and ships! (To each his own...)

Dick