All these college kids who want to go pro

[college kid]

You said $25K per month right??? Please elaborate. I am very interested in this. Even at the loose $600-$2000 buy in games on Party--I mean how much do you play???? Damn. Please elaborate.

[college kid]

Best post I've seen in a while. Damn right.

[popniklas]

</font><blockquote><font class="small">Svar till:</font><hr />
sticky this

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[Mike Cuneo]

I think a lot of college kids see poker on TV and don't really know a lot about how the game is played. They only see what is on TV and this is hardly what poker is if you are a pro. I'm 19 and finished with one year of college. I play a ton of poker, online and in live games, with decent results. Last year I lost about $2500, which was a big part of my summer earnings (I had a job that paid $9.50 per hour, 40 hours per week). But this year I have made it all back and am showing a modest gain overall of perhaps $750. In high school my grades were above average (I had a 3.4 qpa) but in my freshman year of college I only pulled a 1.88. Poker definitly had a lot to do with it, but also living on my own was a new experience and I had to get used to dealing with all that freedom. Some days it was just better to watch SportsCenter than go to class. I take full responsibility; my grades are a reflection of the work I put into my studies. I would say in the past 5-6 months I have been considering going pro, but I am so far away from actually doing it that it's just a thought right now. However there are several reasons I would want to go pro.

1. Freedom. I work as a cashier now and make a little over min. wage. It's boring and really pointless to me. I only do it for the paycheck. I mean, now and then I'll get a customer who I enjoy talking to, and I don't mind my coworkers, it's just really a pointless job and it has limited potential for me. Poker lets you choose your hours and you don't have to do extra work or answer to angry bosses while getting the same amount of money. The more work you do as a player, the more money you will make.

2. Income. A few years ago, while working my way to become editor-in-chief of my high school newspaper, I wanted to become a sports journalist. Until I did an internship and found out they make about $45k per year, tops. Since then I have always wanted to get involved with stocks. If poker doesn't work out I plan on getting into the stock/commodities market. Also, on my good nights playing poker I have made over $800 playing as small as $1/2 NL. That's over 120 hours of work for me at my job as a cashier.

3. Competition. I personally do not get bored playing poker. I can put in 8 hours a day easily and not get tired or bored. The competition is what drives me to keep playing. I love the game. That's why I am considering going pro. Because I love the game. I think once I plug some leaks I can make it as a pro. I enjoy working on my game and trying to get better.

Now, there are many roadblocks ahead for me also, if I decide to go pro.

1. Discipline. I definitly need to become much more patient and play a lot tighter. This is my #1 leak.

2. Money management. I am getting better at this, and not playing at the highest limit I can afford just to try and get lucky and have a big win.

3. Orginization. Keeping track of my results will help me decide if I can make the jump to go pro. Seeing it in black and white will make it a lot more real to me.

For me, it has nothing to do with ethics or morals really. If I can become good enough to go pro and make six figures, I will. There is a lot to be said for both sides, however. A big part of it with college kids is most don't know what they want to do with themselves. I know it's true for me. Eventually I want to get married and start a family, but right now I don't even have a girlfriend. I just enjoy freedom and doing what I want. And as I stated above, I love poker and I want to get better and better. I don't just want to win a small amount, I want to CRUSH the games I play in. And I think that's another one of my problems. I need to be more steady and just take small wins and losses instead of huge swings either way.

[Schwags]

I aggree...

the argument with saying poker is not a way to help society is right, but at the same time look at NBA, MLB, and all sports pros. They get paid to run around a field and make millions a year. If given the oppurtunity to take advantage of making good money and you can... take it.

I guess the only difference is your taking money from people that dont know what they are doing and may be risking their gas money... but if thats the case, give them some gas money when they leave =)

[gildwulf]

I just graduated from a Canadian university and have been playing poker for almost a year. This summer I have been lucky enough to have the time to play 30-40 hrs. a week of online poker while working part-time as a research assistant. Since April, I've made $3K US from a $200 bankroll 4-tabling at 1/2 and 20+2 SNGs (and bonus whoring); my research job pays the rent and poker pays for everything else. Without this extra income (my professor cannot hire me for anymore hours this summer) I would not be able to have the quality of life I have this summer. Thanks to poker I can buy plane tickets to visit my gf, go to concerts, etc.

I also played 15-20 hrs. a week in my last semester of college while maintaining straight As. I will be attending a top-five US graduate school in the fall and hope to find a sweet job when I get out.

A few points:

1) People that fail out of school from playing too much poker would probably fail out of school for doing too much of something else anyways. This has more to do with personality type than anything else.

2) University is all about learning time management skills, and if students are unable to juggle poker and school, I doubt they have the time management skills to fulfill their maximum potential earning power and utility in 'the real world'.

3) I agree that on average it is +EV to stay in school. However, it's also clear from some previous posts that a fair amount of people just aren't cut out for university. Period. And forcing people to take classes isn't going to improve their quality of life at all. Wasting $40,000 US a year (in the states, at least) doing something you hate sounds pretty -EV to me.

[sexdrugsmoney]

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I work with students every day on a college campus, and it alarms me to see the number of posts on the 2+2 psychology forums from college students, whose only career plan seems to be playing poker for a living. At first there were only a few, but lately there's been a flood of "Should I drop out/Yes I'm dropping out/My grades are in the tank cause I play poker instead of studying but who cares I'm making 20K online/I'm going pro so I don't need college anyway" type of posts.

I think this is a serious problem that needs to be addressed. College students are one of the biggest reasons for the current poker boom. I have no doubt that online poker is creating many, many addicted gamblers on college campuses across the country. Many of these players are giving no thought to their future, other than plotting their carreer as a professional poker player when they graduate (or flunk out).

I think that the many winning college players on this board who are contemplating a pro career, need to be honest with themselves and examine their priorities. Some things to think about for all the "future pros" out there...

1. 20k or 30k a year might seem awesome in college when you have no expenses - but in the real world it's nothing. Just because you can make that much playing lower-limit games after classes, does not mean you'll still be able to win when you move up in limits and try to make enough money to live on or support a family.

2. You might not be as good as you think. Do you honestly think all these wannabe pros are really good enough to make poker their livelihood? It's like every college basketball player thinking they'll just quit school and join the NBA. Most of the winning college players will never be good enough to earn a decent living from the game.

3. The games will probably never be easier than they are right now. They will almost certainly get harder in the future, when the poker fad dies down and the fish aren't so plentiful. Just because you can win now, doesn't mean you will continue to win indefinitely. When the games tighten up and you're no longer winning, you're faced with the prospect of finding a "real" job, with no employment history and perhaps no degree.

4. Work is (hopefully) more than a paycheck. Poker as a career is not particularly useful to society. It doesn't help anyone, and it is not necessarily the best use of your unique talents. I know from experience that it's hard to convince college students of this point. They may have friends who recently graduated, who are now working lousy entry-level jobs for low pay. The transition from the fun, comparatively carefree life of a college student, to the full-time workforce is a tough one. So of course, playing poker might sound like a good alternative. But there are many people who absolutely love their jobs - even if they had to suffer through a few years on the bottom rung of the career ladder before they got there. Playing poker is not the only route out of wage-slave hell. A fulfilling career, with poker a profitable hobby on the side, is probably the ideal situation for most people. If you cannot think of another career that could even remotely interest you besides playing poker, you probably need to spend some time examining yourself and what you really want out of life.

5. Playing a gambling game for a living is not an easy life, physically or psychologically. I'd guess there aren't many who are really equipped to handle it. Something that might seem easy when you are playing for extra spending money in college can seem a lot tougher when you are playing to pay for your kid's braces or next month's mortgage payment.

Yes, there are some who may possibly have the rare combination of psychological makeup and poker skills to make a go of a pro career. But many, many more will not. Before the WPT and the current television poker boom, you never heard young college students planning to play poker for a living. Instead they planned to become doctors, architects, schoolteachers, or whatever else they felt passionate about. I worry that today, many college students are ignoring their god-given talents in favor of what they mistakenly perceive as an easy life of big money. This is not only harmful to the individual, but it hurts society as a whole. It robs the rest of us of their contributions, while they sit in front of an LCD screen pushing virtual chips around a table.

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That's one thing that's bad about the poker explosion, people who have alot of "outs" in real life are giving them up to play poker.

Sure I can understand if you are running out of options in life and you love poker it's a good last out but I know revots33 is talking about real smart kids who are studying science, law, and medicine who are tempted by the poker world.

Obviously it's every individuals right to choose their path and do what they love, my main concern is that if these kids don't complete their studies, they are putting all their eggs in the 'poker' basket, and if it doesn't work ... they may regret it.

[Carnite]

10k for 5mil? Try putting 10k on the right roulette number, then let it ride.

[CHiPS]

I think the original post is good advice for college students. If you are in college, finish your degree. The more well rounded you are with your education, the better you will be able to handle any future career, even if it does turn out to be poker.
I do also understand the situation where someone is stuck either working minimum wage or if they truly are a winning player, playing poker. In that case poker has its attractiveness as a full time alternative. But if you are in college don't drop out is my advice.
I would guess that most students that think they could make a living at poker or would enjoy doing that for a living, might not feel the same way after a year or two. Remember there is a lot of luck in this game. Unless you have gone through some serious downswings and come out the other side, you have yet to experience the nature of the game. If you are really good it will surface as you play part time. Give yourself enough time to go through some ups and downs and climb up the learning curve without making an "all in" decision on poker as a career.
A poker player with a college degree under his or her belt can also approach poker with a better frame of mind. If poker does not pan out for you - or the laws change - then you have the degree to fall back on. This helps your state of mind when pursuing the game. If you have dropped out of school to play and it does not work out, you will be back at square 1 again. And the pressure of that possibility may have adverse effects on your game.

[PokerProdigy]

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enjoyed my field of study: mathematics. I never thought about going to college in the hope of obtaining a good job,good income,Etc. I earned my BS degree after 10 years of part-time study. At 61 years of age,I still enjoy learning mathematics. I continue with private study.
SittingBull

SittingBull

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Well then, I definitely compliment you on your desire and pursuit of knowledge.