Should I go back to school?

[freekobe]

I generally hate posts like these and almost never respond, but I'm compelled to respond to this one.

Just stop and think for 20 minutes about this.

You are 22. You are young. You have no responsibilities in your life. Poker and the University of Oklahoma are not mutually exclusive, particularly because you claim you're really smart (which, given the fact that you posted this here and flunked a semester at a mediocre school is doubtful, but I digress).

How much time per week out of your life would it take to complete three semesters of school? If you think you have your life all figured out (which, by the way, I promise you that you don't), take classes in subjects you enjoy. Make it worthwhile. Learn another language. Take some psychology classes.

When you're 32 in 10 yrs and the pharmacy thing didn't work for x, y, or z reason, you'll be glad you finished school. If you don't do it now, you'll have to go back with all those annoying 20 yr olds when you have a kid or two at home and a wife who doesn't feel like taking care of the kids while you suffer through classes with kids who think they know it all.

Going back to undergraduate school when you're older is only cool if you're Rodney Dangerfield in Back to School. When you do it in real-life, you're a loser.

If you pass up three more semesters of school while you're 22 yrs, I can assure you you're not as smart as you think. If things don't work out for you, I can promise you that "College dropout" on your resume isn't going to seduce employers.

And if you think you can survive on Internet poker for the next forty yrs, well, more power to you. That's not something I'd want to bank on, regardless of how good I was. Tons of top pros go broke all the time - I'm not saying it'll happen to you, but it could.

A degree is a form of insurance. Not to take it for free at age 22 will probably be the worst decision of your life. Good luck.