poker is a way of life vs. poker is just a hobby

[KaneKungFu123]

but what if you get a 'real' job and find out that you dont want to do that for 40 hours/week either?
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i've gotten into these discussions many times, and got some good posts if you can find it in the archives in the NL section unders someething like "poker journal." everyone is going to tell you don't drop out of school, keep it a hobby. every once in a while for a few days i'll plya a lot of poker and think i could do it for a living, but i'm only do that for a few days and even then i'm not really happy doing it. stay in school

btw matt i am very surprised to hear you say that.

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[LuvDemNutz]

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but what if you get a 'real' job and find out that you dont want to do that for 40 hours/week either?


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Get a different job.

[Popinjay]

if you really want to be a pro imo you have to study the game just as much as you play it.

[creedofhubris]

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if you really want to be a pro imo you have to study the game just as much as you play it.

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I agree.

The question is whether to do so, or to continue to treat it as a fun hobby that is also quite profitable.

[GimmeDaWatch]

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My recommendation? Focus on other stuff and keep poker a sideline. There's a ton of stuff much more interesting (some of which is also more profitable) than poker.

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Realllllly? I find alot of things interesting, but I would have assumed that everyone answering this post, especially you sir, would at least agree that poker is extremely interesting. I don't think there's anything wrong with being immersed in poker, any more than there's anything wrong with being immersed in literature if that's your thing, or a balance of the two if you so choose. I dont think anyone can really tell you which you're more interested in, but whichever it is should occupy a proportionally greater amount of your time. Sounds like you've got the scrill already and don't even give a [censored], so that's a non-issue.

[fireitup123]

"the biggest advantage for poker players is the ability to travel and live in cheaper BETTER country. I spend about $700/month living a life style that would run me atleast 5-6K in the States."

Where might that be?

[CrackAttack]

If the only way you're going to be "pro" is by playing the 10-20 game you aren't comfortable doing, then keep it as a hobby. However, If poker has been your sole/primary source of income for over a year and 1/2 now... it seems like its time to by the pokertracker, check out a few books from the library, and realize.. you already are playing poker porfessionally. Also, if you can make 200k a year playing poker and your current 2/5 3/6 game, whats the need to jump up in stakes. You're making a better living at 200k a year then you will doing anything with your english masters.

[Chaostracize]

I have been thinking about this a lot lately, as well. I've taken a 3 week break to think about whether or not I want to make this my life.

I am a Junior, with one more year to go to get my Soc degree; a major which is basically an admittance of not knowing why you're in college. There really isn't much to fall back on with this major unless you like doing charity work or you want to go back to school to get a PhD (which I may end up doing).

For a good month I was playing 3/6 and started trying my luck at 5/10. I was making pretty good money, but my life seemed so vapid and meaningless when I did it. I did little schoolwork and I wasn't really happy, which really confused me. Poker, I thought, was about making money, and money, I thought, would make me happy. I am realizing it doesn't. What I'm realizing is that money doesn't make you happy, but you still need it to be happy. The difference is so minute, so subtle, but it's so profound to me.

So now my predicament is deciding how to devote what percentage of healthy 20s to making money and how much I should dedicate to being happy? And I am having a consistently harder time figuring out which will be longterm better for me.

Poker itself makes me happy, when I play for extended hours I feel meaningless. And I'm starting to come to the conclusion that I want to fail at something meaningful than succeed at something meaningless. But it seems like there have to be better options than just these.

I'll tell some friends the money-making capabilities I have when it comes to cards and they are astonished. They wonder why I don't play non-stop, and when I explain that I'm beginning to resent poker in that it's such a selfish form of making money, the disconnect begins. They can't understand why I would be hesitant to continue down a path that makes easy money. And I agree to an extent; until I remember the long hours, the eye strain, the sore back, the feeling that what I'm doing are not furthering myself as a human being. I think above all that is what is most important to me. I want to further myself as a human being, and poker does not add to that.

To end this rambling I just want to reiterate that am completely understanding of what you are going through Creed. I think one of my biggest fears is that I'll choose the wrong path for myself and end up regretting it because I'll have done nothing with my life. At 20 this is somewhat extreme, but I admit, I'm terrified. Money really is not everything.

[NiceCatch]

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with one more year to go to get my Soc degree

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No, I said I wanted LARGE fries with that angst.

[Matt Flynn]

"satisfied," not "sufficient."