Schoonmaker "Don't Quit Your Day Job" (yeah, it's long)

[MaxPower]

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When I go pro, my plan is to play at least 20K - 30K/week. If I 12 table, which I probably will at least experiment with, that number of course goes up 50%. The rakeback increase alone makes this very attractive.

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that's a recipe for burnout and poor results

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I think you should listen to goodguy_1. He knows what he is talking about from experience.

I hope you really love poker.

[flair1239]

What about rakeback uncertainty... On the Party Network anyways.

How much are you counting on Rakeback if at all?

[meep_42]

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Are you serious Dan? That amazes me. My mortage is at about 6.5% I figured it up on a mortgage calculator and it ended up being about $350,000 in interest over 30 years. To build the place and buy the land, I paid $288,000. $280,000 of that is in a loan for 30 years.

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Every single personal investment book i've read has echoed the same advice. Lemme go to amazon and see if I can find on that comes to mind... Here we go... This guy is very good, he used to have a half-hour segment on the local news channel here and has been in the business for a while. Definitely worth a look, I think.

I'll explain the rationale a little, though, just for kicks.

You're paying 6.5% interest on your mortgage. You get some % of that back by itemizing the interest on your taxes -- we'll say 2.5%. So, effectively, you're paying 4% interest. Right now, you can get an ING CD for 4%+, thus making money, even though you have the debt. (This is also why paying extra on your mortgage by taking out of your 401k is bad -- I know that's not what you're doing -- because you get 100% interest on your first 6% of salary.)

Follow?

-d

[pokerstudAA]

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4. It's a dreary life.

He talks about long hours at the table, rejected by society, eating at the table, stress of unpredictable income, etc.

My answer: Again, I think all of these relate to someone just playing live. I think I answered all these in the other point he made.

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You dont think the sitting in front of your computer monitor all day clicking a mouse qualifies as long hours at the table? The income is somewhat unpredictable at all levels and always will be. And rejected by society - try explaining your "job" to the average joe/jane on the street. It is not quite a nice job like "financial analyist" you have no employer. Most people will view you as a compulsive gambler who probably is broke. 40 hours a week of poker can be a dreary job.

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5. If something did go wrong, I have a degree, speak several languages, etc. that stack my resume. I don't think I'll have a tough time getting another good paying job if I don't want to play pro anymore or if something goes wrong.


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When this poker boom dies out many "online poker pros" will be looking for pizza delivery jobs. Having a degree makes this soooo much better. Transitioning back into the real working world could be more difficult than you think. We need to come up with a way to explain this one to prospective employers. Most still only view poker as "gambling."

[QTip]

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What about rakeback uncertainty... On the Party Network anyways.

How much are you counting on Rakeback if at all?

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That's been a serious thought of mine. I'm not sure how to handle this. I can't help but think, though, that some site, if not party, would be willing to work out a deal with someone who's going to be playing a million to a million and a half hands / year.

I wish there was a way to say that they will always have something like that, but I don't. Of couse, other sites will probably still have it like pokerroom and so forth. There has always been a lot of talk about this in the internet forum...

[flair1239]

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What about rakeback uncertainty... On the Party Network anyways.

How much are you counting on Rakeback if at all?

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That's been a serious thought of mine. I'm not sure how to handle this. I can't help but think, though, that some site, if not party, would be willing to work out a deal with someone who's going to be playing a million to a million and a half hands / year.

I wish there was a way to say that they will always have something like that, but I don't. Of couse, other sites will probably still have it like pokerroom and so forth. There has always been a lot of talk about this in the internet forum...

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I have it on Absolute and UB.

But 8-tables for 40 hours means that however you slice it, a significant percentage of your time is going to be on Party... like it or not.

I would think for the first couple month anyway, you should really do a lot of Bonus whoring of smaller sites. This might ease the transition a little as it would be steady income.

Have you looked into propping?

[ckessel]

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2. I'm completely convinced that I can easily make twice what I make at my current job.


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I think you're discounting the stress of not having a fixed known income. I heartily suggest, if you think you'll easily make 2x as much, then just go for 1.25x or 1.5x and take the rest of the time off. Don't make it a 40hr/week job.

I know if I wanted to go pro, I've already told myself I need to earn 2x/hr what I'm making now (which would be tough as I do pretty well in software). I know the stress would eat at me, the first month where I was negative would make me question myself, my path, my ability to support my family.

[QTip]

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Also marriage pressures. You and your wife will be together a lot. This changes the whole marriage "dynamic".

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Hahaha...that's one of the first things I told him. Except I think I just asked if his wife could handle having him home all the time!

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I tried to be delicate, cause marrigae is personal... and I am divorced so obviously I am not good at it anyway.

But that said, I don't think no matter how much I loved a woman, that I could be around them almost constantly. It is funny to say, but I think it is probably one of the more important issues in this decision.

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I've been thinking about this as well. Thanks for your thoughts there...no need to be delicate. Jess and I have always had a very strong relationship and best friends; however, I do think this is something to consider. My thoughts are putting my computer in a separate room and staying there behind closed doors for 4 hours sessions. Perhaps this would be more like being away...I don't know.

[SpaceAce]

What limits do you play and what's the worst run you've ever had?

Al is a great guy and knows a lot about poker and the lifestyle that surrounds it. His recommendations are based on a lot of solid reality. Poker can be extremely rough on the psyche. I'm sure you think you already know that but it becomes a lot more powerful when your rent is due.

I've been playing online more and more and I think I've accidentally become semi-pro. I was playing live with Dr. Al yesterday morning and I actually meant to talk to him about that but it slipped my mind. You should consider sending him a private message and asking him to expound on his reasons and your answers to them.

SpaceAce

[QTip]

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What limits do you play and what's the worst run you've ever had?

Al is a great guy and knows a lot about poker and the lifestyle that surrounds it. His recommendations are based on a lot of solid reality. Poker can be extremely rough on the psyche. I'm sure you think you already know that but it becomes a lot more powerful when your rent is due.

I've been playing online more and more and I think I've accidentally become semi-pro. I was playing live with Dr. Al yesterday morning and I actually meant to talk to him about that but it slipped my mind. You should consider sending him a private message and asking him to expound on his reasons and your answers to them.

SpaceAce

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Who's Dr. Al?