How Much Would I Have To Make?

[sthief09]

I feel like a lot of people are hesitant to throw out a number. what if I threw one out? 300k-500k pre-taxes. not saying I'll fall within this. it would probably be my goal though and depending on how many hours I play I think the low end is attainable. if I could make that for each of the next 2 years, is it worth it?

[timprov]

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My current goal is to be a freelance photographer who plays poker and plays a harmonica in a rock band in his spare time. I'm not sure how realistic this is.


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This made me laugh into my low-E Special 20.

[Piz0wn0reD!!!!!!]

stheif09: "I am a math guy. I need numbers for everything. "

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Poker. 'nuff said.

[TimsterToo]

Don't just say you travelled for a year, TRAVEL FOR A YEAR!

Just make sure you have a WiFi connection everywhere you go. (I offer free WiFi in my bar in Amsterdam for instance) and travel the world. See stuff, do stuff, earn money on the go. This is a fantastic opportunity!

You'll get to know yourself a lot better, will learn a lot of new things, will go through a couple of shifts of paradigm and will be more interesting for companies when you return.

If you make the money online you say you make you can go anywhere you want and stay as long as you want. Take your girlfriend, it'll be something that will bind you forever (or you find out you can't stand each other anymore but that will save you a lot of grief and $$ if you find that out now instead of over 10 years [img]/images/graemlins/tongue.gif[/img])

I can guarantee you that you'll come back as a person who's better equipped to take on the rest of his live. I think you call it sowing your oats? In the Netherlands we call it getting rid of your wild hair [img]/images/graemlins/wink.gif[/img]

I own a bar in Amsterdam but if I'd be able to make your kind of money with online poker I'd rent it out, buy a big motorhome and take my girlfriend, baby daugther, bloody big dog and drive through the cheaper (and strangely enough sunnier)parts of Europe and save money while having a fantastic time.

You can buy a nice bungalow in southern France for 50.000$ (will be small though) You can use that as home base and sell it once you go back.

If you can set up in Thailand you can live for 20$ a day and live well! Imagine how much money you'd be able to save in a year!! You could get fired a couple of times or get fed up and change jobs without getting into financial problems straight away.

I'm certainly not saying go pro for the rest of your life, you can't decide things like that when you're 21. But if that's what you want for the coming year, you're in a fantastic position to combine a couple of things that are really great to do when you're 21.

[sthief09]

thank you for a really great post. travelling is something I have considered doing. I didn't study abroad and it's something I regret. I actually asked her about it in passing and she said she'd be really interested in it, even if it was for a while.

[Jeff W]

$300k is definitely enough... I would go pro in your shoes if it meant I'd make ~$125k.

How many hours do you need to play per week to make $300k?

Will you play enough hours? Will you be depressed if you fail to meet your expectations?

I'm a "pro" and I have trouble putting in consistent hours. Don't underestimate how hard it is to motivate yourself, especially when you've had self-motivation problems in the past.

If I were in your situation I would not care about my father's approval or my girlfriend's parents' approval. You can't let other people rule your life. If you continue to be successful, they will eventually accept your decision.

[Ulysses]

In your spot, I'd give poker serious consideration for 200k or higher.

[ThaHero]

I'd say 500k, if you just need a number. 500k could possibly make up for the 1 year you will lose, and also give you money to invest. But then again you don't even know if you will like your job(I assume) so maybe a little cushion is needed if you need to find another.

I don't think it's possible to put a number on happiness. By the same token, I'm not a "numbers" guy myself.

Honestly, if I had decent living quarters, a girlfriend/wife that was ok with whatever I did, food, a car, and enough money to visit relatives and travel, I'd be happy. It could just be 50k a year, or even 30k, I'd be happy. But it seems for you, money is a much larger issue, and so are the thoughts of others. I also care very little what other people think of me outside my very very core group of 3-4 people.

If your main goal is to impress you parents and in laws and other people, then I think grad school is the best route as that is something that is very impressive and you will also get paid more with one once you complete it.

[sthief09]

I'm surprised you picked a number so low because I have seen you write things in the past that made me think that you really value work experience. so I'm wondering why. because I can invest that and make a bundle? because you don't think I'll be able to get a good enough job for it to be worht getting that work experience? you are one of the people I really hoped would respond, so I'm curious what your thought process is on this. thanks.

[SCfuji]

hey sthief.

i think your relationship with your father is comparable to that of my relationship with my father.

background: my parents are first generation japanese - father is a japanese man living in the u.s. and my mother has become americanized since she doesnt hang out with japanese business men everyday.

the relationship between father and children has a very distinct gap. there really isnt much emotion shown, ever. but when i graduated from college my dad was constantly asking me what i was going to do with my life and this and that and i felt like i was always under pressure to fill his shoes because hes a person that did well for himself coming from a shitty poor family that was still feeling the effects of the second world war.

i dont know why im rambling but the point of all this is that my father ended up telling me that he just wants to see me happy and become successful in whatever i want to do as long as he thinks it will be something where i can have a family of my own and have a good future. obviously telling him about poker wasnt exactly something that he thought i would have a good future in so now hes always just trying to help me get a job in whatever i tell him im interested in.

hopefully when you sit down and talk with your father again face to face that you two will share some feelings and can come to a happy compromise. what i learned from all this was that my father only wants the best for me. im sure your father only wants the best for you.

goodluck at columbia and with whatever happens but hopefully poker and 2+2 will always be a part of the future you choose.

thanks for all the help,
eugene