Quitting my job for poker was a great idea

[Pokeraddict]

I figured with the "quitting my job was a bad idea" thread I would start one about a success story. I hope I do not get flamed for this as I know poker is not a job many can do full time. As a matter of fact I would discourage most people from doing it. You better have great math skills that can work in a split second and the patience to deal with the massive suck outs that have caused me to break a mouse every few months. But those of us who left their good jobs, or in my case bad one, poker has been a life changing career.

I did not go to college, went into the work force delivering pizza and eventually managed a Papa John's. I managed and delivered for them for nearly 10 years. They were once a company that took care of people but this changed as, in my opinion, people who have no idea what they are doing took over the company and now have left it in shambles. I was injured in a car accident on the clock and had to take time off and after a while went part time. I had endless problems getting them to even pay for medical bills, something under the law they are obligated, especially since the bills were from the people they sent me to and agreed over phone with the providers to pay. The bigger the stink I made about these unpaid bills (I was receiving late notices in the mail) the more hostile the work place became.

During this break 2 years ago I started playing poker at Americas Card Room. Like many others I did not tell my wife I was playing online. I was already a Betcris customer so transfers were easy. Old schoolers will remember the 4 nights a week of free $50 for 200 hands. I had played poker all my life but not holdem. I know I was a fish. The only thing that kept me floating was all the free money.

After a while I established a decent game. I took a prop job at Big Bet and turned a few hundred dollars into over $10,000. I was starting to really feel the push at work to get me out the door as I could not manage anymore due to my back injury. Finally after they made up some total BS I quit and told my wife what I had been doing. She was pissed that I had been "gambling" online as she is very conservative. She got over this when I showed her I had 5 digits in my prepaidatm account. This was about 14 months ago.

After a few months I got so comfortable with poker income I made a sucks.com to my employer to tell the world how poorly they handled the situation and also as a joke. What a better way to tell an ex employer that screwed you how you feel right? I never could have done this without being self employed.

Now I am a full time 5/10 and 10/20 player. I am a 2+BB/100 winner full time and prop on the side still for extra pay. I am making more money then I ever dreamed. I even opened up a successful poker website which I have busted my ass in the last week to completely overhaul to make it look more professional. I will not post the link as that is spam but I am allowed to say it is in my profile.

The point after reading the horror story in the other thread is it can be done. I was once that fish that called raises with any ace, or after a berating after bad beating someone had the "It was suited" comment for my J2. Remember that idiot in your PT that is a -15BB/100 loser can always learn and become the next online poker pro. So can anyone who really puts their mind to it. Just remember that the best way to take the fun out of poker is to do it for a living.

Anytime I think about how well this has gone I still have to thank Jek for all his help, I may not have made it without his insight to proper play and how to keep in the anger at the fishies. At the very least it would have taken longer to get where I am.

[aflaba]

Nice to hear it has went so well for you.

BTW pople, it would be nice if more serious poker players shared their stories, good as well as bad. Maybe they have in what is now the archives though...

Hope things continue to go your way Pokeraddict!

[OldLearner]

Congratulations to you.

One thing about your post that I thought was strange is that this

[ QUOTE ]
You better have great math skills that can work in a split second

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and this

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I did not go to college, went into the work force delivering pizza and eventually managed a Papa John's.

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don't seem to correlate.

At what point did you acquire your great, lightning fast math skills? [img]/images/graemlins/confused.gif[/img]

[mmbt0ne]

It's not like he's derivating 3-variable equations at the table. I was doing algebra when I was 5 (math teacher mom+no money for babysitters=2 hours of class a day after preschool), so it's not hard to imagine someone being able to do pot odds calculations and the like with a high school education.

[kendal14]

No College != Bad math skills

Come one... I'm sure we all know someone who for whatever reason did not go to college, or went to a "lower tier" college and are probably some of the brightest people we know.

Well... I do.

Congrats on the success story and continued succes to the original poster.

[axioma]

Jesus, what a revolting post.

If your comments here correlate with you as a person I pity you.

[slickpoppa]

The math necessary for poker should be doable for anyone with an 8th grade education, if not much lower.

[BeantownCaller]

[ QUOTE ]
No College != Bad math skills

Come one... I'm sure we all know someone who for whatever reason did not go to college, or went to a "lower tier" college and are probably some of the brightest people we know.

Well... I do.

[/ QUOTE ]

I'm one of those people. Good math brain, decent at writing and misc. english skills. Went from AP math as a freshman to C's and D's in honors math by a senior though [img]/images/graemlins/smile.gif[/img]. I'm just lazy and don't like schoolin', so I decided not to go to college. I can calculate pot odds with the best of em though!

Glad to hear this story. My current job is going to end this summer and I'm considering trying to play poker "for a living" 5 or so hours a day this summer. I'll have unemployment as a safety net however, I just want to see if I can still win against the day crowd and if I can handle playing 4 tables for 5+ hours a day, day in and day out. If I can't I've got a few bucks in the bank and plenty of cars in the driveway to wrench on til I decide what I want to do next.

But man...working on my cars in the daytime, play a little 5/10 at night, sleep in...that sounds like the life for me. Til it gets cold out. Then I hibernate [img]/images/graemlins/smile.gif[/img]

THANKS FOR YOUR INSPIRATIONAL POST GOOD SIR. I AM PLEASED TO MAKE YOUR AQUAINTANCE. Toodles.

[Pokeraddict]

I did not do well in English and honestly was very bored with school. I do not see how that makes it hard to divide odds that pertain to poker. Some on the other hand cannot add but can read a 1000+ page novel and love it (my wife for example) I would rather watch paint dry. I do not see what having a degree has anything to do with instinctive math skills.

I am not offended by the post at all. Some have that stereotype. I decided to join the workforce at 18 as my friends went off to school. At age 31 I can tell you I make more then anyone else I grew up with, college degree or not. How many of them can go to work without leaving the house? Drink a beer on the job? Take breaks whenever? Not have to put their child in daycare to work their job? Work whenever they feel like it? Or I guess most importantly, how many of them are happy with what they do?

I even just recently told my parents what I was doing and to my shock they were supportive.

[Pokeraddict]

[ QUOTE ]
I just want to see if I can still win against the day crowd and if I can handle playing 4 tables for 5+ hours a day, day in and day out. If I can't I've got a few bucks in the bank and plenty of cars in the driveway to wrench on til I decide what I want to do next.


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Yes beating the day crowd can be one of the tougher things to do. Game are great until about noon ET and then for 7 hours they tend to suck.

I know this sounds stupid, but I think it is forward thought. I have enough canned food to last months if I ever bust, and I pay all my bills a month ahead. There is no telling when a skid will hit even though I have been lucky enough not to have one last more then 10 days or so. At least if it does I will not stress about eating or paying the bills.