The often-heard advice, 'don't miss college for poker!'

[play2win]

I posted this to a similar question and got various feeback responses. I have recentley finished college and this is my prespective (again):

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I have found that I play poker way too often instead of doing normal freshman activities in college. I've missed out on few parties and beer/pizza nights,


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First off, I had some of my best times and memories in college. I have only been out a few years and wish that I could go back. I got to go back to work a career fair for my company and it made me realize that I did not take advantage enough when I was there. I think of how many fun times I had chasing girls and hanging with friends my freshman year. DON'T WASTE ANTOHER SECOND PLAYING 0.50/1.00 ONLINE!


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but my academic work is slipping. I've especially been doing my papers late at night and into the morning the night before they are due (but im sure lots of kids do this!) I'm tired in class the next day, and I feel terrible. And I've missed my 8a.m. class twice when I can only miss it 3 times before I lose a grade.


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Don't let your school work slip! Your college degree is your meal ticket. I don't care what people say, there are very very few people that live comfortably off poker winnings. Let's say that you graduate and start making around 44k your first year out (depending on what you are studying), do you really think you can match that with around 40 hours a week of poker? Are you going to get benefits? Will that give you mental stimualtion? Job staisfaction? Will a girl want to date you knowing you offer no security? What if you burn out and want to do something else, what opportunities do you have? You get the ponit here....

I was an engineering major, so my grades mattered, I managed to pull off a pretty good GPA considering all the partying I did (anything in sciences 3.0+ will get you in the job market). So if you are in a science oriented major your grades count! It is a competition! My roomie was first in his class of areospace and ocean engieering for 2 reasons 1. he was a genius 2. he was disiplined. There are plenty of smart people out there, but what seperates them in life and success is disipline and focus. He would wake up every Sunday and go to the library and do class work regardless of whether or not he had an assignment due, for at least 3 hours.

School is your job right now, your full time job. If you focus on your school work and build dicipline it will help you in your "future poker career". Stimulate your mind academically and you will find it will help you in all aspects of life if you can apply it (but maybe not spelling).


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(By the way, im not gambling and on tilt and losing, I'm doing it by the book and making money . I'm still at the .5/1 4 tabling, I havent moved to NL to make up money or anything.) I just like doing this instead of working at the library or something boring.


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Go to the library! It is the best place to study, there is no temptation of getting online and screwing around. College is expensive, don't waste the money you are paying. If you are lucky enough to have parents that are paying don't waste thier money, if you are paying for it trust me it will take a long time to pay back those loans! I am glad that you are winning, but it won't add up to all that you will be losing monitarly (you implied life earnings is being determined right now!) and socailly (you will never find as much easy tail and good buds in one place....ever). Your time will be up faster than you can imagine and there will be no going back! Poker will always be there.


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Should I cut back on poker a lot, or is there another way to do this, ie, a schedule that I can set up? I enjoy poker, but I don't want to miss out on something that I would have while im playing. I truly hope that this is not an addiction, but if it is somebody point it out.



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Don't give up playing, just give up the online crap. Become proactive. Find some friends, set up some postings and create a poker group. Take the initiative to organize a weekly poker group. Pick a night when you don't have an early class the next day and set-up a couple tables somewhere, order pizza, take an extra $5 off everyones buy-in and pay for the beer and pizza. Have a NL tourney for $20+5 and a slow blind structure so you can all play for a while and enjoy a social evening with friends. If you spend $25 you will save big money as opposed to going out and hitting the bars or other alternatives. So you have a cheap, fun, social evening while getting your poker fix! Hell, make it a club and dub yourself the president and put it on your resume!

Sorry this is lengthy, I just don't want to see you make a huge mistake. Freshman year defines the rest of your college career....you are in the fetal stage of college so to speak. Have fun, go out, catch the clap, do anything but stare at a monitor for hours on end, but keep your acedemics your number one priority! You have the rest of your life to stare at a monitor....trust me. If this advice can help you in any way than it was worth my lunch break. Let me know how it goes and good luck

AND GO HOKIES!

This is my response to someone who claimed poker is a "sin":

Yes, I agree with you HBomb, it is a little cheesy. I also agree that playing poker is not a sin, there is absolutley nothing morally wrong with playing poker.

All morality aside, you have made a commitment to earn a degree. Why not do it the best that you can? The chances of making a living playing poker are slim. The chances of you forming a successful and profitable career as a professonal are very good, and very real. In fact you are laying the ground work right now!

In a few years you will be trying to get your first real job, where you will earn real money! I have been fortunate to be invloved in the hiring process because our engieering department is so small. Sometimes all that seperates a canidate from another is a few tenths of a GPA. If doing a little better in school and having a few more solid interpersonal relationships, is going to make you 10k a year more and help you get that job a few months earlier, why would you not strive for that? I don't think you will impress anyone by breaking out a spread sheet showing your winnings over the past few years after they check your 2.0 GPA.

But it is no sin! Maybe this is all because I miss college. But it is nice to converse with friendly people as opposed to the overly harsh chatter found in online gaming. One thing for sure is that we are all lucky. You are lucky to have the opportunity to go to college and have a computer. The question is what are you going to do with this lucky opportunity that you are only going to get once?

Just another thought on to what you are pondering. Hope this helps. [img]/images/graemlins/spade.gif[/img]