A Note to "WannaBe" Pros

[tjh]

Great thread SkipperBob and great reply Jbrochu.

A person needs to do what they want in life and they need to think about the consequences.

I went to college for a long time and never graduated. I did a lot of "whatever I wanted to do" for a long time. I bought some land and that forced me to cave in to the pressure of monthly payments and got a job. I ran a business and I just might run one again. I have minimized my expenses so that I can maximize my freedom. I bought the cheap land because all of my tiny income was going to rent and that is -EV.

I play poker for fun but I do set goals. I think that next year I will try to win 10K over the year and over the next few years I will try and pay for 10 acres of vacant land that I just bought for 25K with poker winnings.

I also set anti-poker goals. Wasting a nice day playing poker when I can go outside just does not make sense. Play those games at night. I shoot for less than 30hrs/week at poker.

Folks who want to be different than everyone else and to do there "own thing" or "what they want" need to be aware that being different is not an easy road. Go for it! You can do it perhaps but it WILL be a bumpy road.

Folks that try and tell the first group "what to do" and "how to act" and how to "be prepared" for life and [censored] need to be aware that group one does not like being told what to do or how to act.

A good poker player has a good brain, maybe an addictive or compulsive personality but if they can do one thing well they can think.

So as the new year approaches all you wannabe pros should think for a bit. Below is my opinion on a number of things.

College:
College is a doorway to a decent selection of work. I think most work s*cks but somewhere in my thirties I found I had to have a job of some sort. I got lucky cause I knew internet programming and the market was hot. So my college years have yet to pay me much directly. I assume that there are hidden benefits like social skills connections etc.

Without a windfall like the internet boom or the ability to survive until something like that comes along, college is a good thing. Without computers I assume that the college that I do have would keep me from a wall-mart type job and into something better.

I have yet to find a job that I liked well enough to work 40 hours a week for more than a few months. I would rather live under a bridge than face a year in year out day to day grind. I honestly wish I could deal with the grind but I can not. I have found very good work that is part time. I got very lucky. I waited and searched and waited and searched and then I got lucky. Sort of like set-farming in NL games. I caught my set.. LOL.

DEBT:
Avoid debt at all costs. If you want to live your own life and be in control of what you do then debt is one sure way to give up control. With that in mind I am not sure if the college degreee is worth 60K of student loan debt. If you are going big time into debt to pay for school then you had better party like a maniac cause those monthly payments will hinder your freedom on down the road.

Running you own business:
Man that is a pain. Give it a try cause it can be better than working for someone else but avoid large sums of debt if you can.

POKER:
There is no time like the present to be a good poker player. I can play in a local unraked tournament 7 nights a week. I can play online all day long. This reminds me of the internet boom that I was lucky enough to catch. This good fortune is not likely to last.

So get it while you can. Do not burn any bridges. Stay out of debt. Understand that doing things "differently" has some costs. But if you cringe when someone recommends you act "normally" then go for it and be different. Just do not assume that being different is going to be easy.

===================================

I just tried to get a loan on my "different" house and it did not happen. Ignore the system but do not be bitter when the same system decides to ignore you. I spent my life trying not to fit into little boxes, but when I went for a loan they had a whole list of checkboxes that I did not fit into. Great I had won !!! I did not fit into the boxes, I did not get a loan.

Being a poker pro will not fit into any boxes on down the road. Be prepared for that. If you want to slip back into the normal system on down the road find a way to do both. I keep a shell of a business alive and work for myself so that I can show a solid work history if I need to get another job. My resume looks decent even though I have a lot of free time.

I don't know. I guess you can plot your own course but be prepared for a bumpy road. A bumpy fun crazy road. Contingency plans can only help so use your poker brains and think a bit.

I would go for pro but all this sitting, and computer screens and the like is just lame. If ESPN would just start airing the World Series of Fishing then I would find a hobby that really pays and is healthy and fun.

Like any of you college age folks listen to any one else anyhow [img]/images/graemlins/cool.gif[/img]

--
tjh

[microbet]

[ QUOTE ]
ethnic group to become highly successful.Indy

[/ QUOTE ]Which group are you thinking about in particular that has a so much easier path to high success than the non-ethnic group?

This is my first post here, I've been lurking awhile, but this really got my interest.

I'm 33, got a civil engineering degree and have been working full time for seven years. Yes, that's an 8 year graduation plan. I had too much fn fun. I switched majors 6 times and easily had enough credits upon graduation for a P.h.D. Too bad they were spread all over the place.

My first job paid $30k in 1999. I'm now in the mid six figures. I do what I went to school for. I build bridges & roads. Everything I thought I wanted. I've got money, I'm married (no kids) and live in SoCal. What could be better? Then why am I miserable. Everyone is proud of me. Everyone is impressed with what I do. I have a lot of respect and a bit of prestige. So, why am I miserable?

The past seven years are a blur. I've accomplished a ton, but at what expense. Hardly a vacation, and no change in sight. Daily grind is out the door at 6am, home at 6pm. No life. Weekends are a blur. The only saving grace I have is I haven't loaded myself down w/ kids, mortgage, car payments and debt like the rest of society. Why? Cause then i'd really be phucked and have this career tied around my neck.

What's the point? My best time was college...BY FAR. School itself sucked, but the social interaction, learning experiences are PRICELESS. It doesn't matter if you're not going to get a degree and use it. JUST GET IT. It's so much easier at that age than later. Life is a long road. Don't be trying to catch up. You won't regret having that degree.

If I had it to do all over again? I'd get my degree, and if I was in a position of talent or had any poker skill, I'd give it a shot and do what you love, I'd go for it. Who cares if what you do is socially acceptable if you're gonna wake up one day at 65 and not remember your life cause you did what everyone said you should

[SuitedSixes]

If I fail as a professional poker player, which in all honesty seems inevitable, it will be due to my own shortcomings in areas of my personality and character.

The cards are the easy part. I have 100% winning confidence in NL ring games and 88% winning confidence at the $55s. My sense of worth has always been tied to my immediate success and failure (which is why I am no longer a football coach). And the swings of the bankroll manifest themselves in my emotions and it is very difficult to be a functioning member of society when you feel like world's champ one hour and a total failure the next.

The most financially secure I have ever been was when I was working and playing poker. I do not regret my decision to turn pro. It was the decision I needed to make at the time I needed to make it. If I can last one year (the end of March) I will feel a genuine sense of accomplishment. I will also need to decide at that time if I have the intangible qualities and if my personal disposition is best suited for this kind of life.

I am also at a very difficult time, personally, and the need to have friends and human contact beyond screen names and PMs is becoming more important to my overall happiness.

[TheNoodleMan]

One freaking loss and you change your avitar? For shame!

[The Yugoslavian]

skipperbob,

One note about being pro for a year at B&M...it usually helps if you're a winning player, [img]/images/graemlins/crazy.gif[/img] [img]/images/graemlins/confused.gif[/img] [img]/images/graemlins/laugh.gif[/img]

Yugoslav

[ QUOTE ]
What's the point? My best time was college...BY FAR. School itself sucked, but the social interaction, learning experiences are PRICELESS. It doesn't matter if you're not going to get a degree and use it. JUST GET IT.

[/ QUOTE ]
So, you had a great social life and learned a bit about life. Absolutely nothing says the only place you can do that is in college.

You say you're smart not to have piled up debt, but most college grads finish school with lots of debt -- debt they likely wouldn't have were it not for school.

[tjh]

[ QUOTE ]


You say you're smart not to have piled up debt, but most college grads finish school with lots of debt -- debt they likely wouldn't have were it not for school.

[/ QUOTE ]

College is valuable but is it worth 60K in debt ?? I doubt it. I was/am too flaky to manage that much debt. This whole "student loan == financial assistance" is BS. Loaning any old 20 year old who comes along 30K is foolish for both parties. It certainly is not guaranteed to "help" the 20 year old.

The smartist (spelling humor...heh heh) thing someone could do is to pay for college with poker winnings.


[ QUOTE ]
friends and human contact beyond screen names and PMs is becoming more important to my overall happiness.

[/ QUOTE ]

I hear that !!!
I programmed for a few years and all this sitting in front of a monitor stuff is getting old. I worked from home programming and slowly went crazy, a good day of freelance coding meant no human contact. I refuse to let Poker do the same thing. Now I teach computer stuff so I get to talk to people. The internet part of poker is a double edged sword.

--
tjh

[The Yugoslavian]

Thanks for starting this retarded thread SFB.

I don't even think I can accept your free bevos & pizza next time around, [img]/images/graemlins/mad.gif[/img].

Yugoslav
<font color="white">Okay...fine....I'll accept [img]/images/graemlins/smile.gif[/img].</font>

[tewall]

Wise thoughts.