Poker now, education... later

Noose · #1 06-28-2005, 07:29 AM

My status: single, still living at home (so no expenses), 21 year-old guy still enjoying his honeymoon with the game

Couple of months ago I found myself in a surprising situation. I have been playing poker online for few years now - mostly pretty passively just freerolling to tournaments etc, but then I got myself involved in the online cash games and found out that I can be a winning player by pretty good margin. I realized late 2004 that I could make living playing poker, even though then I still was playing like .25/.5 NL. But of course I realized then that there's no way you could make a reliable income of that kind of game, so I thought that let's play few months and see if I can move up limits and still be clearly winning player.

I had my entry exams scheduled June 3rd and I had in mind to pursue a career as a journalist. I had applied last year too, but I couldn't get in because the University accepts just 5% of the applicants. So I had in mind to study hard (which really never has been one of my strong points) and to force my way in.

Well, when the time to study came, I had no motivation for it at all, because I had moved up to 1/2 NL and was practically crushing the game. Making good money fairly easily and by a good margin destroyed my motivation for studying completely. And as a result for this summer, I thought that what the hell, just poker then because it seems to be "my thing".

I had few doubts whether I could get that through to my parents, but that was surprisingly painless. I explained them that this is what I want, and can really make the cut. Of course they weren't too happy about me not studying, but they realized that I've got much more dreams in poker than I have as a journalist... and that's what this life is all about, making dreams come true. By that I don't mean that I'm thinking poker as something glamourous - by playing three to four tables 40h/week online I've noticed that it's far from limelight - but still I want to get myself involved in big tournaments with the big boys, and face the challenge of the world top pros. And hopefully to become one someday.

We practically made a deal that I'm gonna see this year if it works out or not. I've shown them my books and my dad has watched me play quite much, so I think I've made them feel as comfortable as you can when dealing with poker. I strongly believe that I can make my living playing poker and I've got couple months of tracking to prove it, but of course couple of months is just couple of months. But you can make something out of it, because playing 40h/week three-four tabling you get a lot of hands and table hours.

I realize that the ideal situation for a poker player would be to have that some kind of plan B, which in my case would be to have a journalist degree. But why go study if you really aren't interested of studying at the moment? I can't force myself into studying, I've seen that way too many times by now. Some people can, some don't. I'm the ones who don't have either the discipline or educational maturity to do that.

Now at the summertime I'm having a well earned (ha-ha) holiday of poker and there's time to enjoy the summer. Being a poker player doesn't seem to be all that brutal, since you can take a two month holiday after working just couple of months. Good, eh? Okay, so I live at home so it's a little different that way too. But gotta be really happy at this point - I've got the money to do whatever I want (festivals etc) for the summer and enjoy the summer without a dayjob. In June and July I'm just playing when I feel like it, which has so far been about 20 hours or so.

So, this threads meaning is mostly to find out if there's others too who have skipped their entry exams to make a living by playing poker. If not, it would be nice to get opinions if I'm totally nuts or making the right move.

Myst · #2 06-28-2005, 08:05 AM

Its very possible to do both... Very possible.

SNOWBALL138 · #3 06-28-2005, 08:27 AM

I started this thread thinking "oh no, not another self deluded loser..." but then I ended this thread thinking "this guy seems to be a pretty smart fellow who is intelligently approaching poker and life." I hope that I am right, and if so, I hope it stays that way.

I notice you only have one post. You might want to post some of your hands on the no limit forum, and maybe you will be able to develop your game more.

Best regards,
Snowball

steaknshake925 · #4 06-28-2005, 09:07 AM

fwiw you sound like u havent had a major downswing yet. just make sure to be prepared and handle it well when it comes.

Noose · #5 06-28-2005, 09:19 AM

Well, I tried to move up limit to 2/4 NL (played three tables 2/4 NL, one 1/2 NL) and got crushed - meaning that I lost a little over $5000 in four days. That's pretty big when you try to move up limit and try to get some confidence in the new level as well. Looking at it objectively, about 2/5 of those losses were as a result of bad play. I believe that over half of the losses were mostly because of hands I couldn't have escaped and a run of bad cards. Oh well, it happens.

Then I came back to 1/2 NL and since then I've climbed out of that hole playing one 2/4 NL and three 1/2 NL.

That's the biggest downswing so far, but sure there's plenty to come. I've got some kind of poker motto like "everyone knows how to win, but the really good players are those who know how to lose". I feel like when you keep that in mind, you can't do all that bad.

plaster8 · #6 06-29-2005, 03:59 AM

As a journalist (and one often responsible for hiring other journalists), I figured I'd chime in about that end of things.

If journalism interests you, don't let the fact that you aren't going to school stop you from developing into a journalist. You can play poker and still find time to write. Get published. Offer to write for the local paper for free. Get your foot in the door.

I'm not telling you that you shouldn't go to school (I would recommend going, in fact), but when I'm hiring folks, the work they've done is of far greater importance than their schooling. I wouldn't hesitate for a second to hire someone with no college degree -- if they have experience and samples that show they know what they're doing.

So if you have the desire to do both writing and poker, why not do both? They need not be mutually exclusive.

raptor517 · #7 06-29-2005, 05:04 AM

im 19. i decided to take a year off college to pursue poker as a temporary career. well, ive met it with excellent success, if i could keep myself ONLY playing poker. not blackjack, craps, all that casino crap. its definitely doable if you go about it right. sngs are my game of choice. i 8 table the 215s. rakeback alone will get me 80k+ per year, so im not too worried about it. 80k breaking even aint so bad.

definitely keep yer options open. playing poker 60 hours a week is boring as can be. i have probably logged more hands in the last 6 months than 99.9% of other pros. so, maybe in the top 5 for hands played. of course, thats heavily because i 8 table all day every day..

anyways, i say to stay fresh, you need to have some good friends you can go out and party with to take a load off. get a gym membership. when i started playing, i got lazy and just sit on my ass in front of my 4 beautiful 2001 fps and play all day. get out. will keep you sane. i wish you luck in your quest.. holla

Noose · #8 06-29-2005, 07:24 AM

Thanks, nice getting something from that point of view as well.

I've been doing that "getting published" thing for about four years now and I enjoy it, so naturally I'm going to continue doing it. I do about 20-25 recaps, news and some articles/interviews per year for a hockey publication, so I'm keeping my pen sharp.

ceskylev · #9 06-29-2005, 08:16 AM

There are lots of posts like this, and most of the replies focus on the question of whether or not [Original Poster] is a good enough poker player to ditch school and take on the tables full time. And I think these responses, while certainly valid, overlook some essential aspects of the issue.

1) Becoming a pro player and getting an education are not mutually exclusive.

2) Getting an education mustn't be inexorably linked with getting a job and making money. Go to school. Be curious. Learn something that's beyond your current sphere. Having broad horizons and a good critical faculty is good for the mind and good for the soul and will make you a more interesting person.

3) If you're completely disinterested with your course of study, I doubt that poker has all that much to do with it. You find the time for the things you love.

A good education has value beyond what it can do for your bank balance, and "college or poker" is a choice that certainly does not have to be made. Good luck with whatever you decide.

Jeffage · #10 06-29-2005, 08:45 AM

From someone who's done it both ways...I am very happy that I made the decision to take a great job which provides: good pay, stability, a valuable routine, social interaction, sanity, etc. Yet I still play A LOT of poker. I play every night online, I play many weekends in AC. My job has allowed me to take shots at limits that would be difficult to play if I was just a grinder. As a result, I make almost the same money playing poker in my spare time as I do working. My life is fulfilling. But sometimes I get the urge to chuck it all and move to Vegas (maybe I will someday). But think about this: if you work, you play when you WANT to play, not because you have to and poker will stay fun and you will avoid alot of the misery that comes with full-time play. Just my two cents. The urge to go totally pro does dominate my thoughts alot.

Jeff