I Quit My Day Job

[avisco01]

Let me preface this by saying that I am not a winning player, and have no intention of quitting my "day job" to play poker for a living (good thing considering I can't beat the game). I think a lot of what is being said is rather obvious, in that there are positives and negatives to going pro (as with all things). Most people who are critizing the article regarding the negatives involved with going pro seem to be in a sense taking offense to what the author says. Putting your personal feelings about the subject aside for a moment, I'm sure most will see the benefits that this article should have on the "wannabe" pros out there. I know a lot of these types myself, in fact, a few close friends of mine fall under this heading. The poker boom has created a situation, in this country especially, whereby a lot of our youth actually believe that the "Moneymaker scenario" is not only possible, but in effect easy to accomplish. These are the "glory-hogs." I'm not saying that the majority of 2+2'er's think this way. I'm sure most of the contributors to this website are serious, winning players who can handle playing poker for a living regardless of the apparent drawbacks. I think the author was simply alerting the young aspiring pros that poker is hard work. I don't think that is necessarily a bad idea considering that everywhere you look nowadays, you see kids in high school, and sometimes grammar school, playing poker for money. This is a phenomenon that may prove dangerous to those who think they can beat the game, and that doing so is easy, especially at a young age. Lets face it, young people are, and always will be, very impressionable. They're watching ESPN, and they're seeing people making money playing a card game. What could be more appealing? They see people playing a game, having fun, and winning millions of dollars! They see the gifted young players, some not much older than themselves, going out there and doing it. They may think, "Hey, they can do it, why not me?" They see it as an easy way to be "famous" and to live a dream. Why bother studying in school, educating themselves, and thinking of actual career goals when they can "EASILY" make money playing cards? In TOP, Sklansky says early on, to think of poker as a glamourous thing is a very very bad idea. I don't see anything wrong with the author of the going pro article stating that. And you know what, if you don't find the article helpful, or relevent, then simply move on. Just because you don't like a particular article, doesn't mean it doesn't have value to someone else. I applaud the author, and 2+2 magazine for that matter, for publishing articles such as these. The fact is, poker can be as fulfilling as anything else, but it depends on the person doing the playing. This article is basically cautionary, or I suppose, precautionary, and there is nothing wrong with that IMO. That being said, its like anything else, its all relative. Going pro, for the author of this article, is a unique situation to him, and will be different for anyone else. Going pro would be different for me, and for one of my wannabe friends, and for my neighbor, and for my colleague, and for whoever. It all depends on the individual, and the author basically tells us in his conclusion that he just wanted to share HIS experience, and I thank him for it. It puts into perspective just how difficult it is, and I think that subject deserves to be acknowledged.