Try to get me to stay in school....

[FieryJustice]

well, after reading over everyones posts and talking to my mother, who has talked to my dad and already said he is fine with whatever I do, I think I have decided to basically drop out. The only thing a degree would fo for me is get me a 50k/year job one day if internet poker falls through. Honestly, I have no desire to work a full time job. I worked a 10/hr job from when I was 16 til I was 19 and I know I dont want to do that for the rest of my life. I want freedom to do whatever I want whenever I want. My mother said that she didnt want me to quit, as most normal successful people get finish college and work 9/5 for the rest of their lives, but she said she would have quit long ago if she was in my shoes. My mother is a teacher, btw. As for giving up a full scholarship, saddly, money isnt that important to me right now. I would have no problem paying the $1200/semester or whatever it is if I had to.

That all being said...here is my gameplan for the next few years...I am going to learn to play limit VERY well...this will be my schooling. I will ideally run up about 1 mil in the next 5 years or so before the internet goes down, if it ever does. With the 1 mil, I should be able to play b&m at a fairly high level and make it from there, if I must. If for some reason I see b&m isnt for me, I "think" I could go back and finish my degree and work a normal life. If I dont want to do that, I could invest my 1 mil and life off that. anyone see any problems with this? I would like to thank everyone for their help so far. I greatly appreciate it.

[ QUOTE ]
well, after reading over everyones posts and talking to my mother, who has talked to my dad and already said he is fine with whatever I do, I think I have decided to basically drop out. The only thing a degree would fo for me is get me a 50k/year job one day if internet poker falls through. Honestly, I have no desire to work a full time job. I worked a 10/hr job from when I was 16 til I was 19 and I know I dont want to do that for the rest of my life. I want freedom to do whatever I want whenever I want. My mother said that she didnt want me to quit, as most normal successful people get finish college and work 9/5 for the rest of their lives, but she said she would have quit long ago if she was in my shoes. My mother is a teacher, btw. As for giving up a full scholarship, saddly, money isnt that important to me right now. I would have no problem paying the $1200/semester or whatever it is if I had to.

That all being said...here is my gameplan for the next few years...I am going to learn to play limit VERY well...this will be my schooling. I will ideally run up about 1 mil in the next 5 years or so before the internet goes down, if it ever does. With the 1 mil, I should be able to play b&m at a fairly high level and make it from there, if I must. If for some reason I see b&m isnt for me, I "think" I could go back and finish my degree and work a normal life. If I dont want to do that, I could invest my 1 mil and life off that. anyone see any problems with this? I would like to thank everyone for their help so far. I greatly appreciate it.

[/ QUOTE ]

You are taking the easy way out and rationalizing it when all it boils down to is that you are too lazy. I know, I have been there.

You will come to regret this decision many times in your life, although at 20 years old I guess there is just no way for you to see it. I will give very good odds on this bet.

Good luck.

[Wevie]

[ QUOTE ]
You will come to regret this decision many times in your life,

[/ QUOTE ]

[eboller]

I had similar problems with engineering. High school was pretty much a cakewalk and it was quite a shock getting to college and finding I couldn't just finish my engineering homework before or during class or within an hour of getting home from classes. I eventually switched majors which I don't think was a bad thing. I went the easier route...well not initially since I thought about being a Math/Quantitative Economics major. Once I was failing linear algebra though I quickly decided and hoped on computer science working out which it did.

I think you should at least get your degree. You have just two more years? Finish it up. You likely won't go back later or if you are forced to, do you think it will be any easier? Right now you have no worries, a scholarship, etc. etc. Maybe you won't end up with that typical 9-5 job when you graduate, but at least you have the degree to fall back on should poker not work out.

Also, it's not like you will necessarily be stuck at $50,000 a year with an engineering degree for the rest of your career. It all depends on what you make of it. There's something to be said about having a stable job and income as well. If you've seen some of the posts of others who have tried to make a living as a pro you can see there are quite a few ups and downs and tremendous stress. Maybe you are a natural and won't feel that kind of stress. You might even argue you don't now, but you are still in school. Until you are supporting yourself and maybe a family you probably won't know the extent of the stress that trying to play poker for a living might bring.

Get the degree. You won't be sorry. If you continue to play poker and make it a living...very cool, but get the degree as some sort of insurance while you have the time and means.

Eric

[beetyjoose]

Is everyone on this site an engineer?

Anyway, if you don't care about getting a degree because it isn't going to help you make money. Then why do you care about your GPA? You sound like a bright kid, you should be able to coast through these next years with ease.

Hell you've got a 3.7 now. I would put it in cruise control, get a fake ID, party, experiment with drugs, have as much promiscuous sex as you possibly can. Support your habbit with your poker winnings. You're worried about "C"'s? Just remember you can't spell degree without a "D"... or two or three...

Seriously, you've got a great thing going? I don't see the problem. Scholarship, great cash flow/fallback, easy major.

F your GPA, it doesn't mean anything unless you want to go to gradschool. And judging by the conversation we are having now, we have a better chance of hell freezing over before that happens.

I do think it's funny that you are worried about your poker job security. It's like this generation's version of "I hope the factory doesn't close down. Then what on earth would I do?"

But seriously, take it from a recent engineering graduate/ poker enthusiast. Don't kill yourself with the books; it's not necessary. You have more freetime in college then you ever will again. You've got enough time to do everything you want and still graduate.

good luck..

The problem, as I see it, is not about the grind of school, but a lack of direction. There's really nothing wrong with that, especially when you're 20. A few "wasted" years in your early 20's probably isn't going to make a huge difference in your life. If those "wasted" years lead to finding some sort of direction, you'll be much better off in the long run than if you get the easy degree (that you never intend to make use of) now. Of course, if the couple of wasted years lead to a couple of wasted decades...

Don't forget to consider that many people find a career satisfying in its own right, not just because it provides an income flow.

If you decide to quit school because you can make $200K a year playing online poker, make sure you bank a lot of that. Grinding it out in front of a computer screen may become worse than reading those text books or making your way to a cubicle five days a week.

[ QUOTE ]
That all being said...here is my gameplan for the next few years...I am going to learn to play limit VERY well...this will be my schooling. I will ideally run up about 1 mil in the next 5 years or so before the internet goes down, if it ever does. With the 1 mil, I should be able to play b&m at a fairly high level and make it from there, if I must. If for some reason I see b&m isnt for me, I "think" I could go back and finish my degree and work a normal life. If I dont want to do that, I could invest my 1 mil and life off that. anyone see any problems with this? I would like to thank everyone for their help so far. I greatly appreciate it.

[/ QUOTE ]If it were that easy, don't you think a lot more people would be doing it?

One million isn't nearly enough to invest safely and live off for the rest of your life. Even if it was, you said you expect to make $200K per year, how are you going to save $1M over five years? No living expenses?

I'm not saying your decision to leave school is wrong, though it could turn out that way. But, you haven't given this nearly enough thought.

[FieryJustice]

I suppose what I really want is freedom. I guess if I am going to get a degree, I want to do it right without basically flunking out. I guess I just see that most people see going to college then getting a job as the only way to make it through life. I think the whole idea that i "must" to write a 15 page paper and that i "must" show up to class just arent appealing to me. I also really dont see the purpose of getting a useless degree. I also know I do NOT want to put too much effort into it. Some things in life are hard...but I have found that you really dont have tp do the hard stuff. I have basically spent about 2 years learning poker, reading basically every poker book out there. I have no problem learning and being great at something I enjoy. Anything I have ever done in my life, I have dont very well if I like it and just average if I dont like it. Poker happens to be one of the things I like, so I do well at it. I find it amazing that I can read and understand TOP or HPFAP in one day, yet it takes me 2 hours to read through 1 chapter in a school text book. I guess I dont judge success in life by success in college. Maybe I should.

[mjm]

[ QUOTE ]
. I want freedom to do whatever I want whenever I want.

[/ QUOTE ]

If that's the case I strongly advise on getting a degree, a good education keeps the doors open for virtually anything you may want to do, without one some doors are immediately shut.

A job you had when you were 16 does not really give a fair indication of the opportunities on offer once you have a your degree. You don't have to get a 9-5 office job if thats not for you. There are plenty of opportunities out there. But if you think that quitting school and playing poker for a few years, increases your freedom, I think you are mistaken. If the life of an on-line pro poker player is the most appealing to you, and your good enough to be successful at it, then by all means do it. But if a few years down the line you feel differently for whatever reason, not finishing your education will be a restriction not a freedom.

Having said that it's important to enjoy what you are doing & I know plenty of people who have quit school and are very happy and successful, education isn't the be all and end all, but it is the most effective way of keeping your future options open.

GL in whatever you decide.

[eboller]

Well you will have "musts" with your poker life too. Yeah you can decide you don't want to work a given day unlike working for the man. However, you are still going to have to have the discipline to sit down and grind it out on the internet card tables enough to make a living. Also, in your figures are you counting taxes? Are you figuring on having health insurance? Where are you going to live? I think you have to think about all that stuff before you think you can whip up a million in the next few years. I don't know you...you may be god's gift to poker but these are just things to consider if you haven't already.

Best of luck to you whatever your decision is.