Is anyone reconsidering decision to play poker professionally?

[bestcellar]

I wasn't good enough to ever go pro, and I have not been playing very much poker recently, but this decision really hit me hard today. At first I was a little angry. Now, I am just really bummed out.

I've been fortunate to be able to do a lot of things in my life, but I have done very few things with as much dedication as I did with the game of poker. It is one of the only things that I really enjoyed learning about and doing, deep down in my soul. I really strove deep down to try to improve my game, and be the best player I possibly could, especially recently.

This year, I had the most success I've ever had playing poker, and for the first time I thought I was actually getting somewhere with my game. I was proud of myself and some of the accomplishments I had acheived. It was a nice to play something competitively at a relatively high level with people from all over the world. Of course, beyond the day-to-day frustrations, it was also nice to be able to supplement my modest income with a little extra money from playing cards.

Now, I feel marginalized. I feel cheated. I feel hurt. And most importantly, I feel helpless. I feel like people who are serving special interests and looking to get their palms greased are playing politics at the expense of me and my way of life, which is hurting absolutely no one.

I don't know what I'm going to do over the next few days.

I do know I will be drinking tonight.

[LearnedfromTV]

I like and pretty much share Rizen's attitude. I quit my job very recently (two months now). I intended to devote the next year to poker. I still may. But I would not have quit if poker was my only option or if I thought I would want to stay in my job if not for poker.

For now, I will continue to play. I've cashed out of Party. If Stars remains live, it will stay my main cash and STT site. If not, I'll go to Full Tilt. Regardless, I'll keep playing multis at FT, UB, Paradise, and Pokerroom until and unless they close.

If online poker really is gone for a while, I'll shift priorities, probably go back to school, look into other work, but I'll still play live semi-regularly and I will continue trying to learn the game. I like Chicago, so I'm probably not moving, but if my wife gets an overseas opportunity, we'll jump at it (we aready want to do this sometime), and I may still get a place in Vegas sometime in the next couple years.

I think there are really four time scales to think about:

- the current status (we can play, Party and Pacific are closing, others haven't committed and it looks like some - Full Tilt, UB, Absolute, Bodog - are dedicated to at least a short-term fight)

- status a month from now (after Bush signs and the sites and their lawyers all reach their final fight or flight decisions)

- status a year from now (once the enforcement regulations have been defined by the Fed and workarounds have been explored)

- status in the long run, like 3-5 years, at which point I think it is much more likely that we have Harrah's Online than that there is no way to play online poker (although anything is possible, including twenty scenarios in between)

[0evg0]

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I am wondering whether I should consider going back into the software field due to the current turmoil. I am wondering what the effect on poker in the US is going to be.

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I agree you should go back to the software field

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hehehehehe

[Exitonly]

rizen dead on. go poker. atleast i turn 21 soon.


[censored] real jobs.

[Botchman]

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The issue is how comfortable US players will feel about transactions involving large sums of money taking place beyond the jurisdiction of the US govt.

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What made these transactions within the jurisdiction of the US Govt before???? ABSOLUTLELY NOTHING

[Botchman]

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As I just posted sportsbooks have been doing it for years where there is no grey area or question of interpretation as there is here for pokerrooms, the wire act was quite specific but you see quite a few overseas books taking wagers by phone.

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And these sportsbooks have large volumes of US customers, the US Online poker industry is here to stay as Rizen said it is nopt just going to disaapear. Players will find sites to play on just as people find sportsbooks to place bets with,MANY WHICH ARE CONSIDERED LEGITIMIE BUSINESS in the countries they reside. Everybody just has to calm down and relax.I really do belive this is the first step to the regukation/taxation of industry. In Italy one day the Government outlawed it now it is working towards regulation/taxation. This is not the end of online poker in the US.

[10K-in-Clay]

seriously guys, move to canada. You can walk around with 15 grams of dope and cops can't do anything except give u a fine LOL. Oh yeah and the online poker thing (if thats important)

[mlagoo]

yeah but the canadian gov't won't have us [img]/images/graemlins/frown.gif[/img] [img]/images/graemlins/frown.gif[/img] [img]/images/graemlins/frown.gif[/img]

[Clayton]

why not?

[10K-in-Clay]

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yeah but the canadian gov't won't have us [img]/images/graemlins/frown.gif[/img] [img]/images/graemlins/frown.gif[/img] [img]/images/graemlins/frown.gif[/img]

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You guys could be like the 'Dodgers' of our era, instead of viet nam its online poker....MAKE HISTORY BOYS