Anyone quit their job to play poker full time and now they think that

[Victor]

i hate poker but i cant imagine not playing.

[jrbick]

I'm going to reply to this w/o reading the other replies, so forgive me if this interrupts some hijack-discussion [img]/images/graemlins/cool.gif[/img]

The full-time transition was a great one for me just because of the contrast of how life was before that. Before full-time, I was going to school full-time, working a full-time job, and playing poker on a part-time basis (~20-25k hands/mo.). So, life was busy and I didn’t sleep much at all. But, it helped us get by and set me up for the opportunity of playing full-time.

Past situations aside -

I've NEVER regretted quitting my job to play poker full time. In fact, I'm in the opposite situation right now: I'm going to quit poker full-time and go back to a real job for the sake of my family (meaning – parents et al) and I'm going to be sad about that transition. I am sad about it. "I love play pokah. Pokah so nice." My wife got pregnant shortly after I started full-time poker. So, in my family's (wife and unborn child who we found out 2 days ago is a B-O-Y!!!!) best interest, we're moving back home where both of our parents and siblings live. I’m pretty darned sure that they don't like the idea of me playing full-time. At. All. So, for their sake I won't. It's not worth it. Sure, it's a HUGE cut in hourly rate, blah blah blah. But one thing I think that is key when playing full-time is to not let poker absolutely take over your life as I think it might have for others, especially at the cost of other people. Just. Not. Worth it.

In a real job setting, you always tend to think that there is so much more to life than working the job that you are working. You want to plan vacations, experience the world, to take the time and smell the roses so to speak. And don’t you usually find the time to do that? After work, do you go home and think about work some more? For some, yes they do. I'm not going to criticize that because some people have some pretty cool jobs and love what they do. But those people usually still find the time to fall in line with the rest of us who say "Heck no, you don't go home and think about work some more." You flip on the tv, you have a drink, you watch a movie, you spend time with your family, you go out to eat, etc etc. So why let that change? Don’t let a bunch of juicy tables get in the way of that activity. It will probably ruin you (I’m just guessing that this has been the pitfall of others). Don’t get me wrong, I LOVE this game. I love to work. So, I got to 'play' for 'work.' How ideal! [img]/images/graemlins/grin.gif[/img] That’s probably another topic I’ll address more of at a later date. But seriously, I love playing poker. Every Sunday afternoon for quite a while my wife and I would get together with friends and play for fun. I bought a nice table and we all loved it. No money was ever involved, just friendly competition and good times. Surprisingly, this actually helped my game a ton (seeing/hearing real fish play/talk about the game). More important than that, though, it kept me grounded. It cultured an enjoyment/passion for what I do more and more.

You also asked about the idea of feeling productive, fulfilled, etc. Well, for me I’m probably different than a lot of others around here. I'm pretty determined to not let a job dictate my self-worth. I don’t want a job to make me feel fulfilled. I don’t want to be characterized by the work that I do (except for those traits that do show themselves via the work place – work ethic, attitude, etc). I believe (in the sense of 'faith' more than the sense of 'knowing' though both are involved) in God, who created the world, who sent His Son to redeem mankind from our condition so that we could be reconciled to God. So, yes, let the haters chime in now. But seriously, my life is not centered around work. It’s centered around a life with God. That means taking care of my family. That means taking care of people around me. It simply means that there are more important things than the work that I do. Work is important, but it’s not the sum of life. With poker, I have more freedom to do these kinds of things than I normally would have at a 9-5. So, why not take advantage of that freedom while I’ve got it? There was always time to fit 40 hours of playing into a week. That’s why going home and getting a new job isn’t really that big of a deal. I mean, yeah, I’ll play part-time if possible. Remember, I love to play this game and it was great supplemental income at one time, so no reason that it still can’t be. Even though it means less money it’s not going to ruin me. I'm still going to love my family and love the people around me. Let me be defined by those two things. Everything else is just details. I bring this up because it might be one of the defining factors as to how I’ve managed to play full-time and not become a corner-piece of the internet. I just view life in a different way that others might. I’m not saying at all that people who don’t have faith in God aren’t able to have the same attitude about life that I do. They certainly can and do. I've been reading their journals. I just figured I might as well be transparent about things.

EDIT: I just read the poster who talks about his full-time job and the benefits of his job (insurance, retirement, etc). I will say that that is ONE regret that I have - is not setting up a health insurance plan before quitting my job. Slight flaw in my preparation. So, now I'm stuck paying for my wife's doctor's bills out of pocket. Not utterly terrible, but not good either.

[Guthrie]

[ QUOTE ]
[ QUOTE ]
[ QUOTE ]
I'd love to go back to my old job, but I've been graylisted and I'm no longer employable in my chosen field.

I'm sure most 2+2ers would love to have my old job too.

[/ QUOTE ]

Wow, don't beat around the bush or anything.

[/ QUOTE ]

yeah, hell, lets here it

[/ QUOTE ]
I was a screenwriter in Hollywood. I've met some of your avatars.

Since nearly all of the middle-management "executives" at the studios and networks are 25-35, no one outside their own age group is allowed to play anymore.

Although I'm now dealing with the same age group, actually younger, in poker, the only way they can get me off the table is to beat me. I don't mind a fair fight.

[Death Valley]

I dont feel like writing an essay right now, but....
I will tell you that the way I describe it to friends is..." I am living the dream right now, I just hope it doesnt end"

So far I could not be happier (1 1/2 years). That being said I assume it would be a total grind if I were 8 tabling low limit-limit poker

The problem with asking your question here, is that most players who went pro and failed most likely dont check the boards too often, so you will not get a balanced response.
Think about it.... If someone is successfull are they really going to complain about playing a game for a living?

[somapopper]

[ QUOTE ]
I think my biggest problem may be that I never had a true passion for poker--only a passion for the professional gambling lifestyle.

[/ QUOTE ]

It seems like there's a lot of this around here. If you don't love poker, I can't imagine how you could play roughly a million hands a year and not become quite depressed.

I'm no pro, but I've been putting myself through grad school on it for awhile, at least till I go busto, and I think if I didn't

1. love poker in a mooning, fawning fashion

2. play just about every form of poker

I'd go nuts. There are a lot of specialists around here, and while it's true, the vast majority of my hands are full ring lhe, I don't think there's a significant dropoff for me when playing anything else, except nlhe cash games, which I don't have the mentality for.

Tommy Angelo has some great psychology type posts. While his strategy advice is often suspect, I think he's probably the best in terms of explaining the mindset you need to be happy doing this as a profession.

Of course death valley and others are right in there assesment that most players go bust and leave these forums. Having a year's living expenses set aside, and 1000BB bankroll isn't easy for a lot of folks, but if you're really goint to make a go of it, I'd say you're living dangerously if you haven't proved to yourself that you're already able to bank this much of your poker winnings.

[MicroBob]

there are lots of people who have jobs that they don't have a passion for.

Some of them do become quite depressed naturally.

I've worked a couple of jobs that i had zero passion for.

I worked one job that I had a terrific passion for that paid next to nothing.

I now work in online-poker which I have a sort-of passion for...but not hugely.

This is more than made up for the passion I have for the other aspects of life that I get to enjoy FAR FAR more than I ever was able to before in jobs that didn't allow me the kind of flexibility I have now (not just my day schedule...but also travelling when and where I want, etc).


Poker's okay.
Everything else that poker is allowing me to do and achieve is wonderful.

[MicroBob]

BTW - right now I'm sitting outside my front-door soaking in the 70-degree temps on this gorgeous day...while getting my work in.

Somewhere else in this city are tens of thousands of people who are trapped inside some stuffy office environment just wishing they could ditch their job and enjoy the day.


If these people met me and knew how I made my income they would certainly not be saying, "That must really suck. I'm so glad I get to get up at 7am every day and come to my stuffy little office."

[MyTurn2Raise]

The only thing I regret is that poker doesn't help improve the world all that much
That is the only thing.

I've never missed out on the other stuff. The benefits other posters mentioned more than outweigh the trade-off I've made.

[Innocentius]

[ QUOTE ]
BTW - right now I'm sitting outside my front-door soaking in the 70-degree temps on this gorgeous day...while getting my work in.

Somewhere else in this city are tens of thousands of people who are trapped inside some stuffy office environment just wishing they could ditch their job and enjoy the day.


If these people met me and knew how I made my income they would certainly not be saying, "That must really suck. I'm so glad I get to get up at 7am every day and come to my stuffy little office."

[/ QUOTE ]

I'm not really shooting at you MicroBob, and at noone else in particular, but I think this discussion is a bit one-sided. I understand that MicroBob and others are basically arguing against the position "internet poker professionals have lonely useless lives", and I agree with you in this. But I think for the balance of things, it has to be stated that there are lots and lots of people who have "9-5 jobs" and are prefectly happy.

I also think that the "making a contribution to society"-thing must be taken into account. I'm not trying to be the geat moralist of 2+2 here, and have absolutely nothing against people earning their living through internet poker, but clearly, if everyone tried to make a living off of poker or comparable occupations, there would be nothing to earn in the first place. Poker is a means of moving resources around, and we should all be very happy that there are also people around who spend their days creating those resources.

[2easy]

[ QUOTE ]
I also think that the "making a contribution to society"-thing must be taken into account. I'm not trying to be the geat moralist of 2+2 here...

[/ QUOTE ]


that doesnt necessarily have to happen only through ones job. what one does outside of their job can apply here.


[ QUOTE ]
but clearly, if everyone tried to make a living off of poker or comparable occupations, there would be nothing to earn in the first place... and we should all be very happy that there are also people around who spend their days creating those resources.

[/ QUOTE ]

this is obviously true. however, it should be noted that not everyone has the same calling, opportunities or interests, which hugely factors into this equation.