Re: Winning too much to quit
 

only if you are being more generous with your money than the person(s) who would otherwise be winning/controlling the poker money that you are winning.

Re: Winning too much to quit
 

Trying to fit in and do what society believes to be the "right" thing can stagnate your own progress and hide your individuality.

Re: Winning too much to quit
 

[ QUOTE ]
This is not the place to ask. Ask yourself. It sounds to me as though you will not be happy with either pursuit.

Life is short.

"If you follow your bliss, you put yourself on a kind of track that has been there all the while, waiting for you, and the life that you ought to be living is the one you are living. Wherever you are -- if you are following your bliss, you are enjoying that refreshment, that life within you, all the time." - Joseph Campbell

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nice, campbell pwns all

Re: Winning too much to quit
 

Healthcare is highly socialized and regulated. Because of this you will not be providing anywhere near as much value as in a free market.

Also: plz don't give away money. The best thing you can do with your money if you want to help others is to be an entrepreneur and create jobs (or join the voluntary society movement).

Re: Winning too much to quit
 

It blows me away that so many people here think that "doesn't help anyone, and it makes for a pretty lonely, selfish life"

AS *I* see it, poker allows me to only work 20 hours a week instead of 40, allowing me plenty of time to volunteer with just some of the MANY organizations doing wonderful work that are desperate for help. Charities, soup kitchen, food banks, community police stations, animal shelters all dearly need volunteers.

Re: Winning too much to quit
 

stop viewing your life as others perceive you.

Re: Winning too much to quit
 

[ QUOTE ]
stop viewing your life as others perceive you.

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qft

Re: Winning too much to quit
 

[ QUOTE ]
Yes but if you are making way more money as a poker player than a doctor, it gives you more power to be able to help people.

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Well, if you are doing something that is productive it increases the overall wealth of society, which poker does not (with some exceptions.) If you do a particularly good job at redistributing money for the greater benefit of mankind, however, then you are doing something productive -- just as the manager of a well-run charity is. You'd have to take that task of redistributing money seriously, though, making sure to put it to use in the right ways.

My guess is that most poker players give a very small (if any) portion of their winnings to charity (just like most people), nor do they put that much thought in how they redistribute it (such as hiring the most needy illegal Mexican housekeepers).

I'm not claiming you're a horrible person if you live life for your own benefit without considering your effect on society as a whole, but I try not to make inconsistent rationalizations that put my activities in a better light than they deserve.

As for the OP, there doesn't seem to be any easy answer. One comment though: I think people can be divided into two groups -- optimizers and sufficers. Optimizers try to make the best decision possible at every point in their lives. They are never satisfied unless they are convinced they have made the best decision for them. A sufficer simply finds an option that seems sufficiently appealing and chooses that, not giving much (or at least any agonizing) thought as to whether there is something a bit better out there. Optimizers might be more successful, while sufficers are almost guaranteed to be happier.