Re: Should I go Pro? #132890213 (long)
 

good thing about going pro would be you'd be able to save up very handsome amount of money as your nest egg at such a young age, and you can potentially increase those winnings by investing them etc. you can always go back to school.

the downside is that you might not enjoy playing poker fulltime. after couple weeks of going pro, I'm not sure if you will feel motivated to put in 5 hours+/day to 9 table. playing multitables of poker is fairly mentally exahuausting thing, and it gets tougher if you do it on daily basis. secondly, you may lose the momentum to keep up with your education or finding a 'normal' job after making $400+/hr.

I think best option for you to is keep playing poker part time, unless you are willing to put in solid # of hands every day (5hr+/day). I think you can manage school/poker fine at same time if you are gonna put less than 3 hours/day.

gl

Re: Should I go Pro? #132890213 (long)
 

I agree with most people that you should just finish your degree. Don't put your entire future in poker. Granted you play a lot higher stakes than I do, but even if I was in your situation I think I'd want to finish school and keep the profitable hobby on the side.

Re: Should I go Pro? #132890213 (long)
 

[ QUOTE ]
good thing about going pro would be you'd be able to save up very handsome amount of money as your nest egg at such a young age, and you can potentially increase those winnings by investing them etc. you can always go back to school.


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Okay, I'm curious. Sometimes it seems like I'm the only person on here who ever considers the possibility of losing everything. A lot of people here make comments about playing until you win X amount of money. But I'm pretty sure there are some solid players who move up to these high stakes and run badly and get frustrated and tilt and have to quit down a bunch of money.

I haven't played the $2K NL games or even close to those stakes but I have to assume there are at least some decent players at those stakes.

Re: Should I go Pro? #132890213 (long)
 

Stay in college because of the hot girls.

Re: Should I go Pro? #132890213 (long)
 

[ QUOTE ]
Stay in college because of the hot girls.

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Re: Should I go Pro? #132890213 (long)
 

Stay in college. You have no idea how long poker will remain this lucrative. Since you haven't spent your poker money on anything it seems like you don't even need or want it that much - you like playing the game more than anything. Are you really going to like it that much 2,000,000 hands later?

Having 50K at your age is a huge advantage - finish school and get a degree in something. If you play poker on the side and invest some of that money wisely you could have millions by the time you're 40.

Re: Should I go Pro? #132890213 (long)
 

MEEEELIONS?!

Re: Should I go Pro? #132890213 (long)
 

Take this scenerio:

You quit school to play poker full time. Everything is fine for a while. Then, something happens (legislation, bots, etc) and online poker is gone. What do you do?

You have no experience, no degree, and no source of income. If you were smart and had enough time, you might have a nice nestegg. However, from all the nice cars, expensive televisions and computer systems I see around here, most players like to spend a ton of money, so you probably won't have much beyond your bankroll.

Congratulations, you now have to work at McDonalds!

I honestly believe that anyone who plays poker for a living and hasn't held a real, full time job for several years is making a huge mistake. Dropping out of school to play poker for a living is probably one of the dumbest things you can do. Leave yourself outs. You'll be glad you did.

Re: Should I go Pro? #132890213 (long)
 

Um, it's not like he can't go back to school... You make it out like McDonalds is his only choice if poker fails. The average age of the US college student is 29. He's got a lot of time. If my kid wanted to drop out to play poker, i'd say ok go for it (assuming he's as good as this guy and he's already made up his mind). Same goes for him wanting to start a rock band, etc. Live the dream while you're young. You can always go back to school a few years later. It'll still be there. I would suggest again taking a class per semester to stay fresh, but you can do that online too.

Re: Should I go Pro? #132890213 (long)
 

[ QUOTE ]

...You quit school to play poker full time. Everything is fine for a while. Then, something happens (legislation, bots, etc) and online poker is gone. What do you do?

...I honestly believe that anyone who plays poker for a living and hasn't held a real, full time job for several years is making a huge mistake. Dropping out of school to play poker for a living is probably one of the dumbest things you can do. Leave yourself outs. You'll be glad you did.

[/ QUOTE ]

The problem I see here is that you implicity advise anyone who hasn't had a real job to take a poker hiatus and take up a real job for a few years, but then if the end of online poker eventually comes, they've just wasted a few of the last precious years away from it. Now they have the three years of work experience they could have gotten after the poker craze ended.

I think the most important piece of advice you gave was 'leave yourself outs', even if this just means having enough money saved up in case something drastic happens. If you have 6 months living expenses saved like most pros recommend, if you for whatever reason have to stop playing poker, at least you have half a year to find a new source of income.

I only skimmed the original post, so I can't offer any direct advice there. From what I read, you seem quite capable of an extremely good hourly earn from poker.

What you have to do is investigate what school means to you and what you're gaining from it. Most importantly, think long-term about everything when making crucial decisions. If you quit school for poker, is it possible to return? That should be a major factor, especially if school is just a means to getting a job. However, if you have financial support from your parents now, but leaving school will cut you off... then if poker doesn't work out, some poor planning later, you can't even afford to go back to school and you're in trouble.

For me, finishing my undergrad doesn't really do much in the way of leaving myself outs... I'm a philosophy major (oops, i think this part goes in BBV), so I must have reasons other than job prospects to be in school, and I do.

Just think about all possible situations, and if any of them leave you crying in a corner somewhere, figure out if the risk is worth the reward. You're not giving up much by playing poker while in school, but you might be giving up a lot by quiting school to focus on poker. Just critically analyze every last possible factor to figure out what's best for you.