SSNL, what\'s your story?
 

I'm quitting my job on Nov 29th and then going to Argentina for a few weeks. I'm 24 years old and plan on playing poker from then on, until something better develops. I have my undergraduate degree and took the LSAT. I just finished applying to schools, but I'm not sure I'll go right now.

But I'm still confused about life. I'm moving to Denver to live with some friends and ski for the winter. I a nice savings from poker, and have made good money the last few months.

Who else is in the 'undecided so I'm playing poker for a while' boat? Who is just playing for fun while in school? I assume there are at least some other 'pros' who play 100-400nl, right?

I'm curious what the story is behind everyone here. If this has been done, can someone link me? Thanks

Re: SSNL, what\'s your story?
 

I guess what I'm thinking is that

25nl is obviously not 'life changing' $

1000nl obviously is

but 200nl is kind of in the middle...we can make a lot there, but not generally enough to make it a career I wouldn't think. But seems to be a great place for a couple years.

Re: SSNL, what\'s your story?
 

I'm in the same boat as you. I graduated almost 1 year ago, and dont have a real job as of yet, even though I do coach some tennis and make a little money on the side there. I used to play alot of MTTs but for about a month now I've been playing 200nl with some success. Im moving downtown Toronto with a friend the start of 2008 and hopefully poker and tennis will be enough to pay the bills. I've got some $ saved up aswell from poker but not tons or anything. I just need to start putting in more time and I could make a living easy it seems, who knows.. I havent been playing cash very long.
I still have never had a real 'full time' job and I dont see it happening in the near future.

GL

Re: SSNL, what\'s your story?
 

I graduate this december and I'm going to go pro for a while to see how it works for me. Fwiw, any stake 25+ has the potential to support you for a living, the problem is just making sure you do everything right. Thats why I want to take it slow and play for a fwe months, see what happens, then either get a job or do this till it dies.

But ya, I agree, this does seem like a great place for a couple of years

Re: SSNL, what\'s your story?
 

I'm trying to go to school for the third time, and not doing well at all.. about to give up. Been playing poker since 2005, off and on "professional". I think I can make enough money in the next couple years to last my girlfriend and I til she gets her bachelors. So I'm currently in life-limbo.

Re: SSNL, what\'s your story?
 

I just graduated this past May and started playing 'professionally' in June at $1/2. I make more than all my friends and can certainly see being able to live a pretty good lifestyle playing small stakes. It'd really help if Congress passed a bill fully legalizing online poker, but even without that I think I can be set financially playing 1/2 and eventually moving up to 2/4.

Re: SSNL, what\'s your story?
 

im f'ing up school and i just got good at poker and i dont want a real job

Re: SSNL, what\'s your story?
 

Graduating this winter in computer science. Not particularly excited about the prospect of sitting in a cubicle writing software for 8 hours a day getting paid 60k a year. So I'm also going the poker route for now. I'm at $200 right now. Moving to $400 again pretty soon. Plan on moving to Vegas with my girlfriend next July, but we're still trying to decide if we want Vegas or somewhere more interesting (Thailand?).

I'm also considering going the shareware software route as a side-career. I do love programming, particularly games/graphics/physics, but I love it because of the creativity and freedom you have to express yourself with it. That creativity/freedom is likely the first thing to be stripped away when working for somebody else.

Re: SSNL, what\'s your story?
 

I had to quit my music studies due to a wrist injury and picked up poker instead in october 2006. It's been my sole source of income since may when I had my first $5k month and moved up to NL200. Currently grinding between NL50-NL200, mostly NL100.

Re: SSNL, what\'s your story?
 

grinder during summer and when not busy as [censored] in school. I'm in my last year of college and next semester is a joke, so I'm basically going full-time starting Dec. 13th.

I'm going pro, but not for a career. I'm just taking a year off b4 graduate school, so basically I figure if I can make 100k I might as well take the opportunity.

Re: SSNL, what\'s your story?
 

I guess i'm in life limbo myself like a lot of you have said already. I just immigrated to the States a couple months ago and don't even have the paperwork sorted that allows me to work yet, so I guess I currently play poker to support my family as an only way out for now. Not that i'd be going out looking for work as poker is being kind to me and i've met some friends through 2p2 that have taken me under their wing and helped me with my poker.

I've been playing poker to support myself for over a year now but really just getting by, but it has helped a lot with flights and all the costs that go with immigrating and flying my wife over to South Africa to visit me back in the day.

I guess for now i'm gonna stick with poker until my wife finishes her RN nursing course at which point i'll probably look to study something myself but i'm not quite sure what yet. A lot depends on my financial situation when that time comes. I'm 25 and file like i've missed the boat with going to school, I dont want to be 30 years old and sitting in a classroom...am I too old??!

Re: SSNL, what\'s your story?
 

for all u grinders who "work" at the tables, how many hands a week do u typically put in? how long have u been playing for? And whats a normal week/month in terms of buyins won/lost (dont lie)

Re: SSNL, what\'s your story?
 

[ QUOTE ]
I'm 25 and file like i've missed the boat with going to school, I dont want to be 30 years old and sitting in a classroom...am I too old??!

[/ QUOTE ]

Not even close. I'm 26 here and [still] going to school. I'm also rarely the oldest person in my classes. You'll almost always have a couple of 30-40 year old guys in each class who decided to just learn something new. There's a 45 year old lady who is not only enrolled in the class but also regularly attends student organized study sessions for one of my classes this semester. It's a bit unusual but not awkward in the least.

Re: SSNL, what\'s your story?
 

I'm 22 and have about 2 years of school left, and havent been in school for almost a year now. I'm playing semi pro right now and have a good amount of money saved up from playing and I'm playing nl400/600 now.

I have a part time job that pays salary and full benefits, that is really nothing more than watching over employees and hanging out in an office, so its been pretty hard to justify quitting because its really no stress money, but I have come to the point where quitting soon seems very reasonable. I plan on quitting some time early next year, and doing a lot of traveling and moving to the west coast.

Poker takes a lot of time and effort, but has been VERY rewarding and worthwhile so far. I still have some things i want to figure out about my direction in life, but Im really happy where im at right now. As of now I have no plans of going back to school.

Re: SSNL, what\'s your story?
 

[ QUOTE ]
for all u grinders who "work" at the tables, how many hands a week do u typically put in? how long have u been playing for? And whats a normal week/month in terms of buyins won/lost (dont lie)

[/ QUOTE ]

I'm a 6bb winner and try to get 15k hands in a week

Re: SSNL, what\'s your story?
 

HEy I really like this thread since I have some life issues too hahaha.

Im currently 21 and finishing my last year in college as a mechanical engineer. I currently intern at a company but the work is pretty boring and tedious at times. I play 200-600NL recently 400nl and have been earning a decent clip. GIven that I found my self with several options this comming summer and I'm leaning towards traveling to Japan, thailand, europe, etc building a good roll for investing and moving on to that.

Did u guys know u may qualify for a 80k tax break if u play outside the US when you file with the IRS [img]/images/graemlins/smile.gif[/img]?

But ya i want to ride this out when I get a chance to play to build a roll for investing (the poker game of life @_@)

Re: SSNL, what\'s your story?
 

I'M THE DOG, THE BIG BAD DOG.

Re: SSNL, what\'s your story?
 

i play 1/2, plan on being a teacher, junior in college. i play about 20-30k hands/month.

Re: SSNL, what\'s your story?
 

Just graduated from school this past summer, been playing poker for about 4 years but gradually more seriously for the past year or so. Currently play 200 nl but only for 10-15 hrs per week. I work at an investment banking firm, so that takes up the majority of my time.

Do I ever see poker as a full-time job? No. But it's sure nice to come home and make some nice money on the side, plus I enjoy the competitive and mental aspect that poker provides. Don't plan on giving up poker anytime soon, but hours will obviously be affected by what's going on at work. I enjoy the game, and probably will continue to play as long as it interests me.

Re: SSNL, what\'s your story?
 

[ QUOTE ]
[ QUOTE ]
I'm 25 and file like i've missed the boat with going to school, I dont want to be 30 years old and sitting in a classroom...am I too old??!

[/ QUOTE ]

Not even close. I'm 26 here and [still] going to school. I'm also rarely the oldest person in my classes. You'll almost always have a couple of 30-40 year old guys in each class who decided to just learn something new. There's a 45 year old lady who is not only enrolled in the class but also regularly attends student organized study sessions for one of my classes this semester. It's a bit unusual but not awkward in the least.

[/ QUOTE ]

Nice, in my head I always thought its college right after high school or never. I guess I won't feel awkward being that old in a classroom after all. Still gotta decide what to study tho..blah i still got time to worry about that

Re: SSNL, what\'s your story?
 

I'm bad at attending classes. Good at table-selecting and beating poker players who even worse than me. [img]/images/graemlins/smile.gif[/img] So yes I want to use poker as a main source of income for awhile, especially because I plan to travel extensively in 2008 (mainly to Australia and Norway).

Re: SSNL, what\'s your story?
 

i'm still in university (college i guess), this is my last year i graduate in june (probably [img]/images/graemlins/tongue.gif[/img])

i just moved up to nl200, if i crush nl200 over a large sample size by june going pro becomes an option for sure (I 8table so that's like 30€/h post taxes - i don't know the tax situation yet so i'm just using 50% as a guesstimate)

but now it's still just a hobby that's fun and makes lots of $$$ for a student

Re: SSNL, what\'s your story?
 

i'm in denial about uni/getting jobs.

Re: SSNL, what\'s your story?
 

im a pretty substandard uni student, still ive at home etc

been playing poker on and off for ages, probably since late 2005. when i play poker my grades go down so i tend not to play much during the semester and i have random long periods where i play barely any poker due to life commitments etc. ive been playing between 100nl and 400nl for the past 1.5 years basically and always maintained a decent roll but usually had to cash out. im hoping to increase my bankroll and really make a run at moving up the limits. i guess i eventually want to get to 5/10 or something but im not really sure how realistic that goal is

this summer (in australia) im hoping to make about 20k or so, its going ridiculously terribly atm so idk if thats gonna happen, but ill just keep at it and hopefully make some money

next year ill be moving out (closer to uni, in the city) and im hoping to support myself with poker, recent sick downswings have made me doubt my ability to do that so ill definitely be working on my game, maybe getting some coaching so i can keep getting better

thats pretty much it i guess, random small time semi successful poker player

Re: SSNL, what\'s your story?
 

i only played poker for the first time after i had already graduated with a music degree.

atm i'm only playing poker to support myself, and i'm not too worried about getting experience or stuff to put on my CV cos if the poker thing doesn't work out i can still do all my music stuff and earn a living.

Re: SSNL, what\'s your story?
 

Poker is such a distraction/addiction that I decided to take next year off and go pro until I stop loving to play or I go busto. FWIW I'm a freshman

Re: SSNL, what\'s your story?
 

Geez all these posts from students is making me feel old. lol

I'm 28, soon to be 29 and working full time as a Civil Servant earning the equivalant of 60K USD at the mo. I play 1/2 6 max and aim to move up the limits and eventually go pro. I also have a family with a 9 month old nipper so I won't be doing anything rash til I have a huge chunk saved and a consistant good PTBB/100 @ 400nl.

Re: SSNL, what\'s your story?
 

Right now I play poker in the mornings before I work out or go to school. I am only playing to move up in stakes as fast as I can, not to get better. After I graduate in May, I will most likely withdraw all my money before taking the bar and starting work and blow it on something nice.

Re: SSNL, what\'s your story?
 

great thread idea

i started playing cash in june at 25NL and i currently play 5/10 with a bit of 3/6 and 10/20.

i took temp leave from uni for 2 years last month and went pro and will be moving to thailand for 12+ months in january.

I really love travelling and have always disliked the idea of the 9-5 so i am very very grateful for online poker [img]/images/graemlins/smile.gif[/img]

Re: SSNL, what\'s your story?
 

Fletcher what site do you play? I'm breaking out of this country next year and basically doing the same thing as you. Hate 9-5, [censored] the man, love poker, etc.

Anyone wanna take action on how many under 25 students there are?

Re: SSNL, what\'s your story?
 

Iam in college, Ive never had a real job. Its my 3rd year Iam 21 years old. Ive always tld my self, when I go broke Ill get a job. Well I am majoring in Turf Managment, which will pay nice, but until then, I am playing poker.

I started at the age of 16 playing online back in the day.
Its just a thrill for me sitting with $400 at the table, and knowing I am capable of busting these guys. Its just part of life when you go through them downswings. But its not the winnings that will keep you going, its how you handle your losses. Winnings will obv. keep you going up until a certain point. You have to be ready to lose 8,9,10 etc. buy ins.

TBH I really don't have a clue where ill be in a couple years. I don't know if I want to play poker for the rest of my life, but I am sure life will throw the right opportunity to me at some point.

Re: SSNL, what\'s your story?
 

I'm a student, and earn enough at 100nl to support myself. It's just that unless I end up being a 1000nl regular or something like that, I'd rather do something else then playing poker for a living.

So yeah I'm in my third year, and maybe I'll take half a year off when I finished my bachelor, just to see if I can move up in stakes fast. But I am planning to get my masters in 2 years, and hopefully get a real job, and play some poker on the side if it still exists by then. That's probably the thing I am worried about the most, will it still be around in say 2 years, or should we all be playing live by then?

Re: SSNL, what\'s your story?
 

Next thursday I'll be getting my master of science degree, yay [img]/images/graemlins/smile.gif[/img]

I've got a job as software engineer and I'm going to do that kinda fulltime from then on, but I'm able to work from my home with flexible hours, so I can blend in some poker.

Re: SSNL, what\'s your story?
 

[ QUOTE ]
[ QUOTE ]
for all u grinders who "work" at the tables, how many hands a week do u typically put in? how long have u been playing for? And whats a normal week/month in terms of buyins won/lost (dont lie)

[/ QUOTE ]

I'm a 6bb winner and try to get 15k hands in a week

[/ QUOTE ]

Do u stay in ssnl because if u move ur winrate drastically decreases, or cause u have to withdraw a lot of money?

Re: SSNL, what\'s your story?
 

[ QUOTE ]
[ QUOTE ]
[ QUOTE ]
for all u grinders who "work" at the tables, how many hands a week do u typically put in? how long have u been playing for? And whats a normal week/month in terms of buyins won/lost (dont lie)

[/ QUOTE ]

I'm a 6bb winner and try to get 15k hands in a week

[/ QUOTE ]

Do u stay in ssnl because if u move ur winrate drastically decreases, or cause u have to withdraw a lot of money?

[/ QUOTE ]

I just started winning a decent amount. I'm hoping to move up to 2/4 next month. I only withdraw my rakeback atm.

Re: SSNL, what\'s your story?
 

29...work full time as a story editor at a movie production company. Was always a casual player, 50NL, 100NL,but finally decided to buckle down get some coaching and will probably do the Isura "program" once i get the cash. Plan to be at 100NL by end of Jan and 200NL by summer.
Make 48K per year but its a long ass work week. Working towards a career as a writer/director so being able to play and support myself full time while I write would be pretty sweet.

Re: SSNL, what\'s your story?
 

[ QUOTE ]
I guess what I'm thinking is that

25nl is obviously not 'life changing' $

1000nl obviously is

but 200nl is kind of in the middle...we can make a lot there, but not generally enough to make it a career I wouldn't think. But seems to be a great place for a couple years.

[/ QUOTE ]

My thoughts exactly.
And if you save like a mofo (like living in a cheap asian country =P) it can add up to a damn nice sum. Then, if you invest it well, even if it only doubles every 10 years in a conservative investment, that means that after 40 years (retirement age), it's 16 times what you put in - which is a GOD DAMN LOT OF MONEY.

Compound interest starting when your young ftw.
(n.b. starting 10 years later halves the final amount for those that don't understand compound interest and exponential graphs)


Then after 2-3 years of 200nl+ poker, you can get back into some other career and get on with your normal life knowing that you have a massive edge on the financial side of things for the rest of your life.

Re: SSNL, what\'s your story?
 

It's difficult to talk about some of these decisions with my friends who are struggling with money or dealing with their lame 9-5, and I always feel bad when I say 'hey, i just shipped $2k' or 'hey i'm on a $4k downswing'.

Re: SSNL, what\'s your story?
 

19, 2nd year physics student.
I put in around 25k hands a month depending on what I'm doing, but poker always takes a backseat to just about everything else, I just use it to fill my idle time.

I'm thinking about taking a year off next year but it's more because I'm more or less burnt out on science and want to go play, not because I want to grind for a year solid.

I'm fairly into outdoor sports/adventure stuff, so poker cash is financing a couple trips right now which is sweet because that can get really expensive. I'm flying out to Fernie, BC in February and doing back country skiing for 2 weeks all on poker $$, should be fantastic.

Re: SSNL, what\'s your story?
 

23 yo and i droped out from uni 2 times (computer science and safety engineering). In my defense i never studied before uni and i was quite shocked at how much time u need to be behind the books. I could make it this year (1 exam left in september) but meh.

Atm im basicly pro (only income) and i plan to learn some option and certificate investing in near future. My expenses are very small, so i invested quite nice sum so far.
I never saw myself in 9-5 job (well happy at doin it) so i can almost say im living my dream.