Major for aspiring pro poker player?
 

I read in Barry Greestein's book Ace on the River that the "best" education a professional poker player could have (college-wise) would be a major in psychology and a minor in mathematics. What do you guys think? I want to at least get some sort of degree before I (hopefully) move to Vegas, etc., but I'm unsure of what I want to do...

Thanks for input! =)

Re: Major for aspiring pro poker player?
 

I think it's a bad idea to major in something with the intentions of becoming a professional poker player. I think you should major in something you want to do (e.g. if you want to work in marketing or something get a degree in that).

Re: Major for aspiring pro poker player?
 

Do not major in psychology unless you are 100% sure that you want to go to some type of grad school. The only job you can get related to psychology with a BA would be a $10/hr research assistant position with no room to move up until you have an advanced degree.

Also, everyone thinks that college psychology courses are about mind reading or something.

I majored in psychology and here was a sampling of classes and content

Sleep Seminar- sleep research, sleep science, etc.

Psychology of Law- Jury tendencies, eyewitness testimony flaws, etc.

Memory- Science of cognition and memory

Physiological Psych- more brain science

Psych of adolescence- why teenage girls are sad

Resiliency and Development- how to make them not sad.


Major in whatever you would major in if poker was not an option. Nothing you major in will help that much, and this way you have a backup plan if poker doesn't work out or you get sick of it.

Feel free to take classes in logic, game theory, stats, etc. but no need to major in anything in particular.

Re: Major for aspiring pro poker player?
 

i dont mean to be belitting at all, but the OP makes me think that you are overthinking things.

Re: Major for aspiring pro poker player?
 

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i dont mean to be belitting at all, but the OP makes me think that you are overthinking things.

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bruin,

here is his only other post (in MTT)

methinks he is ready for the big show.

Re: Major for aspiring pro poker player?
 

don't be a pro poker player unless that the only thing you want to do in life. you can't "like" poker and be into the money. you need a HIGH tolerance for stress, more than you think possible, and to be dedicated to putting the hours in. i have a lot of friends who are pros, they either have a long term plan that doesn't involve poker in the next 5-10 years or love the game so much that they are fine spending the next 30+ years playing it. being a pro poker player is not glamorous, don't be fooled. when poker becomes the only thing in your life your emotional state becomes based on it. the people who are happiest i have found are people who have a good job that doesn't require excessive time commitment and play poker on the side for good extra income.

/rant

Re: Major for aspiring pro poker player?
 

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Do not major in psychology unless you are 100% sure that you want to go to some type of grad school. The only job you can get related to psychology with a BA would be a $10/hr research assistant position with no room to move up until you have an advanced degree.

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No offense, but that's not correct. There are many subdivisions of Psychology where you can get a good decent-paying salary with a B.A. Eng Psych, Human Factors, Ergonomics, Applied Cognition, to name a few.

Re: Major for aspiring pro poker player?
 

It's really silly to pick a major based on poker. Take classes in quasi-poker related fields (you won't probably won't learn anything that helps for poker but you seem to be determined) and major in what you enjoy.

Re: Major for aspiring pro poker player?
 

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Do not major in psychology unless you are 100% sure that you want to go to some type of grad school. The only job you can get related to psychology with a BA would be a $10/hr research assistant position with no room to move up until you have an advanced degree.

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No offense, but that's not correct. There are many subdivisions of Psychology where you can get a good decent-paying salary with a B.A. Eng Psych, Human Factors, Ergonomics, Applied Cognition, to name a few.

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Yeah, I know there are some opportunities out there, but I feel like they are few and far between. Out of like 25 people that graduated with me that majored in psych, 5 went to law school, 10 went to grad school, 7 got random finance/business jobs, and 3 are waiters.

Maybe its just my limited experience that I haven't come across these opportunities.

Re: Major for aspiring pro poker player?
 

I think the best thing a professional poker player could do is to drop out of school and put the time and money saved into poker. It's not a good bet though unless you are already making a comfortable living from poker.

I think a math or computer science degree would be ideal for poker.

Re: Major for aspiring pro poker player?
 

Take whatever major you would if you were planning on pursuing a regular career. Take a minor, or take elective courses, in Mathematics, possibly Psych or Sociology, etc. It's possible that Business Admin or Finance could give you some insight on handling bankroll, or parceling out money between savings and playing funds, etc.

Re: Major for aspiring pro poker player?
 

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I think the best thing a professional poker player could do is to drop out of school and put the time and money saved into poker. It's not a good bet though unless you are already making a comfortable living from poker.

I think a math or computer science degree would be ideal for poker.

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if you plan to play poker during college, computer science would seem to be a huge time sink

Re: Major for aspiring pro poker player?
 

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Do not major in psychology unless you are 100% sure that you want to go to some type of grad school. The only job you can get related to psychology with a BA would be a $10/hr research assistant position with no room to move up until you have an advanced degree.

[/ QUOTE ]
No offense, but that's not correct. There are many subdivisions of Psychology where you can get a good decent-paying salary with a B.A. Eng Psych, Human Factors, Ergonomics, Applied Cognition, to name a few.

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Yeah, I know there are some opportunities out there, but I feel like they are few and far between. Out of like 25 people that graduated with me that majored in psych, 5 went to law school, 10 went to grad school, 7 got random finance/business jobs, and 3 are waiters.

Maybe its just my limited experience that I haven't come across these opportunities.

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I think your points are valid for psych majors who just take a bunch of mental health classes (non applied). This is common for small Liberal Arts colleges, but not as common for major research universities. If you're wise in your approach and classload, a psych degree can be a great asset.

Re: Major for aspiring pro poker player?
 

[ QUOTE ]
[ QUOTE ]
I think the best thing a professional poker player could do is to drop out of school and put the time and money saved into poker. It's not a good bet though unless you are already making a comfortable living from poker.

I think a math or computer science degree would be ideal for poker.

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if you plan to play poker during college, computer science would seem to be a huge time sink

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I would say ditto for math, given personal experience, unless you're a savant for that sort of thing.

Re: Major for aspiring pro poker player?
 

Philosophy

Re: Major for aspiring pro poker player?
 

if you don't like or not good at math I wouldn't recommend taking them in university...big step up from high school [censored] after you've completed the first year courses

Re: Major for aspiring pro poker player?
 

2+2 archives101

Re: Major for aspiring pro poker player?
 

psych with a math minor