Q for those who COULD poker full-time..but don't and get a job instead

[teddyFBI]

Something I've been mulling over a ton now >> I do rather well playing mid- & high-stakes poker, and could easily go ahead and decide to play "full-time", instead of acquiring gainful employment...in fact, some would say that I'm an idiot for even thinking twice about foresaking a "real job" for poker, given that I could make enough over a couple of years to last me quite a while, and save up for future-kids' educations, etc. It's also a decision that's front-and-center for me now, having just finished my law degree.

I'd like to hear from the subset of people who also could make a pretty penny from poker if they played 30+ hours / week (i'm going to pull that # out of my butt, and say that it represents the minimum of what a "full-time" guy would play), but who choose NOT to do that, and instead get a real job, keeping poker as a 0 - 20 hr / week hobby on the side.

First of all, what is your chosen employment, and explain what factors went into your decision not to do the poker-thing fulltime instead? --I'm assuming, as is the case for me, that you would actually make close to or more (in my case much more) playing poker than you do in your job.

My own thoughts on this? I've got undergrad and law degrees from top-notch schools, and frankly, I'd feel like I'd be wasting a good part of my natural and acquired talents by expending most of my energies on a game that can be mastered even by high school dropouts. There's also this feeling that I'd be missing out on a very important social experience -- the "office" -- by choosing the poker-life. I see all of my law school peers now working at top NY firms, and most of them profess to dislike it, some intently, but it's still interesting to see how they're gradually adapting to the law firm culture, and building a relatively strong social and professional network, something I simply don't get sitting at home...and sure, you can argue that the social thing is something that you can still develop nights/weekends, etc -- and to be sure, I'm not your typical computer geek: I'm pretty socially active, and have a nice expansive network of friends, but there's still something alienating about removing oneself from what is considered to be a "normal" work envirnoment.

But anyway, I've rambled on enough; I'd find it interesting to read anecdotes from others who had the option (and still do, I guess) of playing poker full-time, yet chose to get a "real" job instead, and what factored into your decision, and how you feel about the decision with some hindsight. Potential factors: professional development? Office comeraderie? Future career opportunities? Concern about social alienation? Expectations of family / friends / significant others?

[turnipmonster]

I considered going pro many times, especially when party first opened the 1k tables. but, money isn't everything, and although my day job is not exactly endlessly fascinating it's a lot more interesting than playing online poker. for me, I get sick of poker easily and wouldn't want to be in a situation where I had to play. I'm sure I would be much richer now had I gone pro, but I would also be out of the loop in my current profession. I can't say I regret my decision to keep working, but who knows.

[ahnuld]

I said eff it 2 months ago and decided when I finish my undergrad in spring '08 im gong pro. Just dont feel like going into i-banking and I dont feel like working my ass off for the next 5-6 years straight either.

[teddyFBI]

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I said eff it 2 months ago and decided when I finish my undergrad in spring '08 im gong pro. Just dont feel like going into i-banking and I dont feel like working my ass off for the next 5-6 years straight either.

[/ QUOTE ]

I can understand why you'd say this, and I'm sure a lot of people (myself included) have felt this way at some point...but I also think that reading some replies in this thread (hopefully) from ppl who have weighed this decision and come out the other way will be insightful.

[ahnuld]

Well just to build on my short post, I domt only plan on playing cards and I dont want it to define me as a person. I neevr really want to be a recognised pro, id like to be known for other things. I really love investing and such, so poker will allow me to have the time to really follow the market closely and do tons of research, something I wouldnt have time for with another job. I was considering going into the buy side of finance where the above would be my job, but like I said, 60 hour work weeks for less pay (initially at least) than I would make in cards doesnt appeal to me. And i-banking is a whole other story. Im still relatively young as well (21) and want to do alot of traveling. Poker will allow me to do that for a few years, as you could play anywhere in the world.

Finally, and importantly, I do want to make the world a better place. While going into finance wasnt going to be so great for humanity, it does improve people's quality of life, and you provide a valued service, as do lawyers. So given that I decided to go pro, I feel it will be my duty to also give back something, espeically since poker is only taking. So I figure I will get pretty involved in some charity organisation, try to use my college degree to actually get someone competent to run it for free.

[TheMetetron]

I know you don't want to hear from people like me who chose to go pro, but here are my main reasons for doing so:

- Make way more $$$ as a professional.
- I don't much care that the job isn't meaningful. I'd either be some number-crunching finance guy or I'd go to law school and become an unsatisfied lawyer. Neither of these is any more meaningful than poker.
- I work wherever I want to. The importance of this cannot be understated.
- Even though I work 30 hours a week on average, I get to choose the hours. Vacation whenever I want, days off whenever I want, etc. This freedom is huge.
- Poker will allow me to retire very early and do something I truly enjoy with my life. In the meantime I got to see a ton of cool places in the world and have a world perspective most could only dream of.

I can't come up with many more reasons FOR playing poker at least that applied to me. I'm assuming people who chose to keep a regular job don't have one or more of these things applying to them (i.e. making more without poker or really enjoying their real job) that make the decision closer.

[adsman]

I'd consider going semi-pro or even pro if I had more opportunities to play live, (I live in Europe). But sitting in front of the computer for 30+ hours a week is just too anti-social for my tastes. I did it for six months back in the day, but eventually I just got sick of it. Now I keep poker as a nicely paying hobby. I couldn't give a stuff what other people think of me, in fact, here in Europe it's seen as being very cool to be a professional gambler.

But the only thing that playing poker online offers is monetary rewards, and my life is worth more than that.

[AZK]

Why I didnt:

Poker is boring. Anyway you slice it, learn as many games as you want, play tourneys for a change of pace whatever, it gets old. I didn't want to spend 10 years sitting in front of my computer all day multitabling becoming a basic robot.

No real satisfaction other than money. Which also gets old. Funny thing about money, it's the most important thing when you don't have any, once you do, it becomes less and less important. The more money you have the less it's relative worth. I don't even have that much money compared to all my HSNL 2+2 friends and I've already realized eh, unnecessary. Sure I like buying $300 jeans, but they aren't essential.

I like learning new things, being active, reading, working out, socializing, etc... As my poker play gets more intense in thought/games/hours I always cut back on all of this stuff. My whole life suffers when I play a lot of poker, because of this, going pro would be the worst thing for me.

These points apply to me, I'm not saying they are for everyone else.

[Matt Flynn]

As an entrenched professional with a family, there are several barriers between me and pro poker.

-The biggest is my job is pretty good, and it pays well.

-The future of poker is not clear, so there is far less stability.

-I cannot play more than 5 or so 6-handed tables for hours on end.

-Playing online poker makes it hard to sleep, sometimes makes me irritable, and makes me think too much about poker.

-Outside of hand reading, no-limit isn't that hard, so there will be many more players who are close to me in skill in the future.

-I far prefer live poker.

-Live poker doesn't pay as well as my job.

-Wife would not be happy with me.

-Poker stays fun if it's a hobby.

Matt

[The DaveR]

Generally, I think the freedom of professional poker is largely an illusion.

I have substantially less future earning volatility by working, and substantially more upside. I think this is generally true of most smart people.

Who wants to end up like PokerBob anyway?