A trend I want to kick... (poker content but life application)

[mntbikr15]

Guess its been touched on since me by a few others...but my whole point is that for some people school serves a small enough purpose that its worth taking the risk and getting the [censored] out.

If poker/real estate crash you CAN always go back. Maybe not the time of your life thing that you have at 21 but still...

Also, OP isnt one of the guys making like 60k a year thinking its the holy grail.

Edit- One other point, a college degree isnt worth squat these days. No one without top marks from a top school and/or a masters gets paid anything worth chasing after(this is if you have no real direction....if you WANT to do something then its a diff story)

[mntbikr15]

[ QUOTE ]
If your plans in life are to go into the business world of real estate and never getting a job, don't sweat over your GPA, because that number won't mean diddly squat in the business world.

I made the transition from poker to business and the only thing I wish I did was make more money from poker so that my business start would have been much easier.

[/ QUOTE ]

Id sooner get out....if you cant/arent going to apply yourself then whats the point.

[ggbman]

As many have touched upon, I don't have any aspirations to use my degree after school. I like the idea of having it in case it becomes neccesary, and hopefully poker will have given me enough of a head start that there is less pressure on me to have a stellar professional career purley to make money. On the whole, i like poker and think i can do it for a while. There are a few months every year where it feels like slow torture and i wish i didn't have to do it, but I imagine most professionals have the same expierence at various points.

I have many friends who graudated last year, and while many of the are ok with their jobs, i get the impression they would really value the flexibility in thier schedules that i would have if i didn't get a job, even though i have to deal with more day to day stress. My girlfriend, who was a very good student, is having a very tough time enjoying the work world. So this all makes me want to pursue a career as poker player for a few years while branching myself off into real estate with poker as a part time job. The thing is that I want as much of a cushion as possible if i am to do this, which makes me want to play as much as possible now. I feel like if I graudate at 22 with 15k-20k a year in passive income because i put in more hours, that will take more pressure of me later in life. But at the present, i think that mentality makes my results suffer and also makes if hard for me to as well at school as i should. Ultimatley i think i will be fine with how i handle, i work hard all around and put forth a good effort, i just think i put too much pressure on myself which makes perform worse and not give enough attention to things that don't offer immidiate monetary compensation. (school, work experienence, etc...)

I am going to try to absord some of the advice in this thread and post updates here so i can monitor my progress and continue to get advice.

Here are the current goals:

1.) Get a minimum 3.3 GPA in school (this would be a big jump from my current 2.5 ish GPA, but can be done)

2.) Don't drop any classes, make up some credits, and be sure to graduate on time

3.) Log 100k hands in good games from now until the end of december. Don't play higher to recoup losses or play any -EV casino games. Make at least 45k in these hands. Play lower than i need to so i can make some consistent money, stress less, and not have any situations where I play marathon sessions and ignore work because I am tilted.

Wish me luck with this stuff and i'll keep you guys posted!

Gabe

[Tien]

I still don't understand why a 3.3 GPA would mean anything in your life.


The excuse of "security" or something to fall back on is a really pathetic excuse used for people that like to quit and fall back on something "easy".


Real estate / business / investing is not an easy path to take. But the only thing that seperates the winners from the losers is burning desire to achieve what they want, and fearless action to get it.


You have an entrepreneurial spirit and I can feel it with types like yours. You already see the pitfalls of falling into the 9-5 ratrace and it is something you know deep down inside will NOT work for you, why stress yourself over it then?

[Tien]

My advice would be:


1) Don't sweat over your GPA
2) Make tons of money with poker
3) Learn as much you can about money / investing / real estate
4) Profit $$$

[raptor517]

keep pushing yourself in real estate. the gpa is almost meaningless as long as you get your degree. if you have no plans to continue in management or would rather die before working for someone else, dont put forth all of your effort in your scholarly studies, its just not as important as other things. right now, you can make quite a bit playing poker. dry that up while you still can. right now you are young and interested in real estate, and have already gotten your foot in the door. work up the leg now. my advice, which can obviously be taken with a huge grain of salt, is to focus your time in the real estate world, start making connections there, play poker with whatever time you have left, and do just enough to get by in school if you really want that degree.

[JaBlue]

It sounds like you should just take classes you really want to, in stuff that you're really interested in, and stop wasting your time with some [censored] managing degree. You'll devote more time when you care about more than the grade.

[ispiked]

[ QUOTE ]
Here are the current goals:
...

[/ QUOTE ]
I think the ability to set goals and achieve them is a good thing to strive for. What I would suggest is breaking down each of these goals into concrete tasks (or at least something more concrete than getting a 3.3 GPA). For instance, what is it going to take to get a 3.3 GPA? Probably turning in all assignments on time, starting assignments early, etc. I feel that it's sometimes easy to set these abstract goals and get some sort of instant gratification for setting them, but then failing to achieve them because the plan of action for completing them was not in place. (This may not be the case for everyone...)

I guess I'm in the camp that thinks a degree is a good thing to have. It shows that you had the time and discipline to "grind" though four years of college -- something that not everyone can do. Sure, a degree and GPA don't speak for everything, but it sure is better than having to explain to someone that you only have a high school diploma and dropped out of college to play poker. That said, there are obviously certain types of jobs where you don't need such credentials -- and being realtor is probably one of them.

[icanadd]

Poker will be there when you graduate. Enjoy school and study what you find most challenging/interesting. Play poker like and on campus job. Set aside 5-15 hours a week just like if you worked at the library or waited tables. Don't be in too big a hurry you will probably change what you really want to do a few times before you turn 25. You will have plentty of time in your mid/late twenties to worry about your career.