I'm going to get flamed: Day Job vs. Poker...

[Sotiria]

Note that I am always going to lean towards taking a "regular" job over the poker career since the former is the better long term plan for 9/10 people, but a day job is not the only alternative to playing poker. LOL at the people talking about having a gap in your resume....there are practically infinite ways of making money in this world that do not invole a 9-5 office job.

[Kurn, son of Mogh]

Im 21 and im not a pro although poker is my only source of income

[img]/images/graemlins/confused.gif[/img] Uh, if poker is your only source of income you are, by definition, a pro.

[bogey1]

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LOL at the people talking about having a gap in your resume....there are practically infinite ways of making money in this world that do not invole a 9-5 office job.

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Yea, you can always take up prostitution or selling body parts.

There may be a million ways, but unless you do what you're good at and trained at, it may not be easy. I'd be very poorly suited to any kind of sales job, any job that requires a lot of physical exertion (I have permanent injury issues), or extensive travel.

LOL at people that roll through life with no plan.

[The B]

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(I'm somewhat successful at poker and really have no friends who are pros outside of one who just quit his job and that's only because he's good friends with a successful pro)...


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who's your friend's friend? he/she should be able to give some valuable insight

Negreanu and Paul Wasicka wrote articles on Pokerpages.com about "turning pro"....check that out

My advice: If you make poker your full-time profession, be fully committed to it...jump in head-first, be passionate about the game, and take your work serious.....good luck

[Jamougha]

I'm a professional online player. The advantages are obvious; you can make a higher hourly rate than at most jobs, and you have freedom to work when you want, and as much or as little as you like, within reason. I'm not a CTS-style superstar but midstakes grinders do OK. My plan is to be a dollar millionaire in around 2 years time, which is a nice amount of financial independence, even if it's not [censored] you money.

The main downside is stress. Even if you don't think you stress as a casual player, you will. Stress has a negative impact on your life that extends beyond poker.

The second downside is that you are quite vulnerable to rare and unforeseen events. The UIGEA legislation had a big impact on online poker. Could something else surprising crop up and wreck your plans? Of course. A skilled 9-5 job is much more resistant to this sort of thing

Still, I think it's worth it, at least for me. However looking at your blog I don't think you are really prepared for this.

You have poor bankroll management, something that is death for any pro. Without good bankroll management the probability of you going bust is very close to one. You must correct this before you consider playing professionally.

Also, you are playing live. Playing live at 30 hands an hour means that it is much more difficult to ascertain your winrate. You noted that a recent downswing cut your $/hr in half, in which case you have definitely not played enough hands to have an idea of your long-term expectation. Given that you are currently earning around $22/hr at work and $50/hr playing poker, and that you will probably spend less hours playing than you currently do working - that's just not enough.

Finally it's vital in my view to have a financial cushion in place, so that you are not eating out of your bankroll. I think it is very unwise to go pro without a least 5 month's expenses to hand. Life has a lot of surprises in store. Actually I think this applies to a lot of ordinary people who give themselves far too little leeway for unexpected bad luck, but it's more important for a gambler. I don't know your situation of course.

Overall I recommend you work on your game and bankroll management, and save money. If you can do it sensibly then going pro is a great idea.

[Sotiria]

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LOL at the people talking about having a gap in your resume....there are practically infinite ways of making money in this world that do not invole a 9-5 office job.

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Yea, you can always take up prostitution or selling body parts.

There may be a million ways, but unless you do what you're good at and trained at, it may not be easy.

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Your quote illustrates my point perfectly. When did I say anything about it being easy? It takes a helluva a lot more ball-busting work to make it on your own then following the lead of the rest of the flock that takes the easy way working at some crappy 9-5 office job because it's "secure".

[mindstatez]

Do whatever makes you happy, but realize that a small percentage of players make money over a long period of time. A lot of young adults have made major life changes since this recent explosion of poker in the media, and the sad reality is a majority of these people will eventually go broke.

A 250k bankroll in your early 20s is sure nice, but with no job experience and a turn of the poker gods, your roll can be exterminated easier than you think. Many people are riding the wave right now, but as the old saying goes, what goes up most come down. That steady 60k a year job with benefits sure won't seem so pointless once that happens.

[Thremp]

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That steady 60k a year job with benefits sure won't seem so pointless once that happens.

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If we're gonna talk about fantasy land... How many kids out of school make this kind of money?

I know exactly none of my friend who'll see a salary like this.

[killakev]

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You have poor bankroll management, something that is death for any pro. Without good bankroll management the probability of you going bust is very close to one. You must correct this before you consider playing professionally.

Also, you are playing live. Playing live at 30 hands an hour means that it is much more difficult to ascertain your winrate. You noted that a recent downswing cut your $/hr in half, in which case you have definitely not played enough hands to have an idea of your long-term expectation. Given that you are currently earning around $22/hr at work and $50/hr playing poker, and that you will probably spend less hours playing than you currently do working - that's just not enough.

Finally it's vital in my view to have a financial cushion in place, so that you are not eating out of your bankroll. I think it is very unwise to go pro without a least 5 month's expenses to hand. Life has a lot of surprises in store. Actually I think this applies to a lot of ordinary people who give themselves far too little leeway for unexpected bad luck, but it's more important for a gambler. I don't know your situation of course.

Overall I recommend you work on your game and bankroll management, and save money. If you can do it sensibly then going pro is a great idea.

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Very considerate opinion here and I appreciate it, from everyone that has taken the time to post in this thread.

I agree that I need to have a better bankroll management...quite honestly right now mine is horrible. I am still working out the kinks in my game as well.

To be honest I do have a great passion for poker as I'm a competitive person by nature and I do hope to one day make a run at turning pro, although I don't think that will happen anytime soon.

By the way, to the person that asked, my friend's friend is Phil Ivey and I really don't want to bother him or act like I'm trying to be buddy-buddy because of who he is so I take the second-hand advice from my friend, who recently started playing pro. Actually I don't even think I would be able to initiate a conversation with him like that, lol.

If anyone cares to know, the advice that Phil Ivey had for my friend was this: Always know what game you can rely on when you are struggling. Apparently for Ivey it was 80/160 limit hold 'em when he was building his roll starting out in LV. Basically have a game that you know you can beat for the times when you are losing at higher limits or different games. I don't know if that made sense. He obviously stresses bankroll management. I'm sure this probably sounds like a bs story to you guys. It is funny to me though when there are threads on this forum that say stuff like "Ivey Busto?" and show one hand from FT. I know the advice is pretty obvious but it's interesting to hear it come from someone so successful.

Anyways, thanks for all the advice and I'll keep checking in here. I agree with pretty much everything everyone has said, including the contrasting opinions. I was out of work for a month and it was hard explaining to a job what I was doing for that month, so I can only imagine a few years. On the other hand, maybe it would force me to get back in freelance writing, which is something I wish I was doing.

Also, I've read the Dynasty thread a couple times (I lurk) and find his story very intriguing and educational.

[Floyd13]

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LOL at the people talking about having a gap in your resume....there are practically infinite ways of making money in this world that do not invole a 9-5 office job.

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Yea, you can always take up prostitution or selling body parts.

There may be a million ways, but unless you do what you're good at and trained at, it may not be easy.

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Your quote illustrates my point perfectly. When did I say anything about it being easy? It takes a helluva a lot more ball-busting work to make it on your own then following the lead of the rest of the flock that takes the easy way working at some crappy 9-5 office job because it's "secure".

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QFT

Deep down most people are nothing more than unmotivated sheeple. Just tell me what to do so I don't have to think about it.