Time to Go Pro?

[godofPOPOV]

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(2) work history is VITAL on a resume, "pro poker player" on a resume is a DEATH SENTENCE
(3) a real job keeps you grounded, in normal social circles. Poker involves living in a strange world of anti-social people, degenerates, arrogant maniacs. Keep this involvement part-time. Don't let it consume you.
(4) A job provides a service to the world. Can you really say the same about a poker player?

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1. if youre good it is.
2. hes 30. his work history is stock. and pro poker player isnt a death sentence... also if he goes pro he wont need a resume...
3. thats generalization.... and is horrible to say about a 'group' of people - no matter what the topic. (i.e - if you play online professionally, you never meet people; yet it can be very profitable [ without labeling].........)
4. poker now, more than ever, provides entertainment and goals...at least for people who understand ( or who are driven to learn and succeed. )



...you miss every shot you don't take.


the very best to whoever wants to play poker for a living.
and the very best to whoever feels they can succeed if they try.


[img]/images/graemlins/heart.gif[/img] "just do it"

[KipBond]

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(1) 80K salary is guaranteed. 100K poker isn't


[/ QUOTE ](1) Probably true. However money isn't everything. If there's a time to go for it, it's now or possibly never.

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I agree with the poster who said keep your job. At least part-time. Maybe move closer to a casino (Vegas, AC) if that is an issue.

Why is it "now or possibly never"? If going pro now is good, it'll be good in 5-10 years, too. If it's not going to be good in 5-10 years, it's not good now, either.

I think it'll be good for a long time. Maybe not AS good as it is right now -- all the publicity and such -- but poker isn't going to die anytime soon.

[malorum]

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Last year I made about $100,000 during 500 hour of play at a brick & mortar.

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The sample size is rather small here.
your talking 15k hands, so even if you provided the stakes or game type you played I might not be able to decide wether you are a significant winner.

But life is short, so if you want to do it and you don't mind a significant chance of going broke then go for it.

[Goodnews]

Dr. Schoonmaker will agree with a few of you. do you see who they are?

[TheOffice]

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(1) 80K salary is guaranteed. 100K poker isn't


[/ QUOTE ](1) Probably true. However money isn't everything. If there's a time to go for it, it's now or possibly never.

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I agree with the poster who said keep your job. At least part-time. Maybe move closer to a casino (Vegas, AC) if that is an issue.

Why is it "now or possibly never"? If going pro now is good, it'll be good in 5-10 years, too. If it's not going to be good in 5-10 years, it's not good now, either.

I think it'll be good for a long time. Maybe not AS good as it is right now -- all the publicity and such -- but poker isn't going to die anytime soon.

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Is keeping this job part-time even an issue? In that case, of course, keep the job 8-12 and go on grinding from the afternoon. Most likely this won't be possible.

It's now or never for various reasons IMO. As much as I'd love to be playing poker profitably for the next 10 yrs., I very much doubt it'll be around on this scale much longer. You'll have to be very sharp to find beatable games the way things are going in all major player countries. Legislation will change only for the worse such as other conditions will, too. Adaptation will become the key part of successful playing and you better be above NL100 level today to even think about getting involved.

But hey, what do I know? Hopefully I'm all wrong and game continue to be as easy as they are at the moment. Very doubtful though, very doubtful. The US won't ever get un-Fristed, some Western Europen countries have already declared war on poker and internet gambling in general. Let's hope for Asia to flourish, but then they have to be mobilized first and nothing is coming my way thus far. Go Asia?

The way I see it, games will be always beatable up to a certain level, but working full time on NL50 or limit 1/2 won't make you enough to cover expenses in the long run. Party 2003 isn't coming back for sure.

[MyJunkIsYou]

I'm also in a situation where I'm thinking of "going pro" - but not permanently. I plan to go to graduate school in a year of a half, but I basically have til then to just work because of the way application deadlines and stuff fall. So my choices are either stick with my current crap job (really boring, sometimes stressful, and I only make 33k a year) or quit and just play full-time to support myself. My savings does total about 6 months living expenses, and even with all the health insurance and extra taxes, I'd probably make double what I'm making at my job right now.

It'd be a no-brainer except for one thing: everyone here talks about burn-out, and I'd be lying if I said it didn't scare me. I have no idea what my mentality would be if poker was my sole source of income. It's easy to say right now that I'd be all disciplined, and I mean I am a pretty disciplined person, and I do force myself to log hours of poker in order to support a rather luxurious lifestyle...but what about when I hit the 200 bb downswing which forced me to drop from 20-40 all the way down to 5-10 last year. I'm a lifetime winner from poker of about 20k, but I do remember my bankroll getting crippled substantially during about a 2 month period and I'm scared of that happening again. I multi 10-20 right now but if I ran badly and had to drop down to 5-10, I'd start getting nervous.

That said, I think my thoughts and plans are:

A) make the plunge - there's potential for great reward if I run well and keep learning and improving
B) if I start running badly and find myself stressed/nervous/trouble sleeping at night I could just look for another job
C) I do have savings of close to 6 months living expenses so it's not like I couldn't pay my rent if scenario (B) occurs

sound ok?

And if anyone else in a similar situation (pyedog?) would like to discuss this stuff via email or AIM or ICQ feel free to msg me