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

[killakev]

I didn't see any other forum to put this in so I'm hoping it falls under the "views" portion of this forum. Feel free to gang flame me.

I just put up a new blog (shameless plug) and it brought me to the point of wondering what other regular workers and also professional players thought about this (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)...

What are the benefits of playing poker? Aside from the money?

What's the hardest thing about turning pro?

Is there anyone who misses the consistency of their day job after turning pro?

All thoughts are welcome and if anyone has any stories about turning pro or going back to a day job, I'd love to hear it.

Thanks.

[The Icon]

i'm a 19 year old student who had previously only ever played online poker for my $$$. (played when underage).
I actually got a job this summer for the job experience more than anything (obv giant paycut from poker) and I find that I enjoy poker a ton more than I used to and as a result play better.

[myke11]

I worked and totally hated it so i quit. I find it hard to work for people and i love the flexibility poker gives me.

[paulcouto]

i love it when people talk about the freedom poker gives u. the "easy" money.

did anyone ever mention u have to "win" first to have freedom?

easy money? i been a pro for over 3 years. its never been "easy". i see people winning easily but i know they cant win in the long run playing like that.

i struggled for the first few years and then broke through and was comfortable for a while and then hit a 6 month bad streak that i am still on. i have dropped down in levels through this slide and now i'm down to the embarrasing levels and almost broke.

i'm not going to quit till i reach my goals. if i have to, i'll get a job and play cards till i break through again. its an absolute friggin nightmare fellas.

if anyone wants to go pro, go for it but dont buy into this crap about it being easy. its not easy. its not even close to being easy. u have to win more than u lose, pay bills and still survive variance, tilt and people sucking out on u.

i havent met one person who says they r a loser in the long run in poker which means 95% of people r liars. only 5% make a living. i am not happy about almost being busto but i have tried my best and i'm proud that i survived for 3 years without working. its an accomplishment considering its only a 5% window of success.........but yet, almost busto.

hope this helps anyone thats thinking about going pro. goodluck and have fun yet be ready for the possible nightmare ride as well. nothing comes easy in life.

[mindstatez]

great post paul

[ QUOTE ]
easy money? i been a pro for over 3 years. its never been "easy". i see people winning easily but i know they cant win in the long run playing like that.

[/ QUOTE ]
Keep in mind, most of the people who scoff at how easy it is either A.) grossly exaggerate their success, B.) are running really, really hot right now. But don't tell the 19 year olds who could outplay the world that.

[paulcouto]

[ QUOTE ]
great post paul

[ QUOTE ]
easy money? i been a pro for over 3 years. its never been "easy". i see people winning easily but i know they cant win in the long run playing like that.

[/ QUOTE ]
Keep in mind, most of the people who scoff at how easy it is either A.) grossly exaggerate their success, B.) are running really, really hot right now. But don't tell the 19 year olds who could outplay the world that.

[/ QUOTE ]

amen brother

[nextgenneo]

[ QUOTE ]
i love it when people talk about the freedom poker gives u. the "easy" money.

did anyone ever mention u have to "win" first to have freedom?

easy money? i been a pro for over 3 years. its never been "easy". i see people winning easily but i know they cant win in the long run playing like that.

i struggled for the first few years and then broke through and was comfortable for a while and then hit a 6 month bad streak that i am still on. i have dropped down in levels through this slide and now i'm down to the embarrasing levels and almost broke.

i'm not going to quit till i reach my goals. if i have to, i'll get a job and play cards till i break through again. its an absolute friggin nightmare fellas.

if anyone wants to go pro, go for it but dont buy into this crap about it being easy. its not easy. its not even close to being easy. u have to win more than u lose, pay bills and still survive variance, tilt and people sucking out on u.

i havent met one person who says they r a loser in the long run in poker which means 95% of people r liars. only 5% make a living. i am not happy about almost being busto but i have tried my best and i'm proud that i survived for 3 years without working. its an accomplishment considering its only a 5% window of success.........but yet, almost busto.

hope this helps anyone thats thinking about going pro. goodluck and have fun yet be ready for the possible nightmare ride as well. nothing comes easy in life.

[/ QUOTE ]

you must suck

[Assani Fisher]

[ QUOTE ]
[ QUOTE ]
i love it when people talk about the freedom poker gives u. the "easy" money.

did anyone ever mention u have to "win" first to have freedom?

easy money? i been a pro for over 3 years. its never been "easy". i see people winning easily but i know they cant win in the long run playing like that.

i struggled for the first few years and then broke through and was comfortable for a while and then hit a 6 month bad streak that i am still on. i have dropped down in levels through this slide and now i'm down to the embarrasing levels and almost broke.

i'm not going to quit till i reach my goals. if i have to, i'll get a job and play cards till i break through again. its an absolute friggin nightmare fellas.

if anyone wants to go pro, go for it but dont buy into this crap about it being easy. its not easy. its not even close to being easy. u have to win more than u lose, pay bills and still survive variance, tilt and people sucking out on u.

i havent met one person who says they r a loser in the long run in poker which means 95% of people r liars. only 5% make a living. i am not happy about almost being busto but i have tried my best and i'm proud that i survived for 3 years without working. its an accomplishment considering its only a 5% window of success.........but yet, almost busto.

hope this helps anyone thats thinking about going pro. goodluck and have fun yet be ready for the possible nightmare ride as well. nothing comes easy in life.

[/ QUOTE ]

you must suck

[/ QUOTE ]

[img]/images/graemlins/grin.gif[/img] [img]/images/graemlins/grin.gif[/img] [img]/images/graemlins/grin.gif[/img]

[paulcouto]

[ QUOTE ]
[ QUOTE ]
i love it when people talk about the freedom poker gives u. the "easy" money.

did anyone ever mention u have to "win" first to have freedom?

easy money? i been a pro for over 3 years. its never been "easy". i see people winning easily but i know they cant win in the long run playing like that.

i struggled for the first few years and then broke through and was comfortable for a while and then hit a 6 month bad streak that i am still on. i have dropped down in levels through this slide and now i'm down to the embarrasing levels and almost broke.

i'm not going to quit till i reach my goals. if i have to, i'll get a job and play cards till i break through again. its an absolute friggin nightmare fellas.

if anyone wants to go pro, go for it but dont buy into this crap about it being easy. its not easy. its not even close to being easy. u have to win more than u lose, pay bills and still survive variance, tilt and people sucking out on u.

i havent met one person who says they r a loser in the long run in poker which means 95% of people r liars. only 5% make a living. i am not happy about almost being busto but i have tried my best and i'm proud that i survived for 3 years without working. its an accomplishment considering its only a 5% window of success.........but yet, almost busto.

hope this helps anyone thats thinking about going pro. goodluck and have fun yet be ready for the possible nightmare ride as well. nothing comes easy in life.

[/ QUOTE ]

you must suck

[/ QUOTE ]

well, if u can help me improve my game, i'm all ears. private message me any time.

sbrugby has lost 3 million........ i personally know for a fact that phil ivey has went bust years ago and had to borrow to restart. they must suck too i guess.

anyone who would step on someone while they are down is obviously someone who has never attempted or succeeded at a tough endeavor such as trying to make a living from poker. when you acuse someone of sucking, all yur doing is holding yourself back and giving everyone else a good "read" on your personal success which obviously is not very good. if you were, you wouldnt put someone down because you too would understand and "fear" the struggle involved in grinding for a living.

if someone has been a winner at this game for at least 2 years, then they would understand how incredibly difficult it is to make a living at it. sorry, but 6 months or a year of success is not enough in my opinion.

success stories and quick epic rises to the top such as sbrugby is very far and few between.

this thread was intented to make a decision about keeping the day job or going for it. i threw in my 2 cents to help out because i been there and doing it and i'm almost broke. this is one of the possibilities of "going for it" and its one of the possible outcomes for anyone that trys. am i going to quit? hell no. has it been worth it? hell yes. life is not worth living unless there is some sort of struggle. i will eventually come out on top and even though i wish it would come easy, coming out on top through struggle is twice as sweet.

i say GO FOR IT for anyone that wants to try. good luck and play yur best.

[Crazy Porto]

What are the benefits of playing poker? your freedom and doing what you like.

What's the hardest thing about turning pro? putting in the hours and dealing with variance

Is there anyone who misses the consistency of their day job after turning pro? i don't think so..