Screw it All, I'm Going Pro

[Piece of Cake]

PROS - A lot of these are intangibles but could very well be priceless benefits on an individual level that would make playing for less money still a better choice than slaving in an office for more money.

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Flexible schedule - this would be huge for me. I peonsally cannot put a value on being able to go outside during daylight hours. I'd be willing to work for less to do this. This would be invaluable to me.
Less business expenses - I don't know if you have a commute, or have work attire that you might otherwise not have to spend money on. Additionally, I feel that working on your own schedule as opposed to the man's schedule will allow you to prepare your own meals, etc, and live cheaper, and possibly more healthy.
Possibly more free time - for a lot of people their office job is 'billed' for 2000 hours a year but they are actually working upwards of 50-60 hours a week.
Working for yourself - This can make a huge difference in your motivation - especially after working hard to someone elses gain
Practice makes perfect - Playing full time means you're logging more hands and you will most likely get better faster.
It was once a hobby - As as many noted, playing as a job takes the fun out of it. But none can deny the fact you once played for fun - where as I doubt you will ever be IT-ing it up in your spare time after you quit. If you find poker intellectually stimulating and your current career not - this is essentially priceless.
Possibility that games improve - Not something to count on ofc, but if the US ever reenteres the market, a 100NL player could become vastly more successful.
Always can go back - If it doesn't work out you've mentioned you've got other regular jobs lined up. Why not take a shot. If anything it will be a nice break from a career that clearly has you burnt out.
Playing Fresh - If you presently work 40-50 hours a week, then you're probably playing at less than optimal a lot. I think this makes up a little for the added stress of depending on the income.
Overtime - If you work a salaried job, you may not get paid extra for working later and on weekends. Of course this often is compensated for with bonuses. With poker, extra time put in is immediately compensated for.

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CONS - Most of these are fairly obvious.

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Income not guaranteed - It's not like you can't get fired at a moment's notice either though.
No benefits - This includes no self employment tax, bonuses, subsidized insurance, having guaranteed raises, and a steady income. As LJ pointed out many work jobs that don't have benefits so this is less relevant. If you have a posh salaried office job however, a lot of these benefits are often overlooked when drawing comparisons to a poker hourly rate.
Less structured - People say it's tough when you don't have to do something. But if you've worked a 9-5 where you've had to get up every day for several years to work for the man, I think you can get yourself to follow some sort of routine.
Less people interaction - Seems less relevant since you don't live alone.
Family perception - This is more important to some more than others and ofc some families are very supportive. But if your mother would never understand and it would kill you to see her think lowly of her then I suppose it's an issue that you really can't put a price tag on.
UIGEA - If you live int he US - who knows what's in store.
Have to play/win - People say the stress of having to win makes them play worse sometimes. I think this varies from person to person. It's not like your present job is without stress to perform either I imagine. It helps to have savings and no dependents.

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[MasterLJ]

FWIW I think the "No Benefits," thing is a crock.

How many of you get benefits through your job? I've been working for almost 10 years now, and I've never had benefits. A few places "offer" benefits, but it's complete crap and more expensive than the individual plan I pay for myself.

[Piece of Cake]

On a personal note I play 20+ hours of week of 8 table after spending over 50+ hrs/week in the office. I'm not nearly good enough to go pro, but if I had a win rate that would make me comfy off of 40 hrs of week of play, I would gladly trade the 50 office hours to log 20 more at the tables and have the other 30 to basically spend as a I choose. With 30 extra hours in a week, I can play extra if I don't make an weekly/monthly goal, etc as well.

Can you put a price on 30 extra hours in a week? If you find your time playing cards intellectually stimulating but dont feel that way about your job. Is it even a fair comparison? Just some rambling thoughts. If logging hours at the table is easy for you but logging hours at work is a chore than this really becomes a no-brainer once you make a comparable hourly rate adjusted for variance, taxes, and benefits.

[Piece of Cake]

[ QUOTE ]
FWIW I think the "No Benefits," thing is a crock.

How many of you get benefits through your job? I've been working for almost 10 years now, and I've never had benefits. A few places "offer" benefits, but it's complete crap and more expensive than the individual plan I pay for myself.

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I edited my comment to clarify. But I imagine you don't pay self employment tax at your current job and even a lot of hourly wage jobs have subsidized group insurance that is much better than one could obtain on their own. For me personally this is no small consideration.

Of course if your job does not offer benefits of this nature - it's just one less reason to keep you from going pro. I just wanted to cover all bases that people should consider and not create an argument on the state of employer benefits.

I also forgot pension accruals, 401k matching contributions, and stock purchase plans.

[Fistdantilus]

[ QUOTE ]
FWIW I think the "No Benefits," thing is a crock.

How many of you get benefits through your job? I've been working for almost 10 years now, and I've never had benefits. A few places "offer" benefits, but it's complete crap and more expensive than the individual plan I pay for myself.

[/ QUOTE ]

QFT. What job gives you dental coverage anymore? Not many. My insurance costs me 20% more than at my old job (because you DO pay for them when at your job, it just gets deducted). Yeah, that 30 dollars a month is going to break me. >< With kids it's a slightly different story (because they are little disease carrying monsters), but you should be prepared by that time.

[Don Key E37]

Gl man. I kind of got sick of reading part way through but I've been thinking about how much I can make this year and this kind of falls in with that. I like my job ( I'm a fireman) so I won't be quitting for quite a while, but I do see poker as being my only job after I retire (20 year retirement if you want, I've got 4.5 in). This year I'm up just under 14k not counting rakeback and I only play about 15 hours a week 4-5 tabling. I've been running good but I think as long as your willing to put in the hours both at the tables and away working on your game you'll be fine. With all the time your going to have I can't imagine you won't improve and if you can get to the point where you can beat 400nl with a decent winrate you'll be just fine I think. Even 200NL if you look at your hourly rate is probably better than what you made at your job. So you just might have to put in some hours. If it doesn't work out, well then you still have a college degree and some work experience, so worst comes to worst you go get another job right? Mabye even one you like this time. I grew up upstate NY (rochester area) and also play guitar [img]/images/graemlins/smile.gif[/img] . GL now go make monies!

[FishSticks]

Yah, I'm shamelessly bumping this thread.

I got a lot of PMs and other random support from a lot of people, and I really appreciate it. My old job asked me to stay a touch longer, and I obliged - so Friday 4/20 was my last day of the 9-to-5'er. We had houseguests this weekend, so Monday was my first "real day" at playing for a living. Anyways, at the advice of a few, I started a blog to track my progress. For any that might be curious:

http://fishsticks.liquidpoker.net

Thanks again to all who had kind words for me.

[ikestoys]

GL again

[AnyMouse]

I think this is a great thing for you. I have to agree with some previous that poker a a long term career has certain drawbacks (i.e. that whole "contributing to society" thing -- personally, i'm committed to saving the world) but for 3 months, 10 months, 2.5 years it could be amazing. not only will you be chasing a dream, but i'm sure the experience will show you a lot about yourself that you had never realized and give you a great chance to learn/improve/study something you love.

i hope you don't get burned out. i don't think you will. checked your blog and i think mixing in a fair amount of live play is a good idea, esp if you find a soft game. this will get you out, away from the computer, seeing people, into new environments. one problem working from home is that you can get "trapped" in your house for days, but live play would help avoid this.

i'll be reading your updates and rooting hard. i think you'll love this even after a few months of the grind.

not the same thing at all (tuition doesn't come from my pocket), but i decided i wanted no part of a campus job this year and have been paying books/beer/living expenses with poker earnings. every time i hear someone complain they have to go work at the library or get up in the a.m. for a job, etc etc i just have a huge glow inside knowing i make more money per hour than they do and have waayy more fun doing it.

for me, this will never be all i do, but i have considered that it could be a considerable supplemental income should i decide to do something that's hard to live on (independent research, lab work, etc. for a year/two before grad school).

all the best.

[orange]

yep, gl again man. your going to tear it up.