Giving up online poker because of parents (long)

[gmack15]

I have played house games of poker since I have been 16, playing with friends and family. At the time, gambling was never a problem with my parents, even when I would lose money playing. I was playing poker "for fun", and they were fine with that. I am currently a second year student at UT Austin, in the McCombs Business School and my parents support me financially.

I started playing poker online last year at Party. After a series of bad beats, I gave up online poker for good (or so I thought), believing that it was "rigged". I played live games here and there, but nothing serious.

This year has been much different from last. My roomate plays high stakes hold'em and earns more in a month than most people earn in a year. I look up to him in the sense that he is "my mentor" about the game. He is always helping me with my play, table/hand selection, and bankroll control.

I put a small amount money into Pacific, and wanted to test my skills, seeing how much I have learned sense Party. I have been playing S&G HU and Small Tourneys for the past couple of weeks.

The result? I have made close to 13 times my orignal deposit in less than 2 weeks. I believe that is a good return for getting back into the game.

My parents have always been against online poker, and I am not 100% why. They saw the 60 minutes story about online gambling and how it is "illegal" and they bought right into it. My guess is that they think I am playing with money that I don't have, which is not the case. Or the believe that I will become consumed with poker, or that the game is "rigged". My parents asked me if I played poker online over the summer, and I told them that I had played for a bit, but nothing more. They told me that I do not need to be playing online, but they never gave a reason as to why.

This weekend my parents came into town and I told them about my winning (prbably a mistake) because I felt the need to be honest with them. They were not very happy about what I told them. Their response was that I needed to stop playing online, or THEY WOULD CUT ME OFF COMPLETELY. I tried to explain that poker is not a "game of luck", but a game of skill. They wouldn't buy it at all.

Right now, I am playing poker "for fun". Making money because of it happens to be a nice result. I would like to continue to improve my game, and maybe move up in stakes. I do not see myself "becoming a pro" or "giving up school" for poker. I enjoy the game and improving myself.

I am not sure why to do. I consider poker as a "main hobby" of mine, nothing serious at all. Should I give up playing poker online because of my parents threat? Or should I continue to play and just not tell them? Do I have any other options on this matter? How should I handle this matter?