Quote:
Originally Posted by Doorbread
I don't really have friends. If I did going outside would be easier.
If you aren't naturally a gregarious personality then you will have to work on it - it won't just happen. Realistically you aren't going to increase your social relationships by going to the bar, etc. type scenes (even though practically i realize you couldn't do this anyways as you are underage). Do you have any hobbies? Do you like sports? If you don't, are there any hobbies in which remotely appeal to you? What about volunteering?
The best way to improve your social life is to put yourself in a situation where you will be able to naturally converse/interact with as little awkwardness/instigation needed on your behalf. That doesn't mean going to the gym (i think going to the gym is very important but not as a means to increasing your sociality) - if you aren't outgoing you simply aren't going to pick up friends in a environment where it isn't naturally going to happen. All that is likely to happen is that you will become a spectator in a social environment (only marginally better than being locked up in your house).
My advise
- Get a job, even if just temporarily. Working for $10/hr will help you to appreciate the enormity of the money that you play for even in midstakes (which it often doesn't feel like) and it will give you a steady income and most importantly it will (although depending on the job) put in you regular contact with people in an environment that is typically about as easy as you get to make friends. Furthermore, if you just work part-time, it shouldn't significantly cut into time spent playing poker if you so choose to continue pursing that. If you don't get a job, look at volunteering. Again, an easy way to get connected with a group of people in a casual, easy-to-interact environment
- Look at applying to a community college. Personally I wouldn't rush this. I've done undergrad/postgrad and have vastly changed my idea of what i wanted to do for a career after each one. School isn't something you should rush into "just because". But you need a long term plan and given the volatility of poker I don't think you should plan anything semi-permanent around playing poker for more than a few years and you will need an education of some sort (trade, uni/community college, etc.)
- Find some hobbies and join some clubs. If you go to college make sure to join clubs. A shy person isn't going to rock up to uni and end the year with 100 friends - find something you enjoy and engage with others that enjoy the same things.
-Look at renegotiating the terms of your stake. As others have said I don't think you should walk away from the stake given what I understand of the circumstances surrounding the stake. But at the same time it is ridiculous to try to win 300 buy ins with no income when you presumably only lost something like 100 buy ins initially on the stake. I think somebody mentioned a deal like 50-25-25 with 25 to the stake and 25 to you for living expenses, etc. If they can't stake you higher then I'd look at trying to change MU into a buy-in - based system where maybe you have to win back 1.5x as many buy ins as you lost (so if you lost 100 buy ins you are now 150 buy ins in MU so 30k if they don't up the stake) - I don't stake so practically probably a poor idea but putting yourself in a situation where you have to slave for 6 months to just get back to even while being broke the entire time is a very daunting task and can't be healthy.
And if you do continue to play poker - you really need to reevaluate what you want out of it. To be the best at a game like poker, where you have a bunch of intelligent, talented and super-motivated, requires living an unbalanced and slightly (and often far more than that) obsessive life. Some people can deal with this and some can't. Personally, if i put in the hours of study/play that some of the top players put in I actually feel I would have a realistic shot at beating high/nosebleeds. But I actually don't know if I could give such a level of commitment to a game as volatile as poker. I sure as hell know that I couldn't be happy doing so. And thus, for me, I have decided that I would rather sacrifice a chance of being "great" in poker for the sake of a more balanced, happier life. Ultimately it is only money - it can never make you happy.