This thread and HRBLUFNSTUF's post really hits home. Your situation is extremely similar to mine. There's not really anything I could add that hasn't been said already except that I truly understand what you guys are going through. It's really tough getting a job right now, even if you have experience, with this current job market. I just recently got a job (not paid, 100% commission-based) as a stockbroker. It's been months since I landed this job. Just came back and failed an examination that was required for me to start working and have to wait another month before I re-take the exam. Just keep in mind, you're not alone out there.

I couldn't have said it any better myself.

I am 40+ and played alot between 2003 and 2007 at the best time i worked parttime + poker. Sure it was nice but i realized fast that my businessmodell was Bonus RB and other promotions. That was gone over night 2007.

I moved to the stockmarket with my winnings + full time job and guess i am back to a parttimejob in 4-5 years.

I guess the missing 4 years scared most companys. You simple forget many things from real live and you should start with any job in your field that you can get..also less paid ones . I hope that you was able to save a good ammount of money during your protime.

My suggestion start at the bottom in the field that you know + invest your savings. If a company see that you dont forget anything you might climb up and if not in that company its easier to move to another.

A good real job have also benefits that i like ...myself would prefer in the close future a 20 hour contract added a bit winnings with stocks.

That's what I wanted to say... major typo...

lol wow. just wrapped up day 4 in corporate america and this is exactly what i told my roommates/girlfriend and have been repeating for 2 hours haha.

fwiw found this thread typing "quitting job" in search as soon as i got home to find an inspiring story about some miracle success story.

Yep its the sad reality of some of our situations... I guess you have to figure that if poker is such lucrative easy money and is a dream job all the time then everyone would be doing it. And this is not the case because the poker economy can't support everyone who sets out to do it.

Grass is always greener......

It's great to read stories about some guy luckboxing some major tourney and hitting it big, but for most people, poker is about grinding day in day out. I don't consider myself super old or anything but even at this point in my life I want the consistency that a normal job will provide.

It's kinda funny, ever since making this thread I've actually been running kinda hot. I'm up about 12 BI's in only a handful of hands this past week. Poker really is sick.

I'm still set on getting a real job though.

Sales has a pretty low entry requirement with a pretty good upside if you're successful. Most of the good sales managers look less at experience and more at someone's willingness to learn the craft, being self-motivated and capable of pushing out of their comfort zone. Maybe you could find something in sales that ties into your computer background.

I'd like to add that someone on OOT tells his experience doing 100% commission sales.
http://forumserver.twoplustwo.com/34...-sales-866311/

Im from the Bay Area too, and in the exact same spot OP is in.

Grinded for a living the past 3 years. And this year some how I'm just over it. Went from grinding 20k hands/wk to not playing at all (aside from donking around in a mtt every now and then), and I am a MUCH MUCH HAPPIER PERSON now. You truly can't know just how draining and detrimental to your emotional health fulltime poker is until you stop doing it.

Regarding looking for 9-5 work, I'm in the middle of that as well. Like you, I've found that when I have to explain that gap in employment to interviewers they tend to be genuinely fascinated and inquisitive about the fact that I played poker for a living for that period of time, but I've been looking hard for work the past 7 weeks or so and have yet to get picked up anywhere. Times are tough job-wise, and I'm not sure how much of a factor that employment gap has been in my not getting hired anywhere yet, but I'm sure it's played a role to some degree.

What I've tried to do in order to get around this is to go after jobs that require aptitude testing. I crush at taking tests, and my hope is that this will somehow offset the employment-gap-disadvantage.

Just something to think about. GL man.

+1

i was in a same **** 4 months ago and i can tell you, i feel live and free now when i don't play professionaly anymore.
I was lucky i got a pretty decent job and i love it, it gave some meaning to life again, not just some graph that you watch and wait when it will even out again...
I played 2 years and games got tougher i lost interest, discipline and it took me a while almost busto to realize it's time to make a change.
It's a big difference between first and second year playing every day...

It wasn't easy to become another normal person again, waking up at time i was usually going to bed and having a boss again, but once you accept it, it's easy! you just need to overcome ego and accept the reality.
i feel much better now and don't regret quitting playing professionaly.

About the gap, i wouldn't mention playing poker, because it's almost certain that you won't get positive reaction...

gl

Just to echo the other responses I am also in a similar situation. While I have never had the success you others have had and have always been basically a lower stakes grinder it is a bit comforting to hear tales of once very successful players who are now struggling, and that it may not be just my lack of ability or work ethic keeping me from crushing the games as many seem to do or claim.

While I never quite made the official career leap to be a professional poker player that is basically what I have been doing for the last few years. I was in an academically oriented graduate program and worked part time within it, and lost interest toward the end and turned more toward poker from world of war craft as an escape as it at least held out the hope for financial success. I have continually applied for jobs albeit a bit half heartedly, and have been very disappointed to find my degree is quite a bit less transferable than I had hoped. I have always sort of thought part of my problem was I never quite worked full time at either endeavor. I enjoy the freedom and flexibility of the poker lifestyle but rationally know it is a tough career to pursue but my distaste for an 8-5 (I only wish it was 9-5) lifestyle keeps me secretly hoping for that big run and/or tourney that gives me my big break and more financial freedom to maybe work up to bigger games. Threads like this help bring me back to the reality that I need to work harder at other career options.


I have had some part time “real” work for the past few months but resume gaps are a problem for me as well. And while we can appreciate the valuable skills and experience in a poker career, I am sure that hiring managers while possibly intrigued by it will ultimately not view it as a plus in hiring decisions in most cases (although we know they should!). My advice and approach is to brainstorm and list all the skill and abilities you have developed and used in your poker career, analytical ability, financial management, strategy development, psychology, etc…as you would for any other career. And then just change the name/type of industry and say you were an entrepreneur and developed your own web based business. Something like online marketing, research, consulting, financial trading or whatever best fits with your knowledge base. You can then say (truthfully) if asked that b/c of the current economic climate the business went under and you need to pursue other career options. and perhaps add that in a way you are glad b/c your heart was not really in it and you can now pursue a career you find more fulfilling and motivating. You are not really misrepresenting your skills or experience but are just bending some things so that you can be evaluated in a fair way, and unfortunately a necessary step in our society and economic climate.


And kind of a tangent but one that emphasizes the craziness of poker (and I think has to be the craziest run I’ve seem) I played in a 1/2 nl 6 max game last night and there was a guy who over about 300 hands had stats of about 94/5/1 and played as those would suggest, and ran his $200 into well over 5k in under 300 hands and managed to leave with over 4k. I wasn’t the worst hit but 8-5 does not seem as bad after those nights.

Do poker pros ever get fired for getting high in the office? No.

Wow.

As someone who finally got good enough to go pro in 2010, I didn't think about how much of a crushing disappointment/insane expectations going pro would have been during the poker boom.

The time/money opportunity I wasted being terrible/not playing cash feels a little better now.

Some story, but yeah this is how it will go for a lot of people, including me, if you want to feel better about your own situation i suggest you read my blog :P

http://www.deucescracked.com/blogs/PietjeK

Good luck with everything, you sound smart so dont worry, all will be well.


Pieter