Not that this compares to cleaning toilets, but I worked at Sears selling lawnmowers for a while during college. It was a big pay drop and interfered with my free time but I still found a lot of enjoyment in working the job. If I had to bring home income for a family then I think my outlook would be a lot more desperate, but as long as I am only providing for myself I really think I could make the most of almost any scenario.

I haven't ever had to make a living cleaning toilets, but I've met a lot of people that are insanely poor and still very happy. While I was in high school I paid to fly to Mexico to do some volunteer work building houses. The place I was at had no water pressure, no paved roads, a huge population of homeless, etc. However, the community in general was probably the happiest of anywhere I have ever been in my life.

I wouldn't want to be forced to clean toilets 40 hours a week, but I think that the level of happiness that every person achieves is based upon a lot more than just their income level.

I've had poker as a solid income since high school, but I wouldn't really have considered myself to have gone "pro" until after college. Although I'm not using my degree, I still agree with everything above here. The advice someone gave me was "if you aren't sure whether or not you should go pro then you shouldn't." I think that if I had made the transition prior to graduating from college there were several times where I would have either busted my roll or had some very harsh times. It seems to me that any time I am convinced I have seen the worst downswing possible I end up running into one that is significantly worse.

I don't consider insurance to be that expensive relative to other life expenses, so I don't think you really need to be "baller" (this term is relative, a lot of poker players I know make me look like a bum) to have health insurance. If you mean in general then yes, there are definitely people who fail. However, I don't think that any sane person who is struggling with poker should be considering going pro versus working a regular job.

Thanks, I was getting scared that I was the only one that felt this way. I really just meant the trying to bang girls thing as a humorous counterexample. To me, trying to get laid as a 23-year-old is more normal than douchey.

I agree with this. The money you make in poker is going to be based off of the number of hours you play, your winrate, the stakes you play, and the number of tables you play. If you excel enough in any of these categories you can still do well without really crushing in any of the others.

im not a religious guy, but i like the spirit of this post. maybe some volunteer work, or work with young people like big brothers, or something could fill the void and combat the isolating nature of the game. also, even making the effort to play live once in a while can keep things interesting. its easy to lose yourself at the computer ten hours a day. i dont play professionally but i play a whole lot. when im winning things are great, when im losing i feel like im wasting my life. anyway, the idea is to have more than one outlet for yourself. cause this game is often a real kick in the nuts, even for a winning player

my life is the ****

ty poker

f jobs

hokie

+87

This was a good post.

Yep. +1 more hear that plays poker for a living and is grateful for it.

I have been playing professionally for 2.5 years now. I pay way too much in taxes, I sleep in too late, I don't play nearly as much poker as I wish I did, I don't save as much money as I should, I have gotten out of shape, and I have lost the understanding of the "value of a dollar." Guess what? I still ****ing love my job.

I was an electrical/software engineer before this and had lots of opportunities for advancement, but I wasn't happy. I could conceivably go back to that world, get an MBA and move on to marketing or management. I might one day, but for now I love playing poker for a living. I think its easy for people to forget what its like to work for someone else after its been awhile (some never even have worked full-time to pay the bills).

The things in my life that I don't like right now are my own fault. Poker makes it easier to be lazy, but I am more in control of my life than I ever have been. Its taken a few years, but I am getting on a better routine, saving more money, and finally making it back to the gym.

FWIW, I don't think that having worked part-time in high school or college or even full-time during the summers can make you realize what it is really like to have to grind 40+ hours/week just to make ends meet. My career before poker was a well-respected one and most would consider it a "great job." I still hated it compared to what I do now. Freedom is the ****.

Okay, my rant is pretty much over. Poker is definitely not for everyone. Being self-employed isn't for everyone either. I admit that my path to success in poker was likely easier than for a lot of others, so my view is pretty charmed.

Ok, bye now.

Are any of you guys live players?

Or just online?

I've been playing pro live in Los Angeles for almost a year now and I love it. I worked an assortment of jobs after college that included (in order) movie surveys over the phone, high school sports for L.A. Times, arbitrations for car insurance, television production for G4, radio promotions for a hip hop station, and online legal work. To be honest, I've even been an independent street pharmacist.

When I worked for L.A. Times, I watched sports all day while I wrote and took scores down. When I worked at G4, we played video games for half the day. When I worked at KDAY, I met a lot of girls doing events for the stations and got free music every time I showed up for work.

All that said, poker is by far my favorite job because of the freedom that it gives me and the mental challenge that it provides. I'm lucky enough to not have any kids to take care of and just myself so there's not as much pressure as others, but at the same time my bills are about $2500/month and it's been somewhat stressful during losing months. I ran like **** during WSOP last year and had another horrible swing late last year.

But I love being able to do anything at any time and not worry about calling in sick the next day or sitting at a desk hung over acting like I'm working while downing Red Bulls at a cancerous rate.

BTW I play $5/10 stakes. And here's my shameless plug: thegreatchillout.blogspot.com

DC if you're reading this, let's play some red/black.

SUMMARY: I disagree with OP.

lol @ the nerds crying at this because it sounds too jock-like.

Drug dealer alert

Do you have any ambitions/talents outside of poker that you could use a portion of your income to fund? I'm a songwriter slacker incapable of any reasonable progress but as soon as I have 10G in profits I'll buy some motivation (studio time).

And congrats to PBJaxx for gaining some semblance of control. (Funny how I crave structure where as I used to despise it).

I can understand why there are people like OP. I'm 22 and have been playing pro for 6 years (My name was my mums name for two years ).

I used to be quite poor, no money or anything so I appreciate having money now for sure. I am humble about it, I understand people work twice as long as me to earn 1/10 as much.

As I get older I appreciate how lucky I am, I have a very good balance in my life. I spend a lot of my time travelling. When I am less bored because of lots of travelling, playing golf etc I get more motivated and start to make more money. I used to have no sleep patterns when I was 18, just get up whenever I wanted, thought it was great until I realised I was appreciating life less and less.

My two cents, get a decent hobby, keep decent sleep patterns, socialise with your friends on weekends and you might just feel human again. I've met so many amazing people because of poker and I am so grateful for my position in life.

With the trajectory of the games being what it is....

I think a lot of you need to be realistic about a 3-5 yr plan.

I just hope a lot of you have been putting a good amount of money away so you can go back to school and reenter the work force when the need arises.

For those who have made 2. milli+ GG you.

ty captain obvious

op: get a hobby, some new friends, or do some volunteer work. or find religion i guess, but that's for the plebes

grunch:

it sure is.

I'm going for SNE..and once I make it I might just quit for a year.

I think I'll take up the piano.

ive done my time playing for a living. hustling anit all ists cracked up to be. its long and werid hours. and ive worked hard labor jobs before so im not spoiled by any means. I made more playing than i do now at my new job. the lifestyle is jsut to brutal for me. i still play a ton, but i dont have to. its the only job i know where u can go to work with a g in ur pocket and come home broke.

variance is just a word until it affects how you pay your bills or feed yourself.