Originally Posted by agamblerthen
Do your parents know about this student loan you took out? Do they support your time spent gambling while they're paying what I imagine could be hefty tuition, room, and board? Something tells me they would not be happy to hear of your poker pursuits.
I know you're only 18, but the plan you have described sounds woefully misguided on multiple levels.
College is a time to study, connect with professors, maybe find a mentor, make lifelong friends, hang out, socialize, maybe meet a romantic partner or two, try new things, go to football games and films and concerts, spend a semester or summer abroad, learn about the world, and figure out who you are and what you want to do with your life.
Poker could be a huge distraction from all of this. It has an opportunity cost (take Econ 101 if you don't know what that is): The more time you spend studying poker, grinding, and struggling to cope with the downswings and marathon sessions, the less time and energy you'll have to focus on any of these other things.
I would hate to see you wake up in 20 years and say, You know, I never really took full advantage of all the opportunities—educational and otherwise—I had at that decent college I was lucky enough to get into and fortunate enough to have my parents pay for.
That's one side of the risk you're taking. The other side is that taking a loan to play poker is financially illiterate.
If you have any poker ability, you should be able to build up a bankroll gradually. Plus, you need to learn bankroll management, and you can't really do that by taking this shortcut.
Your mental game is weak in part because you're young. It takes experience to develop mental toughness, to learn how to take variance in stride and still play your A game.
Have you considered the possibility that you might lose $25,000 in a year? Then what will you do? Max out your credit cards (you'll get some soon, I'm sure), borrow money from a loan shark, sell your car, maybe drop out of college and get some low-paying job just to keep up with your loan payments and try to maintain a minimal BR?
Poker is all about making good decisions, right? It's the same with life. You make good decisions now, when you're young, and they will set you on a path to health, prosperity, and success, however you choose to define it. You make bad decisions now, and they're going to have far-reaching consequences too.
Taking out a student loan to play poker has got to be one of the worst decisions I've heard of in a very long time. I wish you well, but I fear this may end very badly.
