Howdy,

4 years ago as a freshman in college trying to fit in like everyone else, I decided to play poker with my upperclassmen teammates on the baseball team. I instantly became hooked. And I was hooked because I won probably 40-50 bucks knowing absolutely nothing (not like they knew what they were doing either). It was the most money I ever made doing anything. I became obsessed with the Youtube vlog squad and tried to learn as much as possible.

A couple years later I was shipped off to a college baseball summer league in Utica, New York. Conveniently 20 minutes away from Turning Stone. I would spend all night after games playing until 6am, and I spun one $200 buy in to over 4k in one summer taking advantage of old nits (and some incredibly positive variance). My mom came up to visit me and watch me pitch in a game that summer and when I gave her the money to deposit in my bank account, she was shocked to say the least and not very supportive about my gambling.

I never got to play poker regularly again until I graduated from college this past spring because of the lack of casinos around me. I immediately moved to DC for a job in software sales and living close to MGM National Harbor has been quite the experience. I grinded for about 6 months from June to November to grow my bankroll in 1/3 to over 20k (without using any money from my "real" job) to move to 2/5, which I quickly found out the competition is not much better...

I feel conflicted, I am making more playing poker than I do with my job in half the time (about 20 hours a week). I think the plan should be to build up my resume to a point where I can quit and then find work again whenever this poker passion runs out inevitably. I think it would be pretty ****ing cool to play full time for a couple years and see how much I can run it up if the poker gods decide to be on my side. Would be cool to hear if others have ever had a similar experience.

Anyway, this is where I am going to **** post and talk about my poker progression. Couldn't care less if nobody sees this (I'd rather this not be seen) just need to throw something out into the poker abyss.

You are running way better than you can possibly imagine. Figure out how many hands you've played and play around with the poker variance calculator. Live poker is about 25 hands per hour. Chances are your sample is laughable. If you are serious about poker play at least 100k or so hands of microstakes online and see if you're actually any good. Will make you a better player regardless. Don't quit your job unless you at the very least have statistical proof you aren't a fish.

Hey!

It's not uncommon for poker players to face the dilemma of choosing between a stable job and the allure of potentially greater financial rewards from poker. Your plan to build up your resume while enjoying the flexibility and profitability of poker is a thoughtful approach.

Poker is a dynamic game, and success can come with its own set of swings. Having a plan for the future, both in poker and professionally, is a wise move. If you decide to pursue poker full-time for a while, it can indeed be an exciting and potentially lucrative adventure.

Feel free to share your updates, thoughts, and experiences here. Whether others see it or not, it's your poker space to throw your thoughts into the poker abyss, as you aptly put it.

Wishing you the best of luck on your poker journey, both at the tables and in your career!

the advice I'd give in cases like this - wait for your first AT LEAST 500 hours downswing and reasses after that. Unless you're a massive nit (and you don't seem to be), it will likely come relatively soon. It's not even about checking your skills, this is the test to see if you will be still enjoying the game when losing day after day.

I'll echo Tutejszy thoughts. Basically comeback after the first downswing after days, weeks or months of playing hours daily and not being able to win a dam thing. You'll likely feel a bit different then. Just because you're winning today, last week and last month doesn't meaning the winning will keep on forever.

Another thing to consider what happens when the winning stops after say 5-10+ years and you have to go look for a job. Putting poker on the resume isn't gonna look good. Having a 5-10+ blank space isn't gonna look great either. Could be pretty hard to find employment in a competitive job market and will likely limit your options. <-----Others might share their experience with this.

Don't mean to be downer be all means chase your dream even if it's playing poker for a living. Just beware of the risks and possible consequences.

Best of luck in your poker journey where it takes you.

Cheers

Is this chatGPT? lol

yes but whatever you do don't quit your job until you have atleast 10 month of savings that you don't need for poker.

I'd recommend working for about 5yrs first, play on the side see how it goes and if you feel the same at that time by all means give it a shot.

This is going to do a few things for you:

1. Establish work experience and tenure that looks decent on paper. You'll also have enough things to talk about in an interview.

2. Build a network that you can reach out to later if you go on the job hunt again.

3. Have a larger bankroll

4. Have more poker experience and work experience so you have a clearer picture in your mind of the pros/cons.

Lastly if you have 5yrs down and take a year off it doesn't look as bad and is easier to explain away than if you only worked for a year or two.