cool story

Lol me 😂

If I some day became a pro and then quit, the natural course for me would be to work in a factory. Long hours, little pay, education isn't really needed. So basically what I am doing right now. I am surprised with all these big salary suggestions. I really see poker only as a way for poor people to escape their situation.

Can you elaborate more?

Lol. So true!

I want to hear more of jFound's story too.

Or people who like their freedom and making personal decisions without being mired in politics and workplace bs. And in covid times and all the shenanigans that are happening this is becoming more apparent everyday.

Replying to OP there really isn't any that I coulf think of, where you get as much variance and 'negative payments' several months in a row. Maybe trading and investing your own money in the markets, but to make a living just with that you'd had to have a significant starting bankroll to make it fulltime.

You have an odd/jaded outlook. I started professionally around 2009 or so - caught a couple of great years prior to BF. I was in my early 20s, was making a lot of money relative to my age, and got to travel/buy nice things/etc. What's even better is the critical thinking skill set you get out of it is what you need in life - understanding what the most "profitable play" is in every decision outside of poker is great to have. Wouldn't change any moment of it - if you're grinding and barely scraping by you either need to improve or give it up.

2009 has nothing to do with 2021. Most skills you learn aren't transferable. I have three options basically. Continue as is and barely be able to pay my bills from the job I have. Get a second job like cleaning and make like 10 euros an hour breaking my back smelling cleaning products all day. Though, even those jobs often require a degree. And lastly learn poker to a level where I can make like 7 euros an hour, as it's tax free. But if I had high education or experience in cool fields I wouldn't even consider playing poker for a living. The game itself isn't bad, but if I'm having trouble beating it, then there has to be lots of other people in the same shoes too. Even though I have never taken an official iq test, I believe I would get 100+. Last time I checked most people aren't little geniuses.

He acknowledged exactly this in his post, even suggesting that the best years were the first two prior to BF.

Also...

In fact, most people should be somewhere around 100.

Here's a couple points

-you don't need a degree to be successful
-you're in your current position (good or bad) usually due to your actions of the past couple years
-no one cares about your IQ
-persistence is how you succeed in any field. If you want something bad enough that it's the most important thing on your mind you will get it.
-success is boring - it comes from doing daily repetitive activities for years. Most want to climb the mountain but will not put in the 10,000 steps
-complaining is for little children

Own your situation and decide to change - I would look into sales as it requires no start up money, no education, and you're rewarded by how smart you work. The worst thing you can do is keep your current lifestyle and make no changes - time is running out.

This wasn't my point. I guess I wrote badly. My point is that I am studying poker because I don't have much money or education. If I do end up making some money from poker but had to quit for some reason, then the next natural job would be cleaning or working in a factory or something like that. I wouldn't want to do cleaning full time, but I don't think I would have a problem with factory work. I had a similar job before and it was mostly just relaxing. I don't see poker as a high end career so to see all these comments about making 100k+ a year in this and that field feels like we aren't living in the same world. Even though I can barely pay rent, I don't hate my situation. I already have everything I need until I die, but sometimes it would be nice to be able to buy some random stuff. Anyway thx for that sales tip. I will look into that.

ever wonder why actors play poker so much?

I think acting would be a good career choice for excellent poker players.

Hibachi chef.

What cleaning companies are looking for degrees for their staff? That's got to be horseshit.

bump, and glad i found this thread.

Been playing poker for over a decade, and professionally for 5 years with okay results. Poker is basically the only thing I've done for income. Expenses are low, and I'm always welcomed back at my parent's.

To the people who has transitioned out of poker, how difficult was it to change careers?
Every single time i try to quit poker and try something else, i always find myself reverting back to poker, because it is just that much easier than going through the feeling of "this is impossible".

I understand a lot of this is just attitude, so it makes me feel like either
a) I don't get that sense of urgency where I must absolutely make money right away, or
b) I don't want another career badly enough to pursue it relentlessly

also, did that ecommerce thread ever start? i don't see it in the search option.

Surprisingly, sales/promotions, especially the commission oriented kind, I find the principles to be reasonably similar

I work in Operations Management and things are similar to poker in that you have a set of circumstances (think chip stack, position, etc) and what I do is compare the actual situation to what should ideally be happening (exploit vs GTO)

I then make the necessary adjustments in order to bring whatever metric back to where it should be

So, lots of adjustments and shifting gears.

Affiliate marketing.

Not sure but was this the thread by me that I was maybe going to start? I forgot tbh. I’m still in e-commerce and have built a 7fig brand but bizarrely I’m now playing more poker again, combination of live cash games being good and missing poker to some extent.

E-commerce is a good choice for poker people (if they have a business brain) but it comes with risks, they aren’t cash cows from day 1 and even when you get things going your cash is tied up in inventory for certain cycles. I suppose the same would be true for any retail business that requires physical stock so whatever you do is like this. But I’d prefer the risks and money tied up than getting a job, which is the flip side. It’s also a grind, and you need a certain level of risk tolerance (which works well for poker players - who were successful), there are many things out of your control such as your ads working/acquisition costs not forgetting that 90%+ businesses fail. You’ve got to have some sort of ingrained almost obsessive tenacity to make stuff work, and even then it’s unknown. But I will say I have a similar sort of freedom to when I solely played poker (but now perhaps with more overall stress), I can work from anywhere, I have time for other things like playing quite a lot of poker and generally I can work anytime, but I have to put in the work. But I am 5-6 years in at the beginning it was 24/7.

The problem with poker solely is that you don’t build anything, only cash. You’ll see peers or friends over take you in life and you’ll feel somewhat immature because I’m now 40 and people I know have sold companies and if not are on big salaries or doing big stuff, because they’ve stuck with their career path etc. And I played poker. I wouldn’t change what I did with poker at all as I made 7figs from it over the course of my career (which is on going I suppose) but that’s really nothing in comparison to what people in business can make, but freedom is huge. So a mix of both is good, you have another focus, you are building something and you have a potential golden egg if you are lucky enough to exit, all while still maintaining some sort of freedom and choice in your own destiny.

For live poker at lower stakes - interview and psychology skills.

Taxi/Rideshare
Mental health professional
Social Worker
FBI or some police detective

I honestly think the 1000+ rides have made me a master at gleaming information.

You meet a thousands of strangers in a year from all walks of life for an average of ten minutes... all the while trying to work them for a tip without being obvious?

I'm not a poker pro, and have always been a recreational player, but I've worked in career services at a major US university for 20+ years. This would be my advice to someone looking to transition from poker.

If someone is the 1% that has $$$ from poker, they should start a business that they're passionate about. There are very few barriers to entry for many small businesses, especially if there are funds. Additionally, the all gas no brakes mentality of an actual serious professional poker player will translate directly to the grind/mindset needed to build a business and manage variance.

For the 99% of poker players that weren't good, didn't make great money, and have no degree or work experience it will be a challenging transition -

In my opinion, those former players should initially chase entry level jobs in logistics, recruiting, or purchasing. They can start in these fields without experience or a degree, and can make okay money and connections if they grind like a leatherass. These are "sales" jobs that offer a great opportunity to get a foot in the door while beefing up a resume and figuring out next steps.

The attributes that make someone an okay poker player, such as navigating situations with imperfect information and consistently making small +EV decisions to service a bigger goal, align directly with the skills needed for those roles.

Overall, those are attainable jobs with decent entry level earning potential. The day-to-day while not directly similar to poker does offer many comparable elements, and those jobs also still allow a washed up player to scratch that competitive itch as these jobs are all about transactional relationships.

Hint...it is obvious

I disagree with those saying Sales is the way to go.

A good salesman, particularly in high tech or complicated products, is trying to to much the opposite of a good poker player. While the poker player is by definition trying to gain and use informational advantage, a good salesman is trying to educate and enlighten the customer.

A good sales relationship, and thus good salesman, is a true win-win and non- adversarial role. A poker player may want to 'fight fair' but he still wants to fight and win.