Out of curiosity, how many poker pros (cash and/or tourney) would you say (educated guess) have a college degree?

My thought was that the older generation of players probably don't have one and the very best young players probably don't have one either (I'm thinking they dropped out or never attended).

4

Answer

3.50

About 1 out of every 350

50%, they either have one or dont

a college degree isn't of much use if you play poker, so not sure how that's a bad thing?

I wasn't implying anything good or bad about it, but just curious.

Jmallflush, proof that there ARE such things as stupid questions

Well if you made a poll it would be easier to find out

Well, when almost half your posts are starting new threads, they can't all be awesome.

The crazy thing is you are probably serious

OP....I'm going 5%

I would say its not more than a couple %. That's based on the fact that, if they didn't have poker, most of the poker players I've met are barely qualified to flip burgers.

I would beg to differ.

If you are going to be a poker player. All I can tell you is the following.

Player A- No college education.
Player B- Bachelor's degree in Business Finance.

I will take player B. 4 years growing social, networking, and critical thinking skills (all valuable. especially in live poker). Along with that, several valuable courses on mathematics,statistics, money management, etc.

Now, if you said Player A spent 4 years playing and studying poker while player B was at college learning some valuable/lot of fluff, then you have something to think about. Short term, the poker experience is going to go much further.

I would say 95% of the people who dropped out of college around 2004-2012 to pursue a full time poker career, are regretting that decision in 2016. The minority are likely brilliant on their own and college wouldn't have taught them much needed information anyways. Or they are just very lazy.

Stay in school kids!

7,143

more than the % of people with a degree that don't suck at poker

out of all of my poker pro friends, im the only one with the degree (masters, working on my phd now). However, since universities in my country are free, most of them are still technically in, just taking it very slow - for example, one of my friends will be defending his bachelor thesis after like 6 years this year, while it normally takes 3 years.

Do you know any university that successfully teaches critical thinking skills? I actually learnt a lot of that at university in the (completely student-run) debating society, not from any courses organized by the university. Social and networking skills are also self-taught. The last 3 things you list should be learnt pre-18. Seems like it would make more sense just to have the students live in the university town but without the university in it.

At my language school, I used to only employ English language instructors with university degrees. Since the Browne report though, the city where I am has become flooded with British students and the price for English lessons can no longer attract outsiders to come and teach, so I have started hiring them too.

The thing is, just the same as with the graduates, some of them are good employees and some of them aren't, and in pretty much the same ratio as with the older people. the ones who are good are already good in their first year, the ones who aren't good never become good.

The conclusion that fits that data is that universities are primarily putting their brand on something that exists already, which they didn't make themselves, but the branding increases the value of the end product (the graduate). It's actually similar to Nike buying shoes from SE Asia and putting their American branding on them. If you are somewhere like the UK where about half of all young people go to university it's more like a kitemark than cool brand though.

IMHO if you don't need to impress other people you don't need a degree. In business your opposite number in a negotiation never asks you what university you went to. You should to make a conscious effort to read as widely as possible and try to pick up what you might be missing, but in the age of the internet you don't need to pay a professor to tell you what books to read.

college education is so overrated by everyone imo, i go to one of the best universities in my country and its an epic timewaste unless u wanna pursue an academic career (which you shouldnt cause its underpaid by a big margin). Maybe 1 subject out of 10 is actually worth studying because of maths, but everything else i could google in seconds if i needed it in real life. Im just trying to get my degree because its overvalued and might become useful later in life, but had i known from the start what a timewaste higher education is (esp. thesis writing which is ***** bs) i would have never started it.

You're dead wrong. There are some things money can't buy and the prestige of a college degree is one of them. People look at you differently. It's tough enough to tell explain to your girlfriend's parents you aren't completely worthless as a poker pro with a college degree.

I can't make an educated guess, because I dropped out of college.

Great post.

Just one, Thomas Alva Edison.

My guess on pros with degrees is < 5%

What are you, 15? A competent man should give 2 ****s what a womans parents think of him. Two adult human beings with true love for each other do not need approval from anyone.

Insecurity is unattractive brah...the need to impress others or feel worthy in the eyes of another man is cowardess, weak and a trait best suited for those "cool" gladiator movies imo...unless you're one of those fall in line, white picket fence dudes I suppose.