Oh, so you're one of those guys that need things spelled out for them clearly. The word anywhere was general hyperbole, not literal. Does that help you out? Then again, it's no place I would want to live; that is, ****ty little town with no crime or big city with lots of crime. Nice choices...

You are right. Can we get back on topic now?

I'm don't know much about the Muskegon Heights housing market. There aren't any mansions there, but I've been in neighborhoods in that city where I would feel safe, and I would consider living there if the price was right. I've definitely been in areas of Kalamazoo that were much scarier than anyplace in Muskegon or Muskegon Heights. It's all relative I guess.

25k houses in Milawaukee

Potawatommi Casino nearby

What else do you need?

This.

I think this is important for those that can make a living playing poker and at the same time can get a mediocre-ish job that doesn't require any super specialized skill that makes you dispensable.

I think you have to look at the economy at a macro level and ask yourself am I going to be at this job 5 or 10 years or now for sure? Or is there a good chance you can be laid off.

Personally I think the economy is going to continue to go down the tubes. I graduated from Univ of Arizona and I was a complete poker degenerate and looking back losing money playing online and skipping class was the best thing I did in college, considering I didn't learn anything in college anyway. Won't ever have to worry about losing my job (even though it is contracted work anyway)

Mars Cheese Castle and the Brat Stop are within driving distance from there also. Would make all the difference in the world.

Ah you were just blowing smoke out your ass. Ok.

Yup. Enjoy your home.

The max 100K in a year at 5/10 comment is stupid. A lot of those games have 5K buyins and 20 buyins isn't that much.

Also you guys are all talking about 35 hours week. If I ever decided to play live poker for a living I would play 50-60 hours per week.

This is highly variable. It depends on many factors.

lol good luck with that

Don't a lot of industries have 50-60+ hour work weeks?

i know a few, i dont know anyone that does regret to be a pro.

I don't regret the decision, but I regret the fact that I wasn't in the right place mentally to make different decisions at an earlier point in my life. I was who I was though, and the decisions made were right for who I was.

OTOH...

$40 an hour at 2/5 is realistic, and at 35 hours a week, that's 73k. Knock off a couple weeks for vacation, and you've got 70k.

Personally, I want a real job, but I won't switch to anything that doesn't give me at least 100k potential. Working on some projects though.

Seriously, who says "I really like having a boss, it's the greatest thing ever!" No one does. So why do people say, "I'm not really the person who could handle having a boss." It's stupid and obvious. People don't like being slaves. Period.

True.

Otoh, being useful to society is nice.

Otooh, as technology increases, we have to fake up jobs, but that's borderline politarding.

yeh when you're forced into it and there's very little emotion involved.....its real tough to grind 40-50 hours a week when you can just get up and leave and the emotional swings are tough to deal with.....i bet under 1% of pro poker players play more then 40 hours a week over a substantial period

would bet a lot of money on over 1%. i know of at least three, and I know a lot fewer than 300 live pros

Oh hai

LOL at most jobs being useful.

Most of the answers on this thread (no I haven't read every page) seem to fall into a very stereotypical concept of work that seems odd to me. The majority of people on here describe having a "boss" in a sort of "office space"/"Horrible Bosses" stereotype. Cmon guys, there are LOTS of jobs in the world that don't involve filing your TPS Reports in triplicate. No one would advocate trading a Baller poker lifestyle for working at McDonalds.

To me the more interesting question the OP raised was more about this; a large majority of the people on here who play for a living are educated, highly intelligent people. After 5-10 years of playing professionally is there any satisfaction there other than "I paid the bills". Were the up and downswings worth it? Is it fulfilling to do it fulltime? I imagine for most the answer would be that it becomes numbing and can be a grind.

After 10 years of grinding, and having the freedom of a poker lifestyle, would those 10 years have been better spent as any of the following: A writer, filmmaker, musician, artist, teacher, researcher, firefighter, policeman, lawyer, doctor, programmer, game developer, etc. All of those professions can be done in settings where you can set your own hours to varying degrees and you don't have a "boss". You can go on kickstarter and raise money to make a film, write a book, or whatever you want to do. The idea that there is poker and then there is a job where you answer to a "boss" and work 9-5 is pretty short sighted in this day and age.

And let's be honest. At the end of the day, almost all of us answer to a boss of some sort. In professional poker your boss is your backer, or your sponsor. There are no free rides, even in poker. Sure, you set your own hours to some degree, but unless you're independently wealthy you still have to grind and turn out a good ROI to answer to someone or they'll be breathing down your neck.

I'm on the fence. I love the game, but I'm pretty sure it's not worth the lifestyle trade-off for all but .0001% of the players in the world.

Exactly. Right now a lot of my time is tied up in helping care for an elderly relative. But I hope soon to be putting in at least 50 hours every week.

Being self-employed gives you an opportunity that most others don't have. Most people can't tell their boss that they want to work 80 hours next week to make more money. Poker players can do that whenever they want, and it's a great thing.

A few months after I started playing online micro MTTs, I got what was for me at the time my first big cash: $3.30 buy-in 4,200 players, 7th place for a cash of $384. I already had an idea that poker might someday might either my full-time job.

I decided right then that whatever I won, it was going to be all mine. I would never have a backer, whether my ceiling was $100 tournaments or 10K buy-ins, whether I played full-time or part-time, I would always play with at least 100 buy-ins, I would never have a backer, and everything I won would be all mine.

I play full-time now, mostly live, and I have never regretted that decision.

Re: Are there any Live Poker Pros That Don't Regret Their Decision to Play Professionally?


Anyone who final tables the main event imo

Yes, that's basically what I said. But if you're smart enough to poker pro, you're smart enough to be useful. Something like providing an entertainment product such as a book or a website, for example.

OTOH, one could argue that's not useful either, but I wouldn't go that far.