I graduated from high school 2 years ago, about the time when I first played a cashgame. I LOVED IT! I got a job and planned to go to college in january of next year. I played poker for 2 years, didnt go to college and didnt sleep either.
Now that im in college, im getting screwed in every class!! Im getting really foked! I try to go back to the intellectual being I was in highschool, but I just turn on to poker instead. I concentrate more on my 2+2 account than on my homework. I also like to party and hangout.

What the hell is going on? What can I do? A normal 9-5 job in a fokin cubicle seems the lamest thing!

But I tried to make a run at poker pro, but failed due to bad BR management and never played online.

Any ideas, anything? SOS

stop imo

focus on school.. not poker.

have a mod ban your account, and self ban yourself for a month (or 6) from online... **** you don't play online.

Ban yourself from using 2+2 and other poker related activities, and concentrate solely on the work in front of you. Read ahead for your classes, talk to your professors more often, be social with other students, go to parties.

Most people who go to college DONT work 9-5. That's mostly for business majors. If you major in music, English, Teaching, Nursing, Pharmacy, Law, Criminal Justice, Pre-med, Forestry, Physics, anything really, you can find a job that suits your personality.

My best advice is talk to a college adviser/counselor and I'm sure they can put you on the right track. (That's what they're paid for anyways!)

If your not studying something you are really interested in, its so easy to get awful grades, especially when you have a hobby like poker in the back of your mind all the time. My freshman year was pretty much devoted to learning how to balance school, poker, and social activities (getting fookin' smizzled). Make a weekly schedule and stick to it. Figure out when the big parties are, then plan your poker around them. So say your buddy is having a huge kegger on Saturday... Do nothing but school work and studying Monday through Wednesday, play a couple good long sessions Thursday and Friday, get some **** done early on Saturday, then have a good time from dinner time and after. Sunday's the best time to school work imo. All you want to do is sit and get rehydrated most of the time anyways.

seems like you really need to learn some will power, op

also it was definitely a really bad decision to take 2 years off from school if you weren't 100% gonna succeed in poker

in any case, ban yourself from 2p2 and online sites until you can focus on school / socializing more

then maybe once you've become more responsible you can start to build poker around your studying / socializing schedule and it won't be the other way aroudn this time

Degree > Winning Donkament

I went through this as an undergrad, and I really screwed up and wasted a couple of years. Ignore OSU's advice; with your mindset you really have to completely get away from poker (and absolutely any other form of gambling) because, otherwise, when you're not playing you'll be thinking about it. Treat it as an addiction; take it one day at a time and expect it to take months before your mind becomes completely able to concentrate on other things. As that comes, put your whole self into your studies (choose courses that you care about; that you enjoy; and that make you think or teach you interesting new things) and use your down time to have a rich social life (but not one that's built around drinking) because you'll never live in another social milieu comparable to this one.

Trust me, once you've completed your studies, there will be plenty of time to go back to poker if you still want to. And the self-discipline you will have learned and the confidence you will have gained will make you better in that or in any endeavour.

[ ]Russellin graduated in 4 years
[X]Russelin went busto last week.

Man the **** up and do what needs to be done so you aren't flipping McQueso's the rest of your life.

I unconsciously quit about 3 months ago. Went busto obv fue to terrible BR decisions, even got a bank loan just to play....i focked up! But now I keep trying to return to the life ambitions I had before I even started playin, but everytime I try, something happens. Thanks for the advise

Is there ANY type of equilibrium between playin, studying and working?

Depends how much you'd be making if you played poker like a part-time job. It's not hard to practice good BRM; just force yourself to only play with a tiny % of your total money at each table/mtt/sng/whatever. If you're always playing in the biggest games you can, that's a recipe for quick disaster.
More importantly, though, getting a bank loan to play poker is a terrible idea. If you lose that and lack any kind of parental support or whatever, you're knackered. If you need the money, get a 'normal' job and play poker when you have some spare time, at low stakes, and see if you'll soon be making more at poker than your job.

uhhhh moderation?

im learning to balance school/poker, and find when im losing, i really want to concentrate on school. but that's irrelevant cuz op doesn't play online.

[]helpful post
[x]useless post

do you play COD4 on PC?

I know...moderation is definitely something I need to learn. Unfortunately, I had a rough to learn this lesson. I just think I'm in a life's tilt or something, prob unrelated to poker, although it does cause some angst...Its like when you get derailed and try to go back on track, but keep losing the correct way to follow. I guess I just have to chin up! Thanx for the opinions!

Ban yourself for a week from stars or wherever you play. quit being a pussy. go get laid or something.

kids these days...jesus

Yes. Being able to balance these things is a sign that you are either an adult or very close. Not being able to balance them is a very bad sign.

It's called wait for it...... responsibility.

Make a schedule... Do your school work first, then when you have time play Poker

well i'm gonna be 4th year at uc irvine majorin' in mathematics ... and i won't even have time to work part time even if i get a job. THAT's why im trying to make lil money by playing poker online. so im telling u, it's possible to focus in school and play poker
gl

I just read this entire thread and I obv have the same problem as OP. I study MBA and work 8-to-4 and play poker online. WTF, I don't ****in care about my study, I dunno why I have chosen this faculty. I don't like my job either. And I guess they are about to fire me soon. Omg. I really want to focus on my poker game, cause I feel like it's the only way I can get out of all this damned routine.

Life is about learning.... My advice to the OP and others is to not focus so much on poker. Poker will always be there for you to play. The chance to get a quality education is more of a limited window for most people.

It's all about priorities...

Ask yourself this question: Would you rather play poker for a living and have to constantly grind and worry about your bankroll? Or would you rather have a nice cushy career that affords you some discretionary income and free time to pursue poker in a less stressful manner?

I'll take option 2...

You make it sound too simple. I think its a lot more complex than how you make it sound. Its not about priorities exactly. It's about going busto and getting used to ''living lightly''. I've grinded 5/10 for over a year, I got used to a lyfestyle, suddenly went bust a how can you get used to working 8 hours a day and studying, and having a girlfriend etc.

Just a question. Who has lived out from his poker winnings and hasnt ''focused'' on poker??

It sounds simple because it is... Your priorities are backwards and the sooner you change things the better your life will be in the long run. You're only 20 you have your whole life to play poker. Any dream you have of being a "pro" is probably unrealistic. Focus on your education and you'll be +EV down the road.

s i m p l e

education > poker

If you put it like that it really is. But what is complicated is the transition from ''balla'' to ''average college student'' u know? Its a change of lifestyle, no only priorities.