What up Mark, just to add my two cents I am kinda in the same boat, obv you know I moved to Malta to play, I too havnt been as successful as I would like to be, and considering going back to school getting a ft job (which obv sucks compared to poker) but each person is different, not sure if you took your fam with you but it has to make it all the bit tougher being away from them (not to mention all the fball games ;)--- I think it will turn around for you down there- at least I'm pulling for you as it only takes one day....

looking forward to what others have to say about their perspective enjoying other employment opportunities and their future when/if it gets regulated

Awesome post Jason esp like this part:

Working full time for these past 7-8 months has made me realize life is something that doesn't last long in the scheme of things. You need to take your OPPORTUNITY and run with it. Work harder than you have before and open your eyes that the grass isn't always greener on the other side.

 

Originally Posted by Appst08

I'm never a debbie downer. Actually in my group of poker friends, i'd say they see me as the one with the glass more than half full.

I didn't move out of the country because I felt I didn't make enough money in this game to justify it. I was making enough money not to get a job and be able to choose my schedule and I believe my biggest downfall was I didn't put my all into this. I felt like "welp, made bills, spending $, bar $, etc" let's not grind anymore until sunday. I had a friend that could offer me a job if the thing that went down on BF actually went down. Since WSOP ended, I don't really hate my job, but I do hate where my life is heading. It's a never ending battle with complacentacy(sp). I tweeted a thought a few weeks ago about if others agreed that there is nothing WORSE than knowing you will be doing the same thing for the same pay for atleast the next year or few years? I followed that up with asking is there anything better than having the OPPORTUNITY to make your yearly salary in 1 8-hour session? I got a few responses and I just think the feeling I got from making poker and knowing that "getting by" in poker is so much more fulfulling in life than working a ft job and being either more financially sound or the comfort you get from a 1 or 2 week gtd paycheck.

I was asked when BF went down if people should move to the live scene or explore other opportunities. I snap responded that people should take a deep thought into heading to other countries and/or grinding the live scene before making the decision to do it. I now feel completely the opposite. Working full time for these past 7-8 months has made me realize life is something that doesn't last long in the scheme of things. You need to take your OPPORTUNITY and run with it. Work harder than you have before and open your eyes that the grass isn't always greener on the other side.

You will miss poker, you will miss the everyday grind, you will miss people understand about the life you used(in my case) have. Take a long look at poker and if you feel you can the same way when you ship a big tourney or have a night at PCA with people that know what you've been thru than you would waking up at 6:48 everyday, taking the same 13 minute shower everyday, taking a hour lunch at 12 everdyay, getting off at 5 everyday and driving in traffic everyday until friday comes where you will go to the bar 1 night out of the weekend and realize you are falling into the same mold as the people you said you would never be like on that tuesday night at 5am when you finish up that last tourney with a sunday saver.

tl;dr

I apologize to rambling on. Just felt this thread spoke to me :) GL with whatever you choose Mark

Could not say it any better.

 

Originally Posted by Appst08

I'm never a debbie downer. Actually in my group of poker friends, i'd say they see me as the one with the glass more than half full.

I didn't move out of the country because I felt I didn't make enough money in this game to justify it. I was making enough money not to get a job and be able to choose my schedule and I believe my biggest downfall was I didn't put my all into this. I felt like "welp, made bills, spending $, bar $, etc" let's not grind anymore until sunday. I had a friend that could offer me a job if the thing that went down on BF actually went down. Since WSOP ended, I don't really hate my job, but I do hate where my life is heading. It's a never ending battle with complacentacy(sp). I tweeted a thought a few weeks ago about if others agreed that there is nothing WORSE than knowing you will be doing the same thing for the same pay for atleast the next year or few years? I followed that up with asking is there anything better than having the OPPORTUNITY to make your yearly salary in 1 8-hour session? I got a few responses and I just think the feeling I got from making poker and knowing that "getting by" in poker is so much more fulfulling in life than working a ft job and being either more financially sound or the comfort you get from a 1 or 2 week gtd paycheck.

I was asked when BF went down if people should move to the live scene or explore other opportunities. I snap responded that people should take a deep thought into heading to other countries and/or grinding the live scene before making the decision to do it. I now feel completely the opposite. Working full time for these past 7-8 months has made me realize life is something that doesn't last long in the scheme of things. You need to take your OPPORTUNITY and run with it. Work harder than you have before and open your eyes that the grass isn't always greener on the other side.

You will miss poker, you will miss the everyday grind, you will miss people understand about the life you used(in my case) have. Take a long look at poker and if you feel you can the same way when you ship a big tourney or have a night at PCA with people that know what you've been thru than you would waking up at 6:48 everyday, taking the same 13 minute shower everyday, taking a hour lunch at 12 everdyay, getting off at 5 everyday and driving in traffic everyday until friday comes where you will go to the bar 1 night out of the weekend and realize you are falling into the same mold as the people you said you would never be like on that tuesday night at 5am when you finish up that last tourney with a sunday saver.

tl;dr

I apologize to rambling on. Just felt this thread spoke to me :) GL with whatever you choose Mark

Great post! and GL Mark in whatever you decide to do in life =)

 

Originally Posted by Appst08

I'm never a debbie downer. Actually in my group of poker friends, i'd say they see me as the one with the glass more than half full.

I didn't move out of the country because I felt I didn't make enough money in this game to justify it. I was making enough money not to get a job and be able to choose my schedule and I believe my biggest downfall was I didn't put my all into this. I felt like "welp, made bills, spending $, bar $, etc" let's not grind anymore until sunday. I had a friend that could offer me a job if the thing that went down on BF actually went down. Since WSOP ended, I don't really hate my job, but I do hate where my life is heading. It's a never ending battle with complacentacy(sp). I tweeted a thought a few weeks ago about if others agreed that there is nothing WORSE than knowing you will be doing the same thing for the same pay for atleast the next year or few years? I followed that up with asking is there anything better than having the OPPORTUNITY to make your yearly salary in 1 8-hour session? I got a few responses and I just think the feeling I got from making poker and knowing that "getting by" in poker is so much more fulfulling in life than working a ft job and being either more financially sound or the comfort you get from a 1 or 2 week gtd paycheck.

I was asked when BF went down if people should move to the live scene or explore other opportunities. I snap responded that people should take a deep thought into heading to other countries and/or grinding the live scene before making the decision to do it. I now feel completely the opposite. Working full time for these past 7-8 months has made me realize life is something that doesn't last long in the scheme of things. You need to take your OPPORTUNITY and run with it. Work harder than you have before and open your eyes that the grass isn't always greener on the other side.

You will miss poker, you will miss the everyday grind, you will miss people understand about the life you used(in my case) have. Take a long look at poker and if you feel you can the same way when you ship a big tourney or have a night at PCA with people that know what you've been thru than you would waking up at 6:48 everyday, taking the same 13 minute shower everyday, taking a hour lunch at 12 everdyay, getting off at 5 everyday and driving in traffic everyday until friday comes where you will go to the bar 1 night out of the weekend and realize you are falling into the same mold as the people you said you would never be like on that tuesday night at 5am when you finish up that last tourney with a sunday saver.

tl;dr

I apologize to rambling on. Just felt this thread spoke to me :) GL with whatever you choose Mark

u only need 3 minutes for THAT? sick brag dood

honestly, great post.

so much sadness from a half-milliion dollar badge :( you need to put in more volume. poker isn't the problem, losing is.

Good post by poker scrub. I need to chime in a little on this. I think something that a lot of people in their 20's don't realize (I know I didn't) is that "what I want out of life" changes quite a bit for most of us when we start to get a little older. I was 26 and single when I moved down to Costa Rica and couldn't imagine anything different than a life where I could go out till whatever hour any night, make my own schedule all the time, not have anyone else I had to worry about, etc, etc. In the last 5 years my priorities have changed a lot. I've grown to care less about some of the things I did before. I go to bed at a pretty normal hour now - 11-12 every night. And I get up around 7 or 8 most mornings, which is a far cry from a few years ago when I had to set an alarm to get up in time for weekly noon meetings. I still value personal freedom and especially scheduling freedom, but I'm a lot more content with a fairly structured life and being beholden to a family than I once was. Things change, everyone grows up - or at least most of us do. I didn't make these changes out of necessity - they happened naturally and gradually without me even really thinking about it.

Now I'm not saying everyone will head in this direction, and I know it's extremely depressing for anyone who's 22 and rolling in money to hear about being 31 like me and living in the suburbs and having kids and playing in tennis leagues and going out with your wife for frozen yogurt or whatever. I wasn't ready for this life 5 years ago, but it's comfortable now and it's really a relief. I think the key to everything is, as you said, not being a debbie downer and trying to see that glass half full. Things change. Your income may fall for a while at certain times in your life. Sometimes you have to take a step backward before you can take two steps forward. Cliches, etc. But it's all true.

You probably won't be a grinder when you're 50. There are a number of them, but not nearly as many as the 22 year old variety. So at what point does it end and do you start pursuing something else? I'm sure plenty of you dream of making enough in your 20's to last you for life and then just kind of spending your time as you wish - or hopefully in some cases working charitably. But reality is that almost no one really ever gets to a point where they're satisfied with what they have. The more money you make, the smaller it all looks and the more you notice the people who have even more than you do. A life where you've reached 30 and no longer have any goals to meet would be pretty awful.

I think it's cool that a lot of people have tried playing poker in a new place after BF - obviously Poker Refugees has facilitated a lot of that, and I feel really good about what it has done. But I hope that what people are getting out of it is a new outlook on life - getting to see a new place, maybe learn a new language, meet different people....all while earning a living. If you're in your 20's and don't have a family and are just doing this to avoid having to make a longer term decision about what to do with your life, it may be best to take a second look at things.

Probably this post is contrary to our business here. But I also think it's important for people to hear different perspectives on this. You may surprise yourself with what kind of life you can lead happily if you can challenge yourself to take a leap

As much as I would have liked to continue after Black Friday, I just didn't have the funds to spend on traveling or moving anywhere. I got a full-time job working at a video store for $10/hr because it's all I could find at the time and I drive to Detroit (about an hour) to play cash games a couple times a month.

However my luck has turned around and I recently got a job offer at a new casino being built in my city as a poker dealer. I am in the midst of a 5-week dealing school right now and as long as I pass the audition at the end of the course, I'm guaranteed a job as a full-time dealer in the poker room making really good money (keeping our own tips).

As much as the current job sucks, I'm enjoying the steady income that it brings and my life has been a lot less stressful. I've also found time to see friends and family more than I did when I was grinding online tournaments every day. I do miss poker and the flexible lifestyle that came with it, but I'm okay with just playing recreationally and playing a couple big tournaments throughout the year to try and make my backer some of his money back.

 

Originally Posted by jediwithaces

WTF!!! MILLION DOLLAR BADGE?!??!? is there really a future in this game?

Cut that in half since he mentioned being backed, over a couple years prolly around 200k profit so yeah it doesnt take long to spend your money and end up working at a video store.

 

Originally Posted by Adam

Good post by poker scrub. I need to chime in a little on this. I think something that a lot of people in their 20's don't realize (I know I didn't) is that "what I want out of life" changes quite a bit for most of us when we start to get a little older. I was 26 and single when I moved down to Costa Rica and couldn't imagine anything different than a life where I could go out till whatever hour any night, make my own schedule all the time, not have anyone else I had to worry about, etc, etc. In the last 5 years my priorities have changed a lot. I've grown to care less about some of the things I did before. I go to bed at a pretty normal hour now - 11-12 every night. And I get up around 7 or 8 most mornings, which is a far cry from a few years ago when I had to set an alarm to get up in time for weekly noon meetings. I still value personal freedom and especially scheduling freedom, but I'm a lot more content with a fairly structured life and being beholden to a family than I once was. Things change, everyone grows up - or at least most of us do. I didn't make these changes out of necessity - they happened naturally and gradually without me even really thinking about it.

Now I'm not saying everyone will head in this direction, and I know it's extremely depressing for anyone who's 22 and rolling in money to hear about being 31 like me and living in the suburbs and having kids and playing in tennis leagues and going out with your wife for frozen yogurt or whatever. I wasn't ready for this life 5 years ago, but it's comfortable now and it's really a relief. I think the key to everything is, as you said, not being a debbie downer and trying to see that glass half full. Things change. Your income may fall for a while at certain times in your life. Sometimes you have to take a step backward before you can take two steps forward. Cliches, etc. But it's all true.

You probably won't be a grinder when you're 50. There are a number of them, but not nearly as many as the 22 year old variety. So at what point does it end and do you start pursuing something else? I'm sure plenty of you dream of making enough in your 20's to last you for life and then just kind of spending your time as you wish - or hopefully in some cases working charitably. But reality is that almost no one really ever gets to a point where they're satisfied with what they have. The more money you make, the smaller it all looks and the more you notice the people who have even more than you do. A life where you've reached 30 and no longer have any goals to meet would be pretty awful.

I think it's cool that a lot of people have tried playing poker in a new place after BF - obviously Poker Refugees has facilitated a lot of that, and I feel really good about what it has done. But I hope that what people are getting out of it is a new outlook on life - getting to see a new place, maybe learn a new language, meet different people....all while earning a living. If you're in your 20's and don't have a family and are just doing this to avoid having to make a longer term decision about what to do with your life, it may be best to take a second look at things.

Probably this post is contrary to our business here. But I also think it's important for people to hear different perspectives on this. You may surprise yourself with what kind of life you can lead happily if you can challenge yourself to take a leap

+1

I didn't move, and was backed for a year pre-BF. Since that happened, I took a brief break until I found out sites that were still offering. Now, I'm almost finished with school, and starting to "figure" out where my life is headed. I do not know where/what I want to do in a couple months (and tbh, would rather move to Cabo or the like for 5 months and "hope" to hit a heater that would give me some 10-20k+ really quickly). After some figuring, I realize I will never get that 100k+ job for many, many years; unless i get VERY lucky. I go to a no-name school, have 3.0+ gpa, math degree, etc...but no work experience that's relevant. I work a part time 6am job on weekends and couple of weekdays, and it really, really sucks. I'm not doing that great at poker, but making due with what I have been given post-BF with prizepools. I hate my job, and almost just want to grind poker for the rest of my life somehow. The only thing is, I will get a job of some sort that is an easy 40k + benefits.

That's not really much though to live an exciting life. At least with poker, it kept my life exciting knowing that at anytime I can go anywhere, do anything, and have that "lottery" type feeling; meaning, a big score could be right around the corner. Most of life's happiness is dreaming about something...then, when you get it, ur unsatisfied. With poker, it always keeps that happiness alive going for the big score. Grinding a job everyday, there's nothing to look forward to besides weekends off. But working a part time job has already made me hate working 5 days in a row.

I dunno...pre BF I was the most pessimistic person in regards to online poker. Looking back, I took advantage of what was given to me, blew through money staking, and regretting it now (besides lessons learned). I wish it would come back. Maybe once I graduate and I experience making the consistent 40k + benefits and poker on the side at 10-20k+ a year, I'll be as happy as can be. I just know I'll always need time for poker in my life, and working 40+ hrs a week won't really help the issue. Holy typing/sorry for the rant.

 

Originally Posted by jediwithaces

WTF!!! MILLION DOLLAR BADGE?!??!? is there really a future in this game?

Poker is NOT an easy game.

I do miss all the american fish... Now we only got the best of the best from america in our fields, and it kinda sucks.
Some really good posts in this thread that I can relate too. Well done folks!

Couldn't even fathom having to get a real job, or work anywhere in the world for $10/hr or whatever, sounds absurd!

 

Originally Posted by RhoNin

Do you miss them more than the French?

He doesn't miss the French, he plays almost every day on pokerstars.fr where the fields are 95%+ french players. ;)

BF was pretty bad, but it came at the perfect time for me. I wasn't really a "professional" but I did make $20 to $30 per hour, so it was definitely my main source of income.

BF came not long before I graduated with my bachelor's. I hadn't found a job yet, and was sort of avoiding doing any serious work on starting a career. It's easy to put things off with a career when you have poker, something you know so well and are completely comfortable with. When BF came, I just figured I would put whatever poker effort I had into job searching, and now I have a career that I'm really enjoying. I guess when one door closes, another one opens up.