as a professional poker player

I am dropping out of college as a junior and moving to Vegas in January with a fellow online player to become a professional poker player. Right now, I live with my mom and step-dad. They have no knowledge of the move. I know my mom is going to be absolutely disgusted with me. She is aware that I play but is not privy to the details of my successes/failures. I have slowly been trying to get my family more comfortable with the idea that this is a profitable source of income, but they cannot fully grasp its profitability. My mom refuses to refer to poker as income, a job, work, instead insists on using the term "gambling". I do my best to explain that at any given table at an MTT there are 7 losing/break-even players and maybe 2 winners, and that in the short-term maybe i will get ko'ed of a tourney without cashing despite doing everything right, but in the long run those correct decisions produce clear results. For whatever reason, my family does not have the ability to grasp that concept. So to them, I am logging on Full Tilt for 8 hrs a night and flipping digital coins for $$$.

I am looking for some advice on what to do or say to show my family that poker is profitable and also anything else I can say to make them more comfortable with the idea that this is what I have chosen to do for a living.

Thanks

roll up in a benz and when your mom comes out to see what the deal is throw her some diamond earrings .. should do the trick

Read the Shaundeeb thread and others in the boards the last few days then ask yourself. Do you really want to do this as your sole source of living.. Gl

Have you considered all the extra expense that comes with moving out, let alone moving to Vegas? I'm not telling you to avoid chasing your dream, but if I was in your shoes I think I'd take a short trip to Vegas or even spend a month there before I actually made the big move.

while im all for chasing the dream, have you looked into your outgoings a month etc?

how much realistically do you make at poker and whats the sample etc??

Id really look into this first.

This is a great idea if:

- You can't imagine yourself ever working in whatever field you've been studying for 3 years in college.

- You don't owe your parents any money for college tuition.

- You have at least 6 months of expenses (lodging/food/entertainment/travel) beyond whatever bankroll you need to play with.

- You've experienced the brutal downswings of the game, and you know how to effectively manage your emotional state and bankroll through the worst of times.

Good luck out there.

show her teh monies immfo

 

Originally Posted by eman2188

It seems like the consensus to just go an do it and show some results later. Guess thats what I'll do.

lol your just trying to justify your already made decision. this was not the consensus at all. you can half ass and finish your degree. its better than not having one trust me. ive half assed mine and now only half 1 semester left. i will be half assing the last one as well. at least i will be able to get a job and have the degree forever. after finding a job, i will be playing part time for extra money. have all expenses paid and make bank seems like a much better option.

first just tell your parents the truth. dont put it as blatantly as you like penis in your rectum. I think they would take it better if you were the dominant one of the 2. say your the daddy and your the inserter mosltly and not the insertee. they should love you no matter what tho. gl

 

Originally Posted by AFink93

Read the Shaundeeb thread and others in the boards the last few days then ask yourself. Do you really want to do this as your sole source of living.. Gl

 

Originally Posted by m4tth3w1

 

Originally Posted by pokerchief29

first just tell your parents the truth. dont put it as blatantly as you like penis in your rectum. I think they would take it better if you were the dominant one of the 2. say your the daddy and your the inserter mosltly and not the insertee. they should love you no matter what tho. gl

[?] Read OP

wp pokerchief, WP

Can't you see he's making a joke? christ...

 

Originally Posted by curiousgeorge

lol your just trying to justify your already made decision. this was not the consensus at all. you can half ass and finish your degree. its better than not having one trust me. ive half assed mine and now only half 1 semester left. i will be half assing the last one as well. at least i will be able to get a job and have the degree forever. after finding a job, i will be playing part time for extra money. have all expenses paid and make bank seems like a much better option.

problem with american educational system imo....it's a fucking joke. i'm actually in the process of gathering information for a documentary film about this subject and your post is a perfect example of why. i got a 31 on my ACT's fwiw and i'm a motherfucking genius who dropped out to play poker b/c the US education system is so god damn fucked and worthless. seriously...

So close to being out of school. I'd finish college then take the plunge. You'd have something to fall back on later in case you get burnt out on it and decide you don't want to spend the rest of your life playing poker. Also, serves as somewhat of a comprimise to how your family feels about it. It'll give your mom some comfort knowing you have something to fall back on. Regardless of how she feels about poker, I think she'd be even more disappointed that you didn't finish school. I'd say complete college and gain their respect and support afterwards. In the meantime you'll keep building that roll to make things even better for when you do take the plunge.

I hope everything works out for you, GL!

For fux sake dude get your fucking degree first. Let me guess...your decision to go pro and move to Vegas was "solidified" about the same time Joe Cada won the main event.

I also question the need to move to Vegas. You play mostly $10-$26 MTTs. The live MTTs for the most part are all turbos with huge variance. Can you handle playing ten $100 buyins without a cash?

Feel free to use me as an example "Look mom if this High school dropout with an IQ of 101 can do it so can I!"

But I question the move to Las Vegas if you are playing online already there is no need. Whats your bankroll? How much life money do you have. If you stumble at all out here finding a job here is near impossible. Looking at the stakes you play atm seems like you need to move up some and see how you do before considering going pro if MTTs are your forte.