Including poker/card playing on a resume?

Greetings to my fellow CC'ers. I am sure there are plenty of B&M and/or online grinders on this forum who have decided to pursue other career avenues for one reason or another. With that being said I present a question that has been asked ad nauseum: How would an individual articulate in writing playing poker as primary income >2 years on a resume, or reasons not to with alternative explanations are much appreciated

I'd just put it down as investing, put down something about risk/reward analysis, computational analysis, blah blah blah, but don't actually say that you're investing based on the (perceived) strength of (virtual) playing cards. Or just put down you were a consultant.

Thank you for your response Alexei. Are there any particular bullet points you would write on your resume? Also, when confronted during the interview to articulate the details of what you suggested, what would be the most (for the lack of a better term) +EV way of going about it? All responses are welcomed.

If you are applying for anything involving investment/day trading/analysis, that sort of thing (and you can prove a good win rate), put it down. Anything involving risk/reward based on careful analysis - oh wait...that's pretty much everything.

Outside of the investment/trading field I recommend you not put down nor discuss card playing. You would be deemed a risk and in many cases your "gambling" would be held against you.

I put poker under "Personal Interests" on mine. Poker is getting big in the UK, I was hoping I'd run into some employer who was into poker and I'd catch his/her attention.

Yeah, I don't include it opn a CV, but I recently applied for some Christmas work doing nights and in the interview the guy asked, since I'd not done night work before and I had to stay focused for 8 hours during the night, what makes me think I can do that and I mentioned sitting playing a big tournament for 10 hours between 12.15am and 10.15am. I got the job.

Yeah, might be better to have it come up in a conversation where you can discuss it; rather than have it on a page and you have no idea what preconceptions the reader has about gambling.

But it sounds liek the OP is stating that this has been his line of work and main source of income for the past two years. So when they ask what jobs he held last and when he is going to put down Poker. Problem is if you don't put this down and just put down the last job you held they are going to want to know what you have been up to for the last 2 years. You could always put down self employed for your latest position. If the company you are going to work for has internet access though I would think they are gonna be concerned about it. Maybe just state that you don;t play online.

It's a tough one that is for sure.

I would absolutely not recommend it. Most people ourside of the poker industry do not view it the same as we do. There is a much larger chance it will hurt you than help you.

If you are pursuing a position where you will be involved with market analysis, finance, or strategy, putting "poker" under interests at the bottom of your resume may not be a bad idea.

But if you're pursuing a job as a lawyer, teacher, etc... I would leave it off.

I decided to take a couple years off work to pursue some personal interests.

I once interviewed a guy who in the middle of his career had a 5 year "career break" on his CV. It screamed of prison time and since he wouldn't elaborate or come clean I didn't pursue him further. In my mind 'pursuing personal interests' says the same thing.

Whilst, somewhat reluctantly, I do agree with Dakota that most people wouldn't see it the same way we do and could see it negatively, I think if you've been a successful player and earned a living then it could be seen as having an entrepreneurial spirit and showing initiative which most employers love. If you do declare it then I would 'dress it up' by you were self employed running your own business (thank you Dusty Schmidt!) and talk about the discipline and studying required to be successful and the long hours required.

If you can demonstrate a hard working attitude, ability to think outside the box, initiative and if you stand out from the crowd in some way then this goes a long way with employers and as someone who has conducted a lot of interviews in my time, these are the qualities that I look for. I worked with homeless men for 2 years over 20 years ago now and still keep it on my CV as it has the 'difference' factor - it interests people and helps me stand out from the other CV's out there. So if you do put poker on your CV on spin it in a favourable light and show interviwers how the skills you've gained through doing it match the qualities they are looking for in their person specification.

Good luck anyway!

This ^^^. Absolutely correct.

That is a possible line BUT it does need the detail.

What else were you doing at the time?
Family, Traveling, writing a book, trying to go self employed, researching an area of interest.
And also need to show how it was funded.
(mentioning that luck in card playing facilitated the other activities may be acceptable, whilst recognising that it is time to end the timeout and get back into mainstream).

You're kind of stuck in a nasty situation here - while people above are right in noting that most interviewers will take a negative view of someone that's spent such a long time gambling they will also take a negative view of someone who can't explain what they've been doing for a living for the past few years or provide any kind of references for what they've been up to.

Both options suck.

So unless you've got something else you can put down that explains how you've been paying the bills for the past few years (say a part time job that you can talk up and pass off as your main source of income) I'd just be honest and put down "professional poker player". If the interviewer asks about it (and they probably will) answer their questions honestly and openly, tell them why you want to get away from doing that and into whatever job you're interviewing for and hope for the best. If there's a two year gap in your CV they'll jump to their own conclusions if you don't explain it and the conclusions they jump to might be even worse than playing poker for a living. Tangerine gives just one possible example above.

I'm saying this as someone who's spent some time on the interviewer's side of the table, BTW.

I would like to thank everyone who posted their comments in this thread. I read them all and am flattered by some of the lucid and helpful comments.

If you are seriously looking at help - I suggest http://theladders.com. They have some excellent resources that include resume writing tips.

This just came to mind, why not pursue a career as a trader on wall street? You use similar parts of the brain and your abilities to take risk will be tuned to managing a portfolio. I don't know if this is what you're going for but it could be a good road to take.

this is an interesting question.
I have a friend whose son has been making 80k per year playing online poker with occasional trips to vegas. I always wonder about not having health insurance or a pension as the months and years pass.
He has an undergraduate degree, but the only income he has had for 3 years is via online poker.
As an employer, I would look at him as a rather risky investment. No job other than playing online poker? And if nothing shows on your resume, it looks like you've been bumming off your parents which is even worse.
Also what college degrees to you have? undergrad? masters? and in what field?
Many questions to ponder.
Good luck to you.

This is absolutely correct - I would never choose either of those options. I suggest finding some way to reasonably account for those few years besides saying you played poker or did nothing.

I have also spent a lot of time interviewing and know that 90% of the time saying you have played poker or having no explanation at all will both prevent you from getting the hob.

It actually depends on what job description you are rooting for. If in part, you can give concrete qualities or skills, you developed from playing poker, which you think can help you get a good foot forward, then go ahead. I also think though writing some hobbies and interests can strike up conversations that will lighten up the mood if ever you will get interviewed. So it actually depends if you are confident that it they will take it positively and hope not give a negative connotation to it.

Experience with computers.
Applied Game theorist.
Social psychologist.

I would just say I was self-employed or something

man, i should take drug addicted alcoholic gambler off my resume,
tho the last guy i worked with fed me beer as i rolled joints and we played a lotta poker... lol... funniest thing was all the poor workin buggers around who just envied us.....didnt always make for the biggest pay checks, but ya gotta be happy at your job:P

(imma stonemason BTW, and might start up the beerband with him again too)

Well I all just depends on the job you are going for. Some places might be ok with it but I can think of many job types that playing poker would be frowned upon (until you get the job and get invited to their game)

As an employer of about 6000 people, There are two ways to look at this question. One, if poker is a social interest, I would mention it as a hobby. If poker was your major income source, Then I would say that the majority of my income for x years was earned as a professional poker player and let the chips fall.

Lots of great answers here,so heres my thought.I would not put playing poker down,unless it was my main source of income the past few years.
Im guessing most employers just would not understand.However I would relate yor computer skills and other related beneficial info.

Poker playing is one thing as a sometime entertainment to most people, but extremely suspect as "full time employment." Gamblers are, for most non-gamblers, people who take unacceptable risks and who could, at any time, get in over their heads and succumb to temptation (like stealing from the company.)

That you were trying to stay afloat by playing poker will only be considered positively by another poker player -- and only if you actually made a solid living. Scraping by for over 2 years would look...pathetic. That you are now looking for regular work suggests you were either not successful or went busto (which, to a savvy player, suggests you didn't use bankroll management. which suggests you are not too smart.)

If you have decided to retire from poker, after winning the WSOP and several other major tournaments, and the game is no longer something that challenges you, that's another thing. Bring photos of your poker trophies. Even for a non-gambler, it could suggest a great ability to learn at a high level, and succeed. Kind of like being a former sports star. Even then, many non-gamblers will still view you with suspicion. Who puts that much time into what they perceive as a luck game? A job interview is no time to try to educate a possible employer on the skill aspect. If you made it that far.

I'd probably say I was self-employed. Skills include evaluating people and situations. Decision making based in part on statistical and psychological factors. Evaluating relative risks and opportunities, as well as continually evaluating current situation.Staying up to speed on latest trends. (Assuming I did all that, of course.) Keeping it vague but not unattractive.

Or you could go all-in, put your cards on the table and let what happens happen. Assuming that some percentage of the time, some percentage of the places you are applying, will consider this +EV.

I don't know why you haven't posted your resume on this thread yet. Maybe one of us can hire or at least help you.

Per OP, not a good idea--others have fully explained why. Since you are in the NYC area however, you might have a shot in one field. Google "Wall Street Recruits Poker Players" (in quotes).