thinking about giving poker a go full time for the next year?

i am Uni just now but not really enjoying it that much tbh. don't hate it but just went for something to do and kind of because my parents expected me to. i managed to pass my 1st year but since we got off i have been playing pretty much full time over the Summer and made a decent amount of money. we are due back in 3 weeks but i have been thinking about pulling out of this year, maybe not totally cancelling the prospect of going back but maybe delaying it and seeing how poker goes over the next year and whether or not i should go back/ stick at poker or get a job. i wouldn't mind travelling a bit this year as well. i work pretty hard when it comes to Poker, far harder than at anything else i do, enjoy it and and make money so i think that these points probably justify doing so. what do you guys think? and could i have the opinions also of some people who have decided to take up Poker full time? cheers!

You seem like you are smart enough to know what the best option is,
obviously must be smart as your in uni

my oppinion You should enter a UKITP try and satellite or if you are earning a considerable amount buy in - the reason I say this you get an immediate indication on what it takes to be pro and where you are at right now, if your serious about going pro you have to test yourself

if you just want to stick to online.
Definately get your uni done! you can still play whilest studying,
you can delay work and withdraw enough just to get you by and say you go a year... after getting your degree's that'l be 2 years from now,

the benifit from sticking to the uni is if it doesn't turn out to be poker for a living you have uni behind you and more option's
this could also benifit you by assisting you with better bankrolls in years to come as you continue to progress as a player.

you might excell over the next year but if it takes a few years statisticly I would say your more likely to find success in poker from supporting investments while working, taking no risks with a comfortable fallback option

If you're gonna make a go at being a full time poker pro you should already have built up a large bankroll. If not you're fooling yourself.

BomTombadil said:

If you're gonna make a go at being a full time poker pro you should already have built up a large bankroll. If not you're fooling yourself.

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I completely agree with BomTombadil. I am considering playing full-time in the near future as well. In the meantime, I have saved enough money to pay all my bills for a year in addition to setting aside a $30K bankroll. I may have taken a more conservative approach than most, but better that than the converse.

At a minimum, you should have enough money set aside to pay your bills for six months. Anyone can run bad for that long. I've done it before and I'll do it again.

Best of luck.

-HooDooKoo

I don't think that taking a year off is ever a good idea when it comes to higher education. You open so many doors by finishing there and to delay or potentially throw that away is just a bad idea. Stick it out and play part time, when you graduate you will have the option to play poker full time and have a side job to pay any bills. You WANT to get through uni ASAP. It makes people wonder on job Apps when you have gaps in time for school (shows lack of dedication). Just suck it up and take your stab when you are done.

There is a reason most of the new faces on the TV come with many degrees in engineering or what not behind their name. It really does prep you for your future.

I thought about taking a year off back in 09... let's just say a year turned into 2, then 3, now 4... it took me 4 years to get back into school to continue my higher education.

Education comes first in my opinion. There is no reason you can't turn pro when you finish. Or just go pro and continue your education. If you are doing well now then keep to it and get better at what you are not good at and get your skills up before you decide to make such a life altering decision.

BomTombadil said:

If you're gonna make a go at being a full time poker pro you should already have built up a large bankroll. If not you're fooling yourself.

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This^^^^^ x2

HomeBrewer said:

It makes people wonder on job apps when you have gaps in time for school (shows lack of dedication).

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This is true, however not seeking employment right away after graduation looks worse. Gaps during school can be explained because not everyone has the finances or circumstances to make it to graduation in one shot, but if you graduate then take a year or two off to play poker there is no way you can justify this in a job interview that won't make you sound lazy and indifferent to your chosen field of study.

I would strongly suggest finishing college come hell or high water, it might feel like a waste of time right now but having a degree gives you a backup plan. Education is never a waste of time, I'm not going to get into the debate about whether or not college is worth the price because that's different for every individual, but I will say that in the end you will most likely regret not getting the degree much more than you will regret actually getting it. I returned to college after more than 10 years away and because I was gone for so long I lost catalog rights, which meant that some of the classes I had already taken no longer applied to my major requirements and I couldn't use them for degree credit.

wow, thanks for all the great answers wasn't expecting such brilliant responses! sorry i haven't been on this for 2 days or so didn't have the best last 2 days, yesterday i had my biggest losing day- $400 which maybe isn't a lot to everyone on this but is a decent amount for me. was down like $250 again today but finally managed to convert a deep run in to something noteworthy and chopped a $16.50 turbo for $3k
as for the dropping out of Uni thing i will continue to think about it, still got a couple of weeks before i go back and make a decision from there. although the answers on this have maybe swayed me towards staying. thanks again everyone!

Do NOT go full time poker. Treat poker like a hobby. I was thinking the same thing as you were when I was in college. But I decided to finish my university and get my bachelors first. If you plan to drop out to pursue your poker career full time while you have no credentials or proof that you can make a living off poker, or dont' have enough money, then you're fooling yourself. Many successful poker players rarely dropped out. They treated poker as a hobby, which then turned into a career because they realized that their hobby is making way more than their current career.

Do not use exceptions to guide your life. Yes, there are exceptions who have dropped out to pursue their career in poker, such as Phil Hellmuth, Joe Cada, etc. The difference is, these guys were making far more money than what they could make in their 9-5 job. Unless you can prove it that you make enough money to go full time by profiting as much as you would make if you get out of college, and do that steadily every year, I don't recommend it.

Just because Bill Gates, Steve Jobs, Mark Zuckerberg all dropped out of college but became billionaires don't mean you shouldn't consider college or university. These guys had bright career and hobby that turned out to be way more profitable than if they were to finish school and get a job.

Vanessa Rousso was completing her school and getting her degrees while playing poker. Chris Moneymaker finished his school while playing poker as his hobby. Vanessa dropped out of law school after she was assured that she can make way more money playing poker than becoming a lawyer. She didn't just drop out and relied on poker, hoping to make it big.

i dont think it is a good idea unless ur not a millionaire,

tough decision, you know, it can be really life changing If it will go in right direction But personally I would finish uni first. But definitively continue to play poker. I think you will have still plenty time for it. I had, when I studied on college.

I think all the reply's have the same kinda advice, so without saying the obvious, at the end of the day you do what you want to do, ofcourse staying in uni would make sense, but we only live once so don't be swayed from you're own personal thoughts and feeling hope everything goes well for you no matter what u do

going pro takes a good sized bankroll hope it all works out for you hope you win that money

cheers again for more replies! my br is just under $9k atm, but i live at home and don't really have a lot to pay for. plus i have quite a lot of savings from working for a year after finishing school.
as for the poker side of things as WCOOP started today so i woke up and played a ton of satellites think i was like 20 tabling at one point managed to get in to WCOOP 01 hoping to satellite into 03 as well. be nice to bink either hehe.
yeah i'm not gonna rush the decision just going to keep playing for the next few weeks and see what happens.

IMO School comes first I would say finish your degree and play poker on the side.
But you Sound like a smart guy and I think your the one who will decide whats best for you, Good luck.

Airburn said:

IMO School comes first I would say finish your degree and play poker on the side.
But you Sound like a smart guy and I think your the one who will decide whats best for you, Good luck.

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cheers man

Get the education first, then you can try poker full time.

I hear stories of people going to school full time and working full time. If they can do it so can you. Cut down on the poker if it gets to be to much not the school. Education is always the best answer.

Never give up education for poker. You might however, alter whatever educations plans you currently have to include subjects that will improve your poker game and hopeful lifestyle. Maths, and economics, psychology, banking and investing courses will help you do it even better. Take an acting class.

school should come first. that way you have something to fall back on in case poker doesnt pan out.

dont think you can quit work/school for poker in this economy unless you have a very large bankroll

How much have you made over the summer and what limits do you beat, how many hands/tournaments and how long have you been playing?

I ask these because I'm just going of your join date and have no idea of what games you play or how many hands/tournaments. If you're on a heater at the minute and just winning over the summer it's naive and also easy to think you could try it full time. I'm not doubting your skill or anything just asking because these are crucial.

I've never played pro or even wanted to, but I do have a little life coaching-type experience. Based on that, my suggestion is not to over-simplify a major decision by making it into a binary one where the only choices are to go pro or not. There are other reasonable options such as finishing your degree first, which has been mentioned. Assuming you're not in uni all year long, another is to try it for months you're off. And depending on your personal circumstances, you can probably come up with other possibilities including but not necessarily limited to various part-time plans.

Once you have a range of options, then list and weight the pros and cons for each. Yes, all this takes a good deal of thought / work. But it's a serious decision. You should treat it accordingly.

ramdeebam said:

How much have you made over the summer and what limits do you beat, how many hands/tournaments and how long have you been playing?

I ask these because I'm just going of your join date and have no idea of what games you play or how many hands/tournaments. If you're on a heater at the minute and just winning over the summer it's naive and also easy to think you could try it full time. I'm not doubting your skill or anything just asking because these are crucial.

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only started playing poker a year ago, at the start of the year i started taking tourny's seriously at the lowest limits of $0.50 sng's. would build my br up and then lose it all with bad br management by playing buy ins not suitable for my br. done this a few times. knew i was quite good but had bad tilt and br management. at the start of the Summer i deposited $300 and from that altogether i am at $10k profit. been moving up stakes as i said i started at $0.50 sng's and today i played in WCOOP 01 and 03, satellited in to both but didn't cash. over the last 120 days i have played 3,500 tournaments with 54% roi. once i get used to the limits after moving up i usually beat them, for example at the moment i would say i would lose money at $100+ mtt's but once i get confidence playing them i would be pretty sure i would make profit. abi atm i reckon would be around $10, maybe higher.