J
Jreece18
Rock Star
Silver Level
I really think it's best to focus on your studies. Take a year out after uni if need be. Maybe do some other things in that year out too to explain it to future employers.
You don't really seem to need the money, so taking a year out would purely be for aspirations. Best to follow that dream when you have a good degree to fall back on. Plus by the time you finish uni, you'll be more mature and have an extra couple years experience at poker.
Also your decision making ability will be better (life decisions). Your brain hasn't stopped developing yet - although I'm assuming your age.
You don't really seem to need the money, so taking a year out would purely be for aspirations. Best to follow that dream when you have a good degree to fall back on. Plus by the time you finish uni, you'll be more mature and have an extra couple years experience at poker.
Also your decision making ability will be better (life decisions). Your brain hasn't stopped developing yet - although I'm assuming your age.
mbrenneman0
Legend
Silver Level
Brain stops developing at 23 or 24 right?
Dorugremon
Rock Star
Silver Level
This is do as I say advice, not do as I do. Yeah, you hear about that guy who quit that dead end job to count cards at blackjack, or who bought in for $50 at some on-line poker site, and never looked back. It happens. Then, again, you can also hit the lottery. Not. Too. Likely.
Been there; done that. It ain't easy, by any means. Your landlord wants his rent, the finance company wants your car payment, your pets demand to be fed -- none are going to be the least bit sympathetic about last month's worth of runbad. They also have bills to pay and mouths to feed. Trust me on this: you will be meeting Vera Variance, Lady Luck's uglier, meaner sister. Vera will grab onto your 'roll and she won't let go anywhere near soon enough to suit you. You need to be sufficiently rolled to weather the inevitable runbad, as well as the fortitude to play through it, all without tilting. Much easier said than done, and there are a helluvalot of players who would have been successful, but they couldn't handle the tilt factor.
There are other problems not related to Poker as well. Live in a gambling town and you are sure to meet all sorts of the wrong people with all sorts of bad habits waiting to drag you down into the gutter with them. Can you resist temptation?
"I work roughly 20 hours per week at a fast-food job which pays almost $20/hour".
Fast food jobs suck, no question about it, but it's still a steady income. Can you play high enough to make $20/hr from Poker? Doesn't sound like it to me.
"So basically: my workplace alone can cover all my living expenses, and that's excluding the money I get from my parents, the Centrelink benefits (welfare) I get from the government and the income I would make from poker".
Will your parents understand? They're paying for a university education, not for you to play Poker. How about Centrelink? Will these bureaucrats understand? Here in the US of A they are cracking down on welfare and gambling. These bureaucrats won't care if you're spending the taxpayer's $$$$ on slots, Craps, or Poker buy-ins. Protests that you're +EV will fall on deaf ears. They neither know nor care. As far as they're concerned, it's all "gambling", and they won't permit it. Live on the taxpayer's dime and the taxpayer has a say in how you live. What if they cut you off? Can you get along without their assistance?
"I'm currently studying Actuarial Science, which is similar to Finance but involves a lot more maths and statistics and can lead to jobs at insurance firms, at superannuation firms and at investment banks, all of which pay well".
Damn good reason to stick with it. Maybe you're the next David Sklansky, Stu Unger, Chip Reese, Doyle Brunson, Bobby Baldwin, then, again, maybe you're not. If it turns out you're not, you will regret very much not finishing what you started. Of the players mentioned above, only two planned on a Poker career: Unger and Baldwin. As for Unger, he couldn't resist the temptations I mentioned of living in a gambling town and he developed a raging drug habit that ended his career and life. As for Baldwin, he got broke repeatedly. So did Brunson. The only one leading a charmed life was Reese.
"In terms of poker: I learnt the rules of poker 12 months ago..."
Way, way, WAY to soon to be dreaming of playing professionally. You don't have a clue as to just how tough that is. You can master Blackjack in a year, but there's no money to be made there anymore these days. Counters chase games across the country and world, burn them out, all for fractions of a percent +EV. Poker is far more complex, and can't be mastered in ten easy lessons. A hundred hard lessons may not be enough.
"I want to play poker 7 days a week and become the best I can possibly be".
There's no rush, and there are no shortcuts. If you're still getting strategies from books, then you're not ready. That'll keep you alive as a break-even to slightly +EV player against rec-fish while you develop your game, but that's all. You need to be able to develop strategies on the fly to exploit the individual weaknesses of your actual villains. There is no substitute for experience.
Dorugremon
Rock Star
Silver Level
What nonsense! When I started, there were no no-limit games except for nosebleed side games at the wsop. Hold 'Em was that strange 7-Stud variation, and almost every Poker room had placards explaining this. 7-Stud was everywhere, and the Golden Nugget was "The House of Hold 'Em", and it was all fixed limit.
Then you had the discovery that Poker could be a spectator sport after all, Hold 'Em took over and Stud games became as rare as seal feathers, played by old timer nits. Fixed limit games began drying up, and those that remained had hideous rakes, rendering them unbeatable.
That meant making the adjustment to no-limit play, from Stud to HE. I did it successfully. As for how the opposition plays, you learn this from observation, you make the appropriate adjustments, and exploit their leaks and weaknesses.
Fads and fashions come and go, but otters are always otters, and there is no shortage of fish.
V
vassiriki
Rock Star
Silver Level
do what you want to do and don't listen to anyone. your self experience will show you what's right or wrong for you but if you don't do it you'll always regret it whether you should have done it or not and not regarding whether it should be better or worse. you are asking for help because you're afraid of what you might lose but if you want to gain you should risk. the choice is yours!
if you want to play poker just for 1 year then it's a silly idea because if you make money it's harder to quit and if you lose you'll always chase to cover your losses. if you quit this year to play then you're saying i want to be a pro and never come back to uni. but if you're seeking an advice, i agree with guys here; finish school and then do it! that's what i did and i only started with 15 dollars and made it 1000 in 1.5 months but really got bored because i got too asocial, had problems with my flatmates and ended up in depression but it was my experience, yours might differ. play poker when you can in your free time, develop your game, learn the strategies and then get into it
if you want to play poker just for 1 year then it's a silly idea because if you make money it's harder to quit and if you lose you'll always chase to cover your losses. if you quit this year to play then you're saying i want to be a pro and never come back to uni. but if you're seeking an advice, i agree with guys here; finish school and then do it! that's what i did and i only started with 15 dollars and made it 1000 in 1.5 months but really got bored because i got too asocial, had problems with my flatmates and ended up in depression but it was my experience, yours might differ. play poker when you can in your free time, develop your game, learn the strategies and then get into it
A
alienist
Rising Star
Bronze Level
Hi 6bet me!
Here is the answer Daniel Negreanu gave someone asking the same question.
The video should start at minute 28. If not just fast forward.
https://youtu.be/9zdAINWIJro?t=28m
Here is the answer Daniel Negreanu gave someone asking the same question.
The video should start at minute 28. If not just fast forward.
https://youtu.be/9zdAINWIJro?t=28m
L
LalaBliss
Enthusiast
Silver Level
I felt the same way too but. I started playing Poker at the break time from first semester of my last year. I finished all my exams and projects from that semester in time. I had a one month winter break which I used for playing poker only. Right now I regret spending most of my break on poker. Poker is very addictive and sometimes it is hard to control. Once you start concentrating only on poker you forget what matters the most. Right now you feel like you can achieve a lot, but trust me it is not that easy.
I wouldn't want you to spend that valuable time isolated in a room playing online poker. It might have big effects on your health ( weight gain, stress, hair loss, back problems and similar ).
That winter I was very depressed and I found joy in poker. However everything has its begging and its end. I started to have health issues from the schedule I made for poker (similar to yours). Right now I make sure that I play poker once or twice a day and focus most of my time on studies and exercising. The daily training helped me to strengthen my immune system and control my weight and emotions.
I think playing poker for fun is the best and getting some small cash out if it is good. But don't think that you can make a living without sacrificing health and relationships (family, friends, girlfriends, boyfriends, lovers and etc.)
Set your priorities straight! It might be just my opinion but I am speaking out of experience
I'd put school first, and I'd play poker for fun and small cash!
Best of love,
Lady LalaBliss
23 years old
MSc student in Computer Networks and Security
<3 <3 <3
I wouldn't want you to spend that valuable time isolated in a room playing online poker. It might have big effects on your health ( weight gain, stress, hair loss, back problems and similar ).
That winter I was very depressed and I found joy in poker. However everything has its begging and its end. I started to have health issues from the schedule I made for poker (similar to yours). Right now I make sure that I play poker once or twice a day and focus most of my time on studies and exercising. The daily training helped me to strengthen my immune system and control my weight and emotions.
I think playing poker for fun is the best and getting some small cash out if it is good. But don't think that you can make a living without sacrificing health and relationships (family, friends, girlfriends, boyfriends, lovers and etc.)
Set your priorities straight! It might be just my opinion but I am speaking out of experience
I'd put school first, and I'd play poker for fun and small cash! Best of love,
Lady LalaBliss
23 years old
MSc student in Computer Networks and Security
<3 <3 <3
R
Runeloko
Rock Star
Silver Level
this is a big deal if you take a serious moment to think about this properly. it is true that you can make some money off poker but in my opinion, being a professional is way more important than nothing. i would like to suggest you to dont do it and keep foccussed on your university
B
Broon1234
Rock Star
Silver Level
As someone who played to make a living while going to school I must advise don't do it. Your hand samples are still very small. Variance can be a beast and very stressful. For me poker is much more enjoyable as supplemental. You will find your own way but stick with something solid. If you can truly make it work your poker results will determine your course of action.
L
L0RDVAD3R
Enthusiast
Silver Level
I personally think that having qualifications to fall back on are way more important that having no money in your bank,and chasing a dream. This is not something you have to do now. It's not something you're likely to look back on and think 'awww i wish i'd done that, cause now that ships sailed' . It's not sailed. It's probably not going to sail unless you leave it until you're so old you can barely see your monitor, and you're often peeing your own pants and not realising it (peeing your own pants through the excitment of a big win is ok...apparently)..
It's good that you see a good upswing in your game, but be warned there are always downward swings also. ALWAYS, no exceptions, and an increased bankroll over a month on micro-low- even medium stakes does not a professional make.
Once you can play 8 - 10hrs per day, spend maybe another 2+hrs per day studying the game like Jake Cody or so many other Pro's do, then you may live the dream. I'm not trying to crush your aspirations, but i suggest you stick to playing casually and slowely increase your time on the game as your bankroll increases. I can count the out's ,know how to play position and call/raise any cards i got. That is never enough to stop the inevitable bad beats (which often come many times over in one day). nor does it change the fact that theres another few hundred thousand or so poker players online right now around the world that can do all that too.
Play to your bankroll. Finish Uni,so you can get a good job and have a bigger bankroll. I was all for quiting my job for the 100th time this year when i won another $1300 pot on one hand on a 5/10 table recently. That feeling lasted until i lost $1000 3 hands later with a KK, with K 7 7 on flop and got my nuts ripped off by some lucky donk with a 78o with his lucky 7 on the river. I'm far from a pro poker player,but i have played well over 2mil hands in over 13 years of playing, and can assure you that will happen a lot! (FYI he already called 3x BB preflop,and went all in postflop,after buying in to the table for the 3rd time in less than an 1hr)
Luckily i went to college and got a decent job 1st. Now i can afford to to lose more money to some other lucky heehaw.
It's good that you see a good upswing in your game, but be warned there are always downward swings also. ALWAYS, no exceptions, and an increased bankroll over a month on micro-low- even medium stakes does not a professional make.
Once you can play 8 - 10hrs per day, spend maybe another 2+hrs per day studying the game like Jake Cody or so many other Pro's do, then you may live the dream. I'm not trying to crush your aspirations, but i suggest you stick to playing casually and slowely increase your time on the game as your bankroll increases. I can count the out's ,know how to play position and call/raise any cards i got. That is never enough to stop the inevitable bad beats (which often come many times over in one day). nor does it change the fact that theres another few hundred thousand or so poker players online right now around the world that can do all that too.
Play to your bankroll. Finish Uni,so you can get a good job and have a bigger bankroll. I was all for quiting my job for the 100th time this year when i won another $1300 pot on one hand on a 5/10 table recently. That feeling lasted until i lost $1000 3 hands later with a KK, with K 7 7 on flop and got my nuts ripped off by some lucky donk with a 78o with his lucky 7 on the river. I'm far from a pro poker player,but i have played well over 2mil hands in over 13 years of playing, and can assure you that will happen a lot! (FYI he already called 3x BB preflop,and went all in postflop,after buying in to the table for the 3rd time in less than an 1hr)
Luckily i went to college and got a decent job 1st. Now i can afford to to lose more money to some other lucky heehaw.
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