Necessary to leave school or job to learn poker?

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ntf1125

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Someones believe to leave school or job to learn poker (= to be stronger).
Is it the best wat to learn it?

To begin with, I feel that talented players can be stronger although they have main occupations.
It means that the players don´t have professional talents if they couldn´t win with their main occupations.
 
roger perkins

roger perkins

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unless you are independently wealthy you need some sort of income to survive. Most people, I'd say 95% dont make a dime playing poker. Of the other 5% maybe 2% make decent living at it. It is not an easy road to go down. I did for about 5 years and I survived but never made it to the level of the 2%. Not trying to discourage you and you may be that special 1% that hit the big payday. But I would make sure I had a decent nest egg probably enough to last at least a couple years because you will go thru down swings and those are tuff times.
 
GeckoAA

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I think it may be best to keep options open in the event that poker is just not as lucrative as one hoped it would be.

Perhaps once a person has been playing poker long enough to see if they are a winning poker player or not, then they can make a more formal decision to maybe quit their job or cut it back to part time. Take things slow.

As for schooling....I think finishing school and not quitting would be very important to do no matter how good of a Poker player, as they can play poker while in school and it will still be there for them when they are finished school. Then if they are doing quite well, They can focus completely on poker after school see where it may lead. Then because they finished school, if poker is not panning out, then they can look for a job. That maybe only for a while too, because they can still continue their poker education and improve their poker game at any time in their life if they really want to.

We can always learn and improve in everything we do :)
 
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Cooking

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I don’t think it’s necessary or recommended. If you already had achieved your financial independence, you can leave everything and dedicate your time to poker. Otherwise in my opinion it’s better to study poker in your free time.
 
Roller

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Always have a backup plan for when or if poker doesn't give you the dream pay day. School and a good job should always be your first priority.
 
hugh blair

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Someones believe to leave school or job to learn poker (= to be stronger).
Is it the best wat to learn it?

To begin with, I feel that talented players can be stronger although they have main occupations.
It means that the players don´t have professional talents if they couldn´t win with their main occupations.
Yes leaving work end up probably broke and living rough on the streets unless you have wealth or a Guardian who pays all the bills sounds fun I did it at age 17 for few months but I grew up and copped on real fast and got a job.
Spending every last dollar on poker rake that will toughen you up a bit and sure also stronger yes the human body can take a lot of pain and still keep going.
But as a 40 year old parent today with responsibility to my family leaving a well paid job even if I won 10 years current salary playing poker would still not be an option to me to quit earning the regular paychecks to be honest good luck.:)
 
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stephan7

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Someones believe to leave school or job to learn poker (= to be stronger).
Is it the best wat to learn it?

To begin with, I feel that talented players can be stronger although they have main occupations.
It means that the players don´t have professional talents if they couldn´t win with their main occupations.


I think having more time may allow you to become a better poker player but the fact of the matter is that not many people make enough money in poker to make a living. A poker player who goes to work and one that doesn't can still have the same skillset and the one who woks could be better. It just depends on the work ethic and knowledge of each individual person. :D
 
IntenseHeat

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Obviously the more time and attention you dedicate to a particular pursuit, the more likely you are to be successful at it. I've heard plenty of stories of young players that left college to pursue careers as professional poker players. However, I feel as though most of them, if not all, had already achieved a certain level of poker success before making that decision. In cases like that, it makes sense. I don't think I've heard too many, if any, stories of an eighteen year old packing their bags and moving to Las Vegas to pursue careers as professional poker players. But if you've already been successful either live or online, it makes sense to think that if you dedicated more time to studying and playing that you could have even more success. There are also a lot of stories about players who have gone on to graduate, gone back to school or even gone on to pursue advanced degrees while achieving poker success.
 
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florestaftw

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Someones believe to leave school or job to learn poker (= to be stronger).
Is it the best wat to learn it?

To begin with, I feel that talented players can be stronger although they have main occupations.
It means that the players don´t have professional talents if they couldn´t win with their main occupations.


Stay studying, it always helps you to learn.
 
theheeb1984

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Like everyone says, keep your options open and honestly enjoy the time you have in school. The best years I had were my university years as I had time for fun with friends, study, work, poker, sleep (usually 4-6 hours daily but I was young), eating great foods, traveling and so much more. Use the time you have to broaden your horizons and you will find that there are other things in life than just playing poker and you might even find something to do for income that is more lucrative than poker. I have been traveling the world with my family on company dime for the last 9 years and really enjoy it. I would only trade this in if I was guaranteed a few hundred thousand a year playing poker but I know I am not that good. My yearly gains (last 5 years average positive) is about $25K, but my lifetime earnings are less than $200K (over 18 years). This is the sad part of poker, it is not something many can really make a living on playing full time without a good support structure as less than $1000 a month doesn't work in many countries.
 
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007Leon

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no

no, i dont think that would be necesary
 
makisaa

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Education is vital for your life, and of course for the game of poker. For example you cannot study the game without mathematics knowledge. Or how will you file your results, without maths? Education is something you will always have as a valuable personal investment!
 
danoscar

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School and Poker

I would go to college, play poker online and / or live, and major in Mathematics or Statistics. That would be power!
Dan'o
 
COMIRRR

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You learn poker by reading in your free time and playing, so you gain experience, you don't have to leave school, work, family ... it seems silly to me.
 
Katie Dozier

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Great responses in this thread! Just wanted to add that I learned to play on a professional level while in college and there was more than enough time to do all of that (but then again I was just a creative writing major haha).

Wishing you the best of luck! [emoji4]
 
Patoamz95

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In my opinion, poker is going to give you long-term profits, unless you hit it in a good tournament and from there you can get the necessary profits to survive. If not, you will have to work to invest until you build a good stack
 
tonzinho7620

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don't drop your studies to learn poker, time and studies are precious, try to organize yourself better and do both.
 
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the_bridge222

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I don't think leaving school is a good idea, you have enough time. You can choose a career that you are passionate about and also play poker.
 
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DancingNancie

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I think spending more time on anything you wish to be better at is a good idea. The question is how to afford that. I am not sure a novice player could make this plunge without a job and is not recommended. If you want to get better you need to just use the free time you have outside of school or work to become better.
 
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I think it is best to learn poker at age 5 or 6.
That way, by the time you're a teenager, you can get everyone's lunch money.

Oh -- was that a serious question?
Sorry...

It is necessary to have some sort of marketable skill to be able to feed yourself.
If poker is going to be your marketable skill, then you'll need to spend as much time learning it as you would any other.
For that you'll need a job.
For that you'll need a marketable skill. College is as good a place as any to learn that skill.
Trades are another good way,

If you're already in a course of study -- see it through to the end.
You will then have something to pay the bills and feed yourself while you learn poker.
 
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casique31

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It seems hasty for a young man to drop his studies for poker, when with discipline he can carry out both until he is sure that it is better for his future
 
niphon56

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Poker is a skill of risk management.
If u have enough money to maintain ur life, as if enough bankroll to maintain a poker account, then u can select leave school or job to play poker.
 
Wrathchild

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I generally consider myself a fish these days, mainly because I've come to grips with the fact that I'm not as good as I think I am, and that I have a lot to learn. I do all I can to learn, but still struggle in spots when it comes to my mental game. Given that, I've made certain these days that my bankroll is a fraction of my expenses so that when I play the pressure is off, and my day job will keep my Bill's paid. However, I've won quite a bit 15/100BB on 200NL in the past, mainly to pay rent when I was laid off. I still actively searched for a "real" job because the stress of playing to "keep the lights on" took a lot if the enjoyment out of it and made me miserable at times. That was during a time I believed I was "good" but after I was gainfully employed I tried to run it up and lost everything because I hadn't grasped the concept of proper bankroll management. Luckily, I had a paycheck every two weeks. I quit playing at those stakes and waited a very long time to invest a significant amount of money into it again. This time though my attitude about the game and the way to play it has changed. So now I can play, make an okay amount of money on the side while absorbing downswings without the stress of it. So my advice, don't quit your day job. At least not until you a) have a bankroll to support a limit that provides you a livable wage and b) the money you earn over the long run is greater than the amount you earn from your employer.
 
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anadrijav

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You do not need to leave school or work you just have to manage your time and carry both things at the same time without problem, you will not be the only one to do it.
 
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