Quit work and focus on poker?

Okay so this question has been bothering me a lot lately so I thought I would get some opinions from people that have already been through the same situation.

A background to my life at the moment.. I'm 23, I still live at home with my parents. I deferred university at the beginning of this year (nearly halfway through an information systems degree) to work at a small business for $20/hr. I really disliked university.
Current job is quite nice, very relaxed and flexible. In 5-10 years time I could see it being an above average income but putting in a lot of hours. In the last week or two I've told work that I would be cutting down to only two working days per week to focus more on poker (and potentially phase it out by years end if all goes to plan?).
I do have a car loan (~$100/week repayment).


Now poker wise, I play 2/4 and sometimes 3/6 FR with a comfortable bankroll. I just banked a 10k month last month @3.7ptbb. Also I've been getting coached (may aswell shout out to James(Dzoo), I know some people were curious who) for a month or two. I began the year with $1,000 and at NL50 FR. Play ~30-40k hands 8 tabling/month. My latest blog post has a decent wrap-up.

People who have taken the plunge, what would you recommend?
Keep working and play on the side? Go back to full hours?
Wait until I have a roll for $5/10? (1 good month away)

I'm a bit confused but I really think I could make 150k++ next year if I focused on it.

Family members know and I haven't sold them totally on the idea, but they're generally supportive of what I do. Be looking to move out sometime next year aswell.

Hopefully get some decent discussion going.





Potential blogish post, but they usually get bumped off before decent replies
Also I just had my biggest losing day 2 days ago, so this isnt a run hot lets quit post

i would do it in a heartbeat if i was in your situation

i'm stuck in the middle of a long degree at uni and i cant see myself deferring since i've already done too much to go back. but i want to play poker full time for a while, like 6months to a year and take it from there.

what have you got to lose? you already make heaps more than at your job.

but its not really a financial question. its more of a social thing i think, will the people around you think differently or disapprove if you do play full time? will you still do normal stuff with your friends or end up staying awake all night and sleeping all day? are you still going to have any order or structure to your life (while playing poker full time)?

On September 07 2008 06:09 lachlan wrote: i would do it in a heartbeat if i was in your situation i'm stuck in the middle of a long degree at uni and i cant see myself deferring since i've already done too much to go back. but i want to play poker full time for a while, like 6months to a year and take it from there. what have you got to lose? you already make heaps more than at your job. but its not really a financial question. its more of a social thing i think, will the people around you think differently or disapprove if you do play full time? will you still do normal stuff with your friends or end up staying awake all night and sleeping all day? are you still going to have any order or structure to your life (while playing poker full time)?

Cool post, the what to lose is a good question. I should've throw a few up these up in the OP.

Potential problems?
-How hard is it to get a home loan with no solid income? I wouldn't be declaring winnings I dont think. (Someone in aus, please confirm)
-I'm not as good as I think
-I'm jumping the gun and quitting too early and may shut down a good career oppourtunity
-Dealing with swings that may affect my playing when its my sole income (will never know until it happens)
-Sustainability, will this be an option for 5-10-20 years?

Socially it's not a problem, I would love to lead that lifestyle. Parents may be apprehensive and rightfully so as I live under their roof, maybe I can show them this thread one day

if you have a career with growth potential, why not just maintain what you are doing now? have the best of both worlds in my opinion.


just slowly move up ranks in both. then you get a clearer picture i think if one lags behind the other.

Its not about how big your roll is imo, you should be more concerned with winrate, and you should wait and see if your winrate is consistent before you do this.

I agree with EvilSky, having several 10k months is worlds different from having a 10k month last month. Aside from that, I wouldn't put too much stock in lost "career opportunity" unless this particular job really offers something unique. Getting your first job post-poker may be more difficult but it's not like a couple of years is going to make any difference in the long run.

Cause, you know, age 25 or 26 is washed up in today's world. Hopeless.

yea i would deff wait..if you can make 10k a month while keeping the 20$/hr job why not do it and jus claim the 20$/hr so you can get good credit and be makin loads of money on the side with poker

lol, honest i would just do it if i were u. i dont see how it matters if you can earn 10k a month or not. if u manage to earn 3k thats still more than u earn at your job working three times the hours. and if your living with fam you shouldnt really need much money anyway. and, if you do for some reason, u have ur roll to fall back on in an emergency.

if ppl here are stating ur biggest problem is whether you can win 10k or so consistently, i think that is not even an issue here. at 400nl, as long as u finish in the green at the end of the month it will be plenty to get you by.

i would be more worried about my short term plans and long term plans (next 15 years of my life, what do i want to achieve, where do i want to be), and make sure you can achieve them if you do take on poker. or set out some sort of timeline like play poker for one year then re-evaluate.

and about getting a loan, yeah you would be kind of screwed there i think. are you looking to buy a house?

On September 07 2008 07:09 wakeboarrder wrote: yea i would deff wait..if you can make 10k a month while keeping the 20$/hr job why not do it and jus claim the 20$/hr so you can get good credit and be makin loads of money on the side with poker

who needs good credit when youre paying everything outright with CASH MONEY.

STUNTIN STUNTIN ITS A HABIT

thats like this guy asking if he should call a shove with pocket Qs!

On September 07 2008 07:46 byrnesam wrote: Show nested quote + On September 07 2008 07:09 wakeboarrder wrote: yea i would deff wait..if you can make 10k a month while keeping the 20$/hr job why not do it and jus claim the 20$/hr so you can get good credit and be makin loads of money on the side with poker who needs good credit when youre paying everything outright with CASH MONEY. STUNTIN STUNTIN ITS A HABIT

yeah WTF

QUIT COACHING ALL THE FULL RING PLAYERS D_ZOO

to Siro, i think moving out of my parents house would be my first priority

Just do it. Try everything atleast once imo

How long have you been working?!

I'm soon finishing my university studies and I have no intention on going to work after it. I don't really see the upside to it, unless you're about to really make it as a career. Having a degree and work experience is important, because if in 5 years or whatever it's not either possible to play poker or you don't want to do it anymore, you can probably get a job then.

I mean taking a year or two off, just to try it out shouldn't have a big impact on your long term career plan altho they might set you back a little, right? Just do it! ^_^v

it worked for me, should work for you! ^_^

On September 07 2008 09:34 Muhweli wrote: How long have you been working?! I'm soon finishing my university studies and I have no intention on going to work after it. I don't really see the upside to it, unless you're about to really make it as a career. Having a degree and work experience is important, because if in 5 years or whatever it's not either possible to play poker or you don't want to do it anymore, you can probably get a job then. I mean taking a year or two off, just to try it out shouldn't have a big impact on your long term career plan altho they might set you back a little, right? Just do it! ^_^v

lol i'm the same... my degree is 5.5 years (engineering/commerce) but i probably won't work at the end of it, more like a backup plan

If you really think you can make $150k next year, why not stay at home for another year and just buy a place outright the year after that? (or at least take out very little mortgage)

i quit my job at like nl10.. it rly made poker more stressfull and harder to move up.. on the other hand ive been loving the shit outa my life in the last year.. i would say stick at home until you have these two things, then quit ur job and do w/e...

1. a place of your own.. a decent apartment thats paid up for 6months or a year.

2. a car ( doesnt have to be baller, especially if u dont like cars )

and might b a good idea to put away some money for a nice vacation, like PCA or somehting sick..

if u got all that taken care of, id say feel free to quit

this is the easiest quit your job ever if you're winning at 600 NL + have a comfortable roll already and have a lot of motivation/potential to do more.