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Past and Future |
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MARSHALL28 United States. Apr 03 2009 14:37. Posts 1904 | | |
So a friend was asking me if I was headed to the WSOP this summer, I had to tell him I couldn't go because I can't afford it. Which is true. He asked, well didn't you make like >20k last month? Yeah but my problems are like way worse. So he said "well you should just sell your car, duh," and I thought that seemed obvious, although it's actually gotten to the point that the value of the car has dropped so much that even if I were to sell it (which I have been actively trying to do) I would only get a couple grand out of it (after paying back what I still owe on it). A couple grand is no where near what I need to fix my situation.
I guess the point of this post is to finally make it clear exactly how poor of a choice it was to buy this car and how important it is not to make capricious financial decisions. Particularly as a reminder to myself to make sure I don't repeat my own mistakes, plus I'm sure there's something to learn here for anybody young just coming into a decent amount of money.
November 2007 I was 5 months out of college and had just recently turned pro playing 2/4 w/ about 40k bankroll. During the first 2 weeks of December, I logged about +15k at 2/4 and 3/6 then had a huge score at 3/6 over the course of 3 1 hour sessions I came up another 10k.
When I was first coming up I didn't really cash out much at all, I really only had the goal to just make it as high as I could and desired to be one of the best. I didn't actually even think about cashing out money nor did I spend much on anything. Though at some point, somebody had gotten it into my head that I should reward myself and buy myself something. So I did a lot of thinking as to what it was I actually wanted.
I really couldn't think of anything except the fact that when I was really young I always looked at dudes driving these lambo's, ferraris, porsche's, and I had always dreamed of doing that myself. The way I looked at it was, if the car is 45k and I put down 20, I'm making ~10k a month as a conservative estimate--hell, I probably could pay off the remaining 25k in 5 months easy.
This was the way that I looked at it. The way it is flawed is that I assumed I couldn't lose in poker, I also assumed that the hot streak I was on was standard and would continue in the same trend. These are assumptions I'll never ever make again. I didn't have any money saved in the bank and didn't save any money to pay taxes despite my Dad's warnings. Ugh, I just feel dumber and dumber as I look back on this.
So the last few days of December, the downswing I was due for hit, I went and played 5/10 and dropped 18 buy ins in one session, obviously nice stop loss I used there. I then continued to downswing through February and lost maybe another 15k.
So now I'm in a grip of debt living with my parents trying to save money to go back to leading a normal life. It's really awful living here but I don't even want to leave until I've taken care of my debts.
I always thought I was making the right choices for my life, I went to university, got a 4 year degree (the only one of my high school friends who actually has gotten one), I was making good money, had a long-term girlfriend, started going to grad school to get an MBA... At some point between finishing undergrad and buying this car everything just fell apart. GF left since I chose to play poker before spending time with her. I dropped out of grad school, made a couple super degen moves (like dropping 18k in one session, and buying 45k car), and ensuingly built up a ton of debt.
LOL so, what things am I gonna do differently this time around? I'm going to ensure I have enough money to pay for 6 months worth of living expenses ahead of time. I'm going to pay off all debts before leaving my parents house, and I'm going to continue working 50 hours a week to ensure it happens. I'm going to stay vigilant in keeping my game sharp and not ignore the obvious need to continue to improve as I thought last time around that I was so good that I didn't need to improve anymore. I'm going to save a percentage of all earnings on a monthly basis, and I'm not going to take on any more financial responsibilities other than the necessities like rent.
I think I can follow this plan, hopefully it works and I can get back on track, because life sucks when I have to rely on others, though I am thankful I have my parents to fall back on during a time like this.
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F4Zi United Kingdom. Apr 03 2009 14:50. Posts 3462 | | | |
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| My girlfriend started blowing me and then she stopped, I went on tilt and donkey punched her. | |
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Day[9] United States. Apr 03 2009 14:52. Posts 3447 | | | |
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rogier Netherlands. Apr 03 2009 14:54. Posts 1528 | | |
wow.
good luck sir! You've got the experience when it goes bad, and a very healthy mindset now.
best of luck |
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True Finland. Apr 03 2009 14:56. Posts 843 | | | |
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| I am a NL25 player so take my advice/comments in that perspective | |
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fakeshaver United States. Apr 03 2009 15:04. Posts 1313 | | | |
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Joe Czech Republic. Apr 03 2009 15:10. Posts 5987 | | |
While your situation definately sucked, I think it was good for ur future that it went like this for u.
Looks like u r on ur way this time, keep it up, gl. |
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| there is a light at the end of the tunnel... (but sometimes the tunnel is long and deep as hell) | |
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Fayth  Canada. Apr 03 2009 15:43. Posts 10085 | | |
I actually ensure 1 year of living expenses, u'd rather do that, this is plenty of time, you have all the money u need, no need to cash out, and u can basically go from like NL50 to NL1k within 1 year easily |
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| Im not sure what to do tomorrow when I see her, should I shake her hand?? -Floofy | |
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BigRed0000 United States. Apr 03 2009 15:46. Posts 3554 | | |
you're not a dumb person peter, quite the opposite imo. You were just serioulsy the most stubborn/tunnel visioned person ever. As shitty as alll that stuff was I think it's def. been for the best. Looks like you're getting back on track though, congrats and I hope everything works out man. |
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good luck dude, good job on working to turn it around and not blaming others for the situation |
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Syntax United States. Apr 03 2009 16:08. Posts 4415 | | |
gl man, hope everything turns out well for you.
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lebowski Greece. Apr 03 2009 16:18. Posts 9205 | | |
just stay away from the fish and you'll be ok |
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| new shit has come to light... a-and... shit! man... | |
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k2o4 United States. Apr 03 2009 16:40. Posts 4803 | | |
well said
I remember when you did a lot of that stupid shit and you weren't willing to hear anything about how stupid you were being. nice to see you've learned your lessons. Everyone fucks up, but the true life losers are the ones who don't learn anything from their fuckups. |
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| Im only good at poker when I run good | |
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noface United States. Apr 03 2009 18:26. Posts 182 | | |
Good post, good luck man. |
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| i wouldnt touch a cunnis that raszi has stretched out - Illmatic | |
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