Why did you quit playing online? - Page 3

I could have kept playing back in 2006 and take out some more dough but I felt dedicating my 20s to active investments in real estate would set me up better later in life even if I didn't make as much in first few years.

Poker monies is the easiest money you can make, and can throw you in most depressive moments of your life during downswings.

My advise for those playing it now, don't spend the money on stupidities, use it to stack up on capital. Most poker players aren't gamblers by nature and the idea of sitting around at a poker table gambling won't excite them like it excites the Phil Iveys. That means you will burn out.

On November 13 2014 12:19 Tien wrote: I could have kept playing back in 2006 and take out some more dough but I felt dedicating my 20s to active investments in real estate would set me up better later in life even if I didn't make as much in first few years. Poker monies is the easiest money you can make, and can throw you in most depressive moments of your life during downswings. My advise for ANYONE, don't spend the money on stupidities, use it to stack up on capital. Most people aren't gamblers by nature and the idea of sitting around anywhere for years won't excite them like it excites the Phil Iveys. That means you will burn out.

fyp

On November 13 2014 08:18 k4ir0s wrote: Show nested quote + On November 12 2014 21:18 bigredhoss wrote:   On November 12 2014 18:59 k4ir0s wrote: Nice thread, just the other day I was Googling "life after poker". 2 years ago I stopped playing, since then I've been living of my BR, now that I'm back.. it's really tough, and I'm running low on money. I don't know what to do, this game really makes me feel miserable at times. With no work experience, and no college education, the thought of joining the real world feels overwhelming to me. Working at a brainless 9-5 job, or going to College for 3 years for an entry level job don't feel like valid options to me. Reading comments like the one Byrnesam made always make me feel depressed, because it's true. I can still make a living off this game, but its for a fraction of what I use to make, while requiring atleast 2x the work. Like Midian, i'm a lazy guy. If you want to be making a decent living off this game nowadays, you have to be putting in a lot of hours, the game becomes a dreadful grind. Every time I log in, I see the same people playing, and it's really discouraging. i don't know if it's something you're interested in, but a decent amount of people have or are currently transitioning from poker to programming. it can pay pretty well, you don't need a degree to get a job (although for big companies, HR departments tend to filter you out before you can get an interview if you don't have one), and there's a lot of great (and not-so-great) resources available online. there's also a bunch of coding bootcamps like App Academy, Hack Reactor, etc. that last around 2-3 months and the good ones have very high job placement rates. former poker pro's blog who was part of the first App Academy group: http://krisallenfields.tumblr.com/ overview of a bunch of bootcamps: http://www.bootcamps.in/ Hmm I had no idea bootcamps like that existed. Thanks. I suppose It's something to consider..tho i don't know how the ones in Canada compare. It seems like most of the programming opportunities are San Francisco. Is this something youre pursuing?

sort of; right now i'm trying it out and seeing if it's something i'll be able to enjoy/maintain an interest in.

My first small cashout was from pokerstars 2005. I went to university 2007-2010. As soon as i had more money that was needed for the stakes i was playing i started thinking about investing it and the financial markets always seemed the logical step forward. I think it was around that time there was a thread by a 2knl winner on 2+2 who took the leap of faith. I don't remember the name of that guy and will edit once i remember. Either way that was encouraging for me to pursue a job in the financial markets, which i was already into and reading books about.

I had the good fortune of meeting with an investment banker who explained the mechanics, benefits and opportunities to me. It was priceless. Much of the qualities of a poker player and equity trader are same or similar. I even talked openly about poker at my job interview and it was taken positively. As was suggested to me, even if it doesn't eventually work out, there is a lot to be gained from learning and understanding how the world works; companies, economies, markets, governments, legislation.

It has been a wonderful ride with many benefits so far. I have awesome colleagues who took me in and the best boss you can imagine. I am very grateful for that and appreciate the opportunity.

Sure the transitioning period can be painful. I was asked if i was going to keep playing poker if i started work there and i intuitively and without putting any thought into it said NO and it really made sense and sinked in after the fact. I decided to rip the bandage off in one swift move and haven't played a single hand of poker since i started on my new job. Poker was fun but i don't miss it as i find my job to be much more exciting.

I suggest having an open mind and being opportunistic. Decide what you want to do and go for it, prepare to take a few "no" answers and rejections along the way. It is normal and shouldn't make you passive before or after possible rejection. A job at financial markets is something to consider.

The money is still our there. Don't complain and be a bunch of has-beens and never-haves. Agree with someone who posted earlier saying there should be a thread about what career choices are out there for people who are looking for a way out.

Money's out there. You pick it up, it's yours. You don't, I got no sympathy for you. You wanna go out on those sits tonight and close, CLOSE. It's yours. If not you're gonna be shining my shoes. And you know what you'll be saying - a bunch of losers sittin' around in a bar. 'Oh yeah. I used to be a salesman. It's a tough racket.' - taken from Glengarry Glen Ross speech.

I never really got started, but still made a decent chunk of change! I really hate losing, which is why I switched to MTTs.
I probably was too lazy to work hard at poker, but have done well outside of poker.

Cool thread. I'm still playing poker regularly but I'm very interested to hearing more success stories after life of poker.

I've been feeling for some time that ship has also sailed for me but I'm struggling to find what I can do to make a comfortable living as I did playing poker. When blackfriday happened, my nw was close to 1mm. Half of this was funny money being locked with FTP&UB&loans&staking. I've looked for other ventures after black friday and I've made many terrible decisions to make up for that 'funny money' which ended up making my nw even smaller. I started playing poker again when FTP eventually paid us back, but I've just been hanging on in lower end of HSNL followed by a big up and down swing when I make a transition to higher end of HSNL. I want a 2nd chance to look for something outside poker with 1mm+ in savings as romm3l, nolan, wobbly or any1 for that matter but I feel that I'm just hanging on to a poker dream that doesn't exist anymore.

Problem that arises again and again is acknowledging having to (possibly?) work harder for less amount of money. It doesn't have to, but for many this is reality. Midstakes players may have to adjust their lifestyle and possible excessive spending, the spoils that came with milking the moneymaker cow. I'd imagine for those who made it big it is easier as they can afford to take a year or more off not having to worry about bills. Kind of the opposite to some 25nl or plo25 players who are trying to make ends meet in an increasingly competitive environment.

Definitely interested in reading about people who frequent/ed the site and what they are up to these days.

I never really made a conscious decision to quit. Just got busier and busier with work responsibilities until poker couldn't compete for my free time. I'm sure when I did stop my poker hourly was still higher than what I was making but in the long run I'm happy with my choices. I still think poker is an interesting game and lately I've been wanting to get into it again recreationally.

you guys might be interested in terrence chan's "life after poker" podcast. i haven't listened to the episode with matt hawrilenko (working on PhD in clinical psychology) yet, but i thought the one with jason strasser (worked at morgan stanley and recently founded his own hedge fund) was good.

http://lifeafterpoker.libsyn.com/

I fully agree with Smuft. When i first started, i really didn't need to be that good in order to make a lot of money, and got to 60K profits. Back then, i had a lot of fun playing. But atfer a while, i wasn't good enough anymore, and had horrible work ethics, and didn't really enjoy the game anymore. Fortunatly, i kept going to school all this time. I finished my degree in computer science and i now work in computers. I don't make a HUGE salary, but in 10 years its gonna be about 100K/year, and its safe+not stressfull and not too boring. Definetly glad of my choice.

black friday

On November 13 2014 17:19 cariadon wrote: My first small cashout was from pokerstars 2005. I went to university 2007-2010. As soon as i had more money that was needed for the stakes i was playing i started thinking about investing it and the financial markets always seemed the logical step forward. I think it was around that time there was a thread by a 2knl winner on 2+2 who took the leap of faith. I don't remember the name of that guy and will edit once i remember.

Jason "Strassa2" Strasser?

This guy manages his own hedge fund now

http://www.terrencechanpoker.com/2014/09/life-after-poker-2-jason-strasser.html - interview he did w/ Terrence Chan earlier this year

edited to add: responded before i saw bigredhoss already linked it but I'll keep up my post anyway

On November 13 2014 19:26 cariadon wrote: Problem that arises again and again is acknowledging having to (possibly?) work harder for less amount of money. It doesn't have to, but for many this is reality. Midstakes players may have to adjust their lifestyle and possible excessive spending, the spoils that came with milking the moneymaker cow. I'd imagine for those who made it big it is easier as they can afford to take a year or more off not having to worry about bills. Kind of the opposite to some 25nl or plo25 players who are trying to make ends meet in an increasingly competitive environment. Definitely interested in reading about people who frequent/ed the site and what they are up to these days.

nice thread.

i've talked to a lot of the poster itt in the past.

i'm in the "real world" now, making about 10-15% of what i used to.

no fucks given. it was just my time. i even went through a process of attempting to remove my IRL info from sites just like this because i'm in the public sector and prefer nobody in my current field has a clue about my past beyond what is necessary.

if anyone i used to talk to wants to talk about post-online poker life feel free to hit me up.

i still owe just about everyone who posts here a sincere debt of gratitude and more.

not trying to be a debbie downer, but unless some major societal shifts occur the end of the road is coming sooner rather than later, in my opinion anyways.

p.s. cariadon hope you still the courts big estii baller

On November 14 2014 04:07 nolan wrote: Show nested quote + On November 13 2014 19:26 cariadon wrote: Problem that arises again and again is acknowledging having to (possibly?) work harder for less amount of money. It doesn't have to, but for many this is reality. Midstakes players may have to adjust their lifestyle and possible excessive spending, the spoils that came with milking the moneymaker cow. I'd imagine for those who made it big it is easier as they can afford to take a year or more off not having to worry about bills. Kind of the opposite to some 25nl or plo25 players who are trying to make ends meet in an increasingly competitive environment. Definitely interested in reading about people who frequent/ed the site and what they are up to these days. nice thread. i've talked to a lot of the poster itt in the past. i'm in the "real world" now, making about 10-15% of what i used to. no fucks given. it was just my time. i even went through a process of attempting to remove my IRL info from sites just like this because i'm in the public sector and prefer nobody in my current field has a clue about my past beyond what is necessary. if anyone i used to talk to wants to talk about post-online poker life feel free to hit me up. i still owe just about everyone who posts here a sincere debt of gratitude and more. not trying to be a debbie downer, but unless some major societal shifts occur the end of the road is coming sooner rather than later, in my opinion anyways. p.s. cariadon hope you still the courts big estii baller

do you use fake names when you go out at night? sometimes i tell ppl my name is frank and i laugh myself to sleep thinking how there was no way they believed me

Online isn't safe anymore with all the legistation and scandals. The people on there are grinders who play robotic and are hard to win money from (nits). Table selection is all pretty much the same. The only real upside is hands played and less rake.

However at the casino it's easy as hell and people are easier to read, and it's more fun, and you get free shit comped etc. The only real downside is the rake is worse and the hands played is less. I always thought it would be cool if they would let a person sit at the corner of 2-4 tables and play all of them at once, but I doubt that would ever happen.

^hey no off but this is not a thred for ppl who played some freerolls back in 2006 and then decided to move on

On November 14 2014 04:07 nolan wrote: Show nested quote + On November 13 2014 19:26 cariadon wrote: Problem that arises again and again is acknowledging having to (possibly?) work harder for less amount of money. It doesn't have to, but for many this is reality. Midstakes players may have to adjust their lifestyle and possible excessive spending, the spoils that came with milking the moneymaker cow. I'd imagine for those who made it big it is easier as they can afford to take a year or more off not having to worry about bills. Kind of the opposite to some 25nl or plo25 players who are trying to make ends meet in an increasingly competitive environment. Definitely interested in reading about people who frequent/ed the site and what they are up to these days. nice thread. i've talked to a lot of the poster itt in the past. i'm in the "real world" now, making about 10-15% of what i used to. no fucks given. it was just my time. i even went through a process of attempting to remove my IRL info from sites just like this because i'm in the public sector and prefer nobody in my current field has a clue about my past beyond what is necessary. if anyone i used to talk to wants to talk about post-online poker life feel free to hit me up. i still owe just about everyone who posts here a sincere debt of gratitude and more. not trying to be a debbie downer, but unless some major societal shifts occur the end of the road is coming sooner rather than later, in my opinion anyways. p.s. cariadon hope you still the courts big estii baller

end of the road for poker or so society in general? (Must be something wrong w me for hoping you meant the latter)

after busting $20k bankrolls over and over again I decided it was time to move onto something like programming (which I did)

I personally don't think there's anything wrong in the game becoming more difficult. There's still so much money to be made and poker is very interesting and fun. I'm not sure how many other people here tried other jobs but this is definitely one of the better ones for several reasons (f.ex lots of money compared to time invested, game always developing with greater depth, always fresh challenge, working at home, not necessarily having to deal with assholes with more power than yours and their huge ego).

On November 14 2014 13:14 ClouD87 wrote: I personally don't think there's anything wrong in the game becoming more difficult. There's still so much money to be made and poker is very interesting and fun. I'm not sure how many other people here tried other jobs but this is definitely one of the better ones for several reasons (f.ex lots of money compared to time invested, game always developing with greater depth, always fresh challenge, working at home, not necessarily having to deal with assholes with more power than yours and their huge ego).

I'm sure you'll feel a lot more like these other guys when you're 6+ years into the game like they are/were.