Why did you quit playing online? - Page 4

On November 14 2014 13:44 Trav94 wrote: Show nested quote + 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.

I was in Starcraft for 10 years and I relate that game a lot with poker. It's very personal I guess, and depends a lot on how much you want to compete and challenge yourself.

On November 13 2014 19:03 AndrewSong wrote: 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.

i always thought nolan would end up as a judge

but it's strange to me. it seems to me the general "dream" is to get rich, save 1 mm invest in something like a restaurant and property and sit on your asses and collect rent and slowly die of old age into the sunset.

even in poker, the "pursuit" or "progress" was always more rewarding than the money. at least for me (not that i made much). likewise the above "dream" seems really boring and unsatisfying. i dont know why we are so scared to live and so scared to join the real world.

look at warren buffet. this guy for all practical purposes the guy has every last dollar in the world. yet he still wakes up everyday and manages berkshire. he does it clearly cause he fucking loves it and loves his job.

likewise i think money for its own sake is a terrible goal and we should focus more on the journey. even at my place of work, ppl know i "dabbled" in online poker, and it's just a part of my personality/character now. it makes u slightly more interesting even though it prob wasnt as courageous as most ppl think but i feel like were all still young and we can pursue w.e want. i've been working now for 2 years, and am 26. i've tried incessantly to break into ibanking/investments, but ended up in consulting. i can definitely see myself going back to law school at 30. iono i find work pretty satisfying and eye opening.

imo get off fb/instagram and go live the life u've always wanted.

On November 14 2014 16:39 mnj wrote: Show nested quote + On November 13 2014 19:03 AndrewSong wrote: 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. i always thought nolan would end up as a judge but it's strange to me. it seems to me the general "dream" is to get rich, save 1 mm invest in something like a restaurant and property and sit on your asses and collect rent and slowly die of old age into the sunset. even in poker, the "pursuit" or "progress" was always more rewarding than the money. at least for me (not that i made much). likewise the above "dream" seems really boring and unsatisfying. i dont know why we are so scared to live and so scared to join the real world. look at warren buffet. this guy for all practical purposes the guy has every last dollar in the world. yet he still wakes up everyday and manages berkshire. he does it clearly cause he fucking loves it and loves his job. likewise i think money for its own sake is a terrible goal and we should focus more on the journey. even at my place of work, ppl know i "dabbled" in online poker, and it's just a part of my personality/character now. it makes u slightly more interesting even though it prob wasnt as courageous as most ppl think but i feel like were all still young and we can pursue w.e want. i've been working now for 2 years, and am 26. i've tried incessantly to break into ibanking/investments, but ended up in consulting. i can definitely see myself going back to law school at 30. iono i find work pretty satisfying and eye opening. imo get off fb/instagram and go live the life u've always wanted.

A lot of people don't need a job or a career to find fulfillment in life or happiness. I never got much enjoyment from climbing ranks in poker nor sense of achievement when I hit a milestone. Poker allowed me to live my dream because it gave me freedom to focus on things I really enjoyed doing outside my job. Most people don't wake up in middle of the night yelling they want to be an accountant. They work so that they can do things they want outside work.

Good first couple posts Romm3l (haven't read more yet). That's largely why I quit. At some point I felt like it stunted my evolution as a human being and I was done with it. The mindset required for being successful at poker couldn't work with this new mindset I had acquired. I became disillusioned and the lure of gain no longer had any power over me; I didn't care at all about making more money. Essentially, I felt like I had wasted too much time acquiring money instead of wealth itself, which is more than just money. I felt that there was a hole that needed to be filled, that building inner wealth needed to become my main focus. I also felt a deep need to contribute to something larger than myself. I'm glad I went through it all and saved a good amount of money though, because it makes it easier to pursue what you're truly interested in. Also, I think Drone exaggerates a bit, but there is a lot of truth to what he's saying about sustained happiness being a very rare thing to find in poker players.

Some people are happy doing something they love 24/7 regardless. Most people though need a fucking break sometimes, the problem with poker is that when you take those breaks, it feels you're slacking and your "competitors" are catching up or leaving you behind(and most of the time you really feel it in games). That is how I felt and that's what really burnt me out eventually - the game got too competitive. It really takes a special kind of brilliance and toughness to last competitively in this field.

Being probably the oldest in this site (I'm turning 42 next year), I knew for a fact that poker was just going to be this passing trend and really got into it for the money alone. It was a pleasant surprise that the community was terrific and shared the broodwar mindset I've always loved. Honestly I'm surprised it lasted past 2013 but for sure this is not worth your youth if you're not making 200 to 500k a year up till you retire, because for some of the smart guys I see here I'm positive that you could make that with another venture or profession. It's not too late to plan,you guys are still young.

I don't miss poker, but I do miss the money. Been spending more time hunting down sponsors to allow me to afford to be able to train for my next fight than the time I've spend training for it.

I couldn't deal with the swings. I hated losing money and it messed with my general mood too much when I'd hit a bad downswing.

That and I wasn't very good at the game. I made a small amount overall which was cool but I clearly wasn't cut out to do it full time.

On November 14 2014 13:14 ClouD87 wrote: 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 would disagree with the bolded, at least for the majority of developed countries. for most people, achieving X$/hour is going to be easier with a job than it would be with poker. i think it's probably true for all values of X, and all levels of intelligence.

there's obviously going to be exceptions to this, such as people who have a felony record or are borderline autistic (i'm not implying poker pros are typically either of these things, just thinking of cases that would be exceptions to my statement), but i believe it's accurate for the most part.

I think if you introduce a third variable it makes more sense which is diligence, it's not just the time and money but the reward you get for working hard. in some "real" jobs you're not doing much of anything critical and so there's no direct reason to work your ass off even if you do spend a lot of time "working" whereas poker is just, if you work harder and better you can earn more, the incentives are clearer maybe, about what you're working towards

sure, but there's plenty of jobs where rewards are correlated with effort/ability.

On November 15 2014 03:52 bigredhoss wrote: sure, but there's plenty of jobs where rewards are correlated with effort/ability.

I am not sure what kind of skewed experience you had, but real world does not really work like that. In fact jobs like poker that reward your ability right away are very rare and only for a certain segment of the population. In case you didn't notice the world is built mostly to accomodate people with mediocre expectations, and jobs also reflect that.

On November 15 2014 08:22 ClouD87 wrote: Show nested quote + On November 15 2014 03:52 bigredhoss wrote: sure, but there's plenty of jobs where rewards are correlated with effort/ability. I am not sure what kind of skewed experience you had, but real world does not really work like that. In fact jobs like poker that reward your ability right away are very rare and only for a certain segment of the population. In case you didn't notice the world is built mostly to accomodate people with mediocre expectations, and jobs also reflect that.

lol... being that you are now the authority on jobs and "how the real world works", why don't you start with a little introduction about yourself and give us the background on how you came to know everything? i'm sure people would specifically like to know just how much effort you made and ability/skills you no doubt went to great lengths to gain (when you weren't busy playing starcraft) and then how you specifically went about trying to get rewarded by applying yourself in private sector jobs before eventually coming to the conclusions you came to.

On November 14 2014 20:09 Loco wrote: Good first couple posts Romm3l (haven't read more yet). That's largely why I quit. At some point I felt like it stunted my evolution as a human being and I was done with it. The mindset required for being successful at poker couldn't work with this new mindset I had acquired. I became disillusioned and the lure of gain no longer had any power over me; I didn't care at all about making more money. Essentially, I felt like I had wasted too much time acquiring money instead of wealth itself, which is more than just money. I felt that there was a hole that needed to be filled, that building inner wealth needed to become my main focus. I also felt a deep need to contribute to something larger than myself. I'm glad I went through it all and saved a good amount of money though, because it makes it easier to pursue what you're truly interested in. Also, I think Drone exaggerates a bit, but there is a lot of truth to what he's saying about sustained happiness being a very rare thing to find in poker players.

Thanks, but I think your decision had a lot more deep thought and realisations going into it than mine did. Also I tend to learn something from a lot of what you post in general as it exposes me to ways of thinking I haven't considered or been exposed to before.

Black Friday made my transition from poker to what I had planned post much more abrupt than I would have liked. Joined the workforce a bit later to maintain things, doing more or less dream jobs I've always wanted.

Still miss a lot from the poker lifestyle, but I'm happy I left when I did. Experienced as much as I could in that lifestyle, now it's time to get another perspective.

On November 14 2014 19:57 AndrewSong wrote: Show nested quote + On November 14 2014 16:39 mnj wrote:   On November 13 2014 19:03 AndrewSong wrote: 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. i always thought nolan would end up as a judge but it's strange to me. it seems to me the general "dream" is to get rich, save 1 mm invest in something like a restaurant and property and sit on your asses and collect rent and slowly die of old age into the sunset. even in poker, the "pursuit" or "progress" was always more rewarding than the money. at least for me (not that i made much). likewise the above "dream" seems really boring and unsatisfying. i dont know why we are so scared to live and so scared to join the real world. look at warren buffet. this guy for all practical purposes the guy has every last dollar in the world. yet he still wakes up everyday and manages berkshire. he does it clearly cause he fucking loves it and loves his job. likewise i think money for its own sake is a terrible goal and we should focus more on the journey. even at my place of work, ppl know i "dabbled" in online poker, and it's just a part of my personality/character now. it makes u slightly more interesting even though it prob wasnt as courageous as most ppl think but i feel like were all still young and we can pursue w.e want. i've been working now for 2 years, and am 26. i've tried incessantly to break into ibanking/investments, but ended up in consulting. i can definitely see myself going back to law school at 30. iono i find work pretty satisfying and eye opening. imo get off fb/instagram and go live the life u've always wanted. A lot of people don't need a job or a career to find fulfillment in life or happiness. I never got much enjoyment from climbing ranks in poker nor sense of achievement when I hit a milestone. Poker allowed me to live my dream because it gave me freedom to focus on things I really enjoyed doing outside my job. Most people don't wake up in middle of the night yelling they want to be an accountant. They work so that they can do things they want outside work.

but this is kinda what i mean. ppl use blanket term for accountant, when 95% of the people have no or only a vague idea of wat an accountant does. looking at a financial statement from quarter to quarter and seeing that sales increased by 25% but finding that the raw materials haven't increased (ie they sold more but produced the same ammount of product) and therefore looking for investments in technology or logistics or simply money laundering are all possible conclusions.

i mean if i asked u why u got into poker, i feel most would say something along the lines of "i like numbers and critically thinking bout the game" but i think these same skills and enjoyments from these can come from critically thinking about the financial markets, law, financial statements or even something police cases.

you stated "Poker allowed me to live my dream because it gave me freedom to focus on things I really enjoyed doing outside my job." do you mind me earnestly asking what were the things u really enjoyed outside of ur job of poker?

for me its just people. nothing makes me happier than shooting pool with friends, inviting friends over for korean bbq, grilling that sam gyup sal and drinking a bunch of beers and making inappropriate jokes. but i also really enjoy my job.

understanding poker and becoming better at it opened new horizons to our intelligence and life perspectives.
Transitioning to stock markets,bank jobs,investing programming or even managing any kind of business and being good at it is a result of poker making you a better person overall.
not saying saying that you wouldnt be able to do so without poker but poker helped alot.
That being said when you stop evolving in poker or when you quit playing it you look for something to apply all the knowledge/intelligence,something to improve at and most importantly make money out of.
So i think its normal for all those big shots in here to find it hard to move on efficiently.
i only made like 80k or so over 3 years and quit on black friday and ever since im working as a GM in a pizza restaurant.
I think this is the one of the best threads ever in LP didnt quite believe to see such an insightful thread in late 2014 here gj

On November 15 2014 08:22 ClouD87 wrote: Show nested quote + On November 15 2014 03:52 bigredhoss wrote: sure, but there's plenty of jobs where rewards are correlated with effort/ability. I am not sure what kind of skewed experience you had, but real world does not really work like that. In fact jobs like poker that reward your ability right away are very rare and only for a certain segment of the population. In case you didn't notice the world is built mostly to accomodate people with mediocre expectations, and jobs also reflect that.

poker's ability to reward you based on your effort/input/talent isn't rare. it's a benefit of being self-employed.

On November 15 2014 23:23 Skew wrote: Show nested quote + On November 15 2014 08:22 ClouD87 wrote:   On November 15 2014 03:52 bigredhoss wrote: sure, but there's plenty of jobs where rewards are correlated with effort/ability. I am not sure what kind of skewed experience you had, but real world does not really work like that. In fact jobs like poker that reward your ability right away are very rare and only for a certain segment of the population. In case you didn't notice the world is built mostly to accomodate people with mediocre expectations, and jobs also reflect that. poker's ability to reward you based on your effort/input/talent isn't rare. it's a benefit of being self-employed.

Being self-employed is pretty rare.

On November 15 2014 08:22 ClouD87 wrote: Show nested quote + On November 15 2014 03:52 bigredhoss wrote: sure, but there's plenty of jobs where rewards are correlated with effort/ability. I am not sure what kind of skewed experience you had, but real world does not really work like that. In fact jobs like poker that reward your ability right away are very rare and only for a certain segment of the population. In case you didn't notice the world is built mostly to accomodate people with mediocre expectations, and jobs also reflect that.

you don't need to worry too much about my skewed experiences, i was just stating a fact of the job market.

Nazgul kind of nailed my thoughts.

I quit because I lost motivation, got worse and didn't make enough anymore. Was finishing my studies anyway and moving on to a new life so quitting kind of came natural. Same day I graduated I got hired at Oracle and since then life has only gotten better. Working on your career while having nice people around you and being able to move abroad and see some of the world is definitely a longterm...ev+ Much more social than a job behind your computer that nobody gets anyway.

Still have much love for the game though, wish I could play a life game once with all poker friends from back in the day.