Even if you are making good money playing poker, it will take away all of your free time, consume your every moment, alienate you from your friends, and eventually take your sanity.

For those of you who are still in school, quit now while you still have a chance at a decent future. There is no hope in poker. Make something of your life, instead of just sitting around all day waiting for the cards to fall in your favor.

I know that a thousand trolls are going to come out and bash me for saying this, but I am only trying to help you all. I wish I had figured this out like 5 years ago when I was still in college and had a chance at pursuing a decent career. Trust me, you will be 20 times happier worker a respectable 9 to 5 doing something in which you are contributing to society. Sure, maybe playing poker is better than cleaning toilets, but those aren't your only two options. Chances are that if you are smart enough to make money at poker you are probably drastically underselling yourself compared to what you could be making at a regular job. If you're like me and resent the idea of "working for the man" you need to grow up and swallow your pride. Seriously, every time you play poker, you are "working for the man" by paying him rake $$ for the chance to be able to gamble.

Sure, you get to sit on your *** all day at home and watch TV all the time, but trust me, that gets old pretty fucking quick.

I doubt anybody will listen to me and most will criticize me and accuse me of being a degen who has simply been unable to balance poker and a life, but years from now you may look back upon this post and realize the wisdom I was trying to impart. The fact is, IT IS HARD TO BALANCE A LIFE AND POKER.

poker is life!...and i dont think people who make a living at poker sit on there *** all day... they party it up and live the way ballers should

well, I agree actually.

Bit still choose poker

You are hallucinating.

OP is of course 100% right. Those who do not understand are not to blame. It's only after time you can realize this. And then there is the never ending attraction of poker. I know people who think exactly like OP but still play. It's like a drug. Addicted poker players with debt have the same characteristiscs as heroin addicts for a reason.

i totally agree with op!

but im too deep into it im 21 and im addicted to plo no joke i need to play this game all day long its like a drug for me and i cant stop


i still go out etc... but not as much as i did before i started playing poker...if i think about my life its close i love poker but i also know i just cant play poker for my whole life.

This.

Seriously, it's never too late to get out of it. You're still only 21. I'm now 24 yet have finally decided that now is the time for me to quit this business for good and start living a more active, less stressful life. In college the money you make from poker may seem great compared with what you could make then, but in 5-10 years, when all of your buddies have gotten professional degrees and are doctors, lawyers and successful businessmen, you'll start to realize that poker isn't all it's cracked up to be. When I look at kids from my class and see that many have completed law school or med school, I feel like a loser who has fallen behind in life. Which I am. Be a contender, not a poker bum.

I agree. Either make a good living off poker or give it up. Don't grind stakes lower than $1/$2 imo.. enjoy poker by playing live, travelling to nice places for events, and meet new people; don't get stuck in front of the computer screen.

mcbain why did you finally get out of the whole poker thing? as stupid as it sounds but did you busted your whole pokerbankroll?

I completely 100% agree. I am only 20 and been playing for a couple of years now and I can say that I am not the same person I was entering the game. I lost all respect for money. I spend most of my time sitting in front of the computer. I go out very rarely. I had gained about 35 pounds within a year just from sitting on my butt. Most of my friends stopped wanting to hang out with me because poker is all I ever wanted to talk about as it consumed my every thought. I came to this conclusion of how it was ruining my life about a half year ago and I rarely play any more (mostly in comparison to how much I used to play). It truly is exactly the same as a drug, and just as bad. There are very few people who can balance poker and life and I am clearly one of the people who can't.

Poker will never leave you satisfied. Why do you all think we keep sitting down at the tables every day no matter how big a win or loss we ever make. I am trying to quit. I wish you all the best of luck in being able to come to this conclusion as well.