It sure has been an intersting ride. The transition from school to work has its costs and benefits. The major cost imo (in my opinion) is the free time. I really miss the amount of time i had in school to take care of myself, i think it's really important to have an alotted amount of time to do things that you enjoy. However, the work life takes so much out of me during the week that rest seems to be my surrogate for leisure. It's also been strange not having my social network that i've been so use to throughout my life. The weekly grind exposes you to many individuals but its more professional than personal. Finally, i think the hardest aspect of this year has been staying in the moment and not getting ahead of myself. It's easy to trap yourself in imaginary land about better places to be or more exciting things you could be doing. However, the only way for those rewards to come is to put in the hard work for that path to be paved.
The benefits, well its sure nice to make money for once! In that regard, i'm now able to afford certain things that i was never able to purchase in school. Having started as a teller in the bank during the summer, i quickly realized that i had to find a better paying job. With the present economy and cost of goods, it is very tough to survive on anything under $15/hr. It may take care of your expenses but just like anybody else, you gotta have play money! At that time i was also considering relocating to Denver but was at a crossroads between straight wingin' it and holding back for awhile to come to a financial median. Thus, i hit the job directory at work and explored the possiblities the bank had to offer for new graduates. In little time i found a position 4 floors up from the teller line as a Commercial Credit Analyst. The name probably comes off as long and boring but the overall responsibilites resemble college duties. It requires independant and detailed work, which if you can accomplish makes for an easy career. It's amazing how many people stay within the same business for almost their whole lives. My boss has been here for over 30 years since she graduated and doesn't flinch an eye when she talks about it. This year has been long enough and to imagine 29 more is fucking scary. The office life is obviously not physically demanding but that aspect makes for laziness and boredom.
I spend probably 40 min working 10 min searching the web and another 10 min walking around. Crazy thought, I spend ten minutes an hour searching the web or not doing "work", I waste over 1 hour 20 mins exactly a day at work 5 days a week. That means i waste almost an entire day doing nothing here. To be honest, the company is probably fine with that. To contribute 80%/hr is satisfactory since no one can work 8/hrs a row 5 days a week. But how long do i continue this cycle? A job is obv important for a myriad of reasons. It generates connections, establishes merit, regiments are created, benefits (medical, 401k), opportunities for advancement, collateral etc etc. I saught this job as a solution to meet future goals (traveling, buying a car, paying off student loans) but have reached a point where the job isnt't entertaining me enough and have met many of those goals. Thus, i'm in the midst of exploring other careers and destinations that will define my place in this crazy world.
Who defines what success is? One of my favorite quotes from Alex noble, states "Succes is not a place at which one arrives but rather the spirit with which one undertakes and continues the journey."
Poker
Ahhhh what a game. Having started playing out of pure boredom my sophomore year with no clue what i was doing, it is quite rewarding personally to be at the point i am now. Given my competitive nature, i've been determined to excel at this game.
I won my first tournament christmas eve for 2.5k. It was quite a surreal moment.....It finally happened, i won a tournament, after going so deep and coming up short time after time. This was when i realized that poker could finally start being very profitable for me if i continued to learn and most importantly, put in the time.
For the last 3 months since i won the $3 rebuy, i have preceeded to do well.
| 2/2/2011 | $35,000 Guarantee | Hold'em NL | $24.00 + $2.00 | 1 / 1707 | $8,439.41 | |
| 1/8/2011 | $15,000 Guarantee (Rebuy) | Hold'em NL | $10.00 + $1.00 | 1 / 657 | $4,221.35 | |
| 1/2/2011 | $10,000 Guarantee (1r+1a) | Hold'em NL | $10.00 + $1.00 | 2 / 1051 | $3,957.56 | |
| 2/27/2011 | $10,000 Guarantee (Early Antes) | Hold'em NL | $10.00 + $1.00 | 1 / 1820 | $3,224.40 | |
| 1/17/2011 | $10,000 Guarantee (Early Antes) | Hold'em NL | $10.00 + $1.00 | 1 / 1338 | $2,943.60 | |
| 12/25/2010 | $10,500 Guarantee (Rebuy) | Hold'em NL | $3.00 + $0.30 | 1 / 1534 | $2,405.46 | |
| 2/14/2011 | $18K Super Stack (Early Antes) | Hold'em NL | $24.00 + $2.00 | 5 / 1377 | $2,025.84 | |
| 1/30/2011 | $21,000 Guarantee (Rebuy) | Hold'em NL | $3.00 + $0.30 | 3 / 1813 | $1,647.10 |
Poker is VERY stressful though and requires ample diligence, which is one reason why i haven't quit my job to play at a higher volume. The balance of work and poker is very important imo, but the combination is enabling me to explore other options in the future.
Making a living from online poker is not as complicated as you may think. Every day, hundreds of people decide to leave their 9 to 5 to start a career playing online poker. Some people love the freedom, while others hate being forced to play poker as a job.
For those of you who are interested, i'll share a few tips with you that i have implemented and the benefits from doing so.
First, the pros of a poker career:
- No more boss
- Create your own hours
- Take a hobby you are passionate about and turn it into a good income
- Work from home (or anywhere with an internet connection)
- Travel the world playing in big tournaments (and write it all off)
- Extreme discipline is required to play plenty of hours, avoid tilt, and analyze game play
- Having poker as a job may lead to less enjoyment
- Statistics show that most poker players lose money over time
- Poker Bankroll Management - Your bankroll is your lifeline in poker. So if you plan to play poker as a career, you need to make bankroll management a top priority.
- Poker Emergency Fund - In addition to having a strong bankroll, you should have 3 to 6 months of expenses set aside in a savings account for emergencies. You should do this regardless of your job; however, it's especially important to have a safety net when playing poker for a living. As you move up to higher stakes, I would increase this to 12 months expenses. That means if something goes terribly wrong (your cable company stops offering internet or you break your hand or something) you don't have to stress about paying the light bill.
- Poker Taxes - You should pay them - enough said.
In 2 months i will have been out of college for a year. In a relative sense, it's felt like the longest winter of my life, yet there is still so much more to come! On that note, having survived the Vermont winter, doing the 9-5, living at home and sucking up the bullshit that life brings you, i'm beginning to plan the next stage of my life. I know that i won't feel complete unless i take control of the ship and guide myself on a path of desire rather than forced responsibility.
For now, i'm pretty exhausted from work and the online grind. In 6 days i'll be heading to Colorado to relax and see some good friends. It will be the first true break i've had since i started working full time in July. Looking forward to see what all this hype's about....
Ciao,
Adam
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