Is my profession a turn off?

[whichwayisup]

Seeing a psych for almost a year, and its nowhere near as bad as it once was. It was terrible in HS, improved quite a bit in college, and more since seeing the psych. I have no problem going out as I once did

 

But the thing is, you may be better, but you aren't pushing yourself as far as you can go..Pushing yourself past your limit is a really good thing, even if you are scared or uncomfortable.

 

My motto: what you put into therapy, is what you get out of it. Glad to hear you're seeing someone who is helping you.

 

Problem with your job is, it doesn't get you out of the house and meeting folks face to face, to be out and about, feeling everyday stresses.

[kahn2154]

I do not know why people lie on message boards.

 

I do know, as a rule, usually when people openly offer what their income is, they are usually lying or exaggerating.

 

The only way you could be earning a consistent income is if somehow you are always playing against people much much worse than yourself.

 

Pro athletes also have contracts guaranteeing them an income.

 

Anyway, if you made over $400,000 in the past 4 years in your early 20's while playing a game you should be living the life of a rock star, and not asking silly questions about what girls think.

 

Tell me what site you play on, and what your screen name is so I can watch you winning 10,000 to 20,000 a month.

 

100k a year gives you the opportunity to live the life of a rock star? 100k isn't that much money and I'd much rather save it then blow it on hookers and booze.

[kahn2154]

But the thing is, you may be better, but you aren't pushing yourself as far as you can go..Pushing yourself past your limit is a really good thing, even if you are scared or uncomfortable.

 

My motto: what you put into therapy, is what you get out of it. Glad to hear you're seeing someone who is helping you.

 

Problem with your job is, it doesn't get you out of the house and meeting folks face to face, to be out and about, feeling everyday stresses.

 

I know, my problem is I don't know where to start. With college over I really have no way to get into a circle of friends or something how. I go to the gym, but everyone is in their 30's there.

[whichwayisup]

How old are you Kahn?

 

What's your favourite sport? You could join a team, there are pick up leagues all over depending on the sport you're into.

 

And, your family, cousins, siblings, do you spend time with them?

 

Just need to put yourself out there and take some chances.

[sb129]

If a player practices proper bankroll management they will never go broke. Its kind of like common sense, just use stocks for example, if you have 8k and you put all 8k into one stock, and that stock plummets you will lose a lot, have to diversify. Have to always have like 30- 40 or so buyins for any limits you will play.

 

There's a big difference between a compulsive gambler, who'd gamble his own house or the kids' tuition money, and someone who does it in an organized and meticulous way. If I were to date you, I'd actually admire your skill at it because there is a lot of skill involved and no matter what people do in life, the ones that are in the top of their field always get bonus points from me..

 

Lots of conventional professions don't have guaranteed income. Retail store manager, engineer, teacher, etc., etc., etc... Any one of those you could find yourself out of work the next year and have a hard time finding a job.

You just need to date girls who understand probability and statistics. Even better if they understand poker.

 

Anyone who has played poker for a while understands that to make any money at it, especially enough to live comfortably, requires a very high level of patience and discipline. I would bet (see what I did there? ) more patience and discipline than the average person.

 

If I were you I would put some of it away in a savings account and let it collect interest but other than that I way to go. People are jealous of somebody who makes good money without being a slave to the coporate machine plus it is 100% legal. You ae your own man running your own operation. As long as you have the right attitude about it it should not harm your love life.

 

 

Agree with all statements quoted above.

Sounds like you know what you are doing and its not that different to being a trader.

 

I wouldn't find it a turn off- I don't think anyone in their early 20s has "financial stability"- most certainly don't have bank accounts that are 5+ figures in the black. Especially if you don't plan to play poker forever.

 

In recent times many people who thought they had financial stability at ages that "matter"(in their late 20s and beyond) lost it rapidly.

 

That in turn has had a domino effect on nearly every single employment sector around the globe- "financial security" is a much more tenuous thing to claim these days than it used to be.

 

I am a dentist and I don't have 100% job security- I am paid on a commission basis and it fluctuates from week to week. Sure everyone has teeth, but in times like this, its not always their top spending priority.

 

My H gambles in this way on sports-its exactly like trading currency but on sports results- he only ever invests $50 a year.

In the 3 years we have been together, he has made over $5000 from that initial $150 outlay. (And $150 is hardly going to break the bank- we agreed that he would never go above that "buy in" price)

 

Some of the richest and most successful people on the planet took risks and gambles when they were younger- thats why they lept ahead- instead of playing it safe they did stuff that probably 100s of people advised them against, and it paid off.

 

 

While you have no dependents, no debts and no major financial responsibilities, who cares how you make your living?

Its not morally wrong, you aren't hurting anyone, you are clearly sensible about it, and with some wise investments and planning, it could potentially set you up pretty well.

Sounds like you have the right kind of intelligence to be able to find other things that you can succeed at later if you decide on a career change.

 

My only concern with you would be your social skills!

However, again, plenty of time for you to work on those.

[kahn2154]

How old are you Kahn?

 

What's your favourite sport? You could join a team, there are pick up leagues all over depending on the sport you're into.

 

And, your family, cousins, siblings, do you spend time with them?

 

Just need to put yourself out there and take some chances.

 

I suck badly at sports (but I do go to gym), and I have no family, parents are divorced, rest of family in another country (parents are the ONLY family I have in US)

[shadowplay]

Why are you so pompous?

 

You're forgetting you're talking to a software engineer most of whose friends are in the tech industry. It can take time to find a job. They don't always just fall into your lap. To believe so is incredibly naive. I'm sure the 10% of people out of work here right now would agree with me.

 

Now run along and tell the other bunnies in TBF Fantasy Land that they'll never be out of work.

 

Tanbark is actually right on this. A lot of it depends on your particular speciality. If you happen to get into an area of programming that was once promising but has since dried up, you may be screwed. I know a bunch of programmers/engineers who are in this boat. This even happened to my father. He has a great resume and plentiful education but there are almost no jobs in his field of expertise at the moment. He was working at a startup that has since dissolved, and he's having a hard time finding a single job that's a good fit on the current market.

 

I asked him why he doesn't try to expand his expertise, and he said the reality is that he won't be able to reach an expert level on his own (without actually having a job in that area). Since he's senior, everybody expects him to be an expert in whatever they hire him for where they might be willing to train a junior.

[Treasa]

I don't have social anxiety disorder, but I do have other anxiety disorders, so I know where you're coming from.

 

I think your job is just fine. If you're investing, saving, and paying off your bills, don't worry about it. You have a degree and sound pretty smart, and if I were single and in my 20's I'd definitely consider dating you!

 

I think the only problem you may have is not getting out enough and meeting people. What about martial arts? It's good for building confidence and meeting people that become your friends very quickly.

[sb129]

Wow, the BS is getting deep in this thread.

 

Dude- $5000 is hardly "big bucks". Woggle won $2000 on a scratch card the other day, are you going to call that BS too?

 

If you have a half decent knowledge of statistics AND you stick to a sport you know something about that has fewer variables than say, horse racing, you can actually make money from online gambling. Check out "accumulator bets". That, and laying off bets (which is the same as any kind of trading) makes the risks less, and the gains higher if you are prepared to spend some time on it.

 

Its a hobby of my Hs (which is also on topic) that gave us a little extra spending money over the course of 3 years ($1666 per year- easily achieved, nothing mind blowing though), so why on earth would I want to "brag" or lie about that?

Its not like we are making a living or anything from it.

[BUENG1]

I've played online poker since I was in college. I used to have an extreme case of social anxiety disorder and avoided leaving out the house let alone getting a job. So it started as a hobby, and I stuck with it improved and made it into my job. Over the last 3 years I've averaged 6 figures, and am on pace for a 4th over 6 figures, which is pretty good for someone in their early 20's especially in this economic climate.

 

Now one of the things that always bothered me was the perceived perception of a poker player. When people think of a gambler they pretty much equate that person to a junkie, someone who is always on his last dollar/or in debt and basically a low life (I'm sure you know the stereotype) Now I'm the complete opposite of this, I'm extremely conservative with my money and saved the majority of it, don't party/do drugs, really good kid compared to others and really boring.

 

I've always avoided telling people I played poker for this reason, until recently when my psychologist suggested I should be more open about it because people will find it interesting about me. Well the responses are usually extremely negative or positive, people are either fascinated or they think to the stereotype and wonder how I can win money and say I will go broke and there is no changing their mind.

 

Recently relatives of mine found out I played poker and they basically told me I was wasting my life and that no self respecting girl would ever want a husband whose profession was a poker player. (I don't plan right now on doing it for the rest of my life, but I really have no plan for my life right now..) So I'm just wondering is this a huge turnoff? From what I gathered (because I've never had a gf) the early 20's/teen crowd (college basically) would think this would cool, but I could see how someone older than that would be more into a career man.

 

Thanks

 

Well this isn't really on topic, but in this thread you mentioned you would have a hard time finding a job if this dried up. To the best of my knowledge operating a gambling website in the US is illegal, so most people operate them out of the country. Another thing to consider is if what you do for a living becomes illegal and its illegality actually starts being enforced. And then you have no job and I'd imagine online gambler is a hard sell in a job interview for a couple years employment.

[sb129]

:rolleyes::rolleyes:

 

Its not "beating the gambling world" its "playing it" using accumulator bets and/or laying them off during play.

Most "professional" sports gamblers use systems like this to protect from big losses. However it takes time, patience, knowledge and research which is why not so many people do it.

 

 

Put in $50. Betting only $25 first time, turn the first $25 into $50, then $100, (take out the initial $50- then you haven't lost anything at all) then $200 etc etc, each time only ever betting half of your "book", but each time the actual bet gets bigger, hence the potential win is bigger. Doesn't take long to get to $1500. ($50 X three years = $150.)

 

Its not foolproof. (never claimed that it was) BUT by never betting all of your "book" at any one time, you never lose everything. You CAN lose, for sure- but not everything, you always have a reserve.

But you can catch up by being more careful or conservative in the following weeks.

 

We have joint bank accounts so can vouch for all deposits and credits to it.

 

Sport- European and UK football divisions. A passion of my Hs.

 

He spends alot of time researching the stats and odds of various teams/ games.

 

I can assure you- it has worked for him, and I can also vouch for the amount of TIME he spends doing it and then watching all the games, to be honest if you divide the spoils into an hourly rate, the money is actually pretty sh*t..... hence we wouldn't ever consider it more than just bonus spending money.

 

Not bad entertainment value for $50 a year though. And no, he doesn't do more gambling without my knowledge, because he is too smart to be that kind of gambler- I know him and he loves the thinking side of it more than anything.

[sb129]

BTW- you never bet anything on just one game or one outcome- multiples are where the moneys at and thats where the thinking comes in.

 

You need to work out what the chances are of your multiples coming off, which is where the probability and statistics come in.

 

Either that, or you take a bet, and while the game is in play and going in that best favour, you can sell that bet to another punter at lower odds, which gives you back your money and then if the outcome is still what you initially bet on, you also win that way.

 

We have a friend who does the exact same thing with hedge funds and currency its all just math and "knowing" the markets.....and as you know, NEVER 100% successful!

 

Honestly, Caliz, I thought a smart businessman like you would have some knowledge of that kind of thing.

[sb129]

Why do you always assume the worst about people? Some people on here don't actually lie about anything- its not my style, and its not my husbands. We have a good honest, open relationship.

 

I know the full extent of his gambling, because we TALK TO EACHOTHER.

He isn't interested in it just for making money- he never chases his losses outside of the initial outlay. Its a hobby for him. He doesn't need to keep it hidden from me- I am totally fine with it. He does it from home even- so how can I complain?

 

I also manage our finances so I know exactly where both of our incomes go- we both get a certain amount each a month to spend on whatever we want, and if he wants to blow it all on that, I don't care.

Thats what its for and thats why we agreed to have that money, so we don't ever fight about it. We agreed that once that money is gone, its gone till next month. Its been that way for nearly 2 years and we have never fought about money.

[sb129]

t.

 

What if your husband loses his first bet? Then he throws the hobby away for the rest of the year and waits for the following year to invest $50? Yeah right.

 

Sigh. You didn't read it did you? No wonder you are so hostile, I think you must just seize the first negative thing that comes to your mind when you read a post that doesn't conform to your "ideals"

 

The first bet is never the full amount of the investment. He doesn't throw $50 on one game.

 

You start small.... $1 or $2 bets at low odds to build it up.

 

Anyway, I don't really care what you think.

I have typed more than enough to respond to you:

if I was lying I wouldn't have been able to answer any of your questions.

 

Most smart people would be able to understand what I am talking about.

 

Have a nice life, oh bitter negative one! ;)

[sb129]

PS- I used average figures for the time period- its fluctuated, naturally. Am not confused- I have seen it in action!

 

Its not like the $50 magically turns into $1500- it does over TIME, building up slowly, $50 turns into $100, then you bet half of that again, building up the "pot"-so the return isn't actually 3200% in one hit.

 

I think its probably much less than that if you took every bet and analysed its profits and losses.

 

There is nothing "consistent" about it. Its risk taking. Pure and simple. With a bit of strategic base covering in the event of a loss.

 

As I said C, surely you are smart enough to understand that?

[sb129]

PS-

Its not like we "rely" on the money or expect it to come in.

 

As I said, its a bonus, and its definitely not consistently successful.

 

YOU"RE the one that keeps using the word consistent, not me. I just used those averages as an example.

Haven't seen any big winnings so far this year, however seeing as we no longer live in Europe its a little harder for him to keep up with it, and its also the off season.

 

Maybe he did get lucky over those three years. Maybe he made some good decisions which allowed him to increase his spending pot and then got lucky with a couple of big ones? He admits himself he had a particularly good run those years.

 

Anyway, who cares really- I NEVER claimed it was a foolproof system with a definite, specific percentage return- that was you using those terms.

 

So.... we're all good thanks.

[sb129]

I am saving you from future embarrassment if you tell other people these silly stories.

 

Top Professional gamblers= 10% return.

 

Your hubby, part time gambler= Consistent 3,200% return.

 

Oh why thanks so much.

 

Would you please stop using the word consistent?

 

If I had used that word, then fair enough you can rip me to shreds, but I didn't!

There is nothing "consistent" about it. Its risk taking. Pure and simple. With a bit of strategic base covering in the event of a loss.

[sb129]

OK, maybe you should get back to me when you can understand the math behind this and actually read what I am saying. Or try doing some research into how sports betting actually works, because you seem to have it fixated in your head that $50 magically became $1500 on one sports game.

 

I said he turned $150 of our money into just over $5000 over three years. Over those three years he definitely lost quite a bit of money too- its just the money he lost wasn't the initial investment, and therefore wasn't OUR money- it was money from various winnings.

 

Any time he won a bet, that went straight back into the betting pot-(KEY: it was not taken back out again bar the initial $50 which was) so it started to add up.

If you divide it by three, its $50 a year with an average profit of $1666, however there were fluctuations and larger risks than $50 taken over the three years.

 

$1666 divided by 12 is an average win of $138 a month- hardly ker-ching, is it?

Some months he may have won more than that, others he may have lost- but by NEVER BETTING THE ENTIRE AMOUNT he always had reserves to catch up on.

 

Its still risk taking, and the amounts we are talking are comparatively small

 

Half was saved, half was bet. So every time he won (and we aren't talking huge odds or big wins here, just easy bets at small odds, but if you tie them together enough they will add up, and if you are able to bet a little bit more each time, then that figure increases)

 

Say if you have three games and the odds of each team winning are small-

Ie Man U is paying $1.15 to win, Chelsea paying $1.10, and Liverpool paying $1.05.

 

They are all playing at home (statistically teams are more likely to win at their home ground), and they are playing teams that are of lesser rank in the rankings, so chances are pretty good they will all win.

If you put $1 on each to win, you will win $3.30 and only make a profit of .30cents.

 

If you put $3 on ALL three of them winning at odds of 2.72 (ie if just one team loses, you lose your $3, hence the slightly higher odds as it can happen) then the profit margins are much higher and you will get back $8.16, with a profit of $5.16.

This can add up. You can also lay off bets and I can't be bothered to explain how that works, google it.

 

He obviously made some good decisions, and got lucky a couple of times, which enabled him to continue to use his winnings to keep betting rather than put more of his own money in- its still risk taking, and it was 100% foolproof he would have been pumping in far more than $50 of our money and we would be rolling with the high rollers. (AND I wouldn't be giving you details of how it can be done)

 

BUt for him, he loves sitting down and working out all the odds, checking to see who is playing etc etc etc, and then watching the games.

 

As I said before, as an hourly rate, the money SUCKS. We decided to take the money out when we left Europe- it had been sitting there all that time in a betting account going up and down. If we had taken it out earlier it could very well have been much less than $5000, clearly the last few bets were pretty good ones. I think in the last few months he was betting much larger sums of money- therefore winning more (or losing as the case may be)

If he had bet the entire $5000 I wouldn't have cared, as it was never our money to start with, but we decided to call it quits and use it to pay for our honeymoon.

 

And back to the OP, no your profession wouldn't be a turn off if I was your age.

[39388]

Yeah I get it.. Your hubby makes thousands of small bets and hardly ever loses. But I am still calling BS

You should quit while you are way behind. :rolleyes: She knows her husband far far better than you do.

[WineCountry]

Yeah I get it.. Your hubby makes thousands of small bets and hardly ever loses. But I am still calling BS

 

A. You were not the one betting.

B. I know human nature.

C. A 3200% ROI 3 years in a row is simply unbelievable considering professional gamblers are lucky to have a 10% ROI.

 

If you said he made one $50 bet and somehow one $5000 I would believe that much easier than believing you are married to some part time gambling genius that turns $50 into $1600 every year through making a series of hundreds and thousands of bets. And if he is betting that often,while always using research and stats, regardless of the amount, it sounds like he is addicted to gambling and should seek help.

 

Don't be naive. I bet your hubby bets far more than you know about. Even if you 2 agreed on only "investing" an initial $50 a year. lol

 

And the other guy on the thread figured out a way to beat online poker and earns 6 figures every year ..

 

 

For the love of everything pure and gold!! ENOUGH already!!!!!!

 

Calizag; just take your pail and find another sandbox to play in.

 

You dont believe the OP or SB...yah we GET that.

 

Sheesh...the ankle biting back and forth has made me forget what the heck i was gonna say to the OP.

[sb129]

Its called "gambling" for a reason- it doesn't take a "genius" to work out that a "3200% return- blah blah :rolleyes:" is never going to be guaranteed.

 

However, its very similar to the stock exchange and commodity and currency trading ALL of which involve degrees of risk. (aka- gambling)

The more risks you take, the more you stand to gain (or lose).

Most stock traders don't go to G.A, but I will tell my H that you thought he needed help, thats pretty funny.

 

You still don't get it though C. Never mind. The time frame was 3 years, the outlay of OUR OWN money was $150, the return of actual cash we got out was $5000.

 

There are many, many more variables and figures involved that you have made clear you have no interest in understanding.

Basic economics and statistics seem to be beyond your grasp, so I would stick to scratch cards if I were you.

 

Maybe you are more a "right" brained type of guy?

 

And my sincere apologies to the OP.

 

Sorry your thread has been hijacked but basically what all this was trying to say is that:

 

A) I can understand how you have made money from playing online poker

 

B) its no less secure than many other jobs out there at the moment

 

C) you seem to have your head on straight regarding what you do with your winnings, don't chase your losses and are saving and doing other sensible things with it.

 

Some people will disagree with you., but as Thad said, those that matter don't mind, and those that mind, don't matter. Excellent advice.

[missdependant]

I think your psychologist is right. (Hey, it happens sometimes!)

 

What's that old line? "those who matter don't mind, and those who mind don't matter" Something like that. If there are those around you that see it as a turn-off, that says more about them than about you.

 

 

"Do what you want and say what you feel, because those who mind don't matter, and those who matter don't mind."

 

-Dr. Seuss

 

Love that one. :-)

[Citizen Drawn]

Sb, whatever..

 

I completed the highest level of statistics my university offered , so I fully understand stats.

 

On one hand you start by making your hubby sound like a gambling whiz, then you say "Well it is gambling". My point is I still doubt you know all about his endeavors, and I feel you are missing some info about his success rate. Turning 50 into 1600 3 years in a row through hundreds of bets is quite unbelievable. Perhaps he should write a gambling book.

 

I must have met dozens of "online poker pros" who never claim to lose. They are usually people without a job making excuses for why they should not find one while living at home with mom and dad.

 

I am not sure how someone can consistently win enough in "ONLINE" poker to beat the rake and enough of their opponents to pull in 6 figures.

 

Poker does have skill involved, but most people whom have played for a bit of time are at very similar skill levels. Unless the OP found a way to always play against first timers , the post is quite silly.

 

Oh do be quiet Go to http://www.sharkscope.com, click on leaderboards to see what online poker pro's are making. That's not even including tourneys or cash games which can pull in much more You have no idea what you are talking about and to bring up your statistics degree as evidence that you do is laughable.

[Citizen Drawn]

Why are you so pompous?

 

You're forgetting you're talking to a software engineer most of whose friends are in the tech industry. It can take time to find a job. They don't always just fall into your lap. To believe so is incredibly naive. I'm sure the 10% of people out of work here right now would agree with me.

 

Now run along and tell the other bunnies in TBF Fantasy Land that they'll never be out of work.

 

You're forgetting this is an internet forum - it allows average people to appear larger than normal. If you saw TBF walking down the street, or met her in a bar you wouldn't pick her out from anyone else. On here she can magnify all her positives. I think the mundane reality of her life is much like anyone elses, otherwise she's solved the fundamental problem of human nature.

[Trialbyfire]

You're forgetting this is an internet forum - it allows average people to appear larger than normal. If you saw TBF walking down the street, or met her in a bar you wouldn't pick her out from anyone else. On here she can magnify all her positives. I think the mundane reality of her life is much like anyone elses, otherwise she's solved the fundamental problem of human nature.

I find posts like this sad, in that people find my life so staggeringly unusual.

 

There are plenty of people in this world who have what would be termed as a "better life" than I do, who've exceeded every positive I've ever posted about, exponentially.

 

This makes me realize how little people try, to better their own lives.