Sink or Swim

After a great deal of contemplation and thought, I’ve made the big decision and bitten the bullet: I’ve resigned from work to try my hand at professional poker.

I’ve spoken to all the important people in my life (K, family, friends, work colleagues I respect, random professional poker players!) and collected everyone’s opinion, and although I’d be lying if I said they were all in total agreement with my decision, I received enough encouragement and positive feedback to take the plunge. Here is the shortened version of the pros / cons cliché list that was pulled together before making the decision.

Pros
- I love poker and really really want to play as much as I can and learn everything about the multiple versions of the game.
- No more 9-5 rat race!
- Unlimited holiday time – within reason – when I want it
- Performance related pay rather than performance makes no difference pay, i.e. you all get paid the same / only £1000 difference per year no matter what you do
- I think I’m good enough and disciplined enough to do this for a living.

Cons
- I might not be good enough!!!
- No sick pay / holiday pay / hangover pay – complete lack of financial security
- No credit! This will make credit card and mortgage applications a nigh on impossibility.
- Lack of daily social interaction could lead me to become mildly retarded around others…. mentioning no names….. <> <> <> <>


On serious note, I know this could go wrong and backfire. I’ve saved up 9 months worth of rent / bills / expenses on top of my starting poker roll of 3k + 1k emergency, with the plan being to start looking for real jobs again in 6 months if my money does start running dry. I’m under no illusions that there will be tough times, that I’ll encounter long losing spells and go through periods of hating the game, but I want to try. I’ll always have my CIMA qualification to fall back on too, but if I don’t take the risk and gamble now then I never will and I’ll never know – and I can’t think of anything worse than living out my life wondering ‘what if??’

My final date at work hasn’t been confirmed yet but as soon as it is I think I’ll put a countdown clock on here to track my progress towards freedom. In the meantime, I’ll keep playing away and updating this blog with progress. Wish me luck!!