Why Become a Professional?

I didn't get to spend much time playing or studying poker in the last week mostly due to me being on vacation and having some other family-related obligations to attend. So I'll consider this coming week my first legit week as a live pro. My goals remain the same as previously mentioned in my first post:

• Play for 35 hours

• Study 10 hours

• Meditate 3 times/ week

• Run 3 times/ week

Since I don't have any hands or new study material to discuss, I thought it'd be a good idea to talk about some of the reasons why I've decided to become a live-pro.

The biggest factor in my decision is the joy and satisfaction I get from playing poker compared to working a normal 9-5 office job. I've worked two summer internships and a handful of odd-jobs over the last five years. While I've been able to tolerate them, I constantly found myself bored and unmotivated to push myself to progress further at the various companies for which I worked. I would constantly be looking at the clock and finding ways to distract myself from actually working (which often involved studying poker in some form). The only thing on my mind was when I'd be finished and free to spend my time as I pleased.

With poker, I don't have this problem. At and away from the table, I'm able to stay focused and motivated to play my best and do what I can to improve. I find that time goes by quickly and I rarely feel the same itch to be done as I did when working normal jobs. The reason for this, I believe, is because poker is something I'm truly passionate about. I think it's important for me (and others) to work in a field we care about and enjoy as we're likely going to be spending the next few decades working 40+ hour weeks. I'd guess this amounts to somewhere between 15% and 25% of our lives, and it doesn't make sense (to me) to spend so much of our time doing something that we don't love.

The freedom that comes with the life of a poker player was also influential in my decision to embark on the journey of live-pro. I'll be able to work (play) when I want and not on someone else's clock. I never liked the idea of being told what to do and when to do it, and in poker, I'm my own boss. I've also never been someone who likes following the same daily routine over and over again, and I feel playing poker will allow me to avoid falling into the trap of a typical office-job life.

Timing is another factor that played a role in my decision. Currently, I'm living at home with my parents, who have graciously agreed to let me continue to live with them for the first few months of my attempt at making it as a poker player. I'm extremely fortunate to have them to support me through the beginning of my career. This, coupled with me being fresh out of college with no real obligations (bills, family, job, etc.) makes it seem as though now is the only logical time to try to make my dream a reality. Since I won't have to worry about real-life-adult expenses, I'll be able to re-invest my profits from poker into my bankroll which should allow me to move up in stakes more quickly. Additionally, I'll be able to spend more of my poker-allocated time studying rather than playing, as I won't have to stress about putting in a ton of volume in order to pay bills. I believe this is important to achieving long-term success in poker as it will prepare me for moving up to higher-stakes.

I'm sure there are more reasons as to why I've made my decision, but these are some of the ones that carry the most weight. Next week I'll undoubtedly have some interesting hands or strategy-related content to discuss. Until then, peace and happy grinding.

#livepro #JonMetz #motivation