i need to convince my parents that poker is good

[Geezy 0]

I play jacks and hop scotch professionally, 5 time world champion...

[bdams19 0]

So how far do you think $1000 would go towards bills and all. I mean, do you relally think you can make $1000 / wk in order to survive?Throwing a grand in front of your parent should have just caused a chuckle from them. Sorry, I just think you are a little miguided about plpaying poker for a living and real life.

I never said it was a tremendous amount that I can live off of. I do not plan to play poker for my primary income, I work 8-5 monday through friday. They are just happy that I'm helping to pay for some of my school bills.

[TS Clark 0]

Your parents will not support your gambling. When I mentioned that I play in the city, my parents started saying this and that about it being illegal and I'm putting my future in danger blah blah blah. So then I reached into my pocket and took out a thousand dollars I happened to have with a rubber band around it and threw it on the table. That ended the discussion.

If showing your parents $1000 calmed all their fears about the illegality of poker and your future, those are some pretty fascinating parents. I think it'd take more than $1K for my kids to buy me off of worrying about something they were doing that I thought was stupid or wrong.Clearly, your mileage varied. Or you're just channeling a scene from Stu Ungar's life into your own.

[fatmanonguitar 0]

The recent commercial poker craze has undoubtedly created tons of delusional teenagers. I hope there are good parents out there who can find a happy medium between nurturing and supporting their kids ambitions and giving them a dose of reality.

[shedrackle 0]

Unfortunately, you won't find a lot of literature that truly supports your claims. Most of the actual / factual data compiled about poker contains informaiton on the large percentage of players that are losing players overall and that there are certain negative lifestyle choices that come along with the game (everything from health issues to criminal activity).If you are truly talking about playing professionally, then you will probably have to provide them with accurate records of your winnings and losses over the course of several years.Also, from the title of your post, I'll assume that yo are under 18. There is a great chance (probably in the realm of 98-99%, that you will never make it as a professional player). I 'm going to guess that you have no information on cost of living, health insurance, bills, general expenses (especially travel unless you are planning on living near a casino). Life will come at you fast once mommy and daddy stop paying your way. My advice, finish high school, go to college and eventually save up enough to make a run at poker for a couple of years to see if its for you.

Socrates has the best advice posted.

[Meatwad 0]

Yeah honestly, they hate it, and its not "asian", and they think I'm going to drop out of school and become a raging alcoholic/gambler even though I'm pulling 90's-until I got cheques sent home!

haha. since when is gambling not an asian thing.

Yea I thought that when I read it because my parents taught me Mahjong in elementary and gave me money to gamble at Vegas when I was 16 for a cousin's wedding. But as for the OP you'll have a tough time convincing a parent it's good like several mentioned. I mean Doyle Brunson and Barry Greenstein wouldn't even teach their kids poker and you want to convince your parents it's good?

[justblaze 0]

Yeah honestly, they hate it, and its not "asian", and they think I'm going to drop out of school and become a raging alcoholic/gambler even though I'm pulling 90's-until I got cheques sent home!

haha. since when is gambling not an asian thing.

Yea I thought that when I read it because my parents taught me Mahjong in elementary and gave me money to gamble at Vegas when I was 16 for a cousin's wedding. But as for the OP you'll have a tough time convincing a parent it's good like several mentioned. I mean Doyle Brunson and Barry Greenstein wouldn't even teach their kids poker and you want to convince your parents it's good?

um, what? cough*todd brunson*cough.

[Sushiman 0]

Doyle didn't want Todd playing poker. Todd started on his own and worked his way up the ladder. Or so I hear. I would imagine most great poker players would not want thier kids going into something like that. They know that for the vast majority of players it's a suckers game, and they don't want thier kids turning into addicts and giving away everything they've earned.

[speedz99 145]

Yeah honestly, they hate it, and its not "asian", and they think I'm going to drop out of school and become a raging alcoholic/gambler even though I'm pulling 90's-until I got cheques sent home!

haha. since when is gambling not an asian thing.

Yea I thought that when I read it because my parents taught me Mahjong in elementary and gave me money to gamble at Vegas when I was 16 for a cousin's wedding. But as for the OP you'll have a tough time convincing a parent it's good like several mentioned. I mean Doyle Brunson and Barry Greenstein wouldn't even teach their kids poker and you want to convince your parents it's good?

um, what? cough*todd brunson*cough.

cough*henevertaughttoddpokerandwassurprisedwhenhecamehomefromcollegeandsaidhewasturningpro*caugh

[potpumper43 0]

Poker is a tough way to make an easy living.

I'd say that poker is an easy way to make a difficult living actually.

[case ace 0]

Even most pros keep their kids away from cards. Don't fight a losing battle. Freddie Deebs parents don't know what he does. So buy em house, then tell em where it came from.

[jayboogie 0]

Dont bother trying to explain it to them, because they won't get it. I don't think many parents are going to approve or want their kid gambling. Yes poker is a lil different, but it's still gambling. You are essentially fighting a losing battle if your trying to get their approval, because you likely will never get it.

[SuM827 0]

I have an idea to win over your parents. Get a job. Pay your bills.Buy a book about poker. Or two. Or more. I recommend Small Stakes Hold 'Em by David Sklanksy for you, since you have no bankroll.Play online for play money until you get good. Progress through limits, and learn your odds, EV and the like.I would stick to online poker or home games with your friends, because if you go to a casino, you won't spot any fish at your table. You will be the fish. Remember that.Poker is a tough way to make an easy living.Finally, your 18. Keep poker as a hobby, and your parents should be content in knowing your not stealing anything more than the blinds.If you read a book you'll get jopkes like that.and that.J in Colo.

Umm.. No.. You have no clue what you're talking about. I'd say a 10-20 game in almost any major casino is as soft or softer as an online 2-4 or 3-6 game. The no limit games are even worse.

[LuckyMcCatcher 0]

I have an idea to win over your parents. Get a job. Pay your bills.Buy a book about poker. Or two. Or more. I recommend Small Stakes Hold 'Em by David Sklanksy for you, since you have no bankroll.Play online for play money until you get good. Progress through limits, and learn your odds, EV and the like.I would stick to online poker or home games with your friends, because if you go to a casino, you won't spot any fish at your table. You will be the fish. Remember that.Poker is a tough way to make an easy living.Finally, your 18. Keep poker as a hobby, and your parents should be content in knowing your not stealing anything more than the blinds.If you read a book you'll get jopkes like that.and that.J in Colo.

Umm.. No.. You have no clue what you're talking about. I'd say a 10-20 game in almost any major casino is as soft or softer as an online 2-4 or 3-6 game. The no limit games are even worse.

What casino are you playing at? I play at both and 10/20 @ a casion is a rock garden. Its a 2 chip game so the small looking pots slow down the action. I've never sat in a soft 10-20 at a B&M. Maybe one or two bad players, but the rest are rocks. On the contrary I've never sat in a 3/6 or 4/8 online that I thought was hard. Once you get up to middle limits B&M players tend to be better than you give them credit for. THese limits tend to be mainstays for retirees and 40 somethings who have been playing for years.

[lrlslo 0]

Well see, I just graduated from highschool in june, and Im going to college in about a month. ive been trying to show them that it is a good thing. I have made about $300 from poker overall, and thats just from $10 buy in 7 person tournements, $60 to first, $10 to second. But the more important reason I need to convince them is that some kid from my town is willing to pay me $1,000 to go to the Turning Stone casino (The only one near CT that allows you to play at age 18) Hes just paying $1,000 for me and 3 other people to go there. He just wants 40-50% of "profits" :wink: Anyhow, they are not so sure about letting me go or not, because they think its a bad thing. Not only would it be my first experience in a casino, but it would all be free, and we would be playing an $85 buy in tournement, and a $50 buy in shootout tournement.

Your 18 years old, why are your parents not letting you go. You are an adult no son, and if you can't decide to go on a weekend trip on your own you definitely shouldn't be making long-term life decisions right now.Oh, and it's nice that you've made $300 playing poker, but you would need to make more than double that per week to support yourself.If a guy wants to "give" you a grand to play at Tunica, go and play with it. Have a good time and see what happens. Then, in the fall go off to college and find some home games, play online, and build up your BR while getting an education.

[pogiolithis 0]

Here my inputchances are good that your parents are paying for college right? Also, I'm guessing that you not only want to play poker but, you also want to go to college and poker isn't quite doing it? Therefor your parents will have to co-sign for a student loan.Look at it like this. Your parents are protecting their investment (you + paying for college) just as you would want to protect your investment in a game. Really it comes down to one really big game.I was never in your situation but, here is some advice on what I do know and what I did in college.****First and foremost get a job. It helps you understand the value of money.*****This way you have some money to throw around that your parents will never know about. Build a bankroll for the limit you want to play. Yeah, I said limit - the wins aren't as big but, neither are the losses. Also, there are advantages of playing limit - longer playing time, better understanding of fundamental and so on. Another key thing to remember is even though NL is all the rage right now, every pro worked their way up from level to level playing limit. *****Now that you have a bankroll. Go into the business as a part-time poker player.***Find a local card-room. Protect your investment play at a level that makes you money not strokes your ego. Play 3 days a week, keep records whether it's a win or loss (I know its hard), take percentages of your bankroll out to pay yourself and living expenses. Maybe that doesn't amount to much right now but, as you get better it will.Break up your day in to learning lessons some of it is poker some of it is school find a balance. If you play too much poker you will get burned out and start losing money (trust me on this one.) Then you stop focusing at school and bad things happen.If you play too little you'll be impatient because you haven't played in long time.Life is a lot like poker, you'll do better if you focus on making good decisions. On a side note don't try to settle arguments or justify your decisions with how much money you make. Your parents will always be more impressed (and proud) by the way that you think and how you come to decisions. My dad always told me rate yourself on a scale of 1 -10 on how much you think you know. Then cut that in half and a little more realistic of what you really know. I try to apply that to poker as well.Hope that helps.

[custom36 4]

I have made about $300 from poker overall, and thats just from $10 buy in 7 person tournements

Anyone miss this? $300. That's it - $300. From sit-n-gos.Buy some books, play cash games, and wait until you're playing higher limits. Seriously, you just sound like every other dilousional kid out there that thinks this is all easy money. You're nowhere near the point to even consider taking this seriously.

[SuM827 0]

I have an idea to win over your parents.  Get a job.  Pay your bills.Buy a book about poker. Or two.  Or more. I recommend Small Stakes Hold 'Em by David Sklanksy for you, since you have no bankroll.Play online for play money until you get good. Progress through limits, and learn your odds, EV and the like.I would stick to online poker or home games with your friends, because if you go to a casino, you won't spot any fish at your table. You will be the fish. Remember that.Poker is a tough way to make an easy living.Finally, your 18. Keep poker as a hobby, and your parents should be content in knowing your not stealing anything more than the blinds.If you read a book you'll get jopkes like that.and that.J in Colo.

Umm.. No.. You have no clue what you're talking about. I'd say a 10-20 game in almost any major casino is as soft or softer as an online 2-4 or 3-6 game. The no limit games are even worse.

What casino are you playing at? I play at both and 10/20 @ a casion is a rock garden. Its a 2 chip game so the small looking pots slow down the action. I've never sat in a soft 10-20 at a B&M. Maybe one or two bad players, but the rest are rocks. On the contrary I've never sat in a 3/6 or 4/8 online that I thought was hard. Once you get up to middle limits B&M players tend to be better than you give them credit for. THese limits tend to be mainstays for retirees and 40 somethings who have been playing for years.

The Borgata. Many places in both Las Vegas and AC

[Socrates 0]

Well see, I just graduated from highschool in june, and Im going to college in about a month.  ive been trying to show them that it is a good thing. I have made about $300 from poker overall, and thats just from $10 buy in 7 person tournements, $60 to first, $10 to second. But the more important reason I need to convince them is that some kid from my town is willing to pay me $1,000 to go to the Turning Stone casino (The only one near CT that allows you to play at age 18) Hes just paying $1,000 for me and 3 other people to go there. He just wants 40-50% of "profits"  :wink:  Anyhow, they are not so sure about letting me go or not, because they think its a bad thing. Not only would it be my first experience in a casino, but it would all be free, and we would be playing an $85 buy in tournement, and a $50 buy in shootout tournement.

Your 18 years old, why are your parents not letting you go. You are an adult no son, and if you can't decide to go on a weekend trip on your own you definitely shouldn't be making long-term life decisions right now.Oh, and it's nice that you've made $300 playing poker, but you would need to make more than double that per week to support yourself.If a guy wants to "give" you a grand to play at Tunica, go and play with it. Have a good time and see what happens. Then, in the fall go off to college and find some home games, play online, and build up your BR while getting an education.

This is a good point. If you're 18, why are you not out on your own, do you play your own bills? If so, what bills do you pay so we can floow that up with a list of bills that you'll need to deal with once mommy and daddy stop claiming you as a dependent.

[potpumper43 0]

You aren't going to convince your parents that poker is good. I've been playing full time for a year and a half and I'm not convinced myself that it's good! Full time poker can be an extremely boring and frustrating gig. Yeah you can make good money (most people don't), but not much different than you can at a "real" job (if you have a skill/education). Plus if it doesn't work out have fun explaining the holes in your work history to prospective employers ("I was a professional gambler!"), and hearing endless "I told you so" from your parents.

[Sushiman 0]

You're 18, probably not all THAT good. You're going out of state to your first casino to gamble with a reasonably large amount of some stranger's money. If you were my kid I wouldn't let you go either.

[RMac 0]

Yeah honestly, they hate it, and its not "asian", and they think I'm going to drop out of school and become a raging alcoholic/gambler even though I'm pulling 90's-until I got cheques sent home!

cheques.....hahaShe said "cheques" but it's checks. Canadians have a funny language.

[nutzbuster 7]

I've been playing for 18 years, am 45 years old, married (my wife owns her own hair salon and brings in close to $75K) and I still work($80K salary) and I actually came in on the plus side 33K in poker winnings last year...and guess what???I STILL get crap for playing! But I am in a position to tell my critics to all get bent. I have EARNED the right to enjoy this hobby/sport/pastime. It took me years to get here and I dare say it should take you some time too. And realize you may NEVER get there. Can you handle that?If so my advice is stay in school at all costs. Play for free on-line. Read all that you can. Graduate, get a good job, and set up a seperate poker bankroll svings account. When you have saved up a $3000 bankroll, go see if you can turn it into $30K. If you can, you may be on your way to something....maybe. And forget about trying to convince Mom and Dad. Period. Wait until you are an adult with a degree and then do your thing responsibly.and NEVER play with food and rent money!No free lunches in real life kid. Good luck......

[Socrates 0]

I've been playing for 18 years, am 45 years old, married (my wife owns her own hair salon and brings in close to $75K) and I still work($80K salary) and I actually came in on the plus side 33K in poker winnings last year...and guess what???I STILL get crap for playing! But I am in a position to tell my critics to all get bent. I have EARNED the right to enjoy this hobby/sport/pastime. It took me years to get here and I dare say it should take you some time too. And realize you may NEVER get there. Can you handle that?If so my advice is stay in school at all costs. Play for free on-line. Read all that you can. Graduate, get a good job, and set up a seperate poker bankroll svings account. When you have saved up a $3000 bankroll, go see if you can turn it into $30K. If you can, you may be on your way to something....maybe. And forget about trying to convince Mom and Dad. Period. Wait until you are an adult with a degree and then do your thing responsibly.and NEVER play with food and rent money!No free lunches in real life kid. Good luck......

Nice read. I can already see the kids going "$33K - I could live off that!" - not so young grasshoppers. Maybe $75K / by yourself (poker money excluded). Read and listen to what he is telling you.

[Jeepster80125 0]

Sum,Tell me how many 18 year olds that can afford 300 BB at 5-10 or 10-20 blinds? Umm.. No.. You have no clue what you're talking about. I'd say a 10-20 game in almost any major casino is as soft or softer as an online 2-4 or 3-6 game. The no limit games are even worse.Are you serious? It's July, not April first...JP.S. I'd like the input big shooter.