poker to pay tuition?

[adam73180]

Anyone else trying to pay the bills with poker during med school?
If so, please PM me.

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[JohnBasedow]

Try donating sperm, it's a little more of a sure thing. You can claim you're of above average intelligence since you're a med student, thus increasing the chances of them wanting your goods.

 

[fun8stuff]

Anyone else trying to pay the bills with poker during med school?
If so, please PM me.

lol, you must be kidding

 

[randomlogik]

I heard about a guy in my class that supposedly won a lot of money playing poker online. I suppose if you think that you can actually be good, it might work. Personally, if I tried it I would probably just lose all my money.

 

[Wrigleyville]

There is an M1 here that makes about $40,000 a year playing online. Imagine what he could make if he didn't have to waste time studying?

 

[Hallm_7]

I've got friends that made a couple thousand online this summer, but I also have a couple of friends that lost money the same way. I've quickly come to realize that while poker is a game of chance in the short term, it is a game a skill and practice over the long-term.

 

[katrinadams9]

I don't know about using poker to pay for tuition, but it's a fun way to spend your free time. My fiance and his pals play poker every Monday night. The last time I played I won $100 and the time before that I won $60. I'm just a beginner, so I'm really not all that good yet. If you're really good at poker, you could make a lot of extra spending cash... probably not enough to pay tuition. Remember, the schools all give you lots of money in loans.

 

[guarana]

there was an interesting article about this yesterday in the new york times:

http://www.nytimes.com/2005/03/14/education/14gamble.html

i would love to win enough money to pay my tuition. unfortunately, the odds against that are about as high as my loans right now......

 

[adam73180]

there was an interesting article about this yesterday in the new york times:

http://www.nytimes.com/2005/03/14/education/14gamble.html

i would love to win enough money to pay my tuition. unfortunately, the odds against that are about as high as my loans right now......

Yeah I just saw that article here's another link

http://news.com.com/Online+poker+beats+the+college+grind/2100-1024_3-5616216.html

It's definitely possible to do, but it's not easy either.
Kind of surprised not that many on here are doing it. Again if you are, PM me, or reply here.

 

[adam73180]

There is an M1 here that makes about $40,000 a year playing online. Imagine what he could make if he didn't have to waste time studying?

M1 at your school or on SDN?

 

[Haybrant]

how long does it take to get good enough to roll in the dough like this? Ive got a good 5.5 months before I start med school; tho i work full time and do other things, is that enough time to get good enough? or have these foolios been playing for years?

 

[Wrigleyville]

M1 at your school or on SDN?

At my school.

 

[dalo0228]

It will take >1.5 years of practice and frustration. I wouldn't advise anybody to start unless they've already been playing at a high level for at least a couple of years. I've been playing in casinos for 5.5 years.

 

[Law2Doc]

Anyone else trying to pay the bills with poker during med school?
If so, please PM me.

I know someone who tried to finance undergrad (via casinos) this way. He did quite well for a while, but ultimately ended up losing his entire tuition, room and board. He lives at home now...

 

[racerx]

The "Van Wilder" method always worked better for me.

 

[adam73180]

how long does it take to get good enough to roll in the dough like this? Ive got a good 5.5 months before I start med school; tho i work full time and do other things, is that enough time to get good enough? or have these foolios been playing for years?

I think it all depends on your aptitude, risk profile, levelheadedness, and willingness.

If you want an idea of the "minimum time", some professionals have progressed their game to an astoundingly high level in less than a year.

I don't think you should rule out the idea that people play poker for reasons other than money. It is certainly one of the growing American pasttimes. The upside is that it could become something profitable.

 

[adam73180]

At my school.

Could you direct him/her to this forum or PM me his/her e-mail?

 

[JAMMAN]

Anyone else trying to pay the bills with poker during med school?
If so, please PM me.

I saw that movie...it's called ROUNDERS

 

[Kazema]

I'm sure it's possible. But unless you have a pretty sizeable bankroll to start with (and if so, why not use it to pay tuition?) you're looking at spending a LOT of time in low-limit games. I'd personally be more worried about spending too much time playing than losing all my money.

 

[stoshic]

I think you've watched Rounders too many times...

 

[soudes]

i am a surgical intern, an i have made, on average, over $1000 per month the last 3 months playing online.

it can be done, but you must be good, and you must be careful

 

[pravinshaw]

Anyone else trying to pay the bills with poker during med school?
If so, please PM me.

actually i've made alot out here... being in medical school doesn't really allow me to "work" for money because of time constraints... however i do work at the school's library and use the salary i get from that to gamble... poker, craps, and the sportsbook are the way to go, DO NOT gamble on any of the other games because the house (casino) has too much control and the odds are always in their favor... I've been payin my rent and even got my new 19 inch rims from my winnings and itz been goin well, just make sure you regulate yourself (2 weeks on playin poker, then 2 weeks off) this way you will not go on TILT and as far as sports, those parlay bets pay out real good.

AIM - PerveeZy83

msg me if you need any tips

 

[lemonlite]

I've a friend in law school that essentially cannot study without playing poker (online) at the same time. I guess that's what happens when you have to study law.
Also, my father (a PhD economist) has taken to playing poker online fairly obsessivley. Niether of them (both quite intellegent) seem to be making the kind of cash that would fund med school tuition, but niether seems to be losing money either.
If you like poker, perhaps you should try it out - but don't expect to be making ten grand a month - that seems pretty steep.

 

[lemonlite]

ah,

I just re-read a previous post: a grand a month does seem feasible. - But jesus, it would take a lot of time. One could consider augmenting their booze fund rather than school with a more rational scenario.

 

[coachB]

actually i've made alot out here... being in medical school doesn't really allow me to "work" for money because of time constraints... however i do work at the school's library and use the salary i get from that to gamble... poker, craps, and the sportsbook are the way to go, DO NOT gamble on any of the other games because the house (casino) has too much control and the odds are always in their favor... I've been payin my rent and even got my new 19 inch rims from my winnings and itz been goin well, just make sure you regulate yourself (2 weeks on playin poker, then 2 weeks off) this way you will not go on TILT and as far as sports, those parlay bets pay out real good.

AIM - PerveeZy83

msg me if you need any tips

i hope this is a joke.

if not, you just managed to reccommend a couple sure fire ways to lose.

house has a fixed edge in craps, unless you know how to manipulate the toss.

parlay bets are usually among the worst at the sports book.

good luck, you'll need it.

 

[Direct Laryngoscopy]

It defintely can be done but it takes time which you might not have in med school (If you don't want to struggle), you have to be patient, and probably most important (in combination with the oter two, you should play the bigger stakes ($10-20, 15-30). This lowers your chances of bad beats from bad poker players who chase down with 7-deuce off suit.

 

[kaikai128]

actually i've made alot out here... being in medical school doesn't really allow me to "work" for money because of time constraints... however i do work at the school's library and use the salary i get from that to gamble... poker, craps, and the sportsbook are the way to go, DO NOT gamble on any of the other games because the house (casino) has too much control and the odds are always in their favor... I've been payin my rent and even got my new 19 inch rims from my winnings and itz been goin well, just make sure you regulate yourself (2 weeks on playin poker, then 2 weeks off) this way you will not go on TILT and as far as sports, those parlay bets pay out real good.

AIM - PerveeZy83

msg me if you need any tips

I always thought that blackjack had the best player odds. Supposedly if you watch the rules at specific tables you can even get a slight player advantage.

 

[j-snake]

Rumor is that someone in my class made 30K last year playing online poker. . .still not enough to cover the tuition.

 

[pravinshaw]

I always thought that blackjack had the best player odds. Supposedly if you watch the rules at specific tables you can even get a slight player advantage.

in blackjack your money goes to quickly... the odds are only in your favor if you 'hit and run'.. the longer your play the more the odds even out giving the house their juice... the thing with blackjack if you get a run of bad cards then you lose all your money in a couple minutes. poker on the other hand, at least you'll be playin a while before your pockets go empty (worse case senario). Thas why i try to avoid blackjack...

 

[pravinshaw]

i hope this is a joke.
if not, you just managed to reccommend a couple sure fire ways to lose.
house has a fixed edge in craps, unless you know how to manipulate the toss.
parlay bets are usually among the worst at the sports book.
good luck, you'll need it.

your the joke =P heh (jus kiddin)
i guess i can agree to a certain extent on the craps (all thought the house favorite is less than other games), but sportsbook!?!?!?!? you can bet $5 on a parlay and come out a couple hundred, i've one those countless times, you just hafta know a thing or two about sports... and itz low risk because you only need to dish out 5-10 dollars... if you know what your doing, you can come out pretty good... itz a good thing you didnt mention poker because you obviosly have no idea what your talking about

 

[coachB]

your the joke =P heh (jus kiddin)
i guess i can agree to a certain extent on the craps (all thought the house favorite is less than other games), but sportsbook!?!?!?!? you can bet $5 on a parlay and come out a couple hundred, i've one those countless times, you just hafta know a thing or two about sports... and itz low risk because you only need to dish out 5-10 dollars... if you know what your doing, you can come out pretty good... itz a good thing you didnt mention poker because you obviosly have no idea what your talking about

house edge in craps is less than most other games depending on what bets you play. the "fancier" ones are a lot worse for the player.

blackjack is a beatable game if you can count cards. and if you just play basic strategy, the house edge is much less than craps, but you will still lose in the long run.

you are right, you can win at the sportsbook. but if you're playing parlays, then you're probably not a winning player in the long run, just lucky. as i said, house has a much bigger edge on those. no skilled sports bettor plays them.

so is a lottery ticket low risk because it only costs a dollar and you can win millions?

yes, you can win at poker if you're good. but it takes a lot of experience and a serious bankroll.

guys like you are casinos' dreams.

 

[Law2Doc]

in blackjack your money goes to quickly... the odds are only in your favor if you 'hit and run'.. the longer your play the more the odds even out giving the house their juice... the thing with blackjack if you get a run of bad cards then you lose all your money in a couple minutes. poker on the other hand, at least you'll be playin a while before your pockets go empty (worse case senario). Thas why i try to avoid blackjack...

This is just wrong. If you can count cards, then the longer you can play before they reshuffle, the better your odds can potentially be. In fact, blackjack is one of the few games where your odds of winning can be better than 50%, but only if you can keep a count. The reason the odds in blackjack are always going to be better than in a game such as craps is that each subsequent hand in blackjack is affected by the prior hand -- there is a history, and so the ability to keep a tally on what already happened can give you an edge. No such ability works in the truer games of chance such as craps or roulette, where each roll of the dice or wheel is a mathematically independent event. But to suceed in blackjack you have to keep a basic count, and really need to be smart enough to get out when the count goes bad. For example, if the beginning of the deck is heavilly stacked with low (non-face) cards, the odds of the dealer busting go up dramatically and so your odds actually improve over time. By contrast, if the beginning of the deck is heavilly stacked with high cards, then once you have seen many of them, the odds of the dealer busting goes down, and it is time to step aside until the reshuffle.
That being said, lots of smart people with "foolproof systems" lose their cash at casinos and online each year. Casinos are in that business for a reason -- they set the rules so that they win most of the time and over time. I wouldn't put a lot of stock in people who expect to pay for a medical education at the tables.

 

[adam73180]

I'm sure it's possible. But unless you have a pretty sizeable bankroll to start with (and if so, why not use it to pay tuition?) you're looking at spending a LOT of time in low-limit games. I'd personally be more worried about spending too much time playing than losing all my money.

Yes, you're right. Definitely possible, but noone said it'd be easy. If you do have a decent bankroll for games that you can make some money in, it might be a better idea to use that as an income stream to pay for and continue to pay for school rather than pay for as much as you can right now, take loans, and have no income while in school. Very insightful, time is obviously the biggest constraint of any medical school student. Have you ever delved into the idea?

i am a surgical intern, an i have made, on average, over $1000 per month the last 3 months playing online.

it can be done, but you must be good, and you must be careful

soudes you are in a first year surgical resident? Just curious, what is your free time like, how much time do you have for poker, what stakes/games are you playing, where?

actually i've made alot out here... being in medical school doesn't really allow me to "work" for money because of time constraints... however i do work at the school's library and use the salary i get from that to gamble... poker, craps, and the sportsbook are the way to go, DO NOT gamble on any of the other games because the house (casino) has too much control and the odds are always in their favor... I've been payin my rent and even got my new 19 inch rims from my winnings and itz been goin well, just make sure you regulate yourself (2 weeks on playin poker, then 2 weeks off) this way you will not go on TILT and as far as sports, those parlay bets pay out real good.

AIM - PerveeZy83

msg me if you need any tips

What is your poker schedule like? How much time do you spend playing? Games, stakes? Live or online?

I've a friend in law school that essentially cannot study without playing poker (online) at the same time. I guess that's what happens when you have to study law.
Also, my father (a PhD economist) has taken to playing poker online fairly obsessivley. Niether of them (both quite intellegent) seem to be making the kind of cash that would fund med school tuition, but niether seems to be losing money either.
If you like poker, perhaps you should try it out - but don't expect to be making ten grand a month - that seems pretty steep.

I just re-read a previous post: a grand a month does seem feasible. - But jesus, it would take a lot of time. One could consider augmenting their booze fund rather than school with a more rational scenario.

Lemon, I have friends who study and play at the same time too... guess that's the ultimate case of studying hard vs. hardly studying.
You might be surprised though someone earlier mentioned a classmate making 30k/yr. It might not be tuition but it's running close.

It defintely can be done but it takes time which you might not have in med school (If you don't want to struggle), you have to be patient, and probably most important (in combination with the oter two, you should play the bigger stakes ($10-20, 15-30). This lowers your chances of bad beats from bad poker players who chase down with 7-deuce off suit.

dpoke1, do you have any experiences to share about $10-20, $15-30, or bad players chasing you down with 7-deuce off?

 

[OB1🤙]

My thoughts:

Myself and a few others in our class make quite a bit of money playing poker online. We play 4 tables and study at the same time, your mileage may vary doing this. The most important thing you can do is read every book you can get your hands on (especially the ones by Sklansky and Malmuth), learn the math and psychology behind the game, and play a lot.

To anyone who would rather play higher stakes so that people don't chase you down with junk: you don't fully understand the game. You want people to call you down with junk, it's how you make money. Sure, it's frustrating to lose to some miracle river, but in the long run, you make money this way.

Re: other gambling games, if you're really good, you could probably make money at the sportsbook, but certainly not with parlays. If you're an expert card counter at an ideal table you can make money at blackjack, but I doubt anybody reading this would qualify. Playing craps for anything other than drunken entertainment is wrong- you can never overcome the house edge in that or any other casino game (with the possible exception of video poker).

Good luck at the tables.

 

[Direct Laryngoscopy]

My thoughts:

Myself and a few others in our class make quite a bit of money playing poker online. We play 4 tables and study at the same time, your mileage may vary doing this. The most important thing you can do is read every book you can get your hands on (especially the ones by Sklansky and Malmuth), learn the math and psychology behind the game, and play a lot.

To anyone who would rather play higher stakes so that people don't chase you down with junk: you don't fully understand the game. You want people to call you down with junk, it's how you make money. Sure, it's frustrating to lose to some miracle river, but in the long run, you make money this way.

Re: other gambling games, if you're really good, you could probably make money at the sportsbook, but certainly not with parlays. If you're an expert card counter at an ideal table you can make money at blackjack, but I doubt anybody reading this would qualify. Playing craps for anything other than drunken entertainment is wrong- you can never overcome the house edge in that or any other casino game (with the possible exception of video poker).

Good luck at the tables.

Disagree. When you have pocket AA,KK,QQ you don't want 8 people calling your raise. Statiscally, your chances at winning the hands go down. When your strong you want less paople to chase you down so you don't lose to that miracle river

 

[OB1🤙]

Disagree. When you have pocket AA,KK,QQ you don't want 8 people calling your raise. Statiscally, your chances at winning the hands go down. When your strong you want less paople to chase you down so you don't lose to that miracle river

This is actually very wrong, and here's an example to show why.

Say I was dealt AA 100 times, and every one of those times, I went all in before the flop, and got called by all 9 of my opponents with whatever random hands they had. Say all 10 of us start with $100 before each of these deals.

You're right that I would lose most of the time. My aces would only hold up 30% of the time. But everytime they held up, I'd gain $900. Everytime I lost, I'd lose my $100. 30($900)-70($100)=$20,000 worth of profit.

In other words, when nobody respects your raises, be happy, because the pots you'll win will be larger, even though you'll win them less frequently. You'll make more money in the long run.

 

[Flobber]

This is actually very wrong, and here's an example to show why.

Say I was dealt AA 100 times, and every one of those times, I went all in before the flop, and got called by all 9 of my opponents with whatever random hands they had. Say all 10 of us start with $100 before each of these deals.

You're right that I would lose most of the time. My aces would only hold up 30% of the time. But everytime they held up, I'd gain $900. Everytime I lost, I'd lose my $100. 30($900)-70($100)=$20,000 worth of profit.

In other words, when nobody respects your raises, be happy, because the pots you'll win will be larger, even though you'll win them less frequently. You'll make more money in the long run.

Well, at least you used a realistic situation to explain your point.

IMO, there isn't a medical student in the world that can take out the time it would take to make a living from poker and still handle school. I'm going to venture to say that no one on this thread, or in the world, can sit down for 1 hour a night and consistently win enough to support themselves, especially on the internet. A lot of people play online poker "professionally". Most of them need to use that time for Gamblers' Anonymous.

The level of play on the internet is so atrocious that its bordering on blasphemy. No amount of skill is going to swath through that level of stupidity. If you play super, super, super tight you'll most likely end up winning a bit. That's it. No free rides folks; stick to paying back your loans the old fashioned way: over many, many years.

Now you may resume telling us why you're awesome at poker...

 

[Flobber]

I'd like to add another reason why I think even entertaining this notion is almost certainly a terrible idea:

Poker is unlike just about any other competitive activity in that it requires no minimum skill level and now, with the advent of internet poker, absolutely no physical barriers to overcome (e.g. a drive to the casino). Any idiot can sit down and play poker online. Now, the problem. Every single one of those idiots, and I include myself and anyone else responding in this thread, thinks that they are very good, or at least COULD be very good. Next problem: every single aforementioned idiot has some reference play in his/her head where they made some magnanimous bluff or caught some miracle river as "evidence" of their greatness. There is literally no exogenous control mechanism for internet poker players. No perceived penalty for stupid play except the little electronic chips moving to someone else's stack. Nobody to look in the eye before engaging in a costly and foolish chase. The only thing an online poker play can look to to moderate their play is their own self-control. Speaking to an audience of medical students who all, almost by definition, have addictive personalities... does that sound safe?

I'm going to pre-empt the question that is going to be asked: then why do I play poker? Like I said, addictive personalities... and I actually AM very good .

 

[MiguelSanchez]

I imagine that, with a sufficient bankroll, it would certainly be possible to play poker to at least make up a large chunk of tuition. A decent player could play 4-8 tables of 5/10 limit and win 1 big bet/100 hands. At around 2 hours a day, this would probably be 25-40K/year. Being limit poker, you reduce variance and limit the chance of going broke. It also facilitates playing multiple tables, since with the right tools you can have all the reads you need on your opponents. I don't have the bankroll to do it but I do make a nice amount on the side at 2/4 which helps offset the costs of school.

I'm sure that at least in the preclinical years plenty of people could spare two hours each day. In fact, doing something other than studying actually might make your grades better.

 

[Flobber]

I imagine that, with a sufficient bankroll, it would certainly be possible to play poker to at least make up a large chunk of tuition. A decent player could play 4-8 tables of 5/10 limit and win 1 big bet/100 hands. At around 2 hours a day, this would probably be 25-40K/year. Being limit poker, you reduce variance and limit the chance of going broke. It also facilitates playing multiple tables, since with the right tools you can have all the reads you need on your opponents. I don't have the bankroll to do it but I do make a nice amount on the side at 2/4 which helps offset the costs of school.

I'm sure that at least in the preclinical years plenty of people could spare two hours each day. In fact, doing something other than studying actually might make your grades better.

Do you REALLY think its all that simple to make 25-40k a year? By your logic, unemployed people should stay unemployed and just play poker online for 8 hours a day. What's that, about 100-160k/yr? Not bad...

 

[velo]

I know a guy who earns a ****load playing poker while in med school, but he's extremely talented, not recommended for your average joe.

 

[MiguelSanchez]

Do you REALLY think its all that simple to make 25-40k a year? By your logic, unemployed people should stay unemployed and just play poker online for 8 hours a day. What's that, about 100-160k/yr? Not bad...

No, I don't think it is all that simple. It requires decent poker skills (I said a decent player, not a decently intelligent individual) and a large bankroll. At 5/10 blinds you'd probably need about a $5k bankroll to be safe, probably more with that many tables. Unemployed people do not generally have $5k laying around, let alone a fast enough computer to handle the poker software and any supporting software to maintain stats on opponents or an internet connection to handle the load. Most probably could not handle playing 8 tables of poker for 8 hours a day; they are likely unemployed for a reason that isn't conducive to playing that much winning poker. Most do not have the patience to learn the game, or possibly even the intelligence to calculate odds quickly enough. In fact, I would assume that someone unemployed would be too interested in hitting the jackpot, play a bunch of no-limit poker and bust out within a few weeks. Of course, 95% of that money goes to other players.

The biggest thing is the bankroll though. Without an infinite bankroll, poker is a $0 expected value game, because if you play an infinitely long time you will go broke, and once you do you are stuck there. But, for the few thousand hours that you spend over the course of four years, a decent player is not going to lose a bankroll sufficiently large to accomodate likely variance.

Can you back up your sarcasm implying that it is really that hard? I'm in school to learn (which is why I don't get all pissy about studying, like many on this board do) but I also enjoy playing poker and using my mathematical and analytical skills (something seemingly taboo in medical schools). I believe that at least some medical students still have these skills and could use them. Do you not think that the average medical student would have more skill than a large majority of the 70,000 players on PartyPoker each night (about 15% of which seem to be old, drunk men just looking to play for fun and not caring about losing some money)? That they couldn't read a book or two, learn to maximize expected value, and play enough hands such that variance would be minimized? We're not talking about playing for food and shelter; rather, using some seed money that most future MD's can afford to gamble with and try to save some money down the road.

I started out a few months ago with a promotion for a free $100 dollars. I had only played in a few home games until then, but had a decent understanding of the odds. Bankroll growth was slow for a while as I relied on bonuses paid by the casinos, but I've since cashed out about $300 and still have about $1k in my bankroll (growing unsteadily, but at an increasing rate), to go along with some toys I bought along the way. I'm no poker genius, but I'm learning by reading some books, and now can sustain a pretty decent win rate. I play sometimes when I don't need to study, and as a break to my studying, probably less than 5 hours a week. And, if anyone is interested in the $100 free promo (no credit card is required) shoot me a PM, we'll both benefit.

 

[adam73180]

I imagine that, with a sufficient bankroll, it would certainly be possible to play poker to at least make up a large chunk of tuition. A decent player could play 4-8 tables of 5/10 limit and win 1 big bet/100 hands. At around 2 hours a day, this would probably be 25-40K/year. Being limit poker, you reduce variance and limit the chance of going broke. It also facilitates playing multiple tables, since with the right tools you can have all the reads you need on your opponents. I don't have the bankroll to do it but I do make a nice amount on the side at 2/4 which helps offset the costs of school.

I'm sure that at least in the preclinical years plenty of people could spare two hours each day. In fact, doing something other than studying actually might make your grades better.

How much poker do you play? How much do you make a week? What kind of toys have you bought? Have you put any towards tuition?
How do you manage your time?

 

[MiguelSanchez]

How much poker do you play? How much do you make a week? What kind of toys have you bought? Have you put any towards tuition?
How do you manage your time?

I'll usually play when I'm bored watching TV or something, and usually when I don't have tests coming up for at least a week. Sometimes I'll take an hour off while studying and play some poker. But I do know how to put it away and study when I need to.

I've made somewhere between $1-2K from casino bonuses and actual winnings. In terms of per week, I don't know, but I currently make about $10 per 100 hands I play, and I can play about 50 hands per hour on each table, 4 tables at a time. So it's about $20 an hour of playing, but it varies greatly.

I also sign up with casinos through an affiliate program that gives me bonuses (again, PM me if you want info on any promotions like the free $100) so I've gotten an iPod, poker chips, some Amazon gift certificates (bought a bunch of board review books with them), eBay gift certificates, and paid for a second LCD monitor.

I haven't directly put money directly toward tuition but I did use some to pay bills when money ran tight and I was waiting for my financial aid to come in. I don't have the seed money nor the interest to play enough to significantly pay tuition, but an extra few hundred dollars a month doesn't hurt, especially since I can get it by doing something I enjoy right at home.