. Forum

[TheFactor]

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[northwood]

True- but if the sites arent going to be open- will that hinder your earnings? Or are you a good enough poker player to hold your own in a casino ( not being snarky or anything)?

[TheFactor]

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[Zabini]

Such a disgusting situation right now. I'm friends with a few mid-high MTT regs, feel horrible for all you guys with a bunch of cash tied up online. Hopefully this all gets resolved quickly, best of luck.

[TheFactor]

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[powerlawyer06]

Remember when I was said:

If you do mention poker in your application, resume, or personal statement do not mention "online". Professional poker is a sketchy profession already but "online" takes away all credibility. Most online poker sites are offshore and many of the players don't report their earnings. Tread carefully when mentioning this.

This might be the layman's view of poker, but in reality it doesn't make much sense. Playing online poker in the United States is not illegal and it's actually much easier to get away with not paying taxes if you don't play online.

I think most adcomms will see it as questionable at best and illegal at worst.

The only thing that the UIGEA does is (1) make it illegal for internet poker sites to operate in the United States (2) prevent U.S. banks from accepting money from offshore poker sites. All deposits and withdrawals are done through third-parties, making it perfectly legal under this law. There are millions of Americans who play online poker and thousands who make a living doing it.

http://abcnews.go.com/Business/story?id=7808131

http://online.wsj.com/article/SB124459561862800591.html

The feds or at least the SDNY Attorney's Office (where many TLS users would love to work) seem to think that this act alone makes online poker illegal. The courts definitely need to rule on this but why risk it?

The law is very clear and unambiguous, which is why these cases went nowhere. Stop citing two-year-old articles.

Do you want me to post a more current article or do you see what I mean now?

[Richie Tenenbaum]

Remember when I was said:

If you do mention poker in your application, resume, or personal statement do not mention "online". Professional poker is a sketchy profession already but "online" takes away all credibility. Most online poker sites are offshore and many of the players don't report their earnings. Tread carefully when mentioning this.

This might be the layman's view of poker, but in reality it doesn't make much sense. Playing online poker in the United States is not illegal and it's actually much easier to get away with not paying taxes if you don't play online.

I think most adcomms will see it as questionable at best and illegal at worst.

The only thing that the UIGEA does is (1) make it illegal for internet poker sites to operate in the United States (2) prevent U.S. banks from accepting money from offshore poker sites. All deposits and withdrawals are done through third-parties, making it perfectly legal under this law. There are millions of Americans who play online poker and thousands who make a living doing it.

http://abcnews.go.com/Business/story?id=7808131

http://online.wsj.com/article/SB124459561862800591.html

The feds or at least the SDNY Attorney's Office (where many TLS users would love to work) seem to think that this act alone makes online poker illegal. The courts definitely need to rule on this but why risk it?

The law is very clear and unambiguous, which is why these cases went nowhere. Stop citing two-year-old articles.

Do you want me to post a more current article or do you see what I mean now?

Could you try harder to be more of a douche? You're doing a pretty good job right now, but with a little more effort you could be:


Be content with being right. No need to rub it in someone's face.

[tarp]

I have a better option for you. Option C - move to a country that respects the rights of its citizens. The U.S. has gone way downhill. Law school will open your eyes to the fact that our courts have made it their mission to twist the law into interpretations that increase the power of the government at the expense of the people. You should consider a move to the UK, Canada, or Australia... and keep playing online poker.

[TheFactor]

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[d34d9823]

Do you want me to post a more current article or do you see what I mean now?

Dude, you are like the hugest douche on this site. Please go fuck yourself and die in a fire. Thanks.

[powerlawyer06]

Do you want me to post a more current article or do you see what I mean now?

Dude, you are like the hugest douche on this site. Please go fuck yourself and die in a fire. Thanks.

I admit my post was a little rude. And what happened to OP's money really sucks. I was just trying to obviate that I was correct about the federal government considering online poker (specifically the transfer of money involved) a crime.

However, this last post was way over the top. Die in a fire? Really? You don't know me and you weren't involved in the original conversation so why post something like that?

[Richie Tenenbaum]

Do you want me to post a more current article or do you see what I mean now?

Dude, you are like the hugest douche on this site. Please go fuck yourself and die in a fire. Thanks.

I admit my post was a little rude. And what happened to OP's money really sucks. I was just trying to obviate that I was correct about the federal government considering online poker (specifically the transfer of money involved) a crime.

However, this last post was way over the top. Die in a fire? Really? You don't know me and you weren't involved in the original conversation so why post something like that?

You just need to develop greater social awareness. Most people have learned that they don't need to point out they were correct in obvious situations like this by the time they hit double digits in years. People will only resent you for pointing it out.

Also- using words like obviate will not help improve your reputation as a douche. It probably makes it worse that you didn't even use it correctly.

[smittytron3k]

OP, i played midstakes live LHE (15/30-40/80) in the year between UG and LS and live games are incredibly, incredibly soft. assuming you can get your money off of the internet, i think that live poker is probably your best bet if you have a decent cardroom nearby. fwiw i never put it on my resume but i've mentioned it to some people at my LS and they all seem to think it's cool and not really shady at all.

[HamDel]

This girl at YLS plays professionally and won $750,000. I don't think anyone sees it as shady, it's perfectly legal and actually probably indicates some great skills for a lawyer to possess like patience and a good poker face.

http://abovethelaw.com/tag/vanessa-selbst/

[Emma1]

It is one thing to like to play poker, it's another to do it for a living for 2 years. I dont know what the ad comms will think but as an employer I would worry about addiction problems. I would just go to law school now

[Kabuo]

It is one thing to like to play poker, it's another to do it for a living for 2 years. I dont know what the ad comms will think but as an employer I would worry about addiction problems. I would just go to law school now

Just goes to show how uninformed they are. I know a couple pros, and let me assure you that none of them are the least bit addicted to poker. They mostly struggle to not hate it, mostly.

[northwood]

if you can keep it as your job- and are able to make money at it- then its not an addiction.

If you find yourself making bets for no good reason other than to make them- then perhaps its an addiction.

Can you walk away and be a productive member of society? If so then you will be fine. I personally see this in the view of a person forgoing college to pursue a career as a baseball player. They are obviously talented enough to get signed, and may not make it to the big leagues. However, there is nothing wrong with putting your life on hold to chase your dream. If you reallly want to play poker for another year- then do it. Once you start law school i dont think there will be enough time to allow yourself to play as much as you want.

[Emma1]

Just remember that the people who will be looking at your law school apps and/or deciding whether to employ you or not are older than the TLS group and may have more conservative thoughts about gambling.

[Emma1]

It is one thing to like to play poker, it's another to do it for a living for 2 years. I dont know what the ad comms will think but as an employer I would worry about addiction problems. I would just go to law school now

Just goes to show how uninformed they are. I know a couple pros, and let me assure you that none of them are the least bit addicted to poker. They mostly struggle to not hate it, mostly.

Then why do they do it if they hate it?

[Ty Webb]

True- but if the sites arent going to be open- will that hinder your earnings? Or are you a good enough poker player to hold your own in a casino ( not being snarky or anything)?

Much easier to win playing live than it is playing online. The problem isn't being "good enough" to win live, it's that it's hard to play enough hands to be super profitable given how slow live poker is.

[chicubs88]

If you can cash-out your bankroll from PS, FT, and/or UB I would do that and if you still want to try poker, do as has already been suggested above and try live games. They are significantly weaker at lower stakes(largely because unlike online, talented pros aren't multi-tabling at lower stakes and you get causal players). Of course there is the obvious issue that you will want to relocate somewhere like Vegas, AC, Tunica, etc...where you have a bevy of cash games and tourneys to choose from. I highly doubt that law schools or future employers would look at this negatively. Finally, before you commit to poker keep in mind that the life of a regular poker pro grinding out a living at low stakes is far from glamorous. Plus, once it becomes a job/chore its not as fun.

[Ty Webb]

Do you want me to post a more current article or do you see what I mean now?

Dude, you are like the hugest douche on this site. Please go fuck yourself and die in a fire. Thanks.

I admit my post was a little rude. And what happened to OP's money really sucks. I was just trying to obviate that I was correct about the federal government considering online poker (specifically the transfer of money involved) a crime.

However, this last post was way over the top. Die in a fire? Really? You don't know me and you weren't involved in the original conversation so why post something like that?

Have you read the indictment?

You do realize that the poker sites are in trouble for bank fraud (i.e. deceiving banks by setting up fake transactions and a host of other things), right? Obviously the government wants to control the transfer of money for gambling purposes, but nothing in the laws makes playing poker online illegal (which is the original point you were making).

If the OP came here and said, "HEY GUYS, I'm running a poker site out of Costa Rica and I use Bank of America to take payments from 1,000s of American players! Should I use this to my advantage?", your point would be credited. As it stands, you come off as not understanding what's at issue, along with being a massive douchebag.

[Ty Webb]

It is one thing to like to play poker, it's another to do it for a living for 2 years. I dont know what the ad comms will think but as an employer I would worry about addiction problems. I would just go to law school now

Just goes to show how uninformed they are. I know a couple pros, and let me assure you that none of them are the least bit addicted to poker. They mostly struggle to not hate it, mostly.

Then why do they do it if they hate it?

You serious, Clark?

Because they make a shit-ton of money doing it.

[Zabini]

It is one thing to like to play poker, it's another to do it for a living for 2 years. I dont know what the ad comms will think but as an employer I would worry about addiction problems. I would just go to law school now

Just goes to show how uninformed they are. I know a couple pros, and let me assure you that none of them are the least bit addicted to poker. They mostly struggle to not hate it, mostly.

Then why do they do it if they hate it?

Because if they're good they can make heaps. Solid players who can mass multitable even at relatively low stakes can make 6 figures. They "hate it" because it can be a grind just like any other job, but its one that affords a much greater degree of flexibility and freedom than other similar-paying professions (like, for instance, being a Biglawyer).