LoR from professional poker player Forum

[JesusChrist]

Just to get this out of the way: I have letters from professors, but I thought that my application could use an exciting wildcard LoR.

He's a pretty good poker player, not ranked by any means but makes a very good living playing poker for hours at a time. We've played at the same table and he has a pretty good opinion of me. And honestly, I think he knows my abilities and talents better than most professors. Anyways, how do you think ADCOMs would look at this? I know that gambling is a bit frowned upon by society so will this make me undesirable to law schools?

[TheThriller]

Just to get this out of the way: I have letters from professors, but I thought that my application could use an exciting wildcard LoR.

He's a pretty good poker player, not ranked by any means but makes a very good living playing poker for hours at a time. We've played at the same table and he has a pretty good opinion of me. And honestly, I think he knows my abilities and talents better than most professors. Anyways, how do you think ADCOMs would look at this? I know that gambling is a bit frowned upon by society so will this make me undesirable to law schools?

I was going to write my PS on how I played poker to fund my schooling but the general consensus I got was that, even though to you and I we are doing business, calculating odds, the general public perceives this as gambling (and gambling is a negative character attribute).

However, an LOR may be a different story. But only if poker has been your profession since UG graduation, and even then, I would only highlight this if you were actually a solid player (WSOP/WPT final table appearances).

[JesusChrist]

However, an LOR may be a different story. But only if poker has been your profession since UG graduation, and even then, I would only highlight this if you were actually a solid player (WSOP/WPT final table appearances).

Nothing even close to that. But a small reason for that is because I never went at it full time, the way you have to if you want to be great. But I was good enough that I didn't mind sitting at tables with pots the size of my annual income.

[rglifberg]

Dude, definitely don't get a LoR from a fellow poker player. I play poker quite a bit and I get where you're coming from, but no, I can't imagine any way a poker player's recommendation for law school would be helpful for an adcomm.

[dextermorgan]

123

[RitzRather]

Do you know anything more about this players background? Perhaps he is a Yale graduate?

[suzige]

Just to get this out of the way: I have letters from professors, but I thought that my application could use an exciting wildcard LoR.

He's a pretty good poker player, not ranked by any means but makes a very good living playing poker for hours at a time. We've played at the same table and he has a pretty good opinion of me. And honestly, I think he knows my abilities and talents better than most professors. Anyways, how do you think ADCOMs would look at this? I know that gambling is a bit frowned upon by society so will this make me undesirable to law schools?

I know poker playing at a high skill level is respected by a lot of guys in trading and math-related fields and such...not sure how it will come off to law folks though... I'd hate for you to submit it and get tossed aside by somebody who hates gambling, even scratch-off cards. Does this person know you well beyond the poker table? What does he do (besides poker) that might give him some credibility?

[Ti Malice]

Just no.

[vman21]

d[-.-]b