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For all of undergrad, I have supported myself by playing online poker. I come from a low-income family (and mention this as part of my PS/diversity) and have not held what most would call a real job since high school. So I am unsure of whether or not to include this on my resume/mention it in my PS.

On one hand, I think a history of "gambling" could turn some schools off. On the other hand, I think it will look weird that I have no work experience and I'm spouting this story that I'm from a poor family etc. etc. Not to mention, playing online poker has definitely helped me develop a lot of useful skills (critical thinking, game theory, stress management, using psychology against opponents). I think it might be hard to convince adcomms of this though.

What does TLS think?

Did you claim your winnings? If not that might be an issue.

I probably would not put it on the resume, unless it was legitimately in a professional capacity - tours, live tournaments in a non-jai alai joint.

I've seen a couple threads about using this in a personal statement though - you may do a forum search for that.

NoodleyOne wrote:Did you claim your winnings? If not that might be an issue.

Yes I did.

justonemoregame wrote:I probably would not put it on the resume, unless it was legitimately in a professional capacity - tours, live tournaments in a non-jai alai joint.

I've seen a couple threads about using this in a personal statement though - you may do a forum search for that.

haha @ non-jai alai, but yeah this was sort of what I was thinking.

Are you just coming out of college? If so, I wouldn't worry about a lack of work experience on the resume. As for poker, the attitude towards it is way too negative to put it on a resume unless you have a WSOP bracelet or something.

Tiago Splitter wrote:Are you just coming out of college? If so, I wouldn't worry about a lack of work experience on the resume. As for poker, the attitude towards it is way too negative to put it on a resume unless you have a WSOP bracelet or something.

I am one year out. Yeah I originally didn't even think about including it, I think I was just getting a little apprehensive at how weak my resume looks.

I was told by TLS to not mention it at all. I grind out a few hundo 3/4 times a week killing cash games.

The perception is too negative for it to be beneficial unless as Tiago said, you hit the final table more then once at a WSOP or WPT. As for online play, stay far away from the fallout of that.

Honest question: Isn't online gambling still technically illegal? Would this cause a problem with C&F?

SemperLegal wrote:Honest question: Isn't online gambling still technically illegal? Would this cause a problem with C&F?

It's very ambiguous. Recent court rulings have declared poker as a game of skill which would make it legal. They never really went at the poker part of it anyways, the government instead made the bank transfers to the sites illegal.

Man I wish Stars was still around - I'd probably be grinding 15 Don windows right now, trying to be D.A.R.Y.L.

I know three professional poker players. Two are very well known. One was the top female & her brother was involved in a multi-million dollar deal that caught the feds attention. The third left LV for smaller venues. Don't mention this if you want to attend law school and become a member of a state bar. Legal or not everyone hates a gambler since they are high risk on the integrity scale.

CanadianWolf wrote:I know three professional poker players. Two are very well known. One was the top female & her brother was involved in a multi-million dollar deal that caught the feds attention. The third left LV for smaller venues. Don't mention this if you want to attend law school and become a member of a state bar. Legal or not everyone hates a gambler since they are high risk on the integrity scale.

Annie Duke and Howard Lederer?

Yes (their dad was a teacher/professor at what many consider the world's most prestigious boarding school). But I forget the other man's name (totally unrelated to the other two). He told me that he lasted about 8 years in Las Vegas as a professional poker player.

CanadianWolf wrote:Yes (their dad was a teacher/professor at what many consider the world's most prestigious boarding school). But I forget the other man's name (totally unrelated to the other two). He told me that he lasted about 8 years in Las Vegas as a professional poker player.

It's crazy how fast they went from the top of the poker world to the bottom.