Should I let my 18 year-old son follow his dream to become a professional poker player?
Absolutely not. Even if he does well playing online, it is very different than playing in person. Also, why does he need $5k to start? If he’s so great, he should be able to make $100 turn into $5k fairly easily by starting off in smaller games online. Personally, I would make him at least get a 2 year degree at a junior college. He can take business classes which will be useful to him no matter what he does in life. And there is no reason why he can’t play online poker after his studies are done. If he turns $100 into $5k, and so on, then let him try playing with live people and see how it goes. Bottom line, he’s 18 and will do as he pleases anyway. But you don’t have to enable him to throw his life away on the fantasy of being able to make a living playing poker. You can be emotionally supportive, while not being a financial backer for his idea. He needs to know that $5k is not easy to come by, and obviously he doesn’t if he is asking you to lend him that kind of money to play with o
This is a bit tricky, because I always say you should pursue your dreams and as a mother/father you should always encourage your children to do what they want to do and push them to achieve their ambitions. However, this is a lot of money and if your son looses it, it’s gone for good. I’m sure your son is a good poker player, but remember poker is very addictive and it’s a luck game (I had a friend who was addicted to poker, he would play, win, then loose and keep on and on playing until he won again) He is 18, so he’s an adult and he can do what he wants. I would first encourage him to go to college first and then when play poker for like a hobby or something. Or to get a job first, so he can deposit his own money.
Look, the depositing is safe, and online poker is NOT rigged. Full Tilt Poker and Pokerstars would lose millions if they were ever caught, and it is not worth it for them with the huge rake they collect. What you should be worried about is poker sharks. When you are playing for big money, there is a vast difference in talent in the competition from Play Money. If he doesn’t know bankroll management and have a solid understanding of poker, then he will lose that 5k in 1 month. If you think he is smart and patient enough to become one, then go for it, but personally I would never want my son to do such a stressful job. Also, those 2 “nice boys” are Tom Dwan and Julian Leonard. Dwan was a big-time pool shark and Leonard was a big-time hacker before becoming poker players. Both stuck-up punks. Do your research and don’t judge by appearances.
