I don't think we can really give advice because it's is 100% dependent on your parents who you know better than we do. Personally, it's never something I've had a problem with because it's numerical and it's been understood that I'm good w/ numbers (also, because I started w/ freeroll winnings, I've never been in a position to lose money as I'm playing on pure profit).

Basically, you'll have to gauge it yourself, but if you have a decent sample winning and aren't risking money beyond what's in your bankroll already, it should be possible to show you aren't gonna lose your rent money etc.

advice from 20 yr old. whatever you do dont tell them. Only people who understand poker are people who play. They will see it as a vice. win or loose it has stigma. 

Yeah, I agree with what's been said. I think parents are more concerned you are going down the gambling route of degeneracy and losing money etc. If you are winning and have evidence of this, it is more probable that your parents will be able to disassociate poker from gambling. I think most, if not all, parents are concerned until they are more educated on the game which is only natural given the amount of people that aren't beating the game.

As the others said - You know your parents, but most people, especially people above a certain age,  don't really understand that poker is a game of skill. They just consider it gambling, unfortunately. 

(apart from watching Casino Royale - if that even counts?)

It really does not!!! :P

Good luck, whether you tell them or not.

I have the opposite problem. As a parent what do you tell your children you do for a living when they start getting old enough to ask. I've chosen the open way and just say what I do like it's totally natural. In general I think you should go with the most open approach and not hide or care what others think. Of course this isn't always easy and with poker it can be extremely hard.

Be honest with those closest to you, they will find out eventually anyway. If you have been hiding it it would only make it seem like something that is wrong. You don't need to tell them everything at once just gradually introduce them to the game. Mention the fact that successful people are playing poker. Show them that you have structure and are responsible by keeping track of your profits and maintain balance in your life.

Yeah, I would tell them. Let your parents know what your interested in and give them a little background of the game. Your parents will support you in the end. It's actually a relief to tell them because it feels like an added weight lifted off your shoulders once you do. I had a similar experience telling mine at one point. They knew I liked the game, but then I had to have the talk to them about my aspirations for being a full-time player. They were concerned at first since poker is a game where you can lose more than you win at times and no parent wants to see their kid go broke or be in some type of financial debt. In the end though, they know it's what makes me happy and they see I take it seriously and I'm passionate about it. Show that type of flame to your parents and they will respect it in the end. Parents can only do so much for their children and then when it's time for the "child" to leave the nest, life is in your own hands now.  

Thanks for all the comments - I really value your thoughts, great community here :)

I told my parents about it, telling them that I go to the casino once every other week or so and only play maybe 6 hours max online a week (which I don't feel is excessive), whilst juggling uni work, social stuff and sports.

I was willing to show them my HM2 graphs but it didn't go so well, my mum had a knee jerk reaction and thought I was a gambling addict and needed therapy. She over reacts to everything though and I hope my dad, who was much more supportive and understanding, will convince her that I'm not.

I feel that in the media today, especially in the UK, a bad situation makes good news headlines and why it's super rare for a newspaper or a TV documentary to be the focus of someone having a balanced and successful life while gambling. All these reporters want to know about is about people who have lost jobs, houses, friends, families, wives and lives over gambling and I don't think I really understood how much stigma poker has in my part of the world.

Thanks

Snow 

I just wanted to chime in - but obv. I was late. :)

Anyways, regardless of your mom´s reaction, I´m pretty convinced you did the right thing. Daz hit the nail on the head ... I´m 42 years old and have two children - they´re not old enough yet to play poker, but in some years they´ll be. I´m not yet sure what I should think about them choosing the poker route (:-D), but I DO KNOW, that I´d be very, very disappointed if I once found out that they´ve been playing for quite some time and didn´t dare to tell me.

It´s a matter of understanding for both sides. As your parents need to understand YOU, it´s your responsibility to try to understand your parents. They´re scared because they love you. They want the best for you. So the best is to get together, in a calm way - and discuss both sides of the view. Let your parents (esp. your mom, don´t let your daddy to the job!) know that you can see the world from their eyes and explain them how to see the world of poker with your eyes. Make an agreement with them, i.e. that you´ll report your success, tell them about bankroll-management, give them a tiny course of strategy, so they´ll see you´re not "gambling", and ALWAYS, ALWAYS be open and honest - even when it runs badly. That way you´ll build trust and confidence - and you´ll likely need that basement when you want to continue playing with confidence and fun.

Snowman I was in a similar position as you a couple of years ago; My job was near my home rather than uni, a 90-120 min drive. In my second year of uni I decided it was unprofitable to travel back 2 days a week for the work as I had been making decent-ish money from poker (a big factor here was that most of the rent and bills was covered by student loans so was not dependant on the money)

after a while my parents were asking me what i was doing for cash- my mum had a similar reaction to yours, my dad showed concern but didn't react so severe. After I explained to them how I think about the game and how I don't feel the need to gamble on other games (and lied through my teeth about how much time I was spending on it) they decided ultimately said they trust me but were concerned.

This didnt last long and concern was often aired during visits home and over the phone. i done the simplest thing i could think of;

taught them the rules, and made them play with me! it was a way to show them that you can be a constant winner over time when you have an edge. my edge here was obvious but it left them open to accept other types of edge you can have.

I recommend this, introduce the game as a family game and don't talk too technical at first- never know they might be your opponents on stars in a few months.

which uni/casino btw?

There comes a time in a man's life when he has to walk down his own path, whatever it is. Do what you do, try to be nice, and it will all be fine. :-)

My advice to aspiring full-time players is:

Say as little as possible about it to anyone outside the poker community. It's mostly boring stuff anyway, and having poker-free zones in your life is good for you. Talking about it also gives negative people all kinds of reasons to turn their attention to you. You don't want that, and you can avoid it with minimal effort.

@Snowman; ahh im waay more south, cut my teeth at Luton Grosvenor
     I finished uni and moved back in with my parents, I was playing live full time, they were worried about it at first. then I had a nice bit of variance and paid them 6 months rent in advance which seemed to ease thier worrys :) they were still worried about my sleeping pattern and social life ect. To be fair they were right on the money with that one, Life balance is important,it took me a while to realise this even though i had read it a hundred times but i sorted that out- thats a lesson to learn asap btw.

After a while i was approached by a backer and once I wasnt playing with my own money (and the deal was with no make-up) they couldnt worry too much.

I absolutely agree with @ZenFish also for what its worth- I absolutely would keep any talk with my parents and non-poker friends away from poker and if you cant keep yourself from trying to explain a bad beat to them then its time for a break :)

Grosvenors are everywhere! I'm glad you're the opposite side of the country, don't want anyone spoiling my little gold mine ;). 

It's a struggle to keep my life in balance, but I don't play too much, only played 20k hands so far this year and go to local casino once every two weeks or so (on average). Do you play professionally now?

OK so i typed out an answer to; do i play professionally now? but it turned into an essay- i can post it if you want but didn't want to bombard you with a wall of text again.

Short answer is not at the moment

the longer answer can be posted if you like.

You have a student poker club there? have you looked into the UKSPC (UK Student Poker Championships)? if not then i suggest you do.

My uni had a poker society but i didnt go as they were just getting drunk and playing badly- and not with enough money to make it worth going when I had a casino 20mins walk away.

As you wish;

Sorry this turned into another essay, first time iv penned all of this.

I would never had called myself a professional however i did spend just over 2 years supporting myself nearly solely through live poker. Whilst at uni I had loans also but after uni i spent a while just playing live, travelling into London and around the poker clubs nearer home.
Then I got approached by a backer and was limited to where I could play. I was playing 5-6 nights a week £1/£2 cash and making a decent hourly rate. I was doing some shift work 1 or 2 days a week at my old job because I enjoyed the job and I was quite close to the boss- he was urging me to become a manager, which is a role i had done previous to uni but i just stuck to the 1 or 2 shifts because i couldn't justify playing less poker. i effectively had a limitless poker bankroll as long as i kept to 1/2 at this particular club.

After a while i made the choice to end the staking deal for various reasons, everyone was still making money however i wasn't happy with some of the arrangements, mainly being limited to play and the times I could play; I didn't particularly like the game or some other aspects of the card-room I was playing at.

That went OK but due to a few non-poker life events some of my poker money was used up elsewhere. I still had a roll to play with but it was not as comfortable as before. I kept playing poker and I was still making money however with the uncertainty of the reduced roll and some other factors I decided to take the management job i was offered and play part time.

(Honestly the 'out of balance life' i mentioned in an earlier post was the main reason for this, I felt unhealthy and always looked tired. I never had any time for my gf, friends, family ect.)

This did not work! It is a different ball game to grind when your mind has been focused on other things for the day, working 40-50 hours then trying to put in hours at the table is near impossible for me let alone adding in analysis off the table. My solution was to try and up my online game (which I somewhat suck at) but the same is true for this online.

Currently I am still working however I have discussed with my boss and I am planning to move down to part time to (3-4 days a week) and gradually move back into poker full time. I have been grinding online a significant amount and my game is getting better. Iv made an effort to play live again in the last few weeks to see if i could still hack a through-the-night grind at a casino and completely fell back in love with it :)

So basically atm i suppose im a recreational player, i plan to shift that back towards semi-pro in the coming few months :)

I could talk about this forever as there is a lot of hours of live play and outside circumstances that happen throughout that time but this is already too long and im meant to be working. i used to actually draft down some anecdotes from time at the tables in hopes of starting a blog as i was basically a prop-player but i wasn't sure there would be interest. 

No prob. Same to you.