Brit Sam Holden, a November Niner at the 2011 World Series of Poker (WSOP) $10,000 Main Event, announced this weekend that he is “semi-retiring” from poker. He explained what made him come to the decision on his blog at 888poker.com, for which he was a poker ambassador.
Holden began by saying that he will be attending the University of Kent starting in September, with plans on studying philosophy. It wasn’t until near the end of the blog entry, though, that he got to what led him to that course of study:
I find myself listening to debates, podcasts, lectures and speeches whilst playing online. I’ve also started to develop some pretty strong opinions on politics and ethics, a position opposed to my previous relentless fence-sitting stance. This passion for what I think is right in the world, has spurred me further in to the arts, and I find myself reading more than ever. Above all else, I really want to question every opinion, to listen to others and be consistently sceptical of my own views. I am drawn to philosophy for those reasons and I am really enjoying the challenge of looking at every argument from several angles.
Holden said he just sort of “fell into” professional poker after earning his first degree. He didn’t know exactly what he wanted to do for a living and he enjoyed poker, so he decided to give it a shot. If it didn’t work out, it didn’t work out; he would move on to something else.
Obviously, it did work out quite well. According to PocketFives.com, he has won over $800,000 in online tournaments, and that does not even count cash games. On the live tournament circuit, Holden made a splash in 2011, when he reached the final table of the 2011 WSOP Main Event, finishing ninth and winning $782,115. He has two other six-figure cashes, including a deep run in the following year’s Main Event, where he placed 55th. The HendonMob.com database puts his lifetime live tournament earnings at nearly $1.2 million.
But poker was not something Holden wasn’t to make his life’s work:
In truth, I’ve never really seen poker as a long term option for me. I’ve always been aware that the games are likely to get tougher and that the market is vulnerable to reasonably sudden changes from legislation or economic swings. That said, I do think there’s plenty of money to be made from poker at the moment, I just didn’t want it to be my long term plan. I guess I always wanted to leave poker on my own terms.
In the end, in addition to having other aspirations, Holden seems to be simply burned out and not someone who is into living the life of a poker player. “The larger tournaments have become less fun for me,” he wrote. “The trips to Australia and Barcelona stand out as some of the best of my life but Vegas made me feel quite uncomfortable last year. The ‘Vegas-lifestyle’ culture of financial competitiveness felt all too prevalent, and I think 5 trips in 3 years was a bit of overkill for me. I’m really excited to start travelling for pure pleasure and not dependant on the best poker tournaments.”
