It’s become all too common during the lackluster state of the global economy. Following an economic tailspin in 2008, some members of PocketFives.com are finding themselves out of work and facing a tough decision: try to find another job in a rough marketplace or become a full-time poker player, capitalizing on past success? One PocketFiver in that exact predicament is David HIM66613VanWert, who posted a thread last week entitled, “Got laid off yesterday, should I give playing full-time a shot?“

VanWert formerly worked in business development to design systems like home theaters, lighting controls, and sound. He catered to high-end clientele and his business was one of the last to be affected by the recession. VanWert told PocketFives.com that variable income has been his M.O. for several years: “Just like sales, this profession is a numbers game. You have to put in the volume and work at it. You can’t just wake up and say that you’re going to be a salesperson; there’s a lot of work involved. Variance has been a part of my life since I was 18.” In fact, one of his last clients was poker pro Hasan Habib.

VanWert’s former job was 100% commission-based, essentially the same pay structure as poker. VanWert received a considerable amount of feedback from the community, mostly consisting of recommendations to look for a traditional job while playing poker. However, given his commission-based salary history, poker may be in line with VanWert’s risk tolerance: “If you work hard and focus on your game, you can definitely be successful and there’s a lot of money to be made. Even though the game is getting harder, the money is still there. The freedom that poker allows of not having to report to a 9 to 5 job where you have to leave the house is big too.”

VanWert has no money saved up, so building an income stream quickly is of the utmost importance. Among those who weighed in was longtime community member that_pope (pictured), who asserted, “It is so much tougher to win and do well at poker when you need to pay bills than when you are playing for fun a few times a week. The pressure and stress will likely eat you up very quickly. Each bad beat will feel 10 times worse.”

In response to that_pope’s concerns, VanWert remarked, “Pressure and stress are absolutely there. Just like in any other job, you’re forced to perform and bad beats take their toll. You need to have a correct mindset 100% of the time when you sit down. Part of your game is working on having the right tools at your disposal and working on the mental portion.” In May, VanWert recorded his largest cash tracked for the Online Poker Player Rankingsby shipping the PokerStars $30,000 Guarantee for $5,700.

VanWert was overwhelmed by the tidal wave of feedback submitted by members of the online poker community. He also told PocketFives.com that he’s fortunate to have a viable alternative in poker: “The world isn’t in the greatest shape right now and there are a lot of people who are hurting. Outside of the poker world, there are hundreds of thousands of people who are out of jobs and have nothing to fall back on. I’m fortunate to have a fallback. I might not be the greatest player in the world and I’m not crushing like other guys are, but it’s nice to know that I have something.”

In the meantime, VanWert has been scrambling to set up meetings with existing contacts about job possibilities. “I’m not just going to sit around and feel bad for myself,” VanWert optimistically stated. “There are thousands of people in the same boat. Luckily, I have this outlet I’ve been working on.” He had worked in the same industry for a dozen years and has played online poker since 2007. He participated in this year’s World Series of Poker (WSOP) in Las Vegas and has hired a poker coach to ramp up his game.

While in Las Vegas, VanWert worked with David GhettoFabolousRandall (pictured) and Jerry herschelwWatterson from PokerPwnage. His confidence at full steam, he then entered a $1,000 No Limit Hold’em event at the WSOP and took 49th place for $10,000.

Visit Poker Discussion to weigh in! We’d like to extend a special thanks for VanWert for sharing his insight with us.