Generation Next - Visions of a 9-to-5 Life Scared Moshin Charania Straight

Moshin Charania pushed back away from the table and slowly stood up, a bit unsteady on his feet. The past few weeks swirled in his mind like a surreal dream as he watched the six-figure pot being dragged in by an exuberant opponent. There was no second-guessing anything; his decision to shove seconds earlier was a no-brainer. He’d flopped the nuts with K-Q on an A-J-10 rainbow flop. All of the money went in. On the turn, he was drawing dead, as his opponent’s flopped set of jacks had filled up. That’s poker. And as the summer of 2006 came to a close, Charania was broke and stranded in Las Vegas.

“I ran $10,000 up to $200,000 that August in Vegas,” said Charania. “Then, I was broke from two huge pots. I had to use my mom’s debit card to fly home for the fall semester at the University of Illinois. I was done with poker, or so I thought. But then I entered some small online tournaments on Bodog, won a few events, and changed my mind. Luckily, they didn’t have any big cash games running, so I didn’t really have a chance to lose my bankroll again.”

When college was over and done, Charania reluctantly accepted a normal 9-to-5 job in the finance sector. But he soon discovered that the job was anything but normal, or 9-to-5. As a junior analyst, he was expected to come in early and leave late, for a $60,000-a-year salary. He’d won and lost more than that in one hand of poker. A decision had to be made, and quick.

So, a week after he’d entered the corporate world, he quit. The pain of waking up early for a job he didn’t believe in scared Charania straight. He vowed to adhere to strict bankroll management, steer clear of big cash games, and focus mostly on tournaments. So far, the plan has worked beyond his wildest dreams, as he has banked more than $3 million in combined online- and live-tournament cashes.

Craig Tapscott: So, you’re living the glamorous life of a young poker professional.
Moshin Charania: [Laughing] Some people think it is. I went out recently with a group of friends I grew up with, and they wanted to know what it was like traveling and making millions of dollars. It’s nothing like that. I wish I had millions of dollars, but traveling is the cool part about the job.

CT: You said, when we first started talking, that you were on a big downswing.

MC: Yes. It’s very stressful going on downswings. A big part of me doesn’t even want to play. You can make all the right plays, and still not win.

CT: What advice do you have for players during times like this?

MC: I actually talked to my friend Faraz Jaka about this. You need to know that how you were playing when you were winning is good, and you need to stop thinking that you were just running really good then, and that now you’re running bad. You need to stick to your game plan. I don’t know how Faraz does it, but he seems to just care that he made the right decision. That’s all he can do, right? Downswings sometimes seem like they will never stop, but they eventually will.

CT: Did you ever go on tilt?

MC: Sure. But with experience, it goes away, and nothing really surprises you, because you have seen every possible bad beat and suckout, from both sides. My best advice is to surround yourself with players and friends who are positive and support you.

CT: What does your mother think of your profession of choice?

MC: [Laughing] I didn’t really tell her what I’ve been doing. Up until recently, she didn’t know that I was playing professionally. But I had to tell her last summer, because I was going to be on the World Series of Poker ESPN television coverage.

CT: You’ve also attended law school at Northwestern University, haven’t you?

MC: Yes. But I got deep in some World Poker Tour events and quit. I want to finish it, but I don’t see myself doing it in the long term. Most of my lawyer friends would rather be poker pros than do what they do each day.

CT: Yeah, the glamorous life of a poker pro.

MC: Right [laughing]. I’m on a huge downswing now, after a great year in 2010. So, I do think about going back to school in the fall. But, I will probably win a bracelet this summer, and forget all about school again. Hopefully, I’ll put away enough money to start a business and still go to school if I want to. We’ll see what happens. ♠