He lost his allowance and tuition money - he played pool. When it was time for exams, he was unprepared for them and asked for an extension but was denied. He did not receive his grades for the last semester of his third year and never graduated. He left Graz and broke off contact with his family to hide that he had dropped out of his studies. His friends feared he had committed suicide by throwing himself into the nearby Mur River. He moved to Maribor, where he worked as a draftsman for 60 florins a month and spent his free time playing cards with locals on the streets.
