Bill Maher Says He's Ready to Quit Stand-Up Comedy After Newest Special

Bill Maher says he's ready to drop the mic and walk away from stand-up comedy for good -- and it's because he says he wants to pursue other ventures ... including more podcasting.

The 'Real Time' host was recently chopping it up with Jerry Seinfeld on his 'Club Random' podcast -- and they started discussing the possibility of Bill hanging it up on the stage ... namely, him giving up telling jokes in front of a crowd under a spotlight.

As Bill explains ... he loves the craft and has been doing it for years -- but, like with anything, you gotta stay in practice to be good ... and it sounds like BM's a little tired.

He says he's got one more comedy special dropping on HBO at the end of this year ... and after that, he goes on to mull the idea of calling it quits ... something you can see Jerry is somewhat dismayed to learn as he reacts in shock.

Not only is the dedication and time requisite part of Bill's decision ... but he says he simply wants to do other stuff -- like putting on a live podcast show in front of an audience, which has become a popular phenomenon these days.

Doesn't sound like he's going anywhere when it comes to his TV job -- he ain't giving that up anytime soon -- but when it comes to just doing straight material at a club somewhere ... Bill says he might just leave it behind. That'd be big ... he's been in the game for decades now.

On the flip side ... Bill says he reserves the right to change his mind and dive right back into it if he wants. He says it might be like cutting off a limb -- basically, ya realize you miss it when it's gone ... so this is all just hypothetical for now.