sounds like u have it set,but i think stay at this level?no?u have the time to do this ,and u want to, so go for it.

Remember once u get'm prego, all that carefree time drastically changes.

Set a very strict bank role. Now that you're out of a job. Go to the casino like a 9 - 5 job (might have to adjust playing times.) Treat it like a job for a month or a set time period. Set some small goals which you'll probably be able to beat. Plan meticulously for a few days before you start. Give it a go. Get your free money for unemployment. You won't get a job quickly anyway so that will give you a month or so to try it out. Can't tell unless you give it a shot.

I would def give it a go. There's nothing for you to lose. One thing to be aware of is the long run is veryyyy long in live poker, it'll take a very long time to get enough hands to have any idea of how much your expected win rate can be. 17k profit over 2 months playing at most a few days a week in 2/5 and 5/5 is probably unobtainable in the long run. Not doubting your skills or ability to be a winning player just trying to give you a realistic outlook. That being said games are definitely very beatable as long as you stay focused during the downswings and keep grinding through playing your "A" game or atleast close to it. As far as goals I would suggest not making monetary goals since you cannot control the variance aspect of poker. I would suggest setting goals to make sure you play enough hour and to not fall into the temptaions of the casino and stay focused on poker (no pit games, no drinking, no flirting with the hot girl or girl for that matter at the table and missing info about other players).

I see you're from Hackettstown, you must play at Sands in Bethlehem, PA? Over the summer when I was playing only live I played there all the time 2/5 thru 5/10. Regs there are extremely exploitable, great games to play in compared to other casinos in the new jersey area imo. Haven't been there in awhile as I've been grinding mostly online however I've probably played with you or will play with you in the future. Also I'll be down at the WSOPC at Harrahs as well (looks like we have a similar live schedule haha)

GL

 

Originally Posted by peacebrother

I would say 25/ 50.

.

lol, is that a joke, 5k nl is ridiculously a high game.. you absolutely do not need to play those stakes to necessarily play for a living.

limits like 2-5$ & 5-10 is already decent income if your table selecting and playing in a decent game. but it really all depends what your lifestyle is.

 

Originally Posted by djdoodoo

Set a very strict bank role. Now that you're out of a job. Go to the casino like a 9 - 5 job (might have to adjust playing times.) Treat it like a job for a month or a set time period. Set some small goals which you'll probably be able to beat. Plan meticulously for a few days before you start. Give it a go. Get your free money for unemployment. You won't get a job quickly anyway so that will give you a month or so to try it out. Can't tell unless you give it a shot.

Yeah I dont think Ill be able to find a job right away, and esp this time of year. So I went the past 2 days and plan on treating it "like a job", Im gonna play 6-8 hours a day, or I atleast plan on it. Im gonna keep track of all my winnings, losses, and so on to get an accurate assumption at the end of the month. Here goes nothing!

 

Originally Posted by peacebrother

Can you male a living wage at these levels, I dont think so. Not with having a life out side the casino. I would say 25/ 50.

I would have to average 1000 a week profit just to cover bills, insurance , food and fun money.

Maybe a partime job and play poker.

LOL I persoanlly think you absolutely can. 25/50 lol. 1k a week is easily achieve in 1 session at 2/5, easily. But overtime, who knows what Ill even out to.

 

Originally Posted by MmachineD

I would def give it a go. There's nothing for you to lose. One thing to be aware of is the long run is veryyyy long in live poker, it'll take a very long time to get enough hands to have any idea of how much your expected win rate can be. 17k profit over 2 months playing at most a few days a week in 2/5 and 5/5 is probably unobtainable in the long run. Not doubting your skills or ability to be a winning player just trying to give you a realistic outlook. That being said games are definitely very beatable as long as you stay focused during the downswings and keep grinding through playing your "A" game or atleast close to it. As far as goals I would suggest not making monetary goals since you cannot control the variance aspect of poker. I would suggest setting goals to make sure you play enough hour and to not fall into the temptaions of the casino and stay focused on poker (no pit games, no drinking, no flirting with the hot girl or girl for that matter at the table and missing info about other players).

I see you're from Hackettstown, you must play at Sands in Bethlehem, PA? Over the summer when I was playing only live I played there all the time 2/5 thru 5/10. Regs there are extremely exploitable, great games to play in compared to other casinos in the new jersey area imo. Haven't been there in awhile as I've been grinding mostly online however I've probably played with you or will play with you in the future. Also I'll be down at the WSOPC at Harrahs as well (looks like we have a similar live schedule haha)

GL

HaHa yeah similar schedule, and yeah from hackettstown. I play at sands and also at mt. airy in the poconos (regs are extremely exploitable as well, and its sooo soft, although they only usually get a 2/5 game going 3-4 days a week) GL at WSOPC I'm pretty nervous going there for the week and its my first real "series of events," dont wanna go busto, bringing 5k hopefully should be enough for the tourns and the cash games.

 

Originally Posted by djdoodoo

The average wage for america is around $45k a year I think from a uber quick search on google. You should be making at least a grand a week as a goal if you're going to be doing this for a living. This would be the bare minimum. If you were going to do it for a living I'd want to be making a comfortable $2-4k a week.

I agree def need to be making 1k min a week for this to work out. Even tho Im still living at home and dont have too much bills, that was my initial goal to see if this could be possible. Anything over that would make it more comfortable esp if a downswing comes my way.

Yea grind some 2/5 for a living sound like fun . If your retired

I've read alot about players try to turn "pro" and play for a living in games like 2/5 and 5/10 and here's what I've gathered from some pretty solid articles and blogs:

Your average win rate if you are a very good player should be around 8-10 BB per hour with optimal play over a larger sample size (2000 hours or so). This is assuming you play optimally all the time, which may be difficult as those long sessions may take a toll on your level of focus and leave you mentally exhausted.

Also, game selection is crucial to attaining an average win rate like this, preferably casinos with a lot of tourists and inexperienced players and few shark/reg grinders playing in these games. If you find yourself at a table with nitty players who aren't going to splash around with you when you pick up big hands, or your'e at a table without alot of money on it, don't be afraid to move to a more optimal table. I've heard of plenty of players say that they had a win rate of 10+ big blinds at 1/2 or 2/5 and then seen it drop to 2BB an hour at a game like 5/10 because of all the sharky regs pretty much chopping the money between themselves and picking off whatever few weaker players come to the game, so make sure you are also at a good casino with alot of soft action if possible.

Lastly, bankroll management is pivotal to your success as a player in the longer haul, or even in a short few month span of playing 40 hour weeks. The optimal amount of money to have is around 20 buy-ins, so for 2/5 around 10k to make sure any possible downswings don't eat up your roll, but it sounds like you have enough of a backing based on your OP.

That's pretty much the best advice I've seen out there, the only thing I would caution you with is if you see your average win rate to be way above or below 8-10 BB, make sure you have a very large sample size of at least 2000 hrs or more before you make any drastic changes to your life. I've heard too many stories about people playing 150-200 hours and logging 60/hr at 1/2 and thinking that this is normal. While you very well may be able to attain a higher win rate than this if you are an expectional player, just make sure you have enough information about your records before you try to figure out what you will make.

Other than that, it sounds like you have everything under control.
Best of luck!

 

Originally Posted by shane3769

You are definitely setting your goals too high based on an upswing. $10k a month is a very tough month if you are playing 2/5 and 5/5 unless you also make a nice score in a tourney, which is also statistically unlikely, or you play like 50-60 hours a week optimally and are very disciplined about game/time selection. 5/10 that is a more reasonable goal.

Also, are you suggesting that you have a 50/100NL bankroll, or am i reading that wrong? Cuz you need a couple hundred k in the bank for that.

Having been in a moderately similar situation about 10 months ago, ill just say set attainable goals, dont let yourself go insane, give up some weekend nights to play, and have a financial "red zone" set where you start to look for a job if you hit

yea im pretty sure that is what he is saying, I don't think he's saying he plans on playing 50/100 anytime soon. Just making it know they he has a lot of extra funds and doesn't have to worry about living expenses ect. like gets mentioned in these types of posts all the time.

Look forward to hearing how your doing dannydunks, gl to ya.

Another Update, like anyone cares lawls.

Still grinding 2/5 and 5/5 now more often. The 4th day at wsopc i won a side event for 5k. I overall and at a win rate of 5bb/hr on average. I havent been playing as much and have been playing local card clubs and home games. I have put 5k of my winnings aside and am saving for WSOP, not to play in a majority of the events, but to go for a week or 2 and play what I can comfortably. I also picked up a great coach who is helping me plug my leaks and I think he has been very helpful thus far, I found him over on 2+2.

Finding a job is been fucking hard as shit. My mom hates that Im still playing poker. Every girl I fuck hates that I play poker for a living at the moment and talk shit non stop. Those are the downsides.

Upsides still can do whatever I want and party hard, some of you know by recalling my ridiculous facebook statuses that I write because I just dont care.

Its 6am and I still cant sleep. Lawl