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Some advice before becoming a full time MTT'er

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  1. andy914 andy914 is offline

    San Francisco, CA
    United States

    Posts: 102
    Joined: Jan 07

    Apr 14th, 2009 (4/14/2009 6:28pm)

    First off I'd like to say thank you to everyone in this community for contributing, this site has helped me with my game so much...

    That being said, invariably a few times a week there is a post about someone who has been putting up some results and wants to quit their job or quit school to become a full time tournament player online. I've been grinding for a couple of years now putting in some pretty high volume and there are some things I think you should consider...

    1.) Don't quit school- you can never get that time back...ever. you should be happy playing Sundays and a few weeknight evenings here and there, if you're a winning player use this time to build a serious bankroll to give you even more leeway when you do go fulltime. I gave up on college after 2 years (many years ago) and have never regretted any one decision more in my life. poker will always be there, and so will your degree if you put the time in now and finish.

    2.) Moving up is hard- i started off playing mtt's in the $20-$50 range back about three years ago while i was bartending fulltime. at first i was just doing it for fun but i started making more money playing the $24+2s and $30+3s with massive fields than i was making martinis and mojitos. of course i started buying in to the larger buyin/smaller field tournaments. guess what, the competition is a LOT better. the players take notes on you, they don't give their chips away, they pound you with aggression and when you take a stand they somehow always have it. less and less players are going to gift u their stack, you have to earn them.

    3.) The lifestyle is hard- waking up everyday at noon or so, flipping on the laptop and loading up your daily schedule starts to suck after a while. you may love the game now, but when it becomes your job it starts to lose some of the magic. there will be days, sometimes weeks, where you just don't feel like playing. unfortunately, you'll probably play anyway and play horribly.

    4.) Don't underestimate variance- there are a lot of good articles out there about how much $$$ you need before going full time, you should read every one of them. the standard is your bankroll plus 6 months of living expenses, and i believe it should be closer to 12 months. if you're thinking of making the leap i suggest not doing it until you've gone through at least one major downswing in your poker career to see how you handle it. because it will happen at some point.

    I know none of this is new information, but it can't be said enough. we've all taken down a big score and felt invincible and ready to take on the world. I've been lucky, I kept my bartending job two days a week and I play 3-4 full days of MTT's and that balance seems to work for me. I like having the few hundred dollars I know I'm going to make to offset the downswings. I'll give you an example of what can happen, something that may not have occured to you.

    In 2007 i ran like God from September to December, having cut back on my hours at my job to play more poker. I made a lot of money playing mid-level buy in Mtt's and thought i was the best poker player in the world. I considered leaving my job entirely but stuck with it a little longer. For the first three months of 2008, i decided to move up in stakes, adding the $100R, $163s, and $320s to my usual schedule. I soon realzed that I am NOT that good, in fact i was one of the weaker players in these fields. I had a horrible 3 months, probably losing 30-35% of my bankroll. then tax time came around and after i payed the 18K i owed the government on my winnings, i was nearly broke again. if i had left my job i would have been in real trouble.

    Just some things to consider before making the jump to full time... please have something to fall back on. be honest with yourself and your skill level+dedication to the game. practice good bankroll management. finally, when the game stops being fun, its time to take a break.

    Good luck and see you on the felt.
     
  2. wandigo wandigo is offline

    Posts: 3,353
    Joined: May 06

    Apr 14th, 2009 (4/14/2009 6:35pm) in reply to andy914

    Solid post.
     1
  3. ronkend ronkend is offline

    Bosnia and Herzegovina

    Posts: 5,588
    Joined: May 05

    Apr 14th, 2009 (4/14/2009 6:39pm) in reply to wandigo

    fold pre.
  4. bef99hwk bef99hwk is offline

    Manhattan, KS
    United States

    Posts: 7,332
    Joined: Apr 07

    Apr 14th, 2009 (4/14/2009 6:42pm) in reply to ronkend

    Didn't read but don't become full-time mtter...u fail before you start lol. Cash game grinder ftw.
  5. fly44 fly44 is offline

    United States

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    Joined: May 08

    Apr 14th, 2009 (4/14/2009 6:42pm) in reply to andy914

    What does your usual tournament schedule consist of on a weekday?
    521 1
  6. jtown1010 jtown1010 is offline

    United States

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    Apr 14th, 2009 (4/14/2009 6:45pm) in reply to ronkend

    Well done.
  7. andy914 andy914 is offline

    San Francisco, CA
    United States

    Posts: 102
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    Apr 14th, 2009 (4/14/2009 6:49pm) in reply to fly44

    15:00 PS $55

    15:30 FT $55

    16:00 FT $75

    17:00 PS $55

    19:00 FT $75

    20:30 FT $30R

    21:00 PS $20R

    21:30 FT $55

    21:30 PS $55

    i'll throw in a few more depending on how i'm feeling, but i really feel i've found my comfort zone with these stakes.
     
    Thread Starter
  8. kamikazzee63 kamikazzee63 is offline

    Eagan, MN
    United States

    Posts: 598
    Joined: Dec 07

    Apr 14th, 2009 (4/14/2009 8:20pm) in reply to wandigo

     
    Originally Posted by wandigo View Post

    Solid post.

  9. Wawa711 Wawa711 is offline

    Cherry Hill, NJ
    United States

    Posts: 355
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    Apr 14th, 2009 (4/14/2009 9:12pm) in reply to andy914

    nice post man, some solid advice in there
     
  10. Shrubbery Shrubbery is offline

    Naperville, IL
    United States

    Posts: 3,149
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    Apr 14th, 2009 (4/14/2009 9:24pm) in reply to Wawa711

     
    Originally Posted by Wawa711 View Post

    nice post man, some solid advice in there

     1
  11. tcstunna tcstunna is offline

    Posts: 1,822
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    Apr 14th, 2009 (4/14/2009 9:59pm) in reply to Shrubbery

    good post/advice. Its funny, I have MUCH better results when poker is not my main responsiblity/activity.

    I have played as a student, fulltime, and now with a job/career. I have had waaaaay more success when playing part time.

    I think all of this is important, but one thing that i really agree with is having a job, part time or fulltime. I think its important (for me) partially for the guranteed income, but mostly b/c it keeps me "fresh". I play less and continue to enjoy the game because of it.

    Once again, great post. Too many people make the jump when they really arent good enough, dont know enough, havent thought it through, or just plain arent ready.
    1
  12. JDsmith9 JDsmith9 is offline

    Greensboro, NC
    United States

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    Apr 14th, 2009 (4/14/2009 10:28pm) in reply to tcstunna

    didn't expect this to be any good before I opened it up but yea pretty solid post, some very good morsels of info in there lol
     
  13. ehumes06 ehumes06 is offline

    Kansas City, MO
    United States

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    Apr 14th, 2009 (4/14/2009 10:43pm) in reply to andy914

    Great Advice
  14. bef99hwk bef99hwk is offline

    Manhattan, KS
    United States

    Posts: 7,332
    Joined: Apr 07

    Apr 15th, 2009 (4/15/2009 12:52am) in reply to tcstunna

     
    Originally Posted by tcstunna View Post

    good post/advice. Its funny, I have MUCH better results when poker is not my main responsiblity/activity.

    I have played as a student, fulltime, and now with a job/career. I have had waaaaay more success when playing part time.

    I think all of this is important, but one thing that i really agree with is having a job, part time or fulltime. I think its important (for me) partially for the guranteed income, but mostly b/c it keeps me "fresh". I play less and continue to enjoy the game because of it.

    Once again, great post. Too many people make the jump when they really arent good enough, dont know enough, havent thought it through, or just plain arent ready.

    I agree to most of this...but if u truly devote ur free time to studying and getting better than just playing when u got time u'll end up making more money, and you can take days off...even a 50 ABI player canmake decent money if they get solid, and just not an avg donk. I mean u can get better playing part time, but volume helps a ton (which I don't have a clue with that), but it just helps being solely focused on it.
  15. mordan mordan is offline

    NC
    United States

    Posts: 3,810
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    Apr 15th, 2009 (4/15/2009 1:51am) in reply to bef99hwk

    hope people actually read this....even though I know they won't fully understand it....its my opinion that a lot of these warnings, variance, lifestyle etc.. have to be experienced to fully understand/appreciate them...i.e most people have to learn the hard way even when forewarned
     
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