ThatPkrGuy 0 Posted January 20, 2006 Share Posted January 20, 2006 For starters if you don't fall into the category of the subject for this post feel free to flame just try not to hijack this thread...and for those of you who do fit the criteria of the post please leave good feedback...doesn't have to be what you think I want to here, just needs to be constructive...also feel free to contact me on AIM (thatpkrguy)OK so here’s my situation. I live in San Diego and will be starting school fall '06. I've grown accustom to living off of about 4K a month. Gives me plenty of room for bills and fun money for the weekends. As of Sept 06 i will be unemployed for the first time since high school. And while I’ve always taken poker seriously it has never been the sole means of my living. Its always just been for some extra spending cash while slowly building up my bankroll at the same time.Basically i want to put myself into a position to make 1K per week. My game of choice is O8 not Holdem. So finding a good limit game is not as easy. If i could find a good 10/20 Limit game and average 2/BB per hr then i would be doing fine at only 25hrs per week. My only problems really are:Finding a good 10/20 gameHaving 25hrs per weak to dedicate to playing + extra time studying the game and opponents statsHaving a life outside of school and pokerNow granted i could play a little higher than 10/20. I have heard many people say that you need less of a bankroll in O8 than you do in holdem. But i believe that with 500x BB in O8 i will never go bust unless i spring a HUGE leak in my game and never plug it. So basically I’m curious from those of you have done this if its harder than playing before simply because if you have a rough month you find yourself dipping into your BR to make ends meet?I've also heard that having 6 months worth of expenses saved up on top of a healthy bankroll is the best way to start?Any info that you can provide would be much appreciated and thanks in advance.***And for those of you who are about to flame just realize this is a SERIOUS question that i wouldn't post on here normally, but being that i have no other means to an answer this is the only place i could post it*** Link to post Share on other sites
NaturalSelection 0 Posted January 20, 2006 Share Posted January 20, 2006 First of all, having 3 to 6 months of living expenses saved in an accessible account (i.e. not invested or in a CD) is a sound financial strategy even WHEN you had a job. It becomes an absolute neccessity if poker is your job though... You should think about taking up PLO, it will be easier to find juicy games at the limits you're looking to play... Link to post Share on other sites
Chamonyx 0 Posted January 20, 2006 Share Posted January 20, 2006 My suggestion: Spend the next 7 months focussed on (online) PLO8, rather than limit. By the time the summer comes, you should be consistently beating the 200 and 400 buy-in games and be able to meet your target. Link to post Share on other sites
NaturalSelection 0 Posted January 20, 2006 Share Posted January 20, 2006 sorry, actually it should be more like 9-12 months expenses for poker... Link to post Share on other sites
PimpRock 0 Posted January 20, 2006 Share Posted January 20, 2006 All I will say is that, once it becomes your sole means of income, it becomes a real f-ing grind... I read this fact about 30 times before I started playing for a living and thought "nahhh... I enjoy it too much" but before long I found myself incredibly reluctant to sit.One of the ebst things I did was put 6 months worth of mortgage and bill money into my joint account (joint with gf) so that regardless of what happened, I had every base covered for six months... I also had my online roll and a few thousand in a savings account which, in a worse case scenario could be used for poker but I prefer to save for holidays and rainy days. This shit aint easy dude. I have no doubt that 70% of people on this site can play poker... I strongly suspect that maybe only 15% or so have what it takes to make a living despite all the pipedreams. I have not yet decided if I am one of the 15%. Good luck. Link to post Share on other sites
aces ride 0 Posted January 20, 2006 Share Posted January 20, 2006 I agree with pimprock Link to post Share on other sites
aces ride 0 Posted January 20, 2006 Share Posted January 20, 2006 I agree with pimprock Link to post Share on other sites
DpFrydHef 0 Posted January 20, 2006 Share Posted January 20, 2006 The 30-60 limit O8 games at PokerStars are very, very soft. See this these testimonials:http://www.poker-babes.com/poker/games/200...5/november.html(scroll down to Nov. 22)http://www.poker-babes.com/poker/games/200...5/december.html(scroll to Dec. 5)The bad part is that there's usually only one or two of these games going.The 10-20 O8 games may or may not be tougher, but the 30-60 game is golden if you have the bankroll for it. Link to post Share on other sites
ThatPkrGuy 0 Posted January 20, 2006 Author Share Posted January 20, 2006 The 30-60 limit O8 games at PokerStars are very, very soft. See this these testimonials:http://www.poker-babes.com/poker/games/200...5/november.html(scroll down to Nov. 22)http://www.poker-babes.com/poker/games/200...5/december.html(scroll to Dec. 5)The bad part is that there's usually only one or two of these games going.The 10-20 O8 games may or may not be tougher, but the 30-60 game is golden if you have the bankroll for it.Wow those are some pretty insane hand historys for a 30/60 game. I've never seen that even in live play.But as soon as i am back from deployment my vette will be paid off leaving me with minute expenses...roughly 2k/month in bills. So i shouldn't have a problem setting aside 9 months worth of living expenses.I guess come september i'll just take my shot at the "pipedream"...Worse come worse i have a few bad months and have to get a job like the rest of the college students. As i'm not one of the people who refuses to work for "the man", i would just prefer to play poker instead. I have no intentions of being the next DN. I'm not a tournament player and i can accept that lol.Once again i appreciate the input guys. Link to post Share on other sites
ThatPkrGuy 0 Posted January 20, 2006 Author Share Posted January 20, 2006 The 30-60 limit O8 games at PokerStars are very, very soft. See this these testimonials:http://www.poker-babes.com/poker/games/200...5/november.html(scroll down to Nov. 22)http://www.poker-babes.com/poker/games/200...5/december.html(scroll to Dec. 5)The bad part is that there's usually only one or two of these games going.The 10-20 O8 games may or may not be tougher, but the 30-60 game is golden if you have the bankroll for it.Wow those are some pretty insane hand historys for a 30/60 game. I've never seen that even in live play.But as soon as i am back from deployment my vette will be paid off leaving me with minute expenses...roughly 2k/month in bills. So i shouldn't have a problem setting aside 9 months worth of living expenses.I guess come september i'll just take my shot at the "pipedream"...Worse come worse i have a few bad months and have to get a job like the rest of the college students. As i'm not one of the people who refuses to work for "the man", i would just prefer to play poker instead. I have no intentions of being the next DN. I'm not a tournament player and i can accept that lol.Once again i appreciate the input guys. Link to post Share on other sites
ThatPkrGuy 0 Posted January 20, 2006 Author Share Posted January 20, 2006 The 30-60 limit O8 games at PokerStars are very, very soft. See this these testimonials:http://www.poker-babes.com/poker/games/200...5/november.html(scroll down to Nov. 22)http://www.poker-babes.com/poker/games/200...5/december.html(scroll to Dec. 5)The bad part is that there's usually only one or two of these games going.The 10-20 O8 games may or may not be tougher, but the 30-60 game is golden if you have the bankroll for it.Wow those are some pretty insane hand historys for a 30/60 game. I've never seen that even in live play.But as soon as i am back from deployment my vette will be paid off leaving me with minute expenses...roughly 2k/month in bills. So i shouldn't have a problem setting aside 9 months worth of living expenses.I guess come september i'll just take my shot at the "pipedream"...Worse come worse i have a few bad months and have to get a job like the rest of the college students. As i'm not one of the people who refuses to work for "the man", i would just prefer to play poker instead. I have no intentions of being the next DN. I'm not a tournament player and i can accept that lol.Once again i appreciate the input guys. Link to post Share on other sites
TexasCoffee 0 Posted January 20, 2006 Share Posted January 20, 2006 Ok, this may be a silly question... Why are you going to school if you do not plan to work for (or with) "the man?"I have a full-time job selling money, I own a toy store on the side (online, brick and mortar, and mail order), and I play poker part-time (20-40 hrs a week live/online). I stay busy and REALLY enjoy my life. If I focused on just one of my "jobs" I would hate it in 6 months. My advice, get a job if only to enjoy your poker career... You may not understand this now, but print this and read it in 10 years.Good luck! Link to post Share on other sites
UNCpoker 0 Posted January 20, 2006 Share Posted January 20, 2006 All I will say is that, once it becomes your sole means of income, it becomes a real f-ing grind... I read this fact about 30 times before I started playing for a living and thought "nahhh... I enjoy it too much" but before long I found myself incredibly reluctant to sit.One of the ebst things I did was put 6 months worth of mortgage and bill money into my joint account (joint with gf) so that regardless of what happened, I had every base covered for six months... I also had my online roll and a few thousand in a savings account which, in a worse case scenario could be used for poker but I prefer to save for holidays and rainy days. This censored aint easy dude. I have no doubt that 70% of people on this site can play poker... I strongly suspect that maybe only 15% or so have what it takes to make a living despite all the pipedreams. I have not yet decided if I am one of the 15%. Good luck.I agree with all of this except I doubt the 15% is anywhere near that high. I am guessing 5% or less. Link to post Share on other sites
alf13 0 Posted January 20, 2006 Share Posted January 20, 2006 I can offer these pieces of advice....mind you that i haven't had a full time job in 4 years......1) Play the highest limit that you can dominate. "Dominate" means a steady BB/HR per week. Even if that limit is small.2) Multi-Table.3) Spend alot of time on game selection. If you use poker to pay the bills, you will need to spend alot of time scouting out games and players.4) Do not look down on targeting one bad player at a table to stack him....be patient, and if you must nut peddle to stack the player that is actively giving his money away..so be it. 5) You are playing for money, not for sport. You encounter some "decent" players in a game, and then realize that all the players at the table are "decent"....you picked a bad table.6) Open up an account in as many pokerrooms as possible. (Action tends to dry up in some places and then pick up in others.7) Always be watching out for big promotions on different sites...Big promos bring alot of new players and these are the guys you are targeting.Good Luck. Link to post Share on other sites
custom36 5 Posted January 20, 2006 Share Posted January 20, 2006 Everything Alf said is great advice. Actually, most of this thread is filled with great advice. Do not move up in limits though unless you can a) afford the variance and B) play there comfortably. I don't know the bankroll limits for Omaha, so I'm not going to tell you what you should and shouldn't do. Just remember that it's just as harmful to be overbankrolled as it is to be underbankrolled. Link to post Share on other sites
TexasCoffee 0 Posted January 20, 2006 Share Posted January 20, 2006 I would say that 50% or better here make some portion of their monthly income playing poker. To win at something consistantly you must have commitment and discipline. Once you figure this out then you can apply it to anything. With this logic... in order to lower your risk of going broke in your quest to become a full-time poker player, you should become a consistant winner in another aspect of your life. Also, this means that most "winning" players have good careers or profitable businesses that would be too enjoyable and profitable to just drop out-of-hand to focus on the grind.Here is something to ponder - most of the profit in poker comes from the undisciplined and non-committed. The tourist that sits down for the gamble or the semi-good player that plays 3 hours a week/month and believes this is an investment for some future poker pipe-dream. Link to post Share on other sites
alf13 0 Posted January 20, 2006 Share Posted January 20, 2006 As for Bankroll requirements for Omaha...I play PLO...and I keep at least 10 buyins of each of the limits I play in my "active" bankroll.Been doing that for almost 2 years now....haven't had a problem.On a "work" day...I will play one game of $2-$2 PLO, 1 game of $1-$1 PLO, and maybe multiple .50-.50 PLO games....(or 2/4, 1/2, and .50/1.00) on occasion...if the games are good.I will also try to find higher games that come up soft from time to time....but never higher than 5-10 PLO.....Like I said...I don't play for sport...I actually "need" to win.I play NLHE MTT's for fun though...that is where I get my poker "fun". Link to post Share on other sites
ajs510 122 Posted January 20, 2006 Share Posted January 20, 2006 I would say that 50% or better here make some portion of their monthly income playing poker.Absolutely no more than 10% of the registered members at FCP are making money playing poker. There's currently 15,868 members of this forum, and there's no way we have 1500 consistantly winning players here. This coming from one of the well known "online donators" of the forum. Link to post Share on other sites
TexasCoffee 0 Posted January 20, 2006 Share Posted January 20, 2006 There may be 15k members but definately not that many contributors. I believe that 50% of the people that contribute have played long enough to make some kind of profit.I hardly play online. What are you talking about? Link to post Share on other sites
ajs510 122 Posted January 20, 2006 Share Posted January 20, 2006 There may be 15k members but definately not that many contributors. I believe that 50% of the people that contribute have played long enough to make some kind of profit.I hardly play online. What are you talking about?I think it would be very difficult for you to find any more than 150 people on this forum who ended last year in the black. There are some excellent poker players on this forum, but there's only 20 or so (IMO) that are making any kind of significant income from poker.*Edit* - I'm cutting that in half, I don't think you could name more than 75 people... Link to post Share on other sites
UNCpoker 0 Posted January 20, 2006 Share Posted January 20, 2006 Can't remember where, but read some article that said only 2% of all online players win any money at all long term.Now I am probably just hoping, but I would guess FCP is a little ahead of that mark, maybe 5% that make positive money. But as for making a living at it? I would guess .5% to 2% tops. Link to post Share on other sites
custom36 5 Posted January 20, 2006 Share Posted January 20, 2006 There may be 15k members but definately not that many contributors. I believe that 50% of the people that contribute have played long enough to make some kind of profit.I hardly play online. What are you talking about?I think it would be very difficult for you to find any more than 150 people on this forum who ended last year in the black. There are some excellent poker players on this forum, but there's only 20 or so (IMO) that are making any kind of significant income from poker.There are far more than 20. I know that for a fact. Link to post Share on other sites
TexasCoffee 0 Posted January 20, 2006 Share Posted January 20, 2006 I just looked you up... you joined the forum in May. I joined at the start in 2004 and have not posted anything beyond Dec of 2004 until this month. If you disagree with something posted... then debate the points. When you make chit up to boost your ethos you show your inability to reason and are a fool.Let me guess... you are a winner... the elite 5% of online poker genious. Link to post Share on other sites
UNCpoker 0 Posted January 20, 2006 Share Posted January 20, 2006 What I really want to know is who is a 4 to 6 short handed limit holdem expert on here. Link to post Share on other sites
ajs510 122 Posted January 20, 2006 Share Posted January 20, 2006 I just looked you up... you joined the forum in May. I joined at the start in 2004 and have not posted anything beyond Dec of 2004 until this month. If you disagree with something posted... then debate the points. When you make chit up to boost your ethos you show your inability to reason and are a fool.Let me guess... you are a winner... the elite 5% of online poker genious.Perhaps you missed this piece of my post:This coming from one of the well known "online donators" of the forum.I'm a losing player, no bones about it. I play for fun, and so does the bulk of the membership here. Don't be a dick. Link to post Share on other sites
Recommended Posts
Create an account or sign in to comment
You need to be a member in order to leave a comment
Create an account
Sign up for a new account in our community. It's easy!
Register a new accountSign in
Already have an account? Sign in here.
Sign In Now