Poker Full Time

[Slinky]

Who plays full time as a main income? How many hours a day do you play? What do you do if you are on a bad run? What kind of roll did you start out with?

[mustardeggs]

Okay ill out myself ;)

I play poker as my main source of income.

How much I play differs alot, on average I play like 5 hours a day id say. Some days I play 10 hours and some days i dont play at all and sometimes I play an hour or so.

If iam on a bad run I usually take some time off, do other things in life always clears my mind and helps me focusing on good things. Ive already alot of bad runs so I usually take it easy now. I was down almost the whole month , 15k at peak and still managed to play almost tilt free and grind out maybe 2k profits lol.

How much of a roll did I start with? I started with 0 cent shasta sngs on everest and build a 2k roll from that wich I busted lol after that I did dep 180$ and grinded my way up from there.

If youre really consider going pro you should 1. have a backup plan. Thats the most important thing! 2. you should have a solid winrate and money saved 3. you should be clear about what could happen. What you can achieve and what could go wrong.

Poker is a chance and can increase the Quality of your life alot but it can also fuck you up if youre not carefull.

[Slinky]

Hehe thanks for your reply mustard ;)

I'm way off going pro yet but i do one day hope to..we'll see lol

I did the same as you built a 2,000£/nearly 4,000$ (from how little it always was this was a good roll for me, so a big loss) roll and lost the lot :mad: I was on such a bad run..sickened me! But i didnt lose any of that on tilt i was playing my normal .. reload after reload and then gettin Aces and going bust lol

I'm going to deposit a couple of hundred pound on a site soon and start that grind again but i just cant find a site that i'm comfortable with atm :(

I used to play for hours..i'd have a couple of cash tabs going and an mtt! Nearly always i was cashing in mtt's and as every does had ups and downs on cash! But it just went to pot .. i'm not concentrating so much now and i dont know why as i love poker :)

I need to find the problem to this and the rite site and hopefully get a good roll going again!

Do you believe in the 5% roll rule when playing?

[Danielle Angel]

I play poker everyday online. It is where I earn all of my money each week but I never withdraw or spend it (rely on other sources for money lol) :p. As they say you should have a left and a right pocket in poker. I am building my most important of pockets. :)

I have also had a bad crash, I think we all do. I play mainly cash games (CAP limit as safer when grinding) and although only a small wage, earn roughly $100 a day/night. If I am losing however I quit for the day immediately....if I am on a huge roll .... I play non stop and grab as much cash as I can while its rolling in.

After my crash I had the same issue ... I was fearful of playing on the site. Things effect you mentally when you cop bad beat after bad beat. I say it's like a bicycle ... if you fall off get back on. I have gone back to the site I was fear full of (where my crash occurred) and I am feeling much better after raking it back in again. Not saying I am staying there but I HAD to overcome this. A suggestion is you do the same. I was indeed pushed to do it, but it worked. Again I am comfortable :)

A pro I have had lots of discussions recently made it VERY clear NOT to put personal money into poker. Keep it separate Slinky. Deposit the minimum you can and start grinding like crazy. If you appear to be losing STOP as stated above and come back another time. Of course we all have to deposit personal money to start and if we fail we have to add a little more. Keep it to a very minimum though !!!! You dont want to rake your family dry if you are having just plain bad luck !!!

In saying all of this .... I play around your level but talking to pro's has helped me gain this knowledge .... and trust me ;) getting back on that bike really works, as does taking a break when losing, and going for gold when the cards are coming your way :D !!!!!! :)

[mustardeggs]

A pro I have had lots of discussions recently made it VERY clear NOT to put personal money into poker. Keep it separate Slinky. Deposit the minimum you can and start grinding like crazy.

If youre properly rolled I dont see any problem with this. Theres not much better things you can do then invest in playing poker. But for 99,5% of all playrs this statement might be still true though:p.

But let me give u an example. A playr has a proven record of beating nL 200 and
has 40$K in savings. I wouldnt hesitate to invest this 20K$ into playing poker.

[Degen]

You should have six months of living expenses banked before you even consider it. This is in addition to your poker bankroll. You don't want to depend on winning to eat and pay rent.

[mustardeggs]

yea, and 6 months is the lower end. I recommend more then that, like 2 years. It puts alot of mental pressure on you when youre loosing. If poker is your only source of income you usually want to have way more then 6 months OR a great backup plan, like a nice paid job in daddys company ;) wich i dont have :(

[Slinky]

OR a great backup plan, like a nice paid job in daddys company ;) wich i dont have :(

http://i300.photobucket.com/albums/nn24/slinkz1978/smiley-lol.gif

Me either :(

BUT..i have a wealthy ex that "helps" :D

[Danielle Angel]

A pro I have had lots of discussions recently made it VERY clear NOT to put personal money into poker. Keep it separate Slinky.

Regardless of what level of play as stated above. I really didn't make myself too clear. Thanks for summing it up ~WD~ and Mustardeggs :).

As for investing savings into poker however, I classify that as personal money unless it is being saved specifically for poker. You wouldn't wan't to invest your savings you had for that new sports car or your childs tuition into poker if you have substantial amounts to play with. If you were rock bottom a little maybe and again ...grind,grind,grind BUT .... when you win, put what you took BACK into the savings.

Btw lucky you slinky, my ex husband is FAR from wealthy :(

[Degen]

Never heard of somebody saving for poker. All of the pro's I know have worked there way up with poker money they have won. I think the best strategy is to start with a very modest bankroll (even if you are filthy rich) and have only that as your poker bankrolll, and practice good bankroll management just with that bankroll. Totally separate from any personal money you may have.

What a modest bankroll is obviously depends on your financial status, but I can't imagine this would need to be more than $500 or so, and could be done for a lot less. There are lots of stories of people who deposited only $50 or even won their first bankroll from a freeroll, and turned this into hundreds of thousands or even millions of dollars. It all starts with good sound bankroll management. Without that, you don't have a chance.

If you are playing cash games, you should have a minimum of 20 buy-ins for the level you are playing at. If you only play SNG's, 50 buy-in's. These are just bare minimum numbers. If you are playing $200 buy-in cash games with a $1,000 bankroll, its just a recipe for disaster. Move down and study and reward yourself for good play by setting goals and moving up only when you are properly bankrolled for it (again, through money you have won at the poker table).

Another important point is to pick one game, one buy-in and probably, one poker site, and stick with it. Study the hell out of it and learn everything you can about it. This is why one site is helpful, because you'll be playing with the same people over and over and you will know them well, know who the good players are etc, and understand how the game plays on that site. Focusing on a specific niche will allow you to grow as a player much faster than dabbling in MTT's and SNG's and Cash Games etc. Better just to focus on one thing and get really good at it, and move up the levels. Then once you master it, you can do that with another game or form or poker (again, starting at the bottom, with a modest bankroll).

[Danielle Angel]

I must add something about that pro .... I think he really knows his stuff but is a complete mental case lol. It wasn't long before I was deleting him from my yahoo and facebook because of his crude nature and possessiveness towards me. I couldn't get away from him. Sooooo maybe he talked a whole heap of crap about poker. I believe not though. He didn't get where he is without knowing :)

[Danielle Angel]

Yeah he basically said the same as that ~WD~ :). As for the savings part I meant that initial savings. eg. ME :p I saved to play poker, could not get the money together any other way as I was basically at poverty level :(. I did not even have a spare $50 :(. I spent hours and hours playing play money roflmaooooo. I basically banked my pocket money into the site and went from there.

To elaborate ..... I was maxed out in even the mastercard department (almost ready to be credit listed, card was being canceled) so I paid down the mastercard until I had a $50 deposit and away I went :) (Shames me to say it btw) :( :(. Regardless ... all is good now, indeed some people have to save for poker lmao some people like ME :(

[Slinky]

. It all starts with good sound bankroll management. Without that, you don't have a chance.

If you are playing cash games, you should have a minimum of 20 buy-ins for the level you are playing at. If you only play SNG's, 50 buy-in's. These are just bare minimum numbers. If you are playing $200 buy-in cash games with a $1,000 bankroll, its just a recipe for disaster. Move down and study and reward yourself for good play by setting goals and moving up only when you are properly bankrolled for it (again, through money you have won at the poker table).

Another important point is to pick one game, one buy-in and probably, one poker site, and stick with it. Study the hell out of it and learn everything you can about it. This is why one site is helpful, because you'll be playing with the same people over and over and you will know them well, know who the good players are etc, and understand how the game plays on that site.

That is my thinking entirely..i want to find a site that suits me, one i feel comfortable with and then crack on with the limit i'm comfortable with and then destroy every1 hehe if only but thats my aim :D

That BR management is defo the key to success :D

I think i'm going to use titan and prima as my sites to start my grind again..watch this space!

[Degen]

Yeah he basically said the same as that ~WD~ :). As for the savings part I meant that initial savings. eg. ME :p I saved to play poker, could not get the money together any other way as I was basically at poverty level :(. I did not even have a spare $50 :(. I spent hours and hours playing play money roflmaooooo. I basically banked my pocket money into the site and went from there.

To elaborate ..... I was maxed out in even the mastercard department (almost ready to be credit listed, card was being canceled) so I paid down the mastercard until I had a $50 deposit and away I went :) (Shames me to say it btw) :( :(. Regardless ... all is good now, indeed some people have to save for poker lmao some people like ME :(


Plenty of broke college kids have become internet millionaires through poker. Just takes intelligence and motivation to learn the game. Nothing wrong with playing for free but I'd suggest playing freerolls as opposed to play money, because with them you have a chance to win some money and get your bankroll started...and people will also be playing harder (especially at the end of the tournaments) so you will improve more and be in an environment much closer to what it is like for real money...thus you will be getting better as a player.

Confession: Before I became a winning player and when I didn't have money to deposit, I used to play playmoney SNG's on PartyPoker for hours a day. Though the first game I learned to beat, and which started my rise through poker, were SNG's, so I guess it wasn't for nothing :)

[Danielle Angel]

How long ago was this ~WD~, seems we may have crossed paths lol. I must say though I never played SNG's, just play money cash tables :D

[Degen]

2002/2003

[Danielle Angel]

missed you by fair bit, I have not been playing that long. I tried to go back there not so long ago to just play play money with friends, I couldn't sit there haha they were calling everything and anything. Funny how things change :p I was in auto fold and the whole table was calling lol. I lasted 10 mins. No more play money for me :D

[mustardeggs]

You wouldn't wan't to invest your savings you had for that new sports car (

wow money invested into poker >>>> money invested into a sportscar. How much is your car worth after 5 years and how much could your bankroll grow if you play with a moderate winrate winrate?

[mustardeggs]

Confession: Before I became a winning player and when I didn't have money to deposit, I used to play playmoney SNG's on PartyPoker for hours a day. Though the first game I learned to beat, and which started my rise through poker, were SNG's, so I guess it wasn't for nothing :)

lol I used to get up at night just to play the partypoker freerolls and playmoney tourneys

btw I saw WD at a 2/4 playmoney table beeing 2 stacks up at Titan poker last sunday :D, maybe hes a bit rusty thats why :p

[Degen]

lol I used to get up at night just to play the partypoker freerolls and playmoney tourneys

btw I saw WD at a 2/4 playmoney table beeing 2 stacks up at Titan poker last sunday :D, maybe hes a bit rusty thats why :p

lol busted. i only had $15 on Titan and needed to get used to the software before ThePlayr League :)

[Danielle Angel]

point taken mustardeggs, guessing I would have a nicer sports car if I invested and won won won