Should I quit my job?

[FieryJustice]

Ok...first off, let me tell you a little bit about myself. I have been 4 tabling the $215's for about 6 months although I "seriously" started playing about 2 months ago. I basically decided to start over on Eurobet with a $200 bankroll, working my way up from the $11's. Well, 2 months later, I have a little over $20K in that site. I have not been keeping records of my games until only about 5 days ago, so I only have about 300 sngs worth of stats, although it is obvious to me I am winning.
First 113 games: 30.3% ITM, 6% ROI
next 122 games: 40% ITM, 27% ROI
todays work 52 games: 44% ITM, 41% ROI

I had 11K in my account about a week ago and since playing these a lot, I am up about 10K. Now for the questions...
I am a fulltime student and I also work a $10 an hour job. Basically, working seems quite pointless to me now that I am making significant money whereas before playing poker, I was making like $30 an hour, so i didnt mind keeping my job, as it really is a great job for a college student. I guess it is obvious i SHOULD quit my job, but I am wondering how many games I need to play in order to be sure I am not going to go broke eventually. I know 300ish is not enough at all, but I have played more than that. I have only started keeping records because I realized that I was actually doing well.
Also, I noticed pretty big swings from the 1st 100 to the 2nd 100 games. I am wondering if I should expect sometime in the near or far future to see a huge drop, as in like -20% ROI over 100 or so games. Thanks for your time. Any input is greatly appreciated.

[raptor517]

i cringe any time i see a post topic along the lines of 'should i quit my job?' if you have to ask, you probably shouldnt. only you yourself can decide if you are comfortable enough with poker to give up a guaranteed wage. however, i detest working for someone else, and for 10 bucks an hour.. bah, i laugh in your face. you could make more than that in rakeback 4 tabling. a 10 dollar per hour job is a joke. if you dont need the money, and have 20k, working a 10 dollar an hour job is foolish, and you should quit immediately and play poker to support your college habit. holla

[FieryJustice]

rakeback last month...the one I started with playing $11 sngs and ended up in the $215's, was $2400...work paid out $1500...work makes me sad. /images/graemlins/frown.gif

[raptor517]

work is a joke anyway. its just a bunch of stupid people that dont know how to run a business properly paying people that need money as little as possible to do the work for them because they are lazy and rather sit in their office and play sngs and such. bah. i refuse to work a day in my life for anyone other than myself or a partner. holla

[gasgod]

Quit a job to play poker? Sounds good. Yes, I think you should if the job is not a career job. But I think you should still get your degree and launch a 'real' career. You never know how long poker will last.

Scenario: somebody writes a bot that plays poker better than Deep Blue plays chess and sells it on the open market. In a few months, the fish catch on and flee in droves. (er, ... schools) Internet poker collapses, and you have to try to make a living playing live against Phil Ivey et al.

Scenario: a blue-nosed administration succeeds in shutting down internet poker in the USA. Half your market dries up, and you have to leave the country to play. Bummer.

Scenario: Bridge (or some other game) takes poker's place as the "in" game, and you have to start from scratch. Don't scoff; poker did it to backgammon. The public is fickle.

GG

[DasLeben]

You turned $200 into $20k? Damn, give me some of what you're on. /images/graemlins/grin.gif

Seriously though, I've toyed with the idea of being a pro at some point. My game has a good ways to develop, and my bankroll needs to grow, well, exponentially. The interesting thing is, I'm graduating a 4-year university with a BS degree next month in Aeronautical Science. I'm a licensed commercial pilot and flight instructor.

But, entry-level pilots make something in the range of $18k/year. Yes, that's it. We're underpaid, overworked, and have a great deal of responsibility. For what? To eat ramen every night? Yeah right. I'll tell you one thing: If I could go pro right now, I'd do it in a heartbeat. But, I also don't ever intend to do that for the rest of my life. Eventually I'd like to go fly for an airline and go lead a so-called "normal" lifestyle.

To sum things up, I think going pro is a great idea if you have something to fall back on, or if you have something bigger that you're working towards.

[curtains]

Raptor is one of the great philisophers of the 21st century.

[David100]

out of interest, what is your nick when playing?

[Mr_J]

If you are responsible, then sure go for it. I didn't have a 'real' job before picking up poker (counting => online casinos => sportsbetting and now poker, I've only stopped sportsbetting for the moment since my BR took a big hit and it's more +EV to just focus on poker right now).

As long as I make a decent chunk of money off poker then I have quite a few outs. I can't see myself not making a decent chunk off poker as long as I put in the hours and focus.

[Degen]

he described what i do pretty well

i sit in my office and pay my employees to do a bunch of stuff i could be doing if only i'd get off my arse and stop playin so many sit-n-go's.


Degen

[Degen]

There is something to be said for having a cool job while in school man. I was a waiter and it was loads of fun, i met a lot of cool people and learned a lot of skills that probably help me out while trying to multi-table, talk on AIM, work and do ten other things.

My senior year I played a lot more poker and didn't work as much and it was much more of a 'grind' day to day.

I say live it up, have a ton of homegames with your buddies and play online poker as recreationally as possible. Play 50 200+15's a week if you must and pull of 1k or so and you'll be rich compared to your buddies.

You'll have plenty of time to make lots of money once you're in the real world.


Degen

[Mr_J]

"because they are lazy"

No, they are smart. Who actually wants to work for a living...

[FieryJustice]

I appreciate all the input so far. I put in my 2 weeks notice at work. I figured i'd work like 2 days a week for the next 2 weeks so that I can leave the compant on good terms just in case I ever need a $10 an hour job again.
I have a few more questions mainly reguarding cashing out money. I was wondering how often you pro people cash out. One a month, a week? Also, how much do you take out in porportion to the amount of money you NEED to get by. Right now I only need like $800 a month for car insurance and rent/bills, so I dont know if I should take out $800 or much more. I am fairly sure I do not need much more than 20K on the net to play $215's, but I was planning on leaving it there so I might build up enough to 4 table the step 5's one day. Again, thanks for the input. I greatly appreciate it.

Jcardshark11 on Eurobet
Jcardshark on party and stars

[Mr_J]

If I had 20k for poker, I'd take 10 and just 8 table the $109s. Make more with much smaller BR swings.

[SippinSoma]

I quit my $9/hr work study job about 3 months ago making much less than you in poker. It was one of the better decisions I made in the past year anyway.

Normally I'd agree with Raptor that it doesn't sound like you're ready to quit. But you waited until you made a solid amount before asking the community. But you're young, you have a social life outside work, and it sounds like you've got your head on right. Go for it.

You've probably made more in the past 3 months than you ever have at your job. Recalculate your BR requirement to include 1 month's living expenses. Spend some of it on things that make you happy. And invest too.

L8.

[skipperbob]

Sure! Quit!...$20 large is 100 buyins at the $215's; I don't think any quality poker-playing 2+2'er can have a downswing worse than maybe ten, or so. (If "IrieZen" are reading this, I think your 30-buyin downswing at the $109's is just a statistical aberration)...Besides, I'm sure that if Fiery blows the wad he can just borrow more from his parents /images/graemlins/smile.gif

[BradleyT]

Nice stats on Prophecy.


Is there a reason why you skipped over the $100's?

And yes I think quitting a $10/hr "job" (vs. a career) is a no-brainer.

[hummusx]

[ QUOTE ]
I appreciate all the input so far. I put in my 2 weeks notice at work. I figured i'd work like 2 days a week for the next 2 weeks so that I can leave the compant on good terms just in case I ever need a $10 an hour job again.
I have a few more questions mainly reguarding cashing out money. I was wondering how often you pro people cash out. One a month, a week? Also, how much do you take out in porportion to the amount of money you NEED to get by. Right now I only need like $800 a month for car insurance and rent/bills, so I dont know if I should take out $800 or much more. I am fairly sure I do not need much more than 20K on the net to play $215's, but I was planning on leaving it there so I might build up enough to 4 table the step 5's one day. Again, thanks for the input. I greatly appreciate it.

Jcardshark11 on Eurobet
Jcardshark on party and stars

[/ QUOTE ]

If I were you, and you haven't already done this, I would turn a serious eye towards putting aside some savings. Especially if you're going to be in a high risk 'occupation' you'd do well to have 4-6 months of living expenses set aside in an emergency fund. I am a huge proponent of this for anyone, in any occupation, at any stage of life, but it seems like it would be a particularly good idea for you. Just set up a new account somewhere (ING Direct is a great online place) and stick a bunch of money in there and never touch it again (unless you have an 'emergency').

Also, if it was me, I'd set up a second account that was my living expense account. I'd put a couple extra months worth of income in there as a buffer, so that if I had a down month I wouldn't have the added stress of drawing against my already reduced bankroll. After I'd done both of the above, then I'd work on building my bankroll up for a bigger game.

[Daliman]

You need to see how you handle a 35 buyin downswing first.

[Daliman]

[ QUOTE ]
I appreciate all the input so far. I put in my 2 weeks notice at work. I figured i'd work like 2 days a week for the next 2 weeks so that I can leave the compant on good terms just in case I ever need a $10 an hour job again.
I have a few more questions mainly reguarding cashing out money. I was wondering how often you pro people cash out. One a month, a week? Also, how much do you take out in porportion to the amount of money you NEED to get by. Right now I only need like $800 a month for car insurance and rent/bills, so I dont know if I should take out $800 or much more. I am fairly sure I do not need much more than 20K on the net to play $215's, but I was planning on leaving it there so I might build up enough to 4 table the step 5's one day. Again, thanks for the input. I greatly appreciate it.

Jcardshark11 on Eurobet
Jcardshark on party and stars

[/ QUOTE ]

If yer JCardshark, yer doing just fine.

[DrPhysic]

Many years ago, I had some friends who were Mormon. They advocated setting aside one year's supply of all the provisions needed to live. That included food, any consumables, and especially money. It seemed a bit extreme at the time.

Having watched severe stockmarket swings, recessions, 23% interest rate inflation, overseas outsourcing, and varying unemployment figures over the past 40 years, I have begun to see the wisdom of their thinking. And their one year's provisions was to allow for the variance of the normal work world, not gambling.

Give some serious thought to putting away a larger savings account than you really think you will need, before burning any bridges. The -30 buyin downswing is not a fiction of somebody's imagination. It will happen, and you need to be strong enough not only logically and emotionally but financially to survive it.

Your situation sounds like a most positive one in terms of having already demonstrated that going pro is a positive EV step. Just make sure you are prepared in the real world as well as the poker world when you do it.

Just my thoughts, FWIW.

Doc

[GtrHtr]

[ QUOTE ]
Many years ago, I had some friends who were Mormon. They advocated setting aside one year's supply of all the provisions needed to live. That included food, any consumables, and especially money. It seemed a bit extreme at the time.

Having watched severe stockmarket swings, recessions, 23% interest rate inflation, overseas outsourcing, and varying unemployment figures over the past 40 years, I have begun to see the wisdom of their thinking. And their one year's provisions was to allow for the variance of the normal work world, not gambling.

Give some serious thought to putting away a larger savings account than you really think you will need, before burning any bridges. The -30 buyin downswing is not a fiction of somebody's imagination. It will happen, and you need to be strong enough not only logically and emotionally but financially to survive it.

Your situation sounds like a most positive one in terms of having already demonstrated that going pro is a positive EV step. Just make sure you are prepared in the real world as well as the poker world when you do it.

Just my thoughts, FWIW.

Doc

[/ QUOTE ]


This is very good guidance.

[r2p]

Add the government decides to hit on-line hard from a tax, social security and self employment tax and hassle perspective.

[citanul]

[ QUOTE ]
Add the government decides to hit on-line hard from a tax, social security and self employment tax and hassle perspective.

[/ QUOTE ]

they already do. if you don't pay your taxes, social security, and self employment taxes, you're a douchebag.

citanul

[citanul]

[ QUOTE ]
If yer JCardshark, yer doing just fine.

[/ QUOTE ]

[citanul]

like everyone else, it'd be good if you'd had a big downswing under your belt, but hey, whatever, you've got a lot of buyins, and probably the stomach to move down if you needed to, so you're probably ok. your skills appear to be there, from playing with you. the "should i quit my job" is really something only you can answer for yourself, it's about what makes you happy in life. good luck.

citanul

[Misfire]

I'm a big fan of Dave Ramsey...he's got great advice on budgeting and investing and all that jazz... He says when you're starting a business, regardless of the money, you should keep your jobby job until the point where the business takes up more of your time than you can spend keeping the job, then jump in with both feet. Sounds like you're about there, so this is probably a good move.

Set aside 6 months of expenses for emergencies (and ONLY for REAL emergencies, like you just lost your entire bankroll or you spent a month in the hospital). Cash out what you need to live on +15% for retirement. I don't see why everything else shouldn't stay in your bankroll as "operating capital." If you're netting less than ~100k/yr you should open a Roth IRA - it lets you invest after tax money up to $4000/ year and the growth is 100% tax free (you are in the States, right?).

Edit: Oh yeah, set aside at least 25%-30% (more as you earn more) of your net profit for taxes. Maybe drop a few hundred bucks to talk to a CPA about planning for your tax bill...you'll probably have to file quarterly estimates. Don't screw those up because the penalties are obscene (my rich grandfater learned that the hard way one year). /images/graemlins/frown.gif

Other than that, congratulations. Carpe Diem!

[Voltron87]

Should you quit this job? Probably.
Should you drop out of school and play poker professionally? Definitely not.

Your post doesn't make that much sense, how have you only been 4 tabling the 215s for six months but have been playing "seriously" for two?

From what you have posted it's obvious you don't understand statistical significance or how SNG trends "work". The fact that you listed today's 52 games is a suggestion of that. I get the distinct impression that you are on a huge heater. Post some actual hands and bubble play.

[Phil Van Sexton]

[ QUOTE ]
work is a joke anyway. its just a bunch of stupid people that dont know how to run a business properly paying people that need money as little as possible to do the work for them because they are lazy and rather sit in their office and play sngs and such. bah. i refuse to work a day in my life for anyone other than myself or a partner. holla

[/ QUOTE ]

99% of people working for themselves have to deal with customers or clients, so the whole "be your own boss" thing is quite a misnomer. You end up working more and doing more ass-kissing than you'd ever do if you worked in a big corporation.

Of course, there are exceptions, like the PokerProphecy guy who just fires customers who complain. And there are a handful of jobs with no customers to cater to (like poker player or ultimate fighter), but these jobs have their own hazards to be sure.

[valenzuela]

I got news for u, almost everybody in the world would kill for that job, youre just a luck guy that was born in a rich country, of course u most likely dont care that the money u lost playing top spin tennis is many ppls anual salary.

[DrPhysic]

I see that you have been self employed, Phil. About the time I started my own business, a good friend told me that "The great thing about being in business for yourself is that you can work half days... Pick any 12 hours you want."

That's besides the facts of life that you mention about working for customers, handling personnel problems, dealing with any complaints... It's a great life!

Poker player might be better if you were really good at it, but I suspect that working half days is still part of the fun.

Doc

[raptor517]

not bitter at all are we? sorry you are jealous. holla

[valenzuela]

Even if I were jealous, which Im not because Im a very lucky person, it doesnt take the fact that 10bux an hour is not a joke. One thing is bitterness and the other is realizing that there is a lack of fairness in the world.

[microbet]

Cost of living varies widely.

[raptor517]

damn dude you need to relax. i realize there are others less fortunate than myself. im not hatin on them by any means.. chiell. holla

[valenzuela]

sometimes my sensitive side of me gets pissed when somebody says 10 bux an hour is a joke /images/graemlins/mad.gif. EDIT: I REALLY was shcoked when u said that, Im not sure u were being sarcastic and yes I know cost of living changes but still.

[raptor517]

when you are making 100 an hour playing poker online, 10 an hour doing real work IS a joke. holla

[Apathy]

One piece of advice I would like to offer is not keep more money on site then is necessary. It is equivalent to hiding it all under your bed or putting it in a shoe box. Find a high interest savings account, or put half of it in 30 day Tbills or something. You're losing a lot of interest by just leaving it on site, especially when it is so easy to cash it out, and redeposit. Keep 20 buyins or so on site so that you don't inconveinance yourself by having to redopsit too much. When your ready for the step 5s, just redoposit what you think you need online.

I am in a similar situation to you for the next four months. I am making around $100/hour 4 tabling, (soon to be 8), and have a $15 (CDN)/hour job at a bar in the summer. I am going to keep my job for a while at least only because its fun, and I like the people there. You don't want to become a shut-in when you start playing professionally. Be sure to leave a lot of time for friends etc, and make use of the greatest perk. Setting your own hours.

[FieryJustice]

Ok...I just woke up. Thanks for the million replies...I appreciate it. I put in my 2 weeks notice yesterday so I will be finished in 2 weeks. I also told the boss to not work me much and he said that would be fine.
I really dont have a reason for why i skipped the $109's. When I started playing like 2 years ago i worked up from 1/2 limit to 15/30 and, during a downswing, I decided to play a $215 and I did well in it, so I kept on playing them. When I started my eurobet account, I got to like $3000 and I decided to try a few $215's on a short bankroll to take a shot at some bigger money and I did fine, so I decided to stay there. I have never played many $50's either. It seems to me like the poor people in the $215's are scared ot taking 4th whereas the people in the lower ones dont care.
For what it is worth, I did have a 15 buyin downswing in the 1st 100 sngs I kept track of. That is the main reason why I only had 6$ ROI for them, which isnt good at all in my opinion. Thirty would probably make me sad, but i'm sure I would work through it or move down.
Some people commented about why they never see me playing, well, I usually play from like 7 PM EST til like 5AM. It seems like people get tired or something near 2AMish and they start playing awful. Maybe that is when they get drunk...I dont know. If you have anymore questions, LMK. Thanks for the help.

~Jcard

[stupidsucker]

Seems you have already jumped in.

Welcome aboard.... Now for your first real poker lesson soon.

The most important advice given here is to prepare emotionaly for the downswing that WILL happen. Mine always come at the worst possible moment. I dont wish the same for you.

Anyone with some math skills and general learning skills can play winning poker, but it takes a completly different kind of mental tenacity to play for a living with no other form of support. I am just a small fry with a big mouth playing happily at the 20s-50s(mainly 20s now 8tabling). Its a lot harder to move up when you have to be ultra safe with your BR all the time.(not to mention I have been too lazy to put in the needed hours) That is in the past....(I hope)

Good luck

[valenzuela]

to close this thing up, I agree with u and I got overexcited, maybe 10 bux an hour is a joke in the USA.

[Bluff Daddy]

It is a joke when he says I made 20k the last two months should I keep my 10/hr part time job where I can barely make that in 2 years.

[Blarg]

I agree.

[Blarg]

Not entirely. But compared to the expenses of living in a big city, it is. Rent for modest 1 and 2 bedroom apartments in very very modest neighborhoods can be $900 and up in many cities -- sometimes much higher. So considering what you need just to be sure you're living indoors instead of outdoors, a $10 wage can seem frighteningly small.

[Nottom]

If you work a crappy job for no reason other than to have money (which it seems is the case), then sure go ahead and quit. Its a waste of time to work for $10/hour when you can makes 3-10 times that playing poker.

Of course you still should make sure to go to class and all that, and work on trying to get a real job out of school unless you really turn out to be a poker prodigy.

[SippinSoma]

[ QUOTE ]
Of course you still should make sure to go to class and all that, and work on trying to get a real job out of school unless you really turn out to be a poker prodigy.

[/ QUOTE ]

Go to school anyway. As great as poker can be to us, I doubt many of us will want it to be the only thing we did with our lives.

[adanthar]

It depends on the area, but keep in mind in most major cities a plain slice of pizza is close to $2 now. Add in a can of Pepsi and my lunch costs $5.

If I was in Latin America or half a hundred other countries I wouldn't even think of doing anything *but* poker for a living. If it wasn't for ambition and family I'd long since have moved. Granted, those two things are like 90% of my life EV, but you get the idea.

[eastbay]

[ QUOTE ]
sometimes my sensitive side of me gets pissed when somebody says 10 bux an hour is a joke /images/graemlins/mad.gif. EDIT: I REALLY was shcoked when u said that, Im not sure u were being sarcastic and yes I know cost of living changes but still.

[/ QUOTE ]

I think you may be overestimating what $10 here can buy vs. what $10 can buy for you.

I had a $10 beer last night.

eastbay

[microbet]

You must have been in SF.

[valenzuela]

lol, in Bolivia a lunch costs you 30 cents.

[eastbay]

[ QUOTE ]
You must have been in SF.

[/ QUOTE ]

Yep.

eastbay

[DasLeben]

In Russia, car drives you!

[Blarg]

You can spend over 6 or 7 dollars here on a fast food lunch easily. You can spend close to two dollars on the soda alone.

[valenzuela]

I lived in England a couple of years. thats why I speak english, Im not catholic and I like liverpool FC

[Newt_Buggs]

I'm in school too and recently quit my job with a paid buisness internship. So far its gone great, and since I only play the 20's and 30's (so far) the $4,000 i've saved up is more than enough. The buisness internship was cool too, but not nearly as good as poker, and just thinking that I was working as a custodian last year sends shivers down my spine.

[Newt_Buggs]

Anyone ever feel guilty playing poker for a living? I feel like I'm not actually doing anything productive. Often though I will laugh out loud at the computer screen at some of the plays PP fish are capable of. Now though I just realize that, even though I'm not really doing anything playing poker, if I don't take the fishes money you guys will just do it instead /images/graemlins/wink.gif

[BradleyT]

[ QUOTE ]
I'm in school too and recently quit my job with a paid buisness internship. So far its gone great, and since I only play the 20's and 30's (so far) the $4,000 i've saved up is more than enough. The buisness internship was cool too, but not nearly as good as poker, and just thinking that I was working as a custodian last year sends shivers down my spine.

[/ QUOTE ]

You gave up a business internship for poker?

[Degen]

[ QUOTE ]
Anyone ever feel guilty playing poker for a living? I feel like I'm not actually doing anything productive.

[/ QUOTE ]


if playing poker is your sole source of gratication in life, and where you draw your pride, joy and self-esteem, then no it is not a good thing to be doing long-term IMO.

but if you use the proceeds from poker to fund the things that give you the above, then IMO it is an awesome thing that we are truly lucky to be able to do.

for me its travel, taking time off, spending time with friends and funding my new business ventures that make it worth while.

on this same note, i also find it very helpful and +EV to have a lot of these other things going on in your life to keep you sane when it starts to rain bad beats.



Degen

[MDO67]

There is plenty of good advice here for you. I am new at poker but have been a fee based financial planner for 15 years.

Make sure you are putting money away. You should keep at least 6 months of living expenses in a savings account. It is for emergencies only (Someone suggested ING earlier) You should also set up a Roth IRA or a SOLO 401(k). This will enable you to build up some money for retirement. It is impossible to make up for lost time when it comes to investing. Don't try to pick the investments yourself because it will take time away from making money at the poker table. Get a competent professional.

Treat poker as a business. Invest in your business and continue to learn your business.

Best of luck to you.

- MDO -

[Newt_Buggs]

[ QUOTE ]
You gave up a business internship for poker?

[/ QUOTE ]
It wasn't so much that I gave up the internship for poker, but that I could give it up because of poker. I wasn't enjoying it too much, and one of the major perks was it paid well for summer work for a college undergrad (average intern earned $10,000 over spring/summer, and I was on route to earn more). I was earning plenty playing poker, and once I lost interest the only incentive I had to stay was the experience i got, which wasn't enough by itself.

[Blarg]

The recommendations are sometimes worth more than the experience or the money.

[Gramps]

If you play the 200s full-time, you will have downswings in the $10k range - even if you have a good ROI, or you think you don't have as much variance as other styles of play, yada-yada.

Plan accordingly bankroll-wise and emotion-wise. Learning how to beat the 200s is the easy part for most people who are able to do it.

[Nottom]

[ QUOTE ]
[ QUOTE ]
Of course you still should make sure to go to class and all that, and work on trying to get a real job out of school unless you really turn out to be a poker prodigy.

[/ QUOTE ]

Go to school anyway. As great as poker can be to us, I doubt many of us will want it to be the only thing we did with our lives.

[/ QUOTE ]

Like I said, unless hes a true poker prodigy.

If someone has the ability to make hundreds of thousands of dollars playing poker, I say ride the wave while its good.

School will be there later if you want, the poker boom may not.

[raptor517]

bwahahahahaha, amazing words of wisdom. holla

[The Yugoslavian]

[ QUOTE ]
bwahahahahaha, amazing words of wisdom. holla

[/ QUOTE ]

Too bad you're not an XBOX tennis prodigy. I hear one can make upwards of $1250/every couple hours given good table selection. /images/graemlins/smirk.gif

Yugoslav

[raptor517]

given good court selection you mean? yea gavins gonna make more playing me xbox with me than he will winning bracelets this year. holla

[Route246]

This is very sound advice. When someone is on a huge rush like FJustice, it's easy to forget that the reverse-rush (as I prefer to call it) will do it's best to take you down and test your mettle. Many years ago, I went on a 13-month killer downswing and nothing seemed to help. What busted me out of the downswing was quitting for 6-months and then returning with a fresh attitude. I charted my play pretty carefully (I usually keep a count of hands played, pairs that flop sets, AA and AK success rates, etc.) and it just seemed like it came down to 13-months of never catching a rush or just never getting any traction. I never doubted myself and the sympathy from other players when beat after beat after beat would be put on me was pretty much confirmation that I was in deep doodoo in terms of catching cards.

Be prepared for an 0-for-10 run but never doubt yourself or you're beat. The only piece of advice I would have is that if you play online, figure that your always at risk for being outplayed by a bot or cheated by conspiring players. Good luck in the future. Many people have given you some good advice here.

[ QUOTE ]
Seems you have already jumped in.

Welcome aboard.... Now for your first real poker lesson soon.

The most important advice given here is to prepare emotionaly for the downswing that WILL happen. Mine always come at the worst possible moment. I dont wish the same for you.

Anyone with some math skills and general learning skills can play winning poker, but it takes a completly different kind of mental tenacity to play for a living with no other form of support. I am just a small fry with a big mouth playing happily at the 20s-50s(mainly 20s now 8tabling). Its a lot harder to move up when you have to be ultra safe with your BR all the time.(not to mention I have been too lazy to put in the needed hours) That is in the past....(I hope)

Good luck

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[FieryJustice]

Well...after tonight and losing $3Kish, I am rather sad really not too worried about the future. Tonight, I when I lost, I was in with the best hand 80% of the time...losing with the best hand 80% of the time makes me wonder some people dont have a program that tells them which cards are comming. I am glad to say that I did not go on any insane tilt...just a little tilt at like 5:00 in the morning that resulted in me losing with the best hand again.
I supoose why I am not worried ie because in the last 2 days, I was up about 10K, so a 3K loss seems almost expected eventually although I wish I could just win like 3K every day with no losses. Another really really weird thing is that today, I had 2 1sts out of 61 games. In the 2 previous days combined, I had 17 1sts out of 85 games. Losing every time you get hu to 3 outers hurts! Oh well...there will always be tomorrow. Thanks again for all your comments. I appreciate it.

~Jcardshark