Poker for a Living

[Jorge10]

I play a lot and win quite a bit I win enough so that I actually could make a living off it, about 4k a month, I have been playing for about 6 months, not rich by any means, but then again I play very low stakes .50/1 and 1/2 pot limit mostly, I use the money to pay for college and to help my parents with their bills they dont make much. I make more than them now, which is odd to say the least, but I really dont know how im going to return to school and be able to play like this with homework and everything.

I am starting to wonder where to go from here? I mean I really like poker and I enjoy it I have 28 poker books have read 19. I really like playing all forms of it. I have been concentrating on all forms of pot limit omaha, both high and low and have become good at it, but I play stud and limit holdem from time to time and am thinking of getting deeper into them because I have read books on them and I think I can beat the lower levels the few times I have played I do ok, I just make more in pot limit omaha games, lol.

I know I should finish school and thats why I have continued to go, but should I tone school down? I mean somehow balance it out so that I still continue my education, but dont take so many classes that I cant play poker? Or should I stop playing poker? Which is very hard as the money is needed at home. Just wondering what to do?

[creedofhubris]

[ QUOTE ]
I play a lot and win quite a bit I win enough so that I actually could make a living off it, about 4k a month, I have been playing for about 6 months, not rich by any means, but then again I play very low stakes .50/1 and 1/2 pot limit mostly, I use the money to pay for college and to help my parents with their bills they dont make much. I make more than them now, which is odd to say the least, but I really dont know how im going to return to school and be able to play like this with homework and everything.

I am starting to wonder where to go from here? I mean I really like poker and I enjoy it I have 28 poker books have read 19. I really like playing all forms of it. I have been concentrating on all forms of pot limit omaha, both high and low and have become good at it, but I play stud and limit holdem from time to time and am thinking of getting deeper into them because I have read books on them and I think I can beat the lower levels the few times I have played I do ok, I just make more in pot limit omaha games, lol.

I know I should finish school and thats why I have continued to go, but should I tone school down? I mean somehow balance it out so that I still continue my education, but dont take so many classes that I cant play poker? Or should I stop playing poker? Which is very hard as the money is needed at home. Just wondering what to do?

[/ QUOTE ]

Stay in school.

Move up in stakes.

[Dan Mezick]

Set up a system, take some out every month and dont jump around. Stick with what works. Move up when you have a bankroll twice what it is typically recommended to be.

Deal with it like a part time job and finish school no matter what.

Why not just teach your parents to play poker?

[Jorge10]

[ QUOTE ]
Set up a system, take some out every month and dont jump around. Stick with what works. Move up when you have a bankroll twice what it is typically recommended to be.


[/ QUOTE ]

I consistently beat these levels, I have been doing so for a while. I dont move up much because I have to take out money to pay for stuff, I did set up a very strong bankroll, but its growing very slowly because I take out cash to pay for my needs. I have been adding 1k every month for the last 4 months and now have about 6k when it comes to bankroll, everything else I take out to spend, I have more than enough for my levels and will eventually move up when I get it up there.

[ QUOTE ]
Deal with it like a part time job and finish school no matter what.

[/ QUOTE ]

Thats the problem I have never had a job before, I think I might have to take less classes because itll take some getting used to. I am doing very well in school, just a little behind at the pace im going itll take me about 2 more years to finish, but if I take a few less classes it will be 3, but I wont be pressured and my GPA wont suck. Thoughts?

[SittingBull]

enough time to test ur long-term skill as a winning player.
U might be having a good temporary run.
I would recommend that U play on week-ends only. Concentrate on finishing college. If U need to help support UR parents,work a regular part-time job and go to school part-time.U really do not need the DOUBLE STRESS of helping UR financially strapped parents AND attempting to play poker for a living.
A part-time job and part-time school will NOT give u this double stress in UR life.
Playing poker for a living and going to school will place u in a a psychosomatic condition that u should avoid.
BTW, I would NOT recommend to my worst enemy playing poker full-time for a living .
I believe it is MORE of a curse than a blessing.
However,I STILL believe that U should follow UR dreams.
God will bless u for being a caring son.
SittingBull

[Jorge10]

[ QUOTE ]
U might be having a good temporary run.


[/ QUOTE ]

I thought that too, but I experienced one downswing, which cost me quite a bit, reasoning behind my bankroll not being any bigger. About 2 months later, I experienced the worst downsing I had ever experienced, for 2 weeks, to say every river messed me up would probably be a close description. But I still continued. My bankroll is better than ever.

[ QUOTE ]
if U need to help support UR parents,work a regular part-time job and go to school part-time.

[/ QUOTE ]

Poker pays me more than any job I could get.

[wackjob]

If you fully believe you can be a long-term, winning player I would do a few things:

1 - setup times to play poker every day, just like a work schedule: maybe start with 3-4 hours and if you have the time do 5-6

2 - finish school, and if you have motivation, DO IT NOW! I [censored] that one up good by not taking advantage of scholarships & having fresh the information in my head

3 - MOVE UP! with a 6K bankroll you should be playing 2/4 or 3/6 at the minimum. My online operating bankroll for 5/10 is 2-3K(low, but works for me). If you crush the 1/2 games, you should be working the 2/4 & 3/6 until you have a 10K bankroll, and then playing 5/10. I've found 5/10 6-handed on party poker is one of the easiest games online.

4 - tell your parents to get a job!

[Jorge10]

[ QUOTE ]
4 - tell your parents to get a job!

[/ QUOTE ]

They work at walmart, we bought a house they can pay stuff, but are very tight, and sometimes they need a bit of help. Thats why I still have a bankroll, lol. If they were that broke I wouldnt be able to save anything.

[ QUOTE ]
3 - MOVE UP! with a 6K bankroll you should be playing 2/4 or 3/6 at the minimum. My online operating bankroll for 5/10 is 2-3K(low, but works for me). If you crush the 1/2 games, you should be working the 2/4 & 3/6 until you have a 10K bankroll, and then playing 5/10. I've found 5/10 6-handed on party poker is one of the easiest games online.


[/ QUOTE ]

I play pot limit games, requirements are really high, technically my bankroll is just about right for 1/2 pot limit. I am over the requirements for .50/1 pot limit thought, I have double what I need for that.
But yes I have been playing a lot more 1/2 than .50/1. This whole month was spent playing 1/2 I experienced the two week downswing at the beginning of the month, but I made it all back plus 3k this month off 1/2 so it was cool.

[wackjob]

Ever think about playing limit? Less bankroll needed, and perhaps less swings. And probably more fish than PL, but I cannot say for sure as I don't play PL very much(except Omaha Hi/Lo on occassion)

[gomberg]

[ QUOTE ]
Ever think about playing limit? Less bankroll needed, and perhaps less swings. And probably more fish than PL, but I cannot say for sure as I don't play PL very much(except Omaha Hi/Lo on occassion)

[/ QUOTE ]

More bankroll is needed for limit - and the variance is higher... stick to big bet if that's what you're good at. Also, because it would be catastrophic to lose your bankroll, stick at $1/2 until your bankroll reaches about 12k - then move up to $2/4. 30-buy-ins should be sufficient for you at that level. You can start to play once in a while at $2/4 if the games look good and your bankroll is over 8k, but I wouldn't before that.

Also, I'd stay in school and treat it as a part time job. Take less classes if you have to, but school is well worth it. Leave yourself outs...

[Jailhouse]

Staying in school is a no brainer and you seem to have that part figured out which is good. What I would recomend is this. [censored] homework 100%. Spend as much of your free time as you can playing cards, hanging out with your buddies, and making love to women. As long as you pay attention in class and get papers in on time, you'll do fine in school, make money, and most importantly, have a lot of fun. Could be bad advice, but it's worked for me so far /images/graemlins/laugh.gif

[TomCollins]

[ QUOTE ]
Ever think about playing limit? Less bankroll needed, and perhaps less swings. And probably more fish than PL, but I cannot say for sure as I don't play PL very much(except Omaha Hi/Lo on occassion)

[/ QUOTE ]

Exactly incorrect. If I want to make $20/hr playing poker, I can do it with less variance at NL/PL than limit, easily. Of course, some games have more variance, like Omaha High. But within the same game, variance will be less on the Big Bet side.

[autobet]

Go to school and play poker part-time.

[gergery]

Your long-term prospects are likely to be much better finishing school than playing poker.

I'd stay in school and keep playing part-time. Keep playing the games you enjoy most and are best at. Move up as soon as you have the bankroll and feel you can beat the game. you'll need a smaller bankroll and have less variance playing PL vs. Limit.

-g