How do you pay yourself?

[Hannibal]

This question is to the "pros"...how do you pay yourself? Do you have a system, where you put a certain amount into the bank ever week whether you are thin or flush? Do you put more in when you are running well, or less in when you are not? Just curious.

I am not going to get into the whole "who's a pro, and who isn't" discussion. I have been at this for almost a year and I am not looking for a job...so thats good enough for me. Just wondering how others, whose main source of income is poker, pay themselves.

[GoblinMason (Craig)]

I'm just a college student and not a pro...but I take 1k out whenever my checking account gets below 1k. I probably don't spend as much when I'm running bad though.

-Craig

If I'm correct to interpret your question as "how do I determine how much to pay myself from my poker winnings?", then the answer is fairly simple. However, keep in mind that I think I may be conservative re: this subject.

Basically, I keep ~1000 big bets for a bankroll. This is money that I can never really spend or pay myself -- it's the "just in case things go to hell" cash that keeps me staked. Additionally, I keep three months worth of budgeted expenses on hand -- this number also remains constant.

Next, at the end of each month, I look at my PT results for that month, and set aside 25% for taxes and 5% for my IRA (until the annual maximum is reached, of course).

Then, depending on how quickly I want to move to the next limit, I take the remaining cash and either save it for a trip/item/x-mas etc, or add it to my bankroll. I also take some (although not as much as I should...) and save in the stock market.

Obviously, it doesn't work out that perfectly every month, but I do attempt to keep my cash flow statement ultra-positive.

[stigmata]

That sounds like a pretty intelligent approach zirri.

If I was to go pro, I would do a similar thing: 1000BB bankroll + 3 months living expenses at all times. I would probably just pay myself a monthly salary from rakeback (this would make sure I actually worked), and most of profits divided between mortgage/savings/bankroll for moving up.

At the moment I just cash some money out when I need it /images/graemlins/wink.gif

[albedoa]

When moving up in stakes and becoming a pro, at what point did you tell yourself that you'd stick around at your current level and save up 1000BB plus expenses? Was it difficult to hold yourself back from the next limit while you knew you had more than 3x the bankroll at one point?

Great post by the way.

[obsidian]

[ QUOTE ]
I'm just a college student and not a pro...but I take 1k out whenever my checking account gets below 1k. I probably don't spend as much when I'm running bad though.

-Craig

[/ QUOTE ]
Same here. Or I will withdrawl more when making a big purchase (just got a new car).

[ QUOTE ]
When moving up in stakes and becoming a pro, at what point did you tell yourself that you'd stick around at your current level and save up 1000BB plus expenses?

[/ QUOTE ]

I started playing 3/6 tables and already had some money from playing poker at 1/2 and then 2/4. I think it was the moment I saw that over 100k hands, I was making ~1.5BB/hr/table that I said, "Hm. Might as well stop for a while and save savor this sweet victory." And then when I quit work, I had the 3 mo. worth of expenses and I decided I would move to 5/10 as soon as my bankroll increased.

[ QUOTE ]
Was it difficult to hold yourself back from the next limit while you knew you had more than 3x the bankroll at one point?

[/ QUOTE ]

Listen: as long as there are poker players who continue to make a buck, discipline will be a constant struggle. Sure, it's difficult, but I play poker like it's my own little business. That is, if I'm not disciplined and I move up faster than I should, I risk losing my poker career. With such high stakes, I'd rather play it safe, regardless of my abilities and temptations.

If you're thinking about playing poker as your primary source of income, just remember that discipline is everything. You need to approach every decision with the utmost maturity, because trust me, it's much harder than working a 9-5.

Feel free to PM me if you have any additional questions.

[okayplayer]

At first I did monthly withdrawals to my checking acct of whatever I earned that month (I keep a spreadsheet of earnings), making sure to keep my BR sufficient for the limit I was playing at as I moved up (20 buy ins). Then as my withdrawals increased, I did withdrawals every 2 weeks or so.

I make sure I always have X in my account (X being $ needed to play a certain game, lose alot - and not flinch). I keep Y in an intermediary account like neteller to top off X if need be. Then I just withdrawl any # over X that I feel like. Lumpsums, no real scheduled times or fixed amount.

[The Truth]

At least 1k big bets at whatever level I am playing.

I try to take out 20% of total earn for stock market.
Rest is just added back to bankroll, savings and expenses.


blake

I pay myself by the number of hands I play. I figure I am around 1 BB winner at my level and pay myself about half my win rate. Essentially, I pay myself $30 per 100 hands at 30-60.

I've tried many different methods to pay myself and I feel this is the best one since it encourages me to play more hands. It also helps me not worry about how much I am up or down in the short run, since that shouldn't matter to a winning player.

-Ernest