"One week as a pro" article

[mattw]

link. (http://www.internettexasholdem.com/poker-columnists/ian-taylor-aka-piemaster/one-week-as-a-pro/)

sample size way too small.

[kenberman]

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I was relying on all components of my PC as well as my phone line, the local broadband exchange and my electricity supply in order to keep playing.

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umm, you mean the same stuff everybody else relies on to work?

[Beavis68]

Why do people who only win 1bb/100 think they can go pro?

[RikaKazak]

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Why do people who only win 1bb/100 think they can go pro?

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unless it's limit /images/graemlins/wink.gif

[mattw]

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Why do people who only win 1bb/100 think they can go pro?

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granted it aint much but 1BB/100 at 10/20 is better than stacking boxes at wallyworld.

[schwza]

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Why do people who only win 1bb/100 think they can go pro?

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granted it aint much but 1BB/100 at 10/20 is better than stacking boxes at wallyworld.

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if you're 10-tabling then you're making a crap ton of money.

[schwza]

i thought it was a very good article though.

[Nick-Zack]

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Why do people who only win 1bb/100 think they can go pro?

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1BB/100 at 5/10 and the authors 250 hands an hour is equal to $25 an hour.

I think 1bb/100 with 250 hands an hour is poor. If you were playing 500 hands an hour at 1bb/100, that's acceptable, but 250 hands is 3 tables of 6 max, or 4 tables of full ring. Being able to play 8 tables of full ring or 5-6 of 6 max is essential to being pro at 5/10ish limits, I think, because then you can hit the "50-60k" goal (his goal) with 3-4 hours of play a day. Statistics say that people are only "on" for about 5-6 hours of their workday. At most, that should be the amount of time you are playing poker a day if you want even close to solid play.

-dustyn

[gildwulf]

The idea that you can determine what being a pro is like (the downswings, the monotony, psychological factors, etc.) from one week at poker is ridiculous.

Also, by his definition of pro every college kid who comes home for Christmas break is a professional poker player.

[El Tigre]

ummmmmmm i remember the time when 1bb per hour of live play was a pretty damn good win rate. playing 2-3 tables of 5-10 at 1bb/100 can make a very good living

[Nick-Zack]

I play bad though so I have to make do with the skills that I have. Each and every month I am thrilled if I am at 1 BB/100 in ring games and 10% ROI in SNG's.

I call [censored] on the fact that everyone that reads 2+2 is at 2.5 BB/100 like most claim and 20% ROI on SNG's. I put forward that in limit poker anything over 1.5 to 2.0 is just running very very good.

[Aces McGee]

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Could I play poker full time over a long period? I guess while this week was extremely helpful it didn’t fully answer this question. I guess nothing really would except for trying it.

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Great. So why did I bother reading this?

-McGee

PROFESSIONAL POKER is poker you make an income of off. Why do people assume you are only pro if you are making 6 digits? 20 bucks an hour, non taxed income, is a very decent living. Especially when you are free to travel, make your own hours, not shave or shower, and even jack off on the job.

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The idea that you can determine what being a pro is like (the downswings, the monotony, psychological factors, etc.) from one week at poker is ridiculous.



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NH

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PROFESSIONAL POKER is poker you make an income of off. Why do people assume you are only pro if you are making 6 digits? 20 bucks an hour, non taxed income, is a very decent living. Especially when you are free to travel, make your own hours, not shave or shower, and even jack off on the job.

[/ QUOTE ]

lol. if you are a poker "pro" only making $20 an hour, you should get another job. Do you see why?

[teamdonkey]

wow... why all the hate? i thought the article was well written, and the guy was pretty realistic.

[LImitPlayer]

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if you're 10-tabling then you're making a crap ton of money

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If your 10 tabling and getting rakeback then your making a crap ton of money

[ghostface]

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ummmmmmm i remember the time when 1bb per hour of live play was a pretty damn good win rate. playing 2-3 tables of 5-10 at 1bb/100 can make a very good living

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The only reason 1bb/hour is good at live play is because you get 35 hands/hr.

[StacysMom]

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PROFESSIONAL POKER is poker you make an income of off. Why do people assume you are only pro if you are making 6 digits? 20 bucks an hour, non taxed income, is a very decent living. Especially when you are free to travel, make your own hours, not shave or shower, and even jack off on the job.

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lol. if you are a poker "pro" only making $20 an hour, you should get another job. Do you see why?

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Umm... what % of employed US population is making $20+/hr. I bet its not very high.

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PROFESSIONAL POKER is poker you make an income of off. Why do people assume you are only pro if you are making 6 digits? 20 bucks an hour, non taxed income, is a very decent living. Especially when you are free to travel, make your own hours, not shave or shower, and even jack off on the job.

[/ QUOTE ]

lol. if you are a poker "pro" only making $20 an hour, you should get another job. Do you see why?

[/ QUOTE ]

this is an absurd cocky statement. Like stacy's mom said. 20bucks an hour is alot more then most people make. Add the convenience of being self employed and it is a decent living for a lot of people. DO YOU SEE WHY? probably not.

[gildwulf]

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PROFESSIONAL POKER is poker you make an income of off. Why do people assume you are only pro if you are making 6 digits? 20 bucks an hour, non taxed income, is a very decent living. Especially when you are free to travel, make your own hours, not shave or shower, and even jack off on the job.

[/ QUOTE ]

lol. if you are a poker "pro" only making $20 an hour, you should get another job. Do you see why?

[/ QUOTE ]

this is an absurd cocky statement. Like stacy's mom said. 20bucks an hour is alot more then most people make. Add the convenience of being self employed and it is a decent living for a lot of people. DO YOU SEE WHY? probably not.

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do you see why (http://www.dol.gov/esa/minwage/america.htm)

[MyTurn2Raise]

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Why do people who only win 1bb/100 think they can go pro?

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because I'm doing it ...and it's all good

[scotty34]

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PROFESSIONAL POKER is poker you make an income of off. Why do people assume you are only pro if you are making 6 digits? 20 bucks an hour, non taxed income, is a very decent living. Especially when you are free to travel, make your own hours, not shave or shower, and even jack off on the job.

[/ QUOTE ]

lol. if you are a poker "pro" only making $20 an hour, you should get another job. Do you see why?

[/ QUOTE ]

this is an absurd cocky statement. Like stacy's mom said. 20bucks an hour is alot more then most people make. Add the convenience of being self employed and it is a decent living for a lot of people. DO YOU SEE WHY? probably not.

[/ QUOTE ]

20 bucks an hour when you only put in 3-4 hours a day is not that great. If you want to play it 8 hours a day like a normal job, you are headed for a quick burnout.

[BradleyT]

Why is everyone ripping on his 1BB/100? Do you think he wont get better after putting in 100,000 hands or something?

[wadea]

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In fact on a typical day I would have multiple good and bad periods, plus periods where I stayed approximately where I was.


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This was a very insightful article. /images/graemlins/wink.gif

[Victor]

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Why do people who only win 1bb/100 think they can go pro?

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thats a great winrate at 10/20 or higher.

[mackthefork]

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PROFESSIONAL POKER is poker you make an income of off. Why do people assume you are only pro if you are making 6 digits? 20 bucks an hour, non taxed income, is a very decent living. Especially when you are free to travel, make your own hours, not shave or shower, and even jack off on the job.

[/ QUOTE ]

lol. if you are a poker "pro" only making $20 an hour, you should get another job. Do you see why?

[/ QUOTE ]

That's more than 75% of the working population of the UK earn, and most people would give their right arm to earn that much, if I could guarantee $20 an hour for the next 10 years I would go pro tommorrow, sadly that is unlikely.

Mack

[MicroBob]

I'd rather make $20/hr playing a freaking computer game from home that I can do whenever I want then make $30 or $40/hr having to commute to a typical office 'environment' working a typical type of 'boss' while always smiling and wearing a shirt and tie and having to show up at 8 in the freaking morning.

At $20/hr on online-poker you also have the potential to actually GET BETTER. There is no reason to assume that you will always continue to make that much.
The 'business trips' in poker (stuff like winning a package to the WSOP or something) are pretty nice perks too.


Lots of people who work pretty miserable jobs for semi-decent money would gladly take a pay-cut to work at home whenever they felt like working.
Many of these people would accept an even bigger pay-cut if it was no longer the same job, but rather was something that they actually kind of enjoyed like playing poker.


I've been in a really bad losing streak lately...and even that hasn't really turned me off to the freedom and flexibility that one gets doing this.
I'm grinding my way back because it's so much better than so many other options out there (and because I think the long-term potential of studying and becoming a good poker-player is worthwhile).

[RikaKazak]

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[ QUOTE ]
[ QUOTE ]
PROFESSIONAL POKER is poker you make an income of off. Why do people assume you are only pro if you are making 6 digits? 20 bucks an hour, non taxed income, is a very decent living. Especially when you are free to travel, make your own hours, not shave or shower, and even jack off on the job.

[/ QUOTE ]

lol. if you are a poker "pro" only making $20 an hour, you should get another job. Do you see why?

[/ QUOTE ]

That's more than 75% of the working population of the UK earn, and most people would give their right arm to earn that much, if I could guarantee $20 an hour for the next 10 years I would go pro tommorrow, sadly that is unlikely.

Mack

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I would shoot myself if I made $20 a hour at poker, it's SUPER EASY to make over $50 a hour, and not too hard to cross the $100 a hour mark.

[RollaJ]

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I'd rather make $20/hr playing a freaking computer game from home that I can do whenever I want then make $30 or $40/hr having to commute to a typical office 'environment' working a typical type of 'boss' while always smiling and wearing a shirt and tie and having to show up at 8 in the freaking morning.

At $20/hr on online-poker you also have the potential to actually GET BETTER. There is no reason to assume that you will always continue to make that much.
The 'business trips' in poker (stuff like winning a package to the WSOP or something) are pretty nice perks too.


Lots of people who work pretty miserable jobs for semi-decent money would gladly take a pay-cut to work at home whenever they felt like working.
Many of these people would accept an even bigger pay-cut if it was no longer the same job, but rather was something that they actually kind of enjoyed like playing poker.


I've been in a really bad losing streak lately...and even that hasn't really turned me off to the freedom and flexibility that one gets doing this.
I'm grinding my way back because it's so much better than so many other options out there (and because I think the long-term potential of studying and becoming a good poker-player is worthwhile).

[/ QUOTE ]

Well said!

I feel bad for this guy, that in only one week he took all the fun out of playing as a pro.
Setting an alarm
Playing sooo many hours
Giving himself only 15 minutes for a meal
No internet while playing

.....Sounds like he is working for "the MAN"

[jaxUp]

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I'd rather make $20/hr playing a freaking computer game from home that I can do whenever I want then make $30 or $40/hr having to commute to a typical office 'environment' working a typical type of 'boss' while always smiling and wearing a shirt and tie and having to show up at 8 in the freaking morning.


[/ QUOTE ]

you just made me hate my life.

I didn't like this quote from the article, I definitely disagree with it:

"There is no such thing as a 'good session' or a 'bad session'..."

[mattw]

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I didn't like this quote from the article, I definitely disagree with it:

"There is no such thing as a 'good session' or a 'bad session'..."

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if poker is one long session, which i think it is, then the quote is correct.

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I didn't like this quote from the article, I definitely disagree with it:

"There is no such thing as a 'good session' or a 'bad session'..."

[/ QUOTE ]

if poker is one long session, which i think it is, then the quote is correct.

[/ QUOTE ]
Okay, so take these things together.

1. There is no such thing is a "good session" or a "bad session".
2. Poker is one long session.

Given these two statements combined, we can conclude that:

3. Poker is break-even.

As such, I still disagree with the statement for most persons.

[mackthefork]

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PROFESSIONAL POKER is poker you make an income of off. Why do people assume you are only pro if you are making 6 digits? 20 bucks an hour, non taxed income, is a very decent living. Especially when you are free to travel, make your own hours, not shave or shower, and even jack off on the job.

[/ QUOTE ]

lol. if you are a poker "pro" only making $20 an hour, you should get another job. Do you see why?

[/ QUOTE ]

That's more than 75% of the working population of the UK earn, and most people would give their right arm to earn that much, if I could guarantee $20 an hour for the next 10 years I would go pro tommorrow, sadly that is unlikely.

Mack

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I would shoot myself if I made $20 a hour at poker, it's SUPER EASY to make over $50 a hour, and not too hard to cross the $100 a hour mark.

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You know why you find it easy to earn that don't you? Well it's because most people are losing players, if it really was easy as you say, then you would be losing along with all the rest. Take advantage of it while you can, and be grateful, because work and the pay most people get completely sucks ass.

Mack

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I would shoot myself if I made $20 a hour at poker, it's SUPER EASY to make over $50 a hour, and not too hard to cross the $100 a hour mark.

[/ QUOTE ]

Yeah, I'm in this camp as well. See, your $20/hour isn't even really $20. You aren't paying taxes, so you aren't adding to your social security. You also aren't getting benefits, which would also be included in that figure if you had a regular job. And aside from all that, you can even add variables like you probably aren't working 40hrs/week and the risk that you get popped for tax evasion. To me, $20/hr before taxes at poker is right on par with about $10/hr fulltime at a real job. Which is crap.

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I would shoot myself if I made $20 a hour at poker, it's SUPER EASY to make over $50 a hour, and not too hard to cross the $100 a hour mark.

[/ QUOTE ]

Yeah, I'm in this camp as well. See, your $20/hour isn't even really $20. You aren't paying taxes, so you aren't adding to your social security. You also aren't getting benefits, which would also be included in that figure if you had a regular job. And aside from all that, you can even add variables like you probably aren't working 40hrs/week and the risk that you get popped for tax evasion. To me, $20/hr before taxes at poker is right on par with about $10/hr fulltime at a real job. Which is crap.

[/ QUOTE ]

Read OP. The article plainly says you DO NOT pay taxes on winnings from gamblings in the UK. Benefits are available to people who are self employed the same way they are available to people who work for a corporation. 20/hour, tax free, is a decent income. Just because there are people making 500 dollars an hour, doesn't mean you should quit poker because you only make 50.

Yeah, no thanks on reading some mid-limit blog. Besides, my post was directed at some of the replies in the thread, not the OP.

[MrEngenic]

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I would shoot myself if I made $20 a hour at poker, it's SUPER EASY to make over $50 a hour, and not too hard to cross the $100 a hour mark.

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Yeah, I'm in this camp as well. See, your $20/hour isn't even really $20. You aren't paying taxes, so you aren't adding to your social security. You also aren't getting benefits, which would also be included in that figure if you had a regular job. And aside from all that, you can even add variables like you probably aren't working 40hrs/week and the risk that you get popped for tax evasion. To me, $20/hr before taxes at poker is right on par with about $10/hr fulltime at a real job. Which is crap.

[/ QUOTE ]


Why do you assume everything works the same way in other countries as it does in the USA?
Gambling income is not taxable in the EU and health care is free.