[TimM]

Dr. Al seems like a very negative person, but for a lot of players his negativity is justified. I certainly don't want losing players to quit their day job to play poker. I'd much rather they keep a source of income so that they can keep reloading their accounts, within the confines of their entertainment budget, of course.

For myself, I am not terribly worried. I played part time and won consistently for fourteen months and 200,000 hands before I left my job. I handled the swings, the risks, the emotional rollercoaster, and the lifestyle just fine. And for the last six months and 225,000 more hands as a full timer, I have continued to do so.

There is a big difference between pros who go broke or have losing years in big money no-limit cash games and multi-table tournaments, and a small to mid-stakes limit grinder like myself.

If I were to go broke, it would likely be from a slow bleed where I fail to make enough to pay my bills each month. As I prepare to move up to the next limit, I'm sitting on a 1000BB bankroll for the current one. It isn't really possible for me to lose all of this without getting a clue that I might not be beating the game. I'm definitely prepared to move down as necessary to protect my ability to keep playing.

Even if I were to have an extended downswing, about two thirds of my monthly living expenses are covered by rakeback alone. I'm more worried about sites putting a stop to rakeback than the games going bad. I'm more worried about losing my bankroll to a hacker than to a downswing. I'm more worried about the donks in the legislatures around the U.S. than I am about the fish leaving.

I am currently getting a small taste of what it's like to have a job again. I am helping a friend who is running a two week chess and computer gaming camp for kids. I get to play games with the kids all day, and get paid. Not exactly the worst job I could think of.

The downside is having to get up at 7AM every day, commute for an hour in traffic, and get home at 4:30PM after another hour commute, dog tired. I had planned to play a 3-4 hour poker session each night when I got home, but I can only stand to play 1.5 hours before I get so tired I risk misreading my cards. My free time is very important to me, and I hate being too tired to enjoy it. I had to cut out my workout sessions too, and I have not been eating well this last week, since having to eat away from home exposes me to all kinds of temptations.

I can't wait to get back to my "dreary life" as a full time online poker player.