[PAUL-IN]

OK. whenever i hear someone say he/she wants to quit his/her dayjob to play poker, i instantly think "deusions of grandeur." "grandeur" is not the right word here. most of the people i heard this from either hate their day job, and/or don't make enough to let them buy the useless things they want, or are rich fat cats who don't really mind winning some here or losing some there.

is poker for a "life" really that great? first, you need a bankroll obviously, and one that will weather bad beats and tilt sessions. second, once you start playing lots of hours, you'd have to start thinking about poker as a " $XX BB/hour" rate job. how fun is that? is it not supposed to be fun? I hear people saying that they can make "2.5 BB/hour". are you a machine? can you consistenly extract 2.5 BB hour indefintely, or in any game, at any time? fluctuations occur, and some day's you'll make a LOT more, and some days you'll just lose your ass.

I saw one guy leave the legal profession to play poker, a +150K job to play poker, and he's aged a LOT, and doesn't seem THAT much happier, being that the next days results is uncertain. that's stressfull, no?

i mean, not only do you have to have the roll, you have to find not just games, but good ones...playing ten handed with all regulars at a local casino isn't a way to make a living. you have to constantly search for the suckers.

now, however, if you are "Spirit Rock" on UB, you'll be fine. that dude makes about $25K a night.