Bankroll

[TheArtist]

Ooops....point 3) I mean don't blow their BR on their trophy girlfriend.

TheArtist

[OrangeHeat]

This is why it is the nuts to go to college get a a job and start building your poker careeer.

I did this - since I have a day job with benefits that pays the bills the first thing I did was let the poker money stay poker money until I had 300BB's.

Now I am using my day job to pay the bills and anything over 300BB's is going into investments. I paid off high interest debt and now I have one year of my current salary saved up plus my 300BB bankroll.

That would be comfortable for me to give it a go but I have 2 more years to vest all my 401k at work. This was another added benefit after credit cards were paid off - maxed the 401k.

Hey it works for me - might not woirk for others. I like that I have security in my job and that allows me to build a large buffer for when I try and go it alone. I am hoping to have a 2-3 yr salary buffer and the 300BB - plus I always have the degree.

Orange

[toots]

One of the most sensible posts I've read in a long time.

[BigBaitsim (milo)]

Excellent post. The bankroll is seperate from your real money. The moment you start mixing the two, you are in trouble.

[Ulysses]

[ QUOTE ]
Worse yet, almost none of them have medical insurance

[/ QUOTE ]

I agree w/ most all of what Al has said many times about the pitfalls of a pro poker career. But this point keeps getting repeated by lots of people time and time again, and I never get it.

Between 1994 and 2003, I've had "corporate" health insurance from 1996-2000. The rest of the time I was either self-employed or not working. Currently I pay $130/mo for Blue Cross PPO health and dental insurance that is better than what most people I know get from their jobs at big companies. Anyone playing poker professionally can do that. Doing it on my own is a great way for me, a healthy 32yo non-smoking male. For people in more expensive to insure brackets, organizations like the NASE (Nat'l Ass'n for the Self-Employed) have group plans, often w/ better rates. It's something very nominal (like $50/yr) for membership.

Just wanted to toss that out there for people who think they are screwed when it comes to health insurance if they don't have a traditional job.

[angry young man]

[angry young man]

people become immortals and known names by flashy play and behavior, they don't become immortals by earning $42/hour at the local 20/40 game but there are quite a few people doing that and that's not a bad living. I'm not saying it's the right job for a lot of people, there are physical and emotional stresses that many (including myself) wouldn't want to take. But just because I don't want to turn my degree into a high stress 80/hour per week consulting job doesn't mean I can tell other people it's not a plausible way to make a living. As for why talented players go broke, two of the best poker players I know have gone bust at one point and I can say without hesitation that it was their fault. They didn't necessarily play bad but poker patience is about more than waiting for hands, it also requires waiting for limits and if you play over your head you're creating the possibility of busting.

[angry young man]

this post has nothing to do with what I said, doesn't address a single point I made, and serves only as an opportunity to parrot a smart ass, condescending comment that's been said a thousand times.

bravo