Moving between limits - question for top players

[Marlow]

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when I was younger, a day job was just a source of money for me, that's it. most people that use the term "day job" feel this way [img]/images/graemlins/smile.gif[/img]. now that I'm real old and stuff, I've started thinking more about it and being a little more particular about what exactly I am spending 8 or so hours a day doing.

for me, I wouldn't be happy spending that much of my life playing poker. I also decided I wouldn't be happy spending that much of my time doing what I'm currently doing, so I'm taking some time off and a long road trip to figure things out.
--turnipmonster

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The thing that I like about making real money playing poker (I haven't quite arrived at REAL money, but I'm getting closer...) is that it opens up your life to not only take nice vacations and such, but also to quit your job if it really isn't where you want to be. If you've got enough in your roll to support you, then I see no reason to take some out for a nut and then spend some time reinventing yourself. El D runs businesses. I would love to do that someday, but it takes time, and money, and lots of risk. Having that extra cash around will give me options to do what I want on my own timeschedule, and worry much less about the next paycheck.

Oh, and good luck with your time off, Turnipmonster.

Marlow

[AZK]

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this rings true for any job.

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you think? I disagree.

[TheWorstPlayer]

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this rings true for any job.

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you think? I disagree.

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Me too. I love my job and am learning/developing at an astronomical rate. I would definitely do it for half the money. But don't tell my boss.

[greg nice]

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this rings true for any job.

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you think? I disagree.

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Me too. I love my job ..

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"Posts: 5846
Loc: Boring work = post too much"

[img]/images/graemlins/smile.gif[/img]

i see work as a means to an end

[TheWorstPlayer]

Nice hand. That was tongue-in-cheek, though. I just shirk work to post. The work is actually interesting, though.

[rwanger]

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Yesterday I was sweating someone who was playing a sickeningly incredible 50/100 game, he regularly plays 5/10. As we were talking, I was thinking, this player's hourly rate at 5/10 is equivalent to the opening bet in this game. How can people possibly adjust to this. If I am used to making 3-400/hr in one game and now if I want to see a flop it is 3-400, after playing in that game for a while, how could I ever go back to 5/10 and take it seriously? Same thing goes for running good at 10/25 or 25/50, all of a sudden you are sitting at the table with a bankroll for your regular game. Makes it difficult to take seriously. Or being stuck a few buyins at the higher limits, all of a sudden the money you you are playing for at 5/10 feels insignificant.


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I haven't read the entire thread yet, so maybe someone else brought this up...
But I couldn't help thinking this exact thing after reading The Professor, The Banker, and the Suicide King. How could these pros come back to reality after playing $50,000-$100,000? I wonder how people like Phil Ivey can possibly take a $10,000 tournament seriously, when he regularly plays in a game with $1,000,000 swings in a night. Don't they usually play $4,000-$8,000, so the tournament buy-in is just under 1 big blind for him?

They must be playing for the prestige, anything less than first place is chump change for the big pros.

Maybe that's the key, you have to be playing for something more than just the money.

[HoldEmKillah]

Playing poker for 8 hours a day for next 25 or 30 years would not be good. I don't think it would suck but it wouldn't be a wonderful thing to do either. I want to play for a living...badly. There is one reason: my family.

I make ~$45k/yr at my job and my wife makes $35k. We have a child, a mortgage, a ton of bills, 1 kid and another on the way. Without the money I've made from poker this year, we would be scratching to get by. If I tried really hard to find a new, better job I could probably make up to $65K/yr max. With poker I can (comfortably) make $150k/yr.

Now it's not at all about making more money. It's about these things:

-less stress about paying bills especially the mortgage
-financial freedom for my family
-being able to send my kids to good schools so they get the best education possible.
-making sure my kids have sneakers w/o holes in them
-making sure they eat
-if my wife doesn't want to work, then she won't. Translation: no day care for my kids so that god-only-knows does not happen to them
-many other reasons but you get the point

If I can make significantly more money playing poker over the course of the rest of my lifetime then it's a no-brainer because of my family.

[whitelime]

yep

[TheWorstPlayer]

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-less stress about paying bills especially the mortgage

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There have been a few excellent posts on some of the other forums (B&M, I think, maybe NVG, not sure) about people who have gone pro and struggled. Don't underestimate the stress associated with downswings when you are playing to pay the bills.

[HoldEmKillah]

well aware (although never aware enough). thanks.