my 1% plan

[brian_frets]

After becoming ridiculously addicted to poker and taking a little break, I think that I'm ready to play again, this time more responsibly.

I graduate from college in 2 weeks, and soon after I'll enter into a position paying $85k-$100k per year.

My plan is to deposit 1% of my salary at the beginning of each year into an online site (not sure which one yet). (first paycheck after I start, and then each year after that..)

I'll play on internet sites, getting a larger bankroll, and if I win enough I might take B and M trips, using ONLY money that I have won from the 1% to finance trips. If I don't win enough I won't be taking trips, and that's it.

At the end of each year, I will deposit or invest all the money that I have won, and start over with another 1% of my salary.

This way, I can never lose more than 1% of my salary each year, and I can have fun with and invest any money that I win.

Please comment/critique this plan. Thanks! Brian.

[SinSixer]

1% of 100k is $1,000. Theoretically this isnt enought to be bankrolled for 2/4. So you will be playing this limit or less. The potential profit at these limits when compared to your salrary seem like a waste of time. You could win and move up, but if youre good enough to play higher limits, you might as well start there.

If you cant beat the higher limits, the low limit winnings are not going to satisfy you. In this case, play tournaments.

[Guthrie]

This is a dumb plan. Obviously you wasted your college education.

You're either a winning player or not. If you are, then deposit the $1,000 now instead of waiting until the beginning of the year. By January you should have an adequte bankroll to last you the rest of your poker-playing life. Skim as much of that as you can into a qualified retirement plan and as much as you like into other investments, maintaining enough bankroll to allow you to play at any stakes you want. You still have your 100K from your job to live on, right?

Send me the $1,000 at the beginning of each year for the financial planning advice.

[NateDog]

Bunus whore. It's easier than trying to figure out 1% of my salary from my first paycheck of the year.

[Al P]

Having a plan to limit yourself to 1% of your salary makes it sound like you're a gambling addict.

How about you take .2% and buy some great books (HFAP, TOP, SSH, MLH, IYP). Then you can deposit $2,000 once and as long as you don't overwithdraw you'll never have to deposit again. I haven't deposited in 2 years but I withdraw monthly.

[Mike Haven]

After becoming ridiculously addicted to poker and taking a little break, I think that I'm ready to play again, this time more responsibly.

My plan is

I'll play on

At the end of

This way, I can never lose more than

Methinks you are still addicted, and you are simply looking for "justifiable" excuses to play again.

If you have an addictive personality, (and you will know that yourself more than others: ... do you masturbate more than the normal three times a day? ... do you roll your first before breakfast? ... do you sometimes borrow your friend's needle instead of breaking out a safe, sterile one?), then there is no cure, and you just need to fight getting back into a game for as long as possible. Once you relent that first next time you'll be on the slippery slope to lose not only most of your very good income but also probably the source of that income - your new position.

Join a chess or a bridge club; or, better, get further involved with some worthwhile sports.

Good luck, man. We'll be rooting for you. Especially the ones who have now started an over/under book.

[TheHammer24]

This is the type one developes when they are going to start playing traditional casino games. In those cases, people are guaranteed to lose in the long run. As a result, they only allocate x amount of money to lose in a given period, as you have done. In poker, this is not the case. THere are long term winners. If you think you're goingt o lose then use this strategy, if you are a winning player you could take the aforementioned strategies. Furthermore, if you do have a serious gambling problem this strategy may not be bad.

[keikiwai]

Why plan on making more than one deposit?

Make a deposit of $X. If you lose this, give up or move to no deposit bonuses. If you win keep skimming of your BR and don't deposit again.

[BigBaitsim (milo)]

[ QUOTE ]
After becoming ridiculously addicted to poker...

[/ QUOTE ]

There is little need to read further. If you are/were "addicted," (we psychologists use the term "pathological gambling"), then you need to not gamble. If you can do this on your own, then do so. If you cannot, then seek help.

There are online quizzes, many of which a professional gambler would score at least at the borderline level, but the key difference between pathological gambling and professional gambling (as defined in the DSM) is discipline. Professional gambling requires extreme discipline, as the edges can be so fine. If you are addicted, you likely lose that discipline and should not gamble.

Again, assuming you are/were "ridiculously addicted," it is very unlikely that your plan will succeed. Moderation is not the goal of choice for most addictive behaviors, eradication, or complete sobriety, is.

-Dr. Milo (a real-life clinical psychologist)

[imitation]

I often beat it 3 times or more a day, should I quit online poker???