After reading 'My failure as a poker pro (very long)' by Ten7offsuit

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Are you a pro?

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No, I'm still in college and have no desire of becoming a professional player. I play part time whenever I can and really log in the hours during summer. I have only been playing seriously for about a year or two. So far I have managed to do quite well and have made a nice $28k profit to date ($20k from online). Like a lot of people, I currently 8 table $2/$4. I've only logged 90k hands since I've moved to 8 tables of $2/$4 but so far it is going good. I'm only getting 1.95 BB/100 so I feel I have room to improve, but with rakeback added I seem to be getting around $45 per hour. I'm happy where I'm at right now and am about ready to move back to $3/$6 (I used to 5 table this limit but couldn't handle 8 tables).

I found that Pokertracker and hand analysis really improved my game. I went from someone getting around $30 per hour ($20 per hour derived from bonus/prop money) to making around $45 per hour of which $33 per hour is playing profit. I'm also about ready to move up in limits again.

A few months ago I joined pokementor.net and that helped my game. I think some of the people from there post on this site (Ponks, mentor). You might want to check that out as it is a way to go over a lot of hand histories in a very quick time. I'd appreciate it if you sent me an email letting me know if you sign up.

In your situation, though, you should definitely look at your game. 300 BB over 15k hands is a lot of money and there are probably some leaks that need to be fixed. Get pokertracker, review your hands, and post/look at hands that you have questions on. Learn the basics first. For example, don't ask what to do when you flop a straight flush. That never happens and it isn't worth your time to learn how to play it. Learn how to play hands like top pair with and without position; with and without a good kicker. If you really aspire to go pro, put in a lot of time studying the game. It'll really pay off. Approach it like college or high school. If you want to do good in anything at life you have to study/work hard at it. Poker is no exception.

Lozing

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i agree with what sub said.

15,000 hands is not very many at all to be down 300bbs. i dont think that it is all variance but, that isn't a big enough sample size to judge winrate.


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I definitely agree with this but I think it should be stressed that it is very likely that he needs to work on his game. He should take this as an opportunity to improve. I know a lot of people who do not improve thier game because they keep telling themselves that they could only be losing due to variance. They play 10k hands, lose 300BB and say it was variance. They convince themselves that they are playing good and that they will "know" how they are doing if they only keep playing more hands. I try to ignore the results of anything I have done in the past and try to focus on improving my game. Personally, I'd rather spend my time talking about strategy rather than playing.

Lozing

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I do not know what the pokertracker is. [img]/images/graemlins/smile.gif[/img]


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www.pokertracker.com

Lozing

Thanks a lot of your advises again. [img]/images/graemlins/smile.gif[/img]

[SpicyF]

Of you teach me how to build planes, i will teach you how to win at poker. [img]/images/graemlins/smile.gif[/img]

[TazQ]

I'm about to graduate with a EE degree. I've been playing poker part time for a living now for the past 2 years while in school.

I'm getting a "real" job as soon as I can. If you're as smart as you say you are, poker will become boring, real quick. Aside from the competition aspect, there really isn't much else after a certain point. I think someone of your intelligence will reach that point much quicker than others. Ya, you'll learn new stuff every now and then and continue to improve, but it can't compare to some of the crazy [censored] you can do with high level math and physics.

Anyways, of the people who can pull in $200/hr+, I don't know many who can put in 25+ hrs a week consistantly. These guys are young too, like early 20's. This is a LOT of money to them (at least to me anyways), and still they have trouble putting the hours in. I know I sure do.

So unless you can put in 30-40 hr weeks and make $200-400/hr I'd take the job and play poker on the side any day of the week. Even if you could do all that, I think you'd have a much funner time with an intellectually stimulating job and a profitable distraction on the side.

For me, it comes down to if I want to get ~5-10 hrs a week more of poker in (because even if I did it full time like this summer, I know I can't do more than 20 hr weeks easily) and have more freedom, or get a full time job and play nearly the same amount of hours on the side.

Thanks for your input.

I still love playing poker even though losing fraustrates me once in a while. I just hope that it does not become boring. [img]/images/graemlins/smile.gif[/img]

GOMOOJOOL

[stone_7]

Despite the fact that you are over bankrolled for it spend some time at .5/1 until you can beat it. There is no shame in playing lower limits while you are learning. I lost for a while until I got Poker Tracker and promised myself I would not move up until I had at least 10k hands and a solid 2bb/100 winrate. To keep myself motivated I chased bonuses which meant I was still earning money. In addition you have to learn to think in terms of Big Bets or similar non dollar amounts. Winning $50 may not excite you but winning 50BB is cause for celebration. I also find that I play better and tighter if I multitable. When I play only 1 I get bored and play too many hands. Avoid this by playing 2 or 3.

[SpicyF]

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I got Poker Tracker and promised myself I would not move up until I had at least 10k hands and a solid 2bb/100 winrate.

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I am not math geek, but i'm pretty sure you can't have a solid (thrustworthy) winrate after 10k hands.

[Alex/Mugaaz]

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I got Poker Tracker and promised myself I would not move up until I had at least 10k hands and a solid 2bb/100 winrate.

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I am not math geek, but i'm pretty sure you can't have a solid (thrustworthy) winrate after 10k hands.

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That's why you're not a mathgeek, and that's why you shouldn't be giving advice.