Poker as a primary job: look for any advice/suggestions

I think it all depends on your current living situation, the country you are living in, how much your bill/food cost etc, then how much disposable income u need for going out/socialising etc.

Obv it is doable in some countries at the micro limits, obviously with poker their is always a risk, especially after your reserves run out and you start completely depending on poker, but atm u seem in a decent situation to give it a trial run, for say a few months and see if the amount u make from poker covers everything u need. Or maybe get a part time job whilst trialing poker just incase things go wrong.

Good luck ♦

hey kiroman

as keoghh said it definitely depends on the country. also, depends a lot on your current winrate and results.

just need to work it out according to your bb/100. if i were to consider this, i wouldn't want to play anywhere lower than nl200 and i would also want to be a solid winner so at least 5bb/100 + i would want a rakeback deal.

anywhere less than nl200 it would probably be much more safer and secure for me to just have a normal job.

not that i've ever experienced living off poker ♦

a) Playing poker as a full-time job has obviously its own privileges: you are your own master (no inadequate or mentally unstable bosses), you make your own time (though, in reality, you will follow a certain grinding schedule that will seem to be the most profitable), a possibility to earn a lot of money. However, the downswing of all that is that you have to cover all of your expences: medical bills if needed, general bills, food, travelling etc. For a poker player who makes a living out of it, there should be a reserve of money that the player can use to cover all the needed expences. That money has to be separate from the bankroll. I have heard that the "cut-off standard" is that you have saving for at least 6 months that would cover all the expected and somewhat unexpected (e.g. health issue) expences.

b) The bankroll. You can't settle for a 25BI per limit rule. This is not a hobby anymore where "a few buyins doesn't matter that much". Any loss can affect enourmously your psychology. Imagine you play NL200 with 25BI and you lost 5 of them ($1000!). Will make you think twice. To avoid the psychological downside as a professional, the bankroll needs to be much larger. Some would even recommend 50-100 buy-ins per level.

c) While making a living out of it, you really need any cent coming in. Especially when you are on the microlimits. Any decent rakeback deal is a must have. Plus, jumping rooms for bonus deals (first deposit, rake race etc) can be a huge help.

d) About starting a professional career from NL10/NL25. Well, I am not the one to say it. Anyone should do as they see it fit, but for me that would be way to soon. If I was a NL50 winning reg with a solid bb/100 and a decent rakeback deal, then I could be considering doing this a full-time job. Of course, it is possible with NL10 too. Heck, we have elite players crushing NL2 in a month with $2k profit per month (that was around for 200.000 hands or so), but you have to be THAT good to do that.

I would advise, keep working and grind when you have time, if things are going good, grind even more, you won't have much time for yourself for some months until you see how things go, then change job to a part time job and grind even more, if everything is going well, quit your job, play poker. Make large savings, you might need them. Have a conservative BRM - 50-100 Buy ins per level. I don't know how things are in your country but in my country you can pay your taxes and stuff as if you are working, so you have some medical care and receive pension when you get old enough

About limits, depends on the country, but it is highly unlikely that NL10 will feed you enough in order to have a decent life, I mean going out from time to time, having trips and stuff...

Don't know much about going pro, but really think it's interesting for you to do, i'll try to follow you on your quest if you don't mind
I really hope you get the best of luck with whatever you deside ♦

IMO the right way to do it would be when you are winning at higher limits for sure. I don't know about your successes so far but the way I see it the whole point of going pro is so you can actually improve your life, meaning winning more than you would with a regular job. Therefore if you don't win more than that already it's too soon to think about making it your profession. Because if you think about it you will realize that if you are able to just cover basic expenses with poker you will miss all the benefits that this lifestyle can offer to you - yes you will be your boss, yes you will have a lot more free time but you still won't have the opportunity to make the most of it, nor to settle some long term goals you might have that require extra cash. And after that there will be the downsides of poker as a profesion. There will be boredom, constant feel of insecurity, downswings causing bad mood and depression etc. There will we weekend nights alone at home, grinding it up and there will be fear of moving up because you won't be able to afford losing month. To you friends, family and random people you will be a degen before you are able to shove the big cash in their faces. And as I said before the whole point of it would be if it actually IMPROVES your life/finanses which won't be the case at the micros.

I realize how tempting the idea of working from home in your jammies could be but the way I see it it requires a lot more responsibility and expirience than we might think before actually giving it a shot. Don't get me wrong here, I'm not trying to talk you out of the dream life which is probably the reason we all play anyway. But all in good time. Have fun with the game, win some money of it and when you are a regular winner to the point where your job is actually a drawback - that would be the right time to get serious about it.

Don't say "I think if I start from the top and say, I need make $2000-40000 monthly, it will never happen" - it will happen if you have what it takes and if you approach it the right way. Making living of poker is possible and many people are doing it. It comes at expense of others. You need to now for sure which group you belong to.

Originally posted by awesomeo
IMO the right way to do it would be when you are winning at higher limits for sure. I don't know about your successes so far but the way I see it the whole point of going pro is so you can actually improve your life, meaning winning more than you would with a regular job. Therefore if you don't win more than that already it's too soon to think about making it your profession. Because if you think about it you will realize that if you are able to just cover basic expenses with poker you will miss all the benefits that this lifestyle can offer to you - yes you will be your boss, yes you will have a lot more free time but you still won't have the opportunity to make the most of it, nor to settle some long term goals you might have that require extra cash. And after that there will be the downsides of poker as a profesion. There will be boredom, constant feel of insecurity, downswings causing bad mood and depression etc. There will we weekend nights alone at home, grinding it up and there will be fear of moving up because you won't be able to afford losing month. To you friends, family and random people you will be a degen before you are able to shove the big cash in their faces. And as I said before the whole point of it would be if it actually IMPROVES your life/finanses which won't be the case at the micros.

I realize how tempting the idea of working from home in your jammies could be but the way I see it it requires a lot more responsibility and expirience than we might think before actually giving it a shot. Don't get me wrong here, I'm not trying to talk you out of the dream life which is probably the reason we all play anyway. But all in good time. Have fun with the game, win some money of it and when you are a regular winner to the point where your job is actually a drawback - that would be the right time to get serious about it.

Don't say "I think if I start from the top and say, I need make $2000-40000 monthly, it will never happen" - it will happen if you have what it takes and if you approach it the right way. Making living of poker is possible and many people are doing it. It comes at expense of others. You need to now for sure which group you belong to.

Sick post.

Thank you.

/thread

Originally posted by awesomeo
IMO the right way to do it would be when you are winning at higher limits for sure. I don't know about your successes so far but the way I see it the whole point of going pro is so you can actually improve your life, meaning winning more than you would with a regular job. Therefore if you don't win more than that already it's too soon to think about making it your profession. Because if you think about it you will realize that if you are able to just cover basic expenses with poker you will miss all the benefits that this lifestyle can offer to you - yes you will be your boss, yes you will have a lot more free time but you still won't have the opportunity to make the most of it, nor to settle some long term goals you might have that require extra cash. And after that there will be the downsides of poker as a profesion. There will be boredom, constant feel of insecurity, downswings causing bad mood and depression etc. There will we weekend nights alone at home, grinding it up and there will be fear of moving up because you won't be able to afford losing month. To you friends, family and random people you will be a degen before you are able to shove the big cash in their faces. And as I said before the whole point of it would be if it actually IMPROVES your life/finanses which won't be the case at the micros.

I realize how tempting the idea of working from home in your jammies could be but the way I see it it requires a lot more responsibility and expirience than we might think before actually giving it a shot. Don't get me wrong here, I'm not trying to talk you out of the dream life which is probably the reason we all play anyway. But all in good time. Have fun with the game, win some money of it and when you are a regular winner to the point where your job is actually a drawback - that would be the right time to get serious about it.

Don't say "I think if I start from the top and say, I need make $2000-40000 monthly, it will never happen" - it will happen if you have what it takes and if you approach it the right way. Making living of poker is possible and many people are doing it. It comes at expense of others. You need to now for sure which group you belong to.