Nice results for the month mate - seems like the CG streets are treating you well!
Good to see you are still actively blogging as well - mad to think we've been around these streets for more than a decade (a decade and a half in your instance!)
Where did those years go bro?
Originally posted by UPAY4DINNER
Nice results for the month mate - seems like the CG streets are treating you well!Good to see you are still actively blogging as well - mad to think we've been around these streets for more than a decade (a decade and a half in your instance!)
Where did those years go bro?
Yeah, mate it's unreal. I've 'almost' quit so many times... Every time I'm on the verge, lady luck throws me a bone to keep me snuffling up against the warm underbelly of the beast ♦
Originally posted by Tim64
A good month, playing a mix of 50NL and 100NL. I don't think there's any benefit to putting an hourly figure for a particular month any more, since what's important is hourly earnings over time. So I think either a cumulative average or some other measure is preferable. Also, a more consistent and higher number of hours is needed. February was decent (my back's a lot better, though still sore at times), but I've instituted a timetable to help ensure I get in 5 playing hours/diem during the week. And that's already the bare minimum that I should be getting!
Somebody — David Sklansky maybe — once said "It's all one session".
Like most cute quotes, there's an element of truth in it, but while it may be true at the poker end, the changes in ourselves from day to day make it less so.
Props on the great graph!
March Monthly Update:
$
BI
I have at last managed more than 100 hours of playing poker last month. Not a great feat in itself but still a concerted effort to play regularly day in day out no matter the results. What I managed by way of results was breakeven EV and a few hundred dollars of rakeback; in any event no way near enough to live on in the UK. The previous month, smooth sailing; this month only frustration and anger. And for me, for at least the last year and a half, this has been a pretty fair summation of the poker playing experience. Too much anger and despair in return for money that represents below the minimum wage.
So the intent is that April will be my last as a full time professional poker player, after almost 13 years.
In July 2010 I quit my previous job in a call centre because I was, by then, making more money playing poker than in that job. Now that I am making less money than I could in the real world (and doing so with a lot less pleasure and job satisfaction than in the past), it's time to make a change once again.
The purpose of a blog is to be honest and hold yourself to account. It's ok to paint a rosy glow on things from time to time, but you don't get to lie outright. Poker has allowed me unparalleled time with my daughter as she has grown from a baby into a teen. And it's allowed me the privilege of being my own boss, making all the rules, and then choosing whether or not to follow them. I have my family, a house owned free and clear, no debts, and some savings in the bank. I'm incredibly lucky and privileged to have been able to make a living with this game for over a decade. However hard it will be for me to return to normal society, and the traditional workforce I will try not to have any regrets about having been a professional poker player. But poker hasn't paid the bills for a couple of years now and those savings are by now less than they would have been, had I quit earlier. And I don't intend to be one of those people trapped forever in a job they dislike, lying to themselves and others about how it will surely turn a corner, if they just give it one more month…
So I'm just going to give it one more month. 
Seriously though, consider this my one month notice. If April turns out to be a decent month then I will be able to leave with my head held high, making a draw from a position of strength as they say in chess. And if it goes badly it will be yet more evidence that quitting is the right decision.
For what it's worth, I don't plan on never playing poker again. Depending on how long it takes me to find a new career path, I might have to continue playing part-time for a while at least. Even better would be to be able to call this game a profitable hobby, from May 2023 onwards. I would love to be able to continue to donate part of the proceeds of poker to charity, in particular to the Against Malaria Foundation, where I have managed to provide over 500 bed nets to people in countries where malaria is still rife. 
Maybe it will continue to pay for my beers, too! 
Thanks for reading and see you at the end of the month,
Tim64
Profit: $976.89
Playing hours: 111.4
Hey mate,
Whilst I'm sad to read of this update I completely and utterly understand your decision.
I would also like to take the opportunity to personally thank you for your contributions to this forum and community throughout the years and also on a personal level as a student of yours back in the day.
It is an excellent time to "pull the plug" and the fact that you have realized this shows your maturity.
PokerStrategy was lucky the day you strolled in.
As someone who has come and gone from poker more times than I've had hot dinners - never say never - the urge will come again in future - maybe not today or tomorrow but I can guarantee you it will!
All the best,
Originally posted by Tim64
So the intent is that April will be my last as a full time professional poker player, after almost 13 years.For what it's worth, I don't plan on never playing poker again. Depending on how long it takes me to find a new career path, I might have to continue playing part-time for a while at least. Even better would be to be able to call this game a profitable hobby, from May 2023 onwards. I would love to be able to continue to donate part of the proceeds of poker to charity, in particular to the Against Malaria Foundation, where I have managed to provide over 500 bed nets to people in countries where malaria is still rife.
Maybe it will continue to pay for my beers, too!I miss the zimmers!
I think that I would have a very hard time trying to make a living playing poker. It is a very tough job, and great respect that you managed it all this time.
Perhaps a way forward would be to find work with the charity itself. If you've worked in a phone room, you have experience cold-calling. Just a thought.All the best,
VS
Too much anger and despair in return for money that represents below the minimum wage.
This reminds me of how I felt when I was working in a call centre. Its funny how it all comes back round, that constant circle, AA holds, AA cracked, happy, angry, happy, angry, angry, angry....at least you got to play poker for a living dude. I couldn't last more than a year and I was losing for that year. That dream is still there for me (and its only a dream now), but I've accepted that poker won't ever be more than a fun hobby, it will never support me full time, its like there is a tiny piece missing of that poker puzzle that I can't find.
You'll be fine, if you can handle this for 13 years, everything else will be a easy game.
GG
I've been following your blog off and on since 2010 or 2011 as your writing is always an inspiration, and decided to check in today only to find this will be your final month playing full-time, a decision you've clearly reached after much consideration. You write engagingly and have excellent self-management skills, study ethic, et cetera - could you put these skills to work investing online, perhaps? Just an idea, and not especially likely to be the best fit for your particular circumstances.
In any case, best of luck for the future, and please don't stop writing! Any running updates on your final month playing full-time poker? I'm sure many would be interested to know your thoughts as you approach the end of a thirteen-year career.
Originally posted by fembot26
- could you put these skills to work investing online, perhaps? Just an idea, and not especially likely to be the best fit for your particular circumstances.
Possibly, but I think it's time for a bit more in person contact. We are 'social animals, after all, even if I'm one of the more unsociable ones
Any running updates on your final month playing full-time poker? I'm sure many would be interested to know your thoughts as you approach the end of a thirteen-year career.
Sure, why not?
Seriously though, giving strong consideration to accountancy as an option, post poker. It should satisfy the nerd in me, but we'll see... Most of the immediate pain of facing quitting has passed and it's beginning to seem more realy, day by day. Wish me luck at the tables, today!
Originally posted by Tim64
Seriously though, giving strong consideration to accountancy as an option, post poker. It should satisfy the nerd in me, but we'll see... Most of the immediate pain of facing quitting has passed and it's beginning to seem more realy, day by day. Wish me luck at the tables, today!
Considering what I have paid to accountants over the last couple of years it is a good choice.
Tough course though — a friend is currently trying the licensing exam for the third time.
Tough course though — a friend is currently trying the licensing exam for the third time.
#thingsIwillpretendnoonetoldme#:f_biggrin:
When I sat my Retail Degree a few years ago, in my 2nd year we had a Financial Accounting module.
I absolutely hated it, despite having a good head on me for Math and figures in general..
Long story short, I studied loads, practiced loads and it ended up being my best subject result in the whole 3 years.
TL;DR If I can do it, you certainly can!
Originally posted by UPAY4DINNER
TL;DR If I can do it, you certainly can!
It is a general principle that if any one person can do a thing, then another can.
I so hated hearing my mother say, "If she can do it, so can you"
It's true though, barring physical or mental handicaps.
In later life I adopted "So Can I" as a sort of motto.
To which Mrs Vorpal will always reply "Soak your own eye"
Originally posted by Tim64
4 Days to go...
Sun is shining. Impossible Germany.
Let's go! I would love to see you finishing on the highest note possible - it would be well-deserved too!
I'm looking forward to the next update - I'll also get the popcorn on!
April Monthly Update:
Graph, including approximate rakeback:
I guess somewhat understandably I didn't pull out all the stops volume wise in this, my last month. I wanted to enjoy it and so took things a bit easier. Also, Easter meant shool holidays and a chance to take a little time off with the family to visit Shrewsbury in Shropshire (full of charming Tudor timber buildings, castles and Charles Darwin):
Even this time off represents a classic example of one of the pros and cons of being a poker pro : you can take time off whenever you want to, but no one will pay you to do so. Worse still; you lose the opportunity to make income, so every day off is bittersweet...
Profit: $2,437.11
Playing hours: 70.49
I might post some graphs of the overall cashgame experience of the last two years to help give some perspective. That's all for now. The last thing to say at this stage is that I definitely haven't played my last hand of poker. I'm hoping be able to 'keep my hand in' and have some modest goals. But we'll see. There is a fantasy I have of combining a new job with a profitable hobby, and then there's the reality of just how tired I'm likely to feel at the end of each day. I may or may not have much appetite to endure these $1.5k swings, the like of which you can see in the graph above...
Thanks for reading,
Tim64
So, let's take stock of my experience as a professional cash game player. The project started, fitfully, in April of 2021. At that time I was only thinking about trying a new site, GG, and clearing new player bonuses whilst trying to climb rapidly through the ranks. Since then I've bounced around different sites, at different limts, depserately seeking consistency. Here's the graph for the entire period, including approximate rakeback (blue line) - in fact the source of all my actual profit:
If we take just the last year, things look better, with a small pre rakeback EV profit (orange line):
And if we take just the last year and exclude the ill-fated (and frankly ill advised) shot-taking at 200NL, the picture is even rosier:
Though it shold be noted I ran $4k above EV during the year, which is quite significant.
Here's a graph showing just 200NL which I first attempted in September 2021 and tried most recently in November 2022:
A small sample, but still pretty convincing evidence that my current ability (or at least my average ability during the shot-taking) wasn't nearly sufficient to beat that limit. Since 200NL is the limit where a really good living is at least theortically possible (say similar to my SNG earnings), failing to make headway there is a big part of the decision to wave farewell to the project.
Retrospecitvely, it's clear that I should have played a lot more consistently at 100NL (and built a bigger shot-taking roll) before trying to move up. Curiosity (and impatience) killed the cat!
My average hourly since starting to collect that info, in September 2021, was $15.03, with an average hourly for the year to date, of $19.36. Nothing too terrible, really. And if I could have put in the sort of hours one does in a normal job and without experiencing all the existential angst, frustration and often rage that I have, we might not be talking in the past tense about my poker career. 
But I'm a realist. I can't/wont sit at the computer for 7 hours a day and I haven't found a way of dealing with the prolonged periods of negaitve variance such that I can maintain a consistent level of play during them (which would of course reduce their length). Right at this moment, with a great month behind me, everything seems easy. But we've been here before, haven't we, chat?
Originally posted by Tim64
I might post some graphs of the overall cashgame experience of the last two years to help give some perspective. That's all for now. The last thing to say at this stage is that I definitely haven't played my last hand of poker. I'm hoping be able to 'keep my hand in' and have some modest goals. But we'll see. There is a fantasy I have of combining a new job with a profitable hobby, and then there's the reality of just how tired I'm likely to feel at the end of each day. I may or may not have much appetite to endure these $1.5k swings, the like of which you can see in the graph above...
Good to finish on a high note.
Let us know what job you end up with.
All the best,
VS
