If your reliant on cash for points to make a living I really wouldnt bother. Also i used to think it would be easy be able to play poker for 50 hours a week, it just wont happen. Thing is its intense you have to concentrate all the time where as a proper job you spend half time tossin it off. Posted by ajs4385
In Response to Re: Question for some of the big rake builders.... : absolutely spot on + 1 Posted by Kid_Ology
This really just repeats some of the above comments really but...
Being on a bad run is bad enough when you're only playing part time or even as a bit of fun but if you're playing to pay bills it can be extremely stressful.
Bankroll management is of the utmost importance and (if you do) you really need to cut out going on tilt altogether, though that's easier said than done though lol.
I don't really know much about the points system here tbh as I only play now and again for a bit of fun/pocket money now, but, I would've thought playing elsewhere with a 55% cakeback deal would be a better option if playing full time.
GL if you decide to do it (though I've heard hundreds of people say it before lol, usually when they'e having a decent run)
If you want to play poker full time I would definitely want to have a BR of more than 40BI's (+ some non-poker money aside as well in case things don't go to plan at the start). I don't play for a living and I won't even take shots at a higher level until I have at least 40-50 BI's, so if I played full-time I'd want to have 100-150+ BI's tbh.
Imo its definitely possible to make a living griding 50nl + on here, obv the rakeback isn't as good as on other sites but the games are soft comparatively so that more than makes up for it. The more nitty you play the more decent rakeback becomes important though I would think.
I would strongly recommend keeping your job in your situation. There have been some good points raised by the fulltime players and you have to take heed of the large amount of negatives. It sounds like a fantastic way to live but the reality isn't this champagne balla lifestyle with spare time aplenty. Peace of mind is a major influence on the game and when you're single with no dependants and no responsibilities i would say fine.... if you really need to do this then have a crack. It doesn't matter that much if you go brokesy wokesy and maybe you'll even do well and make some cash! But you have kids to think about here. I can't tell you the feeling of getting halfway through a month then hitting a 10+ buyin downswing and thinking...... hold on....... not only have i not earnt a penny so far this month...... but after putting in 60 hours work i actually have less than i started with! This then perpetuates into more worry about how to put food on your kids plates which then negatively affects your game even more. It's an incredibly stressfull game without dependants but knowing you HAVE to win to make any money just adds to the stress. This is where a decent amount of money set aside from your bankroll is essential. Even having this cash aside is no good unless you're winning more than you're spending. From your OP it sounds like you're not even sure about this. To go for this you must KNOW EXACTLY what you're capable of. That means hundreds of thousands of hands logged with accurate records etc. You shouldn't need to come here and ask how many hours at a certain level will make you £1k because you should already know this through experience. Or at least know how many hours makes you £500 or whatever. It's also great to be working and watching your balance increase every month but once you start taking £2k out of your bankroll every month it's much harder to build. Also think about volume. Not only do you need to grind multi tables but i guess at the moment you're playing on evenings when the site's busy. Are you gonna just stick to evenings? Maybe play some daytime? Can you beat daytime grinders at Sky? Also think about playing on other sites? Do you currently? Can you easily beat other sites? If not, then be careful as i've seen Sky Poker evolve over the years from an utter donkfest where a good player could sit down and earn as much as they like.... to a site more and more filled with decent players. IMO it's only going to get tougher here especially when the download software is readily available. Also think about your freetime. At the moment you can spend your time after work doing what you want. Sit down, watch TV.... go to the pub...... go for a meal....... whatever. As soon as you 'turn pro' most of that spare time will disappear. You'll play most nights after your dinner usually until well after midnight, you won't see your kids as often, you won't spend as much time with your missus (dunno if that's good or bad lol), you'll wake up late and go to bed late. Imagine what the missus would say if you were spending every night playing a video game from 7pm til 2am. It's very similar. Yes she'll probably understand that with poker you have to earn cash but it still puts a strain on things and you have to have nights off. Not always easy if 3 weeks into a month you've only made £500. Also the exhaustion of playing the game and concentrating 100% for hours on end must be considered.
All in all i would strongly advise you kept your job until you know that poker will be +EV both mentally and financially. I'm looking for a job again now so that i can still play poker but on my terms. When i like and for how much i like without having to worry about it. It would be so nice sometimes to take a few weeks off instead of sat staring at twin monitors every night. I still make more money at this than working a dayjob but the stress of it isn't really worth the reward anymore. Much better to get/keep a guaranteed monthly income and play on the side. 2+ years ago was much easier and basically a licence to print money. These days the game is much tougher to beat.
Why not keep your job and take poker a bit more seriously for a while. Keep accurate stats on everything you can think of. Play more each month..... maybe 2 weeks per month play 5 nights a week after work..... treat poker as a second job and as a business rather than a cash making hobby. Maybe then after a few months you'll be better informed about yourself and your situation.
Sorry Flash but I don't recommend this at all, nothing to do with your ability as a player but you have alot of responsibility and being a rake-back pro isn't the way forward and definitely isn't recommended to quit your job over.
If you wanna speak to me in private about it mate give me a call. Sort of wished you had asked me before posting this on the forum.
STOP!!!!! I would strongly recommend keeping your job in your situation. There have been some good points raised by the fulltime players and you have to take heed of the large amount of negatives. It sounds like a fantastic way to live but the reality isn't this champagne balla lifestyle with spare time aplenty. Peace of mind is a major influence on the game and when you're single with no dependants and no responsibilities i would say fine.... if you really need to do this then have a crack. It doesn't matter that much if you go brokesy wokesy and maybe you'll even do well and make some cash! But you have kids to think about here. I can't tell you the feeling of getting halfway through a month then hitting a 10+ buyin downswing and thinking...... hold on....... not only have i not earnt a penny so far this month...... but after putting in 60 hours work i actually have less than i started with! This then perpetuates into more worry about how to put food on your kids plates which then negatively affects your game even more. It's an incredibly stressfull game without dependants but knowing you HAVE to win to make any money just adds to the stress. This is where a decent amount of money set aside from your bankroll is essential. Even having this cash aside is no good unless you're winning more than you're spending. From your OP it sounds like you're not even sure about this. To go for this you must KNOW EXACTLY what you're capable of. That means hundreds of thousands of hands logged with accurate records etc. You shouldn't need to come here and ask how many hours at a certain level will make you £1k because you should already know this through experience. Or at least know how many hours makes you £500 or whatever. It's also great to be working and watching your balance increase every month but once you start taking £2k out of your bankroll every month it's much harder to build. Also think about volume. Not only do you need to grind multi tables but i guess at the moment you're playing on evenings when the site's busy. Are you gonna just stick to evenings? Maybe play some daytime? Can you beat daytime grinders at Sky? Also think about playing on other sites? Do you currently? Can you easily beat other sites? If not, then be careful as i've seen Sky Poker evolve over the years from an utter donkfest where a good player could sit down and earn as much as they like.... to a site more and more filled with decent players. IMO it's only going to get tougher here especially when the download software is readily available. Also think about your freetime. At the moment you can spend your time after work doing what you want. Sit down, watch TV.... go to the pub...... go for a meal....... whatever. As soon as you 'turn pro' most of that spare time will disappear. You'll play most nights after your dinner usually until well after midnight, you won't see your kids as often, you won't spend as much time with your missus (dunno if that's good or bad lol), you'll wake up late and go to bed late. Imagine what the missus would say if you were spending every night playing a video game from 7pm til 2am. It's very similar. Yes she'll probably understand that with poker you have to earn cash but it still puts a strain on things and you have to have nights off. Not always easy if 3 weeks into a month you've only made £500. Also the exhaustion of playing the game and concentrating 100% for hours on end must be considered. All in all i would strongly advise you kept your job until you know that poker will be +EV both mentally and financially. I'm looking for a job again now so that i can still play poker but on my terms. When i like and for how much i like without having to worry about it. It would be so nice sometimes to take a few weeks off instead of sat staring at twin monitors every night. I still make more money at this than working a dayjob but the stress of it isn't really worth the reward anymore. Much better to get/keep a guaranteed monthly income and play on the side. 2+ years ago was much easier and basically a licence to print money. These days the game is much tougher to beat. Why not keep your job and take poker a bit more seriously for a while. Keep accurate stats on everything you can think of. Play more each month..... maybe 2 weeks per month play 5 nights a week after work..... treat poker as a second job and as a business rather than a cash making hobby. Maybe then after a few months you'll be better informed about yourself and your situation. glgl Posted by cottlad
Ummm I think that's End of Thread now lol. Having gone through 99% of what cottlad said myself, he is bang on. Hardly any family life and a **** of a lot of stress, even more so if you can't beat the game and beat it well.
It really shows the spirit of this site, people actually care about 1 another and don't just say yeah what the **** go for it. Had people PM'ing me their stories as well which was a nice insight into the poker life.
I do make a decent profit from poker, enough so to treat myself and the family to nice things. With my wages they simply cover my bills and thats it, so the thinking in my head was if the rakeback was the same as my current wage then it gives me alot more time to make a good profit at poker rather than 3 hour in the evening.
I'll listen to all your wise heads and not do anything silly, I'll use the money saved to buy a nice car and take the kids on holiday next year.
Comments
Being on a bad run is bad enough when you're only playing part time or even as a bit of fun but if you're playing to pay bills it can be extremely stressful.
Bankroll management is of the utmost importance and (if you do) you really need to cut out going on tilt altogether, though that's easier said than done though lol.
I don't really know much about the points system here tbh as I only play now and again for a bit of fun/pocket money now, but, I would've thought playing elsewhere with a 55% cakeback deal would be a better option if playing full time.
GL if you decide to do it (though I've heard hundreds of people say it before lol, usually when they'e having a decent run)
Imo its definitely possible to make a living griding 50nl + on here, obv the rakeback isn't as good as on other sites but the games are soft comparatively so that more than makes up for it. The more nitty you play the more decent rakeback becomes important though I would think.
Gl
I would strongly recommend keeping your job in your situation. There have been some good points raised by the fulltime players and you have to take heed of the large amount of negatives. It sounds like a fantastic way to live but the reality isn't this champagne balla lifestyle with spare time aplenty. Peace of mind is a major influence on the game and when you're single with no dependants and no responsibilities i would say fine.... if you really need to do this then have a crack. It doesn't matter that much if you go brokesy wokesy and maybe you'll even do well and make some cash!
Even having this cash aside is no good unless you're winning more than you're spending. From your OP it sounds like you're not even sure about this. To go for this you must KNOW EXACTLY what you're capable of. That means hundreds of thousands of hands logged with accurate records etc. You shouldn't need to come here and ask how many hours at a certain level will make you £1k because you should already know this through experience. Or at least know how many hours makes you £500 or whatever. It's also great to be working and watching your balance increase every month but once you start taking £2k out of your bankroll every month it's much harder to build.
Also think about volume. Not only do you need to grind multi tables but i guess at the moment you're playing on evenings when the site's busy. Are you gonna just stick to evenings? Maybe play some daytime? Can you beat daytime grinders at Sky? Also think about playing on other sites? Do you currently? Can you easily beat other sites? If not, then be careful as i've seen Sky Poker evolve over the years from an utter donkfest where a good player could sit down and earn as much as they like.... to a site more and more filled with decent players. IMO it's only going to get tougher here especially when the download software is readily available.
Also think about your freetime. At the moment you can spend your time after work doing what you want. Sit down, watch TV.... go to the pub...... go for a meal....... whatever. As soon as you 'turn pro' most of that spare time will disappear. You'll play most nights after your dinner usually until well after midnight, you won't see your kids as often, you won't spend as much time with your missus (dunno if that's good or bad lol), you'll wake up late and go to bed late. Imagine what the missus would say if you were spending every night playing a video game from 7pm til 2am. It's very similar. Yes she'll probably understand that with poker you have to earn cash but it still puts a strain on things and you have to have nights off. Not always easy if 3 weeks into a month you've only made £500. Also the exhaustion of playing the game and concentrating 100% for hours on end must be considered.
All in all i would strongly advise you kept your job until you know that poker will be +EV both mentally and financially. I'm looking for a job again now so that i can still play poker but on my terms. When i like and for how much i like without having to worry about it. It would be so nice sometimes to take a few weeks off instead of sat staring at twin monitors every night. I still make more money at this than working a dayjob but the stress of it isn't really worth the reward anymore. Much better to get/keep a guaranteed monthly income and play on the side. 2+ years ago was much easier and basically a licence to print money. These days the game is much tougher to beat.
Why not keep your job and take poker a bit more seriously for a while. Keep accurate stats on everything you can think of. Play more each month..... maybe 2 weeks per month play 5 nights a week after work..... treat poker as a second job and as a business rather than a cash making hobby. Maybe then after a few months you'll be better informed about yourself and your situation.
glgl
Who would think a big oaf like you could write such a thing!!
+3 from mickjenn1 as well
It really shows the spirit of this site, people actually care about 1 another and don't just say yeah what the **** go for it. Had people PM'ing me their stories as well which was a nice insight into the poker life.
I do make a decent profit from poker, enough so to treat myself and the family to nice things. With my wages they simply cover my bills and thats it, so the thinking in my head was if the rakeback was the same as my current wage then it gives me alot more time to make a good profit at poker rather than 3 hour in the evening.
I'll listen to all your wise heads and not do anything silly, I'll use the money saved to buy a nice car and take the kids on holiday next year.
Thanks again for all the advice
Charlie