Playing cash online fulltime

The Al Lad

So, thinking about giving this a go full time online for a while at least, just wondering the best way to go about it from people that do or people that play seriously alot of the time,

ie, if you say start playing 1/2 & 2/4 blinds (which I have been playing for a while now) NLH, buy in with €200, grind it up to €400/€500 over about 3/4 hours, with the view that thats €300 quid made for the day... and then log out and do the same the following day

now I know its not as easy as this and I have experienced some ridiculous swings like playing great cards for 4 hours last saturday only to lose a $750 dollar pot having my aces cracked by pocket 3's...which brings me onto my next point of logging on to a table every day with a set amount of money with the aim to reach double your buy in and then log out for the day, is this the best way to approach it if doing it for a living... or if your on a good roll on a certain day should you continue playing and risk losing it all ???

Any views welcome

Alan

Lafortezza

Are you a student or have a 9-5 job?
You're post to me sounds like your not prepared. 30-50 buyins, 6 months living expenses and discipline is a good start.

White Knight

The Al Lad wrote: »

Any views welcome

You are not good enough

Hawk Eye

I think you should approach the game in a different mindset i.e think of it as if your making each decision for the long term(~50k hands) otherwise I feel you'll be very disappointment with your daily goals.

The Al Lad

White Knight wrote: »

You are not good enough

lol you the guy I busted with 5 3 sooooooooooted,

still bitter about that Mr. Bolton ???

lmao


I'm asking for positive attitudes, I'd like to see you doing it full time your still steaming over a hand tat happened 3 weeks ago and abuse people in the chat box....good man

cooker3

It sounds like you have the wrong mindset for this. It's not about making a profit each day cause you simply will not. It's about making the best decisions each time even when you know it will cost you a buyin etc

White Knight

I have played 3 different times with you .. albeit tournaments.. but each time its obvious you do not grasp certain situations fully - yes the bad beat you gave me was an obvious example of this imo.

and you asked for any views - thats mine

The Al Lad wrote: »

I'd like to see you doing it full time

I enjoy poker more by working full time and playing as a hobby

The Al Lad

cooker3 wrote: »

It sounds like you have the wrong mindset for this. It's not about making a profit each day cause you simply will not. It's about making the best decisions each time even when you know it will cost you a buyin etc

yeah thats wat I was asking, is it the best way to look at it by making a few hundred a day and then logging out...obviously not but thats why I'm here asking opinions as I'm looking to do this seriously for the next few months

The Al Lad

White Knight wrote: »

I have played 3 different times with you .. albeit tournaments.. but each time its obvious you do not grasp certain situations fully - yes the bad beat you gave me was an obvious example of this imo.

and you asked for any views - thats mine

I enjoy working full time and playing poker as a hobby

I dont grasp certain situations fully ??? don't quite know wat you mean, though I'm sure your talking about a specific situation

and since twice we played was a freeroll tournament, the other was the BSOOP main event which I was clearly taking the piss in I dont think you know too much about my game

thanks though mark, your opinions welcome

RasTa

Just go for it and report back in a month. What's your roll and what happens if you loose it
?

Macspower

best of luck with it.. please do let us know how it is going... .. I see these threads from time to time and seldom hear back from them......really hopeit goes well..

If I have one piece of advice for you it is bankroll management...

Mac

The Al Lad

Macspower wrote: »

best of luck with it.. please do let us know how it is going... .. I see these threads from time to time and seldom hear back from them......really hopeit goes well..

If I have one piece of advice for you it is bankroll management...

Mac

thanks mac, do you/know recommend usng any specific software like poker tracker designed specifically for cash game players ???

zuutroy

Planning for a set daily wage is madness. You may well go a week without making a profit on any day. Have a look at the graphs in dvdfans blog to see the kind of swings you can expect playing regularly. And if you find yourself down for a given day and trying to get in the black, you will tilt to try to make it happen. If you're doing this, aim to play a set number of hands per day and stick to it, though a stop-loss might be an exception to this. If you are really serious about using it as your sole income, I'd suggest that you have at least 6 months living money saved up as Laf said, and you have beaten the level you intend to play at for a sufficient bb/100 over at least 100k hands. My e0.02.
EDIT: even the fact that you're not sure of the tools on offer and poker tracker etc suggests you're not ready.

Bandara

The Al Lad wrote: »

thanks mac, do you/know recommend usng any specific software like poker tracker designed specifically for cash game players ???

Don't take this the wrong way Al but it really is glaring out to me that your not ready to do this now.

I'm a very average player who wins and then loses, but loves the game. However even a slogger like me has been using and revising my often butchered hands PT for almost a year with all the other graphing and headsup display software bits as well.

To be jumping into a potentially very costly exercise without whats seems any real preparation of understanding of what it entails is really not a good idea.

It may sound glamerous but I'd imagine a low level poker pros life is a very tough and lonely one.

Again I'm not disparaging you in the slightest, but what your saying doesn't sound right for what you planning to do.

Good luck.

The Al Lad

zuutroy wrote: »

EDIT: even the fact that you're not sure of the tools on offer and poker tracker etc suggests you're not ready.

Yeah I don't know about tools specifically for cash game players as I've never done this before and clearly stated " Im thinking about giving it a go "

so with the right advice and direction we'll see wat happens

also thanks for your opinion

I also don't have too many commitments ie. rent, bills, kids etc only a car which is fully paid for now anyway

phantom_lord

the normal thing is to play x amount of hours, not til u make x amount of money.

judging by your op i don't think you should try playing full time, but gl if u do.

super_furry

Full-time? Man you craaaazy! Sure even Luke can school you heads-up.

hf4z6sqo7vjngi

Are you prepared for this your op leads me to think otherwise

Are you well rolled if not what happens when you run god awful, loose lots of money, struggle to pay rent and look after your family. There the chances you are taking if you try this, but heh best of luck with it:o

Macspower

Hi Al,

You need PT as a minimum and GT+or PA HUD as standard and after that there are loads of tools that will help but not make you any better but may make your decisions easier...

Suggestion...
Get PT play 30k hands this month and review it after this and then decide if it's for you....

David Michael

If you do go full time online... any chace we could play our boards HU?

cardshark202

Just read the op, pretty sure you have no chance.

The Al Lad

cardshark202 wrote: »

Just read the op, pretty sure you have no chance.

probably end up rooting in bins like you !!!

luckylucky

cardshark202 wrote: »

Just read the op, pretty sure you have no chance.

A bit roundtoweresque that statement.

however I can see where Cs comes from, you can't plan on winning a certain amount each day, it's just not the way poker works. playing full-time cash is really just about trying to play your best at all times whether you are winning or losing, and accepting the fact that you will fall short of your A game a lot of the time and trying to cope mentally with that and the inevitable variance, bankroll management is key for managing the inevitable ups and downs.

Oh and stay away from boards too, i always end up having a look and spend far too much time, losing hours to it which means lost revenue

also how many tables do you plan on playing at one time, if it's just one - don't even think of going pro!

CHD

you should definetly do it....

hotspur

Anyone who has to ask about the advisability of buying Pokertracker is in no position to invest any kind of serious money in poker never mind play full time. It's equivalent to saying you are going to be a professional cyclist and does anyone recommend that you buy a bike!

The best of luck with it. It is worth remembering that it is a scientific fact that working class people cannot succeed at online cash games. They are better live because they can cheat.

Ste05

As has been said above, your posts really make it sound like you're not prepared. I'd honestly suggest you play 100k hands this year (or 6 months) and then see if you are ready.

If you don't even have Pokertracker yet, you don't even know what sort of win rate you have and what sort of money you could earn. And you certainly don't play to win X amount a day. Until you can answer this yourself, you're not ready.

But again GL if you do it, lots of people go into a business they have no real experience in and make a real success of it. No major reason this can't happen here, but it's just as unlikely as in any kind of business. Keep us informed though, it'd be nice to follow your progress.

The Al Lad

well thanks for the advice

and as I said a couple of times IT WAS ONLT SOMETHING I WAS THINKING ABOUT

the reason I had this little idea was that i have been doing fairly well grinding away at 1/2 lately and thought I'd post it here to see wat y'all thought

Ste05

The Al Lad wrote: »

the reason I had this little idea was that i have been doing fairly well grinding away at 1/2 lately and thought I'd post it here to see wat y'all thought

We all get these thoughts after running well, but honestly wait until you've played 100,000 or 200,000 hands and then see if you can stick it. The downswings are pretty brutal...

The Al Lad

Ste05 wrote: »

We all get these thoughts after running well, but honestly wait until you've played 100,000 or 200,000 hands and then see if you can stick it. The downswings are pretty brutal...

yeah, we'll see wat happens

peeko

get pt and import the hands you've allready played and post the info up here!

strewelpeter

David Michael wrote: »

If you do go full time online... any chace we could play our boards HU?

.

strewelpeter

Actully never mind dotting that.
This has me really píssed off. You were on here all last night posting looking for help from the forum about your prospective new career as a full time pro. And as usual there are a lot of people willing to find some time on their Friday night to offer advice and assistance.
At 10:30 David Michael comes on and posts pleading with you to play the HU matches that you committed to playing a couple of months ago and you completly blank him*
Let me tell you m8, this forum is a very valuable resource for people who want to learn more about the game and things like the HU league are a great idea giving people an opportunity to improve a specific aspect of their play and have a bit of cheap competitive fun. But they don't just happen - Flushdraw has put an immense effort into organising this and keeping it going. You were asked, and reminded time and again to play your games, there are people you have been due to play for the last eight weeks posting on the HU thread every other night looking to play, you have been sent PM's including mobile phone numbers and you have made little or no effort.
Cop On :mad:

* That is, as far as I can see, I guess I could possibly be wrong and you may have played with him last night, it doesn't matter though the general point applies.

HiCloy

David Michael wrote: »

If you do go full time online... any chace we could play our boards HU?

.

David Michael

strewelpeter wrote: »

* That is, as far as I can see, I guess I could possibly be wrong and you may have played with him last night, it doesn't matter though the general point applies.

I got a walk over

Not holding any thing against you though Al lad. Just the way it goes I suppose.

tbh I thought this thing was going to last a few weeks but it is dragging its ass out. I appreciate all the effort Tony has put into it but I only get involved to show my support for these things/boards/boards peoples. I really can't see me doing all this again.

Once a months Sunday Tournie $10 - $20 buy in FTW! (Possibly SnG and a sunday so we can hound people here to join in as they are always playing on Sundays in the Zillions etc...)

pok3rplaya

cardshark202 wrote: »

Just read the op, pretty sure you have no chance.

.

breadmonkey

pok3rplaya wrote: »

.

+1, it's busto for you lad

DeadMoney

When players decide to concentrate on poker full time, they have usually been very successful part time and over a long sample space too. They should already be consistantly profitable -more so (or the same) as with their recent occupation. It sounds from your post that you have a bit of a naive mindset in terms of how to approach playing full time. Firstly, I'm pretty sure that very few (if any) solid full timers approach full time play as you have described. It's not as simple as buying in and double up every day and make the same target profit daily or weekly. It seems like an easy way to handle it but its certainly not. You should be concentrating on improving you're winrate aswell as tracking you're performance stats and any holes in your game. If you are good enough, you should then be profitable. Bankroll management is equally as important as your play when you are full time and you be should handling this very carefully. Many players are good enough to be full time pros but can never seem to manage their money and keep going broke eg, bluecouse.
If I were you I'd play a bit more and see how you do before diving right in to full time play. It should be quite a gradual progression and one that you actually feel confident with instead of the "taking a shot" type mindset. Anyway best of luck what ever you decide.

RoundTower

You've obviously run well over the last few thousand hands and made a few quid from your clueless opponents. You owe it to yourself IMO to at least take a shot at investing that money back into online poker.

White Knight

RoundTower wrote: »

You've obviously run well over the last few thousand hands and made a few quid from your clueless opponents. You owe it to yourself IMO to at least take a shot at investing that money back into online poker.

lol wp

Marq

move up levels.

The Al Lad

strewelpeter wrote: »

Actully never mind dotting that.
This has me really píssed off. You were on here all last night posting looking for help from the forum about your prospective new career as a full time pro. And as usual there are a lot of people willing to find some time on their Friday night to offer advice and assistance.
At 10:30 David Michael comes on and posts pleading with you to play the HU matches that you committed to playing a couple of months ago and you completly blank him*
Let me tell you m8, this forum is a very valuable resource for people who want to learn more about the game and things like the HU league are a great idea giving people an opportunity to improve a specific aspect of their play and have a bit of cheap competitive fun. But they don't just happen - Flushdraw has put an immense effort into organising this and keeping it going. You were asked, and reminded time and again to play your games, there are people you have been due to play for the last eight weeks posting on the HU thread every other night looking to play, you have been sent PM's including mobile phone numbers and you have made little or no effort.
Cop On :mad:

* That is, as far as I can see, I guess I could possibly be wrong and you may have played with him last night, it doesn't matter though the general point applies.

LMFAO

firstly there is a good few people who haven't played matches yet and also post looking for advice on hands etc.

secondly I have been moving house and have been on holiday <--- which I posted before

so, basically you need to sort your life out mate,

this has " really pissed you off " .....if thats all you are worrying about at the minute you have it handy

too much time for thinking on your half

I won't argue with you on a public forum however if you wish to continue your rant I will offer to meet you in person and we'll discuss it further

kind regards

The Al Lad

ps. have we played HU already ???

strewelpeter

The Al Lad wrote: »

LMFAO

firstly there is a good few people who haven't played matches yet and also post looking for advice on hands etc.

secondly I have been moving house and have been on holiday <--- which I posted before

so, basically you need to sort your life out mate,

this has " really pissed you off " .....if thats all you are worrying about at the minute you have it handy

too much time for thinking on your half

I won't argue with you on a public forum however if you wish to continue your rant I will offer to meet you in person and we'll discuss it further

kind regards

The Al Lad

ps. have we played HU already ???

Grow up and show some respect.
End of conversation.

The Al Lad

strewelpeter wrote: »

Grow up and show some respect.
End of conversation.

respect for who .....you ??? lol

you started this rant mate,

now I will be on GJP all night from about 8 onwards and will skill you in heads up if you like

Headspace

in my opipion you will experience larger varience if you make out a routine of when to play. Play when u feel like it man, and your BB/100 will look miles better, trust me on this one. I,d say give it a go even though it dose get lonely

JP Poker

Hi Alan,

I'm probably not the best person to be giving advice as i don't play seriously or often enough online.

That said you may be better off trying 1 table SnG's (6 handed) instead.

Gl with it

luckylucky

Headspace wrote: »

in my opipion you will experience larger varience if you make out a routine of when to play. Play when u feel like it man, and your BB/100 will look miles better, trust me on this one. I,d say give it a go even though it dose get lonely

Valid point, but if you're playing full-time you need to be putting in some sort of decent hours. Also there are times that we feel like playing when we definitely shouldn't - i.e. after a few too many scoops.

These days games have got a lot tougher imo so one really should not rush into going pro

Russh

The OP is asking for advice, the kind of thing this forum can offer and has to offer....O.K...come on here and give your opinion but it's not good enough to just slate someone for asking for advice...you could say stuff like 'your not good enough'(WTF) but then maybe follow up with something like 'that said' this is my advice'...

Anyway my point is there are some good posts here and some that are not so helpful to anyone...I wouldn't mind but some of the one liner posters here are decent enough players...

It's a good thread and I'm sure alot of players are asking similiar type questions....

NickyOD

Only played with you once but saw enough to know that you're probably too much of a gambler type player to have the discipline for on-line cash but I could be wrong.

Put in 50K hands first to give yourself some confidence.

LuckyLloyd

This post has been deleted.

dK1NG

hotspur wrote: »

The best of luck with it. It is worth remembering that it is a scientific fact that working class people cannot succeed at online cash games. They are better live because they can cheat.

AKQJ10

I would be considered a very LAG live player but have recently decided to give online a bash. First thing i noticed was i needed to play much much tighter oop and even in position. Get yourself pokertracker and take a while at a comfortable level to get used to how people play, no need to jump in at the deep end straight away even if your bankrolled for it. I found it pretty tough to sit there just grinding away, very easy to just pot every street(enjoyable too). Id say give it a go for sure but be prepared to change your game and best of luck.