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Making a living with career & online poker- Viable?

  • 05-08-2008 6:49pm
    #1
    Closed Accounts Posts: 1,956 ✭✭✭


    Hi All,

    I would greatly appreciate advice from the Reg's on the following:

    - I am currently in a decent job, bout €35k per year, 9-5:30pm, Mon-Fri
    - I have been playing poker on-off about 3 years, and previously slowly ran a $30 stars deposit up to $1500 playing 6-Max NL25 for about 9 months b4 cashing out and going to Thailand last summer
    - Back playing 25NL about a month, few hundred quid on party
    - Putting a LOT of time into education - 2+2 Forums/bout a dozen books. Just bought Deuces Cracked subscr. and Holdem Manager.
    - Consider myself to have a pretty solid (but relatively breakeven) game over few 100k hands, obviously some big leaks, but I'll be Holdem manager'in them out of my game in the coming months.

    My plan is to keep working 9-5:30 and play about 20 hours a week outside of reading my arse off with 2+2 posts and Vid's. I plan to hopefully setlle around 200NL in a few months time when my BR gets there. I'd like to be able to earn my salary again playing poker each year for a few years, with a view to moving up and into Poker full-time when Im earnin 3/4 times my current annual salary...

    My question is:

    Is it viable in the current climate/state of the online poker industry? I'm not too au fait with the Us's situation - But is online poker illegal now over there??? i.e. Traditional Fishiepool gone byebye?

    Can some of the reg "pro's" advise me as to how practical my plan is, and what stakes/sites would be the best course for my plan?


    Thanks in advance!

    Consultech.


«1

Comments

  • Closed Accounts Posts: 313 ✭✭pierce hard


    gl with it


  • Registered Users, Registered Users 2 Posts: 5,083 ✭✭✭RoundTower


    yes you can definitely make a living with a full-time job and online poker.

    just try not to lose too much on the poker.


  • Closed Accounts Posts: 5,124 ✭✭✭NickyOD


    Considering the stakes you're playing at the moment I'd say you're not even half way to being able to play full time. That's just my own experience of being in the same situtaion.

    Online poker is a different animal now to what it was 5 years ago and personally I think only players who have exceptional talent for the game should even consider taking it up. Hard work will get you there, but very slowly only so far.

    Better off furthering your other career imho.


  • Registered Users, Registered Users 2 Posts: 857 ✭✭✭thedini


    Lads he's not talking about going pro now but maybe in a few years if it goes well.

    OP, keep doing what u are doing pokerwise and good luck with it.


  • Closed Accounts Posts: 1,956 ✭✭✭consultech


    NickyOD wrote: »
    Considering the stakes you're playing at the moment I'd say you're not even half way to being able to play full time. That's just my own experience of being in the same situtaion.

    Online poker is a different animal now to what it was 5 years ago and personally I think only players who have exceptional talent for the game should even consider taking it up. Hard work will get you there, but very slowly only so far.

    Better off furthering your other career imho.


    Cheers Nicky...You are the type of reg I was looking to hear from tbh... I used to post a fair bit on another board when u did, I remember u commenting on the table I built b4.

    TBH I hear you regarding the complete changing of what online poker is nowadays, but could the golden days return again tho if it's regulated in America etc? I feel like I'm not gonna be taking any massive risks, Im still a good bit up moneywise over my playing career so I have encouragement there, still live at home etc and am on decent money jobwise. The time I'd be putting in to it would be outside that of work, which I can do quite well in 9-5:30 (commission on top of salary).

    Just trying to get an overview of whether say €50 or so an hour wud be possible at 200NL in say 12 month's from now, and what would be necessary?


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  • Registered Users, Registered Users 2 Posts: 11,286 ✭✭✭✭mdwexford


    Sounds like your going about it the right way. I wouldnt be comfortable being a "pro" unless i was beating 400nl for a nice winrate and with decent rakeback/bonuses and stuff. Its definitely doable if you put the effort in and have some sort of ability for the game.


  • Registered Users, Registered Users 2 Posts: 3,141 ✭✭✭ocallagh


    totally depends on your outgoings

    if u live at home, have some money saved, don't go out much, have few responsibilities, have no bank loan/Credit card then 200NL @ 3 or 4ptBB/100 - 4 tabling 20hrs/week would give you an extra $1k per week which is roughly what you're making at the moment

    putting in those 20hrs, and maintaining your desired win rate is not as eays as it sounds though.

    Throw in a loan, credit card, holidays, car, kids, mortgage, stress and you'd need to be beating 400NL or maybe even 600NL to make it work.


  • Registered Users, Registered Users 2 Posts: 3,070 ✭✭✭Ollieboy


    As others have already mention you our going the right way about it, but I believe the golden days of poker is over. I also think going pro is only possible for very few people.

    The best way to treat poker is as a part-time job and try to make the same money as you would per a hour as working. In the long run, a career is far more important and a far better tool to get through life. Very few pro's handle the balance of poker and life and the variance's.

    I had the same thought's a few years ago and felt I could make a living from it, but I could also make a living driving a taxi or setting up a business.

    Stick to the job, if you start making lots of money, than come back here and open this thread and tell us. I would believe you will make a bit from poker and maybe equal your wages.

    Also, remember the standard of players is improving and the edge good players have as got very narrow. A lot of top pro's predicted this in the last few years.


  • Registered Users, Registered Users 2 Posts: 6,646 ✭✭✭cooker3


    Well sounds like you have the right attitude anyway.
    Your best bet is to really just keep doing what your doing and make your goal to become better rather then have a certain amount by x


  • Registered Users, Registered Users 2 Posts: 8,267 ✭✭✭opr


    The player standard getting better at least up as far as levels like 2/4 is crap.

    Yes your average fish has changed and evolved and is alot different but i don't believe the volume of them is less or they are any less beatable.

    People can evolve, learn, progress and even become ok pokers players. I think these type of players are the new fish. Many of them watch videos and read loads of other players thoughts on the game as a result they know how to play preflop, they have a general outline of lines to take and other such stuff.

    Most of them don't think about the game for themselves and alot of them are not capable of thinking about the game for themselves.

    Opr


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  • Registered Users, Registered Users 2 Posts: 4,258 ✭✭✭digiman


    I am more or less doing the exact same as you are now. I have a good well paying job that I enjoy and am playing poker in my spare time. My hours at work aren't to demanding currently so I have some free time during the day to read/study poker and play some in the evening then. I started off this year with a set amount of my own personal money and started playing 50nl as I thought I would be able to beat this. Turned out I was wrong but trough rakeback and bonuses I was able to move up to 100nl anyway and I did beat this pretty well over a large sample.

    Since January I have learned and improved a lot and got to the stage were since May I have been playing at least 100nl and have now played 5k hands at 400nl which has went well so far. My hourly since May is well above what I make in my job but I wouldn't like to have to play 20hrs a week to be honest. I play about 40 hours a month and probably put in around the same reading and reviewing hands.

    I think its very possible to build up a decent bankroll if you don't bother withdrawing the money ever. I've withdrawn about $3k so far but some of that was my original investment and also took part of it was to make myself feel better after I dropped 25% of my roll taking a failed shot at 200nl in which I moved back down to 50nl again and started rebuilding my confidence again.

    My tips for you would be to:

    Start of with $500 and grind 25nl on a site that has a good sign up bonus and as much rakeback as you can possibly get because at the lower levels rakeback will probably double your BB/100 and increase your bankroll a lot.

    Take shots earlier than say people who play full time do as you don't need this money, (You have a full time job) but move back down if it goes wrong. You can just afford to take more shots than people who rely on their rolls for income.

    Don't withdraw your money ever, this will only hinder your progress and the fact that you have a job means you should not need this money. I mean until you are at least playing 200nl.

    Look into getting a coach when you get to 200nl as this is where the games get a lot tougher and are filled with better regulars and sometimes you need that extra help to help you beat the games.

    Also set goals in your head or write them down in a blog just so you always have a clear idea of what you are aiming for.

    There are lots of other obvious tips that I have left out but I think the above will help you a lot.

    Best of luck


  • Closed Accounts Posts: 1,997 ✭✭✭latenia


    Maybe you should aim for a steady €200-300 a week for a bit of extra pocket money. That's still 10k a year tax free which is the equivalent of about 15k extra salary plus you'll never really have to worry about going bust.


  • Registered Users, Registered Users 2 Posts: 281 ✭✭cokedrinker


    consultech wrote: »
    My plan is to keep working 9-5:30 and play about 20 hours a week outside of reading my arse off with 2+2 posts and Vid's. I'd like to be able to earn my salary again playing poker each year

    This is what im hoping to achieve also (posted the exact same on dc forums). Im moving out to Australia next month to begin my career, but i want to keep poker up part time and dedicate 20hrs week getting in close to 30k hands/month. A decent winrate at 2/4 would be a massive boost to the salary and i would be very content there.
    I've started to look into PLO and may actually put more of an effort into it over the next year (once i've made it to, and am comfortable at 2/4NL). Poker will always be a part time gig for me... don't think i would go fulltime 'pro' even if i miraculously became a winning 5/10 player.


  • Registered Users, Registered Users 2 Posts: 6,696 ✭✭✭Hectorjelly


    No-one is answering the questions he asked (I would if I could)


  • Registered Users, Registered Users 2 Posts: 8,806 ✭✭✭Lafortezza


    OP, why not concentrate on your career for the next few years? Why must poker become your career?
    5 years from now you might have a better job, with better prospects, more money, more satisfaction and be making side money from poker. If you put the work in you might have a rock solid career and enough side money from poker to pay for nice holidays, car insurance, new tv, new PC etc etc.

    What age are you by the way?


  • Closed Accounts Posts: 7,454 ✭✭✭hf4z6sqo7vjngi


    Good luck with this OP i have been doing this for the last 3/4 years or so and apart from 2007 i have won decent online/live and it has supplemented my salary nicely. It can be difficult at times managing both work/poker/family life but set some goals from what you want to get out of it. I originally wanted to cover holidays/car insurance/expensive gadgets and thankfully i have done this and also spent money on a house extension/rennovations and reinvested it.

    In terms of play probably best to look at playing cash tables on Ipoker as it is still far softer than the likes of Stars/Ft. It is also important to set yourself up with a good loyality scheme, GJP offer a good one. If you are looking to make decent enough money you really need to be playing 200nl upwards so this may require to put some $$$ online so you are rolled, i would say $5k/$6k would be a good start for 200nl.

    One final note you have set yourself 20 hours a week i would suggest you only play when not tired and have at least 2/3 hours set aside to put in a decent session. And btw only a few % of people can make it full time so continue along the line of day job and poker as additional income/hobby. Good luck with it


  • Registered Users, Registered Users 2 Posts: 130 ✭✭mick84


    Well said jackyback.

    In my opinion whats the point in leaving a well payed job ????? to go sit in front of your pc at home for 8 hours a day , not guaranteeing payment for the hours you put in online.

    Poker can be cruel , even if you are the best player in the world.

    People have told me that their job is poker and that they have won so much in the casino's , online and in big tournaments. ( everybody who's plays poker in a casino knows one)

    But six months later they are not in the casino's , not in the big tournaments because they jumped the gun to early and lost all their money.
    And they are asking you for money


    This happens all the time. Dont kid yourself.

    You said that you will put 20 hours in. Thats a part time job. Try match your wages in a year doing this. That's the challenge you should set your self.

    Play like jackyback said play for something like a new tv , computer , car. DONT play for your income.


  • Closed Accounts Posts: 1,956 ✭✭✭consultech


    Thanks for the thoughts lads, some good discussion...

    Lafortezza: I'm 24 years old - was gonna give it a serious bash during college at 21 but didn't.

    I understand what the 50% concensus regarding the safe craeer-route is; But I'm in a bit of a wishy washy industry, there will always be 50k a year there for me if I work hard, and potentially loads more, but this is very do-able inside of business hours.

    The reason I'm even toying with this idea is because I LOVE poker. - Not: "It's a good laugh playin with the lads with a few cans every week"-kind of I Love poker...

    Im talkin: "I was awake till 3am working out 4 odds calculations in my head last night, and I have recently indoctrinated my girlfriend into loving poker so I can play more"-kind of I love poker. I definitely I think I have the drive/level of commitment for the game...


    Again: So what stakes do people reckon €40 an hour is do-able on? - With 25-28 hours a week playing and session reviews?


  • Registered Users, Registered Users 2 Posts: 5,434 ✭✭✭cardshark202


    well €40 an hour is well doable if you multitable 1/2 a lot. If you have a lot of time on your hands and you're good enough, you can reach 200nl in a month or two. I don't see any harm in going for it anyway, especially if you're only 24


  • Registered Users, Registered Users 2 Posts: 6,854 ✭✭✭zuutroy


    I'm definitely in the 'play for luxury items' camp. It takes a very specific type of laid back person to have poker as their sole income. I think playing for e40/hr is madness too (though as the lads said if you're young free and single maybe not so much) Even if I was making $200/hr playing poker I'd keep working. It's not because I love work, I do very little, but the routine of getting up and going and doing a bit and talking to non-poker people for a few hours and then looking forward to playing when I get home is much better than obsessing about poker all the time. Very few people have the disposition to live without this balance imo. When I run bad it affects me a bit in real life, though I try hard to quash this but I can only imagine how difficult it'd be if it was my job. I'd be interested to see how much you love poker once this starts to happen. As soon as something becomes a necessity its hard to enjoy no matter what it is.
    I made the mistake of thinking to myself "hmmm, I might be able to run up a house deposit from this in 12-18 months" and now I'm already getting annoyed with respect to that goal if my bankroll doesn't oblige my milestones, but its stuck in my head now so I'll try and see it through. After that though I'll only rely on poker to buy stupid **** that I don't really need I hope.


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  • Closed Accounts Posts: 7,454 ✭✭✭hf4z6sqo7vjngi


    I think if i was playing full time poker i would start to hate the game, i would not have the character to do this. Even if i luckboxed a 500k win down the line i am happy with the mix of career/business/poker that i have now.


  • Closed Accounts Posts: 1,956 ✭✭✭consultech


    Once again - Cheers for the thoughts lads...

    Im well-aware it's a serious strain playing for a living when it's ur only income, and your opinion on the game changes dramatically - Ive a couple of mates who play online for a living, one of which got me into poker.

    I think what will (hopefully) differentiate me is that Ill have a solid (hopefully quite ample) income on the side from my career, and as such will hopefully serve to keep making money from poker a novel thing. This is something that my mates don't have, and is probably what their respective frustrations with poker as a "job" can be attributed to.

    Make no bones about it, Im not playing for money currently at all. - However, eventually, because Ill have money coming in on the reg from elsewhere, I would hope that I will be playing to learn for a long time before Im playing to earn. From what I can gauge from personal and 2nd hand-opinion, this seems to be a pretty important concept; Either playing for money, or playing for experience.

    All very idealistic but Ive gotta have a goal I suppose. Ill be donkin it up in the 40+5 in the jackpot tonight in a grey hoodie/Jack Daniel's T-Shirt (carnation possibly) if anyone is there with an opinion...

    Cheers, Mark.


  • Registered Users, Registered Users 2 Posts: 3,201 ✭✭✭Macspower


    Only getting to this now...

    The route your going is the way to go definately.. I got landed in the deep end 18 months ago when I had to close my company due to a bad beat and couldn't get a "real" job while company was closing etcetc..

    I managed to make a living out of it for the last 18 months but only a living and not a fortune by any means... rakeback and and bonuses are most important... your view of poker will also change.... the "love" will die rapidly... kinda like it does after getting married :p it does become a grind that you need strict dicipline for and my struggle was always to build a bankroll while trying to live off it at the same time... nearly impossible at 200nl I think... I have a car/house/wife/family......

    So while working/playing you get the chance to build a roll with little risk and see if it's for you... manage your BR and enjoy...

    btw I'll prob be in Jackpot as well... big guy with glasses.... say hello


  • Closed Accounts Posts: 4,720 ✭✭✭El Stuntman


    seriously...stick to the career


  • Registered Users, Registered Users 2 Posts: 5,443 ✭✭✭califano


    and stick to words like viable. Viable is a dominant word which i have been over useing ever since this thread started.


  • Registered Users, Registered Users 2 Posts: 2,004 ✭✭✭pok3rplaya


    I'd just like to say how refreshing it is to have someone level-headed come here and actually ask for this type of advice rather than tell us his plans and then explode at the slightest hint of someone saying he wont be able to do it.


  • Closed Accounts Posts: 5,124 ✭✭✭NickyOD


    pok3rplaya wrote: »
    I'd just like to say how refreshing it is to have someone level-headed come here and actually ask for this type of advice rather than tell us his plans and then explode at the slightest hint of someone saying he wont be able to do it.

    +1

    lol @ noobs with a masterplan.


  • Registered Users, Registered Users 2 Posts: 3,201 ✭✭✭Macspower


    +2

    would like if you kept us updated as well... rather than what were used to... "i'm giving up 50k job to play 25nl kinda post and i'm going to make a million in my first year!" and then never hear or see them again. A breath of fresh air indeed


  • Registered Users, Registered Users 2 Posts: 99 ✭✭niborm


    One final note you have set yourself 20 hours a week i would suggest you only play when not tired and have at least 2/3 hours set aside to put in a decent session. And btw only a few % of people can make it full time so continue along the line of day job and poker as additional income/hobby. Good luck with it

    I really think this is great advice...playing because you feel you must put in the hours is the quickest way to end up with your foot stuck through your monitor, unless you have incredible discipline, which in my experience very few people have. This has cost me more money than I care to remember.


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  • Registered Users, Registered Users 2 Posts: 650 ✭✭✭pgodkin


    Op, Its good to see i mightn't have been far off, im single and 25 and have a very good job in the transport industry, i do love to play cards and besides work i have a ton of free time so i have my self the same plan, put a couple of hundred online and play cash small stakes and build from there.

    i decided to do it after i went through my finances and seen how much it was costing me play for a bit of fun, Live Cash was Killing me at 1-3 euro no limit game in my local club, on top of that put on the buy in for tournies it starts to mount up. So have decide to take the advise both in this thread and alot others and play it straight and with the displine that is needed to mange a bankroll (will let you know how i get on with this).

    Thanks to Pocket-twos i have a load of readings to get through, and i have set up spreadsheet that will track the money, i think this is very important as you need to see where your br is coming from and going to! Dont Lie to yourself and dont be afraid to ask for advise or drop levels or even walk away from it for a couple of months, you and i dont have to play because we have other sourse's of income and i think this in the long run will help us handle the downswings

    Good Luck with it and welcome to boards, hope to hear from u again

    ;)


  • Banned (with Prison Access) Posts: 6,956 ✭✭✭CHD


    God speed


  • Closed Accounts Posts: 1,956 ✭✭✭consultech


    Cheers for the kind words...
    consultech wrote: »
    Ill be donkin it up in the 40+5 in the jackpot tonight

    hahaha - In spectacularly ironic fashion Im sitting at my desk in work after getting all of 70 minutes sleep! - I finished 4th in this last night/this morning (bout 60 runners AFAIK), getting out of there at about 4:30am. Let's see how long I can keep this double-career up!!!

    Nah I'm pretty happy with the way I played, if not a wee bit nittilly. Only got it in as an underdog once with 22 v 33 at final table after I isolated her extremely shortstacked all-in (2.5 BB's) and spiked a deuce on the river :rolleyes: Also had my AA cracked by JJ AIPF for bout 20% my stack etc etc.

    2nd in chips 5 handed I reckoned I was on course for a top-two finish, plus entry to the sattelite for 500NE event, but biggest turning point came at 2000/4000 when I raised first in from SB with A4s and got a caller in BB. He had been playing pretty loose/3-betting his edges (AK x 2/QQ I think) pre-flop a bit, and I had been a bit busy from late position with A-small etc, but showing decent hands like AJs/99/AK 3 of the times when not called.

    (Pot 30k) Flop K-4-2 rag. I lead for Half pot, he min-raises (We both have about 45/50k left). In hindsight I think I made the right laydown, still had about 30k left, and I hadn't seen this kind of apparent value-raising from him before. He showed A9 afterwards anyway. Had he shoved my line may have been different (?). He played the other stack sizes well though, there were 2 with less than me left.

    Onwards and upwards anyway, no 4-tabling tonight methinks...


  • Registered Users, Registered Users 2 Posts: 588 ✭✭✭Lao Lao


    consultech wrote: »
    Once again - Cheers for the thoughts lads...

    Im well-aware it's a serious strain playing for a living when it's ur only income, and your opinion on the game changes dramatically - Ive a couple of mates who play online for a living, one of which got me into poker.

    I think what will (hopefully) differentiate me is that Ill have a solid (hopefully quite ample) income on the side from my career, and as such will hopefully serve to keep making money from poker a novel thing. This is something that my mates don't have, and is probably what their respective frustrations with poker as a "job" can be attributed to.

    Make no bones about it, Im not playing for money currently at all. - However, eventually, because Ill have money coming in on the reg from elsewhere, I would hope that I will be playing to learn for a long time before Im playing to earn. From what I can gauge from personal and 2nd hand-opinion, this seems to be a pretty important concept; Either playing for money, or playing for experience.

    All very idealistic but Ive gotta have a goal I suppose. Ill be donkin it up in the 40+5 in the jackpot tonight in a grey hoodie/Jack Daniel's T-Shirt (carnation possibly) if anyone is there with an opinion...

    Cheers, Mark.


    Did you get moved to table 3, seat 1 last night in the Jackpot and then get paid off very nicely when you held KQ on your SB on a flop of 910J??

    If so, I was in seat 3 at the time, red t-shirt and glasses.

    Good luck with the plan, I'll say hello next time I see ya

    Brian


  • Closed Accounts Posts: 19,341 ✭✭✭✭Chucky the tree


    consultech wrote: »

    My question is:

    Is it viable in the current climate/state of the online poker industry? I'm not too au fait with the Us's situation - But is online poker illegal now over there??? i.e. Traditional Fishiepool gone byebye?

    Can some of the reg "pro's" advise me as to how practical my plan is, and what stakes/sites would be the best course for my plan?


    Thanks in advance!

    Consultech.



    I honestly dont know the in and outs of it, but online poker isnt illegal I just think your not banks are allowed transfer money to and from online gambling sites, thats why it difficult to get money on-line. In some states it might be illegal but the vast majority it isnt.


    I am going on figures for FR, but someone could easily earn 6k a month from NL 100-NL 200 and you dont even have great or even close to the top player in at your level. Alot of full time guys just play 100-200NL and mass multi-table.

    If you get good rakeback/bonuses this will be a huge help and earning $100k a year wont be at all unrealistic.


    Now I am not saying quit your job tomorrow and go gamble it up. I'd keep the job now, study and play part time then when you reach 100NL and if you feel you can beat it easily enough then quit. Your at the perfect age to give it a try. You have no wife,kids or mortgage( I presume anyway).You havent been in your job long, so it's not like you are hugely committed to it.

    Also, loads of people take years out from there jobs to go traveling so this is no different, if you find out you dont like it/you arent good enough you can go back and get job.


    Anyway best of luck in deciding what you do.


  • Registered Users, Registered Users 2 Posts: 11,286 ✭✭✭✭mdwexford


    Make 60 buyins a month easily at 100nl and not even be very good, lol i doubt it.


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  • Registered Users, Registered Users 2 Posts: 6,646 ✭✭✭cooker3


    mdwexford wrote: »
    Make 60 buyins a month easily at 100nl and not even be very good, lol i doubt it.

    Yeah I was wondering that myself, pretty optimistic


  • Closed Accounts Posts: 19,341 ✭✭✭✭Chucky the tree


    mdwexford wrote: »
    Make 60 buyins a month easily at 100nl and not even be very good, lol i doubt it.




    I meant to say if you can play NL 100 and 200. But even at NL 100 it's not too hard.I aslo edited the very good part to make it a bit clearer aswell cos I didnt word it great.



    Here's the stats of one of the 100NL players on 2+2.

    july08statsuu3.gif



    considering most full time FR players hit at least 100k hands a month you dont need a massive win rate to make it.


  • Registered Users, Registered Users 2 Posts: 7,537 ✭✭✭Ste05


    considering most full time FR players hit at least 100k hands a month you dont need a massive win rate to make it.
    LOL, no they don't!!

    And making 6k a month at 100NL is bloody hard. Either you have to be really good and run well, or have the ability to put in crazy hours and massively multi-table. Both not skills you can pick up at a heart beat.

    Don't delude yourself, making 6k a month from Poker is very difficult.


  • Registered Users, Registered Users 2 Posts: 4,258 ✭✭✭digiman


    study and play part time then when you reach 100NL and if you feel you can beat it easily enough then quit. Your at the perfect age to give it a try.

    To quit your job because you can beat 100nl would be crazy. Usually you will find that for someone who is playing 100k hands a month they don't have a very high win-rate so just because you see someone with 5.5BB/100 doesn't mean they would sustain that for 100k hands a month, would more likely be something like 1.5-2BB/100 which would be pretty good in itself.

    Quitting your job because you can beat 1knl would be a lot better advice imo, and even then if I could beat 1knl I wouldn't give up my job either.

    Also playing 100nl should just be a stepping stone to going to higher limits as well. The best thing to do would be just to play poker for an extra few euro every month that you can spend on stuff that you wouldn't normally buy.


  • Registered Users, Registered Users 2 Posts: 10,894 ✭✭✭✭phantom_lord


    if i break 30k hands a month i'm feeling pretty satisfied!


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  • Closed Accounts Posts: 19,341 ✭✭✭✭Chucky the tree


    Ste05 wrote: »
    LOL, no they don't!!

    And making 6k a month at 100NL is bloody hard. Either you have to be really good and run well, or have the ability to put in crazy hours and massively multi-table. Both not skills you can pick up at a heart beat.

    Don't delude yourself, making 6k a month from Poker is very difficult.



    eh, yes they do.

    here's the link to the july/august goals result thread on the 100NL-200NL forum, have at look at the hands they made/ plan to get too. Most of them will hit that.


    http://forumserver.twoplustwo.com/showthread.php?t=263860

    digiman, double his hands and keep his win rate the same, thats still 3.9k he's made before you include bonuses/rakeback.


  • Registered Users, Registered Users 2 Posts: 4,258 ✭✭✭digiman


    digiman, double his hands and keep his win rate the same, thats still 3.9k he's made before you include bonuses/rakeback.

    I think what you are failing to see is 5.65BB/100 is practically unsustainable for 99.99% of 100nl players and if it is they should be playing 200nl. Double the amount of hands he plays at the same time and his win-rate will probably half or even 1/3 of what it is now! If you ask any of the players that played 100nl on here, I severely doubt any of them had a win-rate of over 5BB/100 for more than 100k hands.


  • Closed Accounts Posts: 19,341 ✭✭✭✭Chucky the tree


    digiman wrote: »
    I think what you are failing to see is 5.65BB/100 is practically unsustainable for 99.99% of 100nl players and if it is they should be playing 200nl. Double the amount of hands he plays at the same time and his win-rate will probably half or even 1/3 of what it is now! If you ask any of the players that played 100nl on here, I severely doubt any of them had a win-rate of over 5BB/100 for more than 100k hands.




    Yes I know. But if you double the hands and he breaks even for the next 30k hands, He'll still have won 3k but his BB/100 will of been halfed.


  • Registered Users, Registered Users 2 Posts: 11,286 ✭✭✭✭mdwexford


    if i break 30k hands a month i'm feeling pretty satisfied!

    True story.


  • Registered Users, Registered Users 2 Posts: 10,894 ✭✭✭✭phantom_lord


    eh, yes they do.

    here's the link to the july/august goals result thread on the 100NL-200NL forum, have at look at the hands they made/ plan to get too. Most of them will hit that.


    http://forumserver.twoplustwo.com/showthread.php?t=263860

    digiman, double his hands and keep his win rate the same, thats still 3.9k he's made before you include bonuses/rakeback.

    sounds like hell, i much rather have a job than do that.


  • Registered Users, Registered Users 2 Posts: 7,537 ✭✭✭Ste05


    eh, yes they do.

    here's the link to the july/august goals result thread on the 100NL-200NL forum, have at look at the hands they made/ plan to get too. Most of them will hit that.


    http://forumserver.twoplustwo.com/showthread.php?t=263860
    What are you talking about, I saw exactly 1 graph that showed 100k hands. People can write anything they want.

    You really shouldn't delude yourself, 100k hands is a HUGE amount of work.

    Consistently making 6k a month at 100NL is almost unheard of. Anyone that can do that moves up and is very good at Poker. Or is lying.


  • Registered Users, Registered Users 2 Posts: 3,201 ✭✭✭Macspower


    have to agree with you on that one Ste...

    I was playing about 50 k a month most months at 100 and 200nl and played 70 k hands one month and nearly fried my brain.... I was playing 16 tables constantly to hit the 72 k and broke even from play for the month... anyone making 6 k in amonth at 100 nl would be automatically moving up next month I would say...


  • Closed Accounts Posts: 19,341 ✭✭✭✭Chucky the tree


    sounds like hell, i much rather have a job than do that.



    Meh, depends what your idea of hell is. 18 tables four hours a day for 24 days or so and your there.


    Apologies ste, not excactly 100k hands. 4 or 5 80K+ graphs. but the winrates on the players who didnt make 100k arent bad. Also, I am talking aobut doing it at NL100 and NL 200.


    july.png


    Spend his time between $100 NL and $200NL and only beat it for 1.79BB/100


  • Registered Users, Registered Users 2 Posts: 7,537 ✭✭✭Ste05


    Have you ever played 18 tables though? It's not just sitting down for 4 hours and then finishing up. The mental strain of 4 hours of 18 tabling is crazy. I've never done it and I'm multi-tabling for years. It's a really difficult skill to be able to master.

    Take this as an example, 18 tables @ say 80 hands per table hour is 1440 hands per hour. Say on average every hand involves 2 decisions. (at least 1 and upto 6 or 7) which is 2880 decisions an hour. There's 3600 seconds an hour. So that means you are having to make at least one decision every 1.25 seconds.

    Can you remain on top of your game having to make expensive and important pressurised decisions every 1.25 seconds for 4 hours?

    I really can't explain just how difficult this is. Even just physically clicking the correct button once every 1.25 seconds can take it out of you.

    You have 1.25 seconds to look at your cards, see what's happened before you make a decision (most will be to fold), click the button and move onto the next hand. Then if you're involved in a hand and have your time bank to try and think out your decision, while also repeating this constantly on the other 17 tables and then making the correct decision. Hopefully I'm beginning to get through it's not like sitting down to play a few MTT's on a Sunday night. It's like this every day, every week, every month, etc. etc. EDIT: to grind out $4-5k or €2.7-3.5k (or €675 -€900 a week).


  • Registered Users, Registered Users 2 Posts: 6,646 ✭✭✭cooker3


    Yeah if I am 4-6 tabling for more then 2 hours I completely lose it. It would take an insane amount of concentration for 100k hands.
    And as for argument about well you work 8 hours everyday so 2 hours is nothing. I've worked various jobs in different areas and done a couple of 17 hour shifts. Your concentration levels in a normal job are not a patch on what they have to be while playing poker well


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