1/2 limit as a job
 

Just recently i made the decision to try and grind out a living playing 1/2 limit poker. I intend on playing 4 tables at a time, 40 hours/week, and am starting with a bankroll of $1000. I have rent and other expenses to pay every month at a cost of around $700/month, and i understand that this is a very risky proposition, however i feel that given my current income of just $1000/month that i dont really have that much to lose. I have been playing poker for 4 years with mixed results, but lately over the last year or so i have taken poker very seriously and have improved a lot through books, articles, etc.. My question being that is it likely <font color="black"> </font> for a decent player to be able to make 3k-4k/month with rakeback and other bonuses at online 1/2 limit poker?

Re: 1/2 limit as a job
 

Let's do some arithmatic.

40 hours X 4 weeks X 4 tables X 65 hands per hour = 41600 hands.

$4000/ 41600 hands = 9.62 cents/hand or 4.7 BB/100.

Your rakeback deal might get you 1.5 cents per hand, so you still need to be making 3 BB/100.

When you add in the grind of trying to do this for forty hours a week, and still maintaining your game, I doubt that it is possible, if you have to ask the question.

Good luck.

Re: 1/2 limit as a job
 

heres some math for you.

you get dealt 70 hands per hour online per table. thus if you're 4 tabling you get dealt 280 hands per hour.

let say you play 8 hours a day, 5 days a week.

280*8*5 = 11200 hands/week.

a very good player makes 1BB/100 these days online.

thus you get 11200/100 * $2 = $224 a week = $900/month. = $10,800/yr.

add in the costs of rent, food, insurance, etc.

you think you can live off that?

(edit: forgot to include rakeback, but i doubt that'll bring you over the top)

Re: 1/2 limit as a job
 

just an aside: if you really wanna play poker as a job (not recommended imo) then you should look into playing live (casino) stakes above 4/8. i'm well above 10K for the year (running better than normal i must admit) and i only play a few times a month never playing higher than 10/20. the rake is worse but the players are so bad it makes up for it.

oh yeah and i was a losing player online for like 3 months before quitting right after UIGEA.

Re: 1/2 limit as a job
 

I just wanted to clarify something about my original post. First off, i forgot to mention that i will be playing shorthanded which makes a huge difference in my bb/hour, amd secondly, although 3k-4k/month would be nice, i could live with anything near 2k/month. I guess what im trying to say is at that limit playing that many hours, with a 30% rakeback deal, what can i expect to make per month??

Re: 1/2 limit as a job
 

I also wanted to clarify that i do not intend on quitting my job before i actually start seeing some good results. I thought 1/2 would be a good start and according to most rakeback calcualtors, with the amount of hands i will be playing i should be bringing in an additonal 1.5k-2k/month in rakeback. At that rate i could break even and get by with rakeback every month which seems like a decent alternative to a low paying job.

**sidenote I finished college this year and just found out that because of my vision i wouldnt be able to enter the field i chose.

Re: 1/2 limit as a job
 

where you play/what rakeback deal you have?

Re: 1/2 limit as a job
 

I play 1/2 limit at sun poker. The way sun poker rakeback works is based on a points system. If i play as much as i intend on playing than my rakeback could be as high as 50%

Re: 1/2 limit as a job
 

Sorry to burst your bubble, but I think this is a very bad idea. 1/2 is not nearly high enough as some of the math other posters have done shows. Another thing you need to consider is how many hours you will actually be able to play and what type of games you'll be playing in. Games during the day in the U.S. are not nearly as good as games in the evening. It's much easier to beat games in peak hours at 1bb/100 than it is in off peak hours. I think your rakeback estimate is pretty high. Keep your job and work up to 2/4 and 3/6. I think you'll find that even at those levels, doing it as a full time job is not feasable.

Re: 1/2 limit as a job
 

[ QUOTE ]
just an aside: if you really wanna play poker as a job (not recommended imo) then you should look into playing live (casino) stakes above 4/8. i'm well above 10K for the year (running better than normal i must admit) and i only play a few times a month never playing higher than 10/20. the rake is worse but the players are so bad it makes up for it.

oh yeah and i was a losing player online for like 3 months before quitting right after UIGEA.

[/ QUOTE ]

Do this if you have a reasonable casino nearby. I work all day facing a computer and when I get home the thought of 4 tabling online is just more than I can take. So I play live, and honestly I think 20 dollars an hour at 6/12 is attainable by a slightly trained monkey.

Re: 1/2 limit as a job
 

9 tabling $3/6 for 0.8 BB/100... 720hands/h, 5.76BB/h, ~$35/h =~ 25 euro/h. For me, not worth it. [img]/images/graemlins/frown.gif[/img] It's still a fun game though.

Re: 1/2 limit as a job
 

[ QUOTE ]
Games during the day in the U.S. are not nearly as good as games in the evening. It's much easier to beat games in peak hours

[/ QUOTE ]

You are right but if he becomes the 1/2 'master' it will not matter. Seriously I'm going to give you some hardcore insight here. listen good.

You play 40k hands a month and make 1.5bb/hr if u are dedicated in your entirety and cannot do this do not play. You will become a prop at a shitball tiny site for 100% RB

$3x4 is $12 an hr
$6x4 in rake is $24 an hr

thats $1440 p/w or like just under 6k a month!!!

[img]/images/graemlins/wink.gif[/img]

JT

Re: 1/2 limit as a job
 

OP, if you want to make a living playing small stakes SH LHE you prolly need to introduce yourself to the small stakes shorthanded forum.

I suggest you keep your job for know, learn to play SH LHE and build a bankroll for 5/10 and higher and then go pro

As an alternative you could try making a living playing lower stakes but living in a country with low cost of living. Try PM'ing BrassMonkey, he plays 3/6 at stars and makes a fine living of it in Thailand. He is a nice guy and will def help you.

Re: 1/2 limit as a job
 

You cant be working that much to be making $1000 a month. Why not just play poker on the side more often? Playing 1/2 professionally will lead to alot of alcohol and ramen noodles.

Re: 1/2 limit as a job
 

I split rent($500/month) with my girlfriend. I live in Thunder Bay, Ontario which is pretty much a dead end city so you can find apartments for peanuts. I'm only making $8.50/hour which is minimum wage and i usually put in about 30 hours/week at work. I'm pretty confident that i can beat the 1/2 limit games for about 1bb/hour, so i intend to start off at this level and just build my bankroll until i have enough to move up to 3/6. I get the sense from all the feedback that most of the posters feel that 1/2 isnt a high enough limit to make any decent money, however, anything over $8.50/hour would be an improvement and with rakeback and bonuses i dont think its all that difficult to acomplish.

Re: 1/2 limit as a job
 

[ QUOTE ]
I'm pretty confident that i can beat the 1/2 limit games for about 1bb/hour, so i intend to start off at this level and just build my bankroll until i have enough to move up to 3/6. I get the sense from all the feedback that most of the posters feel that 1/2 isnt a high enough limit to make any decent money, however, anything over $8.50/hour would be an improvement and with rakeback and bonuses i dont think its all that difficult to acomplish

[/ QUOTE ]

If those are your goals for now, I think you might be right. The tough thing will be sitting at the computer and putting in all of those hours. I would see if you can get in the necessary hours on your days off for a couple of weekends in a row. If you can do that, you got a chance, and it doesn't sound like you are giving up a career or anything irreplaceable if you have to find another job.

Good luck,
let us know how you are doing, and also spend a little time each day studying/posting/responding, because that investment will help your game.

Re: 1/2 limit as a job
 

1/2 as a job is ridiculous.

5/10 or above is the minimal limit worth playing for a living. Even if you get your 1k/month, MC, KFC or BK would pay you more for the effort!

Re: 1/2 limit as a job
 

$1000 bankroll is not nearly enough if you want to make a living. IMO you should have 1000BB for you current limit if you plan to constantly skim profits off it.
My advice: Go to a site like pokerstars which has plenty of fish, beat it for like 2BB/100 (achievable IMO) and you have a BR for 2/4 in a short time. I guess its possible to grind 2/4 and make a living off rakeback. Lets say you get 30 hours a week 4tabeling, makes ~500 table hours a month, or 50k hands. If you generate $10 in rake per 100 hands, with 30% rakeback you make $1500 in rakeback alone. Say you beat the game for 1BB/100, your monthly income would be $3500.

Re: 1/2 limit as a job
 

exactly what i was thinking...what do the sites offer prop players? it seems as if the OP would be providing enough action to qualify as one, thus perhaps the site would pay him / cut a deal to give him better terms than offered to the general public...

Re: 1/2 limit as a job
 

[ QUOTE ]
OP, if you want to make a living playing small stakes SH LHE you prolly need to introduce yourself to the small stakes shorthanded forum.

I suggest you keep your job for know, learn to play SH LHE and build a bankroll for 5/10 and higher and then go pro

As an alternative you could try making a living playing lower stakes but living in a country with low cost of living. Try PM'ing BrassMonkey, he plays 3/6 at stars and makes a fine living of it in Thailand. He is a nice guy and will def help you.

[/ QUOTE ]

Thanks Oink... [img]/images/graemlins/smile.gif[/img]

Re: 1/2 limit as a job
 

I actually tried this a long time ago. I was doing very well (over 3bb/100) but you'll never be able to move up in limits because you'll constantly be withdrawing from your winnings to pay the bills. I now have a job and grind 1/2 and 2/4 and I make some good money on the side ( with a nice MTT every now and then). Keep your day job and make the extra money on the side til you're ready to move up in limits. 1/2 is just way too small. Save up and at least play 2/4...

Re: 1/2 limit as a job
 

Well I did thatlast year for around 3 or 4 months and constantly taking shots at higher limits with success. Getting in 600 hands an hour. A 30% rakeback at 1/2 is around 3$ per hour ( 1.5 BB ) so you'll make around 18$ an hour only in rakeback if you can 6 table. I just need to mention two things.

1- My winrate at 1/2 was around 3BB/100 over a 120k database before doing this, so I was making way more than 18$ per hour

2- I live in France so basically I was making as much as an engineer makes here almost only from rakeback and a 1BB/100 winrate.

Re: 1/2 limit as a job
 

Dropout,

I ran accross this interesting article from ed miller's blog about going pro. very good stuff, great for just part timers too. http://www.notedpokerauthority.com/a...rt-1-of-3.html

gl

Re: 1/2 limit as a job
 

this might seem like an obvious question but i cant find it anywhere. can someone explain the xBB/100 and what all that means.

Re: 1/2 limit as a job
 

[ QUOTE ]
$4000/ 41600 hands = 9.62 cents/hand or 4.7 BB/100.

[/ QUOTE ]

Where did that 4000$ come from?
He said 1000$ for a starter a month.

Build up living expenses for at least 3 months before you quit your job. Don't think you can get in 160 hours a month month after month. It is not doable. 100 hours is a good amount. You need to study(poker) at least 50 hours a month too to progress. I do at least and it is working well.

Re: 1/2 limit as a job
 

How the hell could one not live off of 4 tabling 3/6? If all one needs is 1000 or so a month? All I spend a month is $500. Anyway it just seems like most of you need $2000 + a month to live or something? I live in a closet in a house with 8 people and just go down to the campus and play on my laptop for free. I just sold a lot of stuff and am going to start doing just this (2/4 or 3/6 FR that is).

Re: 1/2 limit as a job
 

because you cant live like that forever?

Re: 1/2 limit as a job
 

Depends where your priorities are obviously. I could.