Question for pros and bankroll

[AncientPC]

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How is being +40BB at one table and -10BB at another any different from having a +40BB session then a -10BB session?

You seem to have a poor grasp of basic concepts and the fact that you think multitabling will make you win one table and lose another is just retarded. Please keep your day job.

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[Ness]

Hopefully others touched on this, but just in case.

You will find that you need much more than just a larger than "normal" bankroll.

You need living expenses for x amount of time (what if you have a losing month, i had my first this year).

A

[MicroBob]

Some of your ideas on how to approach this aren't very good and show a real lack of understanding of how this works.

I would recommend waiting awhile before you go through with 'turning pro' because, based on this flawed idea, I really don't think you should.

[SteveL91]

I only read through the thread real fast, so my apologies if this was asked and answered: how much experience do you have at the stakes you're proposing? The highest I've played is only 5/10, and while the games are definitely beatable, I'm not sure someone should count on jumping in and making 2BB/100.

[BabyJesus]

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Table A +10bb
Table B -2bb
Table C +5bb
Table D -10bb

It always seemed like I was gaining very little ground because I always had one very bad table that seemed to suck the profits away from the others. And I also realized that if I was on a current downswing, it seemed that playing say 4 tables made the downswing 4 times as bad. It is not my ability, it was the results.


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Kick this thinking out of your head right now. Yes, if you play more tables your winrate will go down some. BUT you're gaining so much more for your time. If you expect to earn 2BB/100 playing one table vs 1.BB/100 playing two tables obviously playing two tables is better.

Playing multiple tables makes your $ goal per month much easier to get to.

Like others have said, really good posters on this site have gone through 100k breakeven streches. Thats 33 weeks based on your 3k hands a week aspirations. Are you going to be able to play professionally and make no money for 2/3 of the year? AND expect this to happen a few times during your 'poker career'?

Rework your multitable skills, maybe try doing 3 tables and don't be so results oriented. Just take a look at how you're playing each hand. If playing multiple tables causes you to make a lot of mistakes, then maybe you should rethink this whole poker thing.

If you can get around to sharpening your multitabling skills now poker is much more feasible. You can get that down then really concentrate on improving your game etc.

The main thing about multitabling is trying to get you to the long run much faster than anyone playing live or just one table online. It makes those LONG breakeven/losing stretches not last through the entire year so you don't lose all confidence and have to get some crappy job.

Good luck in your poker adventure. It really isn't as great as the tv would have you believe.

[mbishop]

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It seems a rarity I can get multiple tables to win consistantly. The +40bb's made the morning very nice and in total I ended up +30bb for the session, but if I had stuck to one I would have had a +40bb session. The first table I opened this morning happened to be the one I had a nice showing on.

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No offense, but if this is really your thinking you've got a long way to go before you should consider turning pro.

[StarlightCoast]

Played as high as $3/$6 and $5/$10, but very limited. Have played $2/$4 steady. I am not making any claims as to what will happen or what I WILL do, except play full time at some point. That I will do, case closed. As for the rest of it, such as earn rates at higher levels and the sucess of ultra tight play, I will learn thru experience and adjust to whatever situation I face. My goal for full time play is summer of 2007, but time is on my side. No rush if it takes longer. I have the bankroll for $1/$2 but I am forcing myself to win 100 big bets at .50/$1 first. I have made much more than that at .50/$1 in the past.

The first 2 years of my online poker, I spent a lot of the profits. Paid some bills, played the levels i felt like bankroll not withstanding, took me and the wife to Sea World, more dinners out than I can possibly remember, that sort of thing.

On 2/27 I decided to start everything over again with the intention of no longer spending winnings and instead it was the time to pay strict attention to bankroll management and build the bankroll to turn full time, but I wanted to do so from the beginning. I had 3 main rules.

1. Starting at .10/.20 I had to win 100 big bets at a level before being allowed to move up a level.

2. I had to have a ring game bankroll of 300 big bets mininum and if I ever fall below that even if it is the result of my first session in a higher level being a loser, I have to drop down and recoup that money so I have 300 big bets mininum before trying again.

3. I have my cash game roll which I put a total of $250 into it and I have a tournie/fun money roll which I allow myself to do as I wish with. The latter was started with basically a $3 freeroll cash that I built up. I am allowed to take money from the tournie roll and put it in cash game, but I do not allow my self to do the reverse unless that transfer is to "pay back" my tournie/fun money roll.

I am not an inexperienced player and my goals have a specific focus to them. My monetary goals may be small but they are adequate. My wife and I have discussed this in depth and are in complete agreement.

The original question of this post was when the time does come, whatever I decide to pull as the "nut" each week, should I be adding the same amount to increasing my bankroll? If I made $600/wk and the nut was $500/wk that would only give the bankroll a $100 increase each week and that seemed too low to me.

I have decided that I need to make $3k-$4k/month. $2k/month will be the "nut" or "salary" and the remaining will be added to the bankroll. For this it will be a mininum $10/$20. Of course i know there will be losing weeks, but that's why the 6 month fund is seperate and can be tapped those weeks it is needed. This will be accomplished with an earn rate of 2bb/100 hands and 40/hours a week at the tables. If I don't maintain 2bb/100 hands fine, I will wait until $15/$30 or $20/$40. But I refuse to say I can't maintain 2bb/100 hands at the higher levels. I will find out when I reach them. Below is my goal schedule for reaching those limits.

2bb/100 hands --- 1000 hands/wk

Strt Dt -- BR ----- Stakes ------ Earn/Wk ---- Time/Level

02/27/06 $250 ----- .10/.20 ----- $4/wk ------- 5 weeks
04/03/06 $270 ----- .25/.50 ----- $10/wk ------- 5 weeks
05/08/06 $320 ----- .50/$1 ------ $20/wk ------- 14 Weeks
08/21/06 $600 ----- $1/$2 ------- $40/wk ------- 15 Weeks
12/04/06 $1200 ----$2/$4 --------$80/wk -------- 8 Weeks
01/29/07 $1800 ----$3/$6 --------$120/wk ------ 10 Weeks
04/09/07 $3000 ----$5/$10 -------$200/wk ------ 15 Weeks
07/23/07 $6000 ----$10/$20 ------$400/wk ------ 8 Weeks
09/17/07 $9000 ----$15/$30 ------$600/wk ------ 15 weeks
12/31/07 $18000 -- $30/$60 ------$1200/wk ----- 19 Weeks
05/12/08 $40000 Professional Poker Player

With $40K I have $20k bankroll for $10/$20, I have $12k for 6 months of monthly expenses and with the remaining $8k I move me and the Mrs. back to the central coast of oregon permanently. It is at this point I am a full time player playing 40 hours a week and making in the area of $1000/wk or $4000/month half of which will be used to increase the bankroll.

If 2bb/100 hands is not achievable, I will adjust it later and now that the wife and I just today bought a second computer, and no longer have to "take turns" I should be able to get close to 2000 hands played a week instead of the 1000 that above goal schedule is based on. No matter how you look at it, it's going to be a lot of fun trying. [img]/images/graemlins/smile.gif[/img]

I am currently over 3 months ahead of schedule. Took me 3 weeks 2 days to win the 100bb at .10/.20 --- .25/.50 I struggled. Took me the 5 weeks to earn the 100bb --- As of 4/30 I had earned 85bb in the span of 6 days of play and about 2000 hands, but alas I am down about 20bb today. No matter. Should be at $1/$2 well before 5/21 which would put me exactly 3 months ahead of schedule. I have made $48 in bonuses and free money and also earned $78 in ring games played thru free money received by Party and Titan so I added that to my cash game roll as well. My cash roll as of this posting is $519 and I have $35 more to win at .50/$1. Once that is accomplished I will slide $45 or $50 out of my fun money roll into my ring game roll so I have the $600 for $1/$2

I know many of you think it's all unrealistic and you may be right or I may be, but it does not really matter. I am not quitting my job tomorrow to do this and I am still learning what is and is not achievable, but I refuse to assume anything is impossible until I try it first.

[MicroBob]

It's not just a matter of what is 'realistic'.

It's that much your approach and many of your ideas are very flawed.

[zmigsthatkid]

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Agreed. If you are playing full, you should play 3 tables, 6max 2 or more. Single tabling online takes away the purpose of online play IMO.

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absolutely, if you only single table just go to the casino your win-rate should be at least 3 times at high at the 5-10 6-12 level

[chief444]

I don't think anyone here will tell you $1200+/wk is unrealistic. If you would just multitable you could make more than that playing 40 hrs/wk at 2/4.

You just seem to be underestimating the amount you need to live on. I'm guessing you're very young and the money you list sounds like a lot. But some points:

1) Taxes. You do realize that have to pay these right?
2) Retirement/Savings? Probably a good idea.
3) Loans? Most people would like to stop renting someday. Some people like to have vehicles. You'll have to pay cash.
4) Renting? You may struggle to find a place even to rent without some form of income on your application unless you can pay cash in advance.
5) Health insurance? Some people think it's a good idea. It can be expensive.
6) Hidden expenses? Sure most months you can squeek by on that couple grand but what about the little surprises that come up? The wife "needs" new clothes. You "need" a new television. Vacations. Children possibly? Vehicle repairs. Etc.

I'm sure there are more things you should consider.

As far as the bankroll...you're underestimating what is needed there it seems. I get the impression you haven't played much at all yet and don't understand what types of streaks you'll run into. You're only hoping to play 8k hands/month. If you play long enough it's very likely you will have a 50k+ breakeven or losing streak. If you knew you were a winning player and played more hands then 6 months living expenses would probably be alright. But playing as little as you have in mind I'd want more. I'd suggest at least 1 year living expenses in addition to a 1000 BB bankroll for poker.

If you're really dead set on this then you should consider playing more hands. This means more tables. And spend more time focusing on strategy than on $. Don't worry about the $ now. If you improve your game enough and if you get by your misconceptions on multitabling the $ will come in time.

Playing full time can be draining. It's not so fun. It can be mentally straining. And you'll likely be playing more off-hours. This means the games likely won't be as good as you're used to with the hours you play part time. It's quite possible you'll hit a long stretch of not winning much or even losing right after you start. You really need to consider the consequences of this. Especially since you're married. Have your wife read this thread and some others so she understands. It's her decision too.

And you really should consider taking some money you earn and investing in yourself. Take some schooling part time. Trade school or whatever you like. This is something you'll always have and it will make it easier on you if things don't work out with poker. Options are good.