Obsessed with Microstakes

[Wooden Ta Sheng]

[ QUOTE ]
Hey everyone [img]/images/graemlins/smile.gif[/img] I'm curious - is anyone here excellent enough to rely on microstakes for a living? I multitable short-handed .02-.05 and win about $30 - $80 bucks a day, depending on how many hours I play (I'm finishing my last semester in Economics and I work many hours on campus as well).

That's what I wanted to do after I graduate: day trading and online texas holdem.

[/ QUOTE ]

I know I could easily make $50+ a day playing $0.02/0.05NL if I put in 5-8 hours a day but if I had that much time to put into grinding these tables, I would hit $25NL once I hit $1000 and $50NL once I hit $2000. Since I don't have alot of time to play through out the week, I'm content for now with $10 here, $15 there, etc.

[hennnerz]

But you can make more, working less and playing NL25 with very little variance...

[Lego05]

[ QUOTE ]
[ QUOTE ]
You have no idea of variance and the pain that is poker ... trust me on this one.

[/ QUOTE ]

I would rather work in McDonalds, making less money, than play poker full time

[/ QUOTE ]


I'd rather deal with the variance at micro stakes and small stakes and collect my +ev then make minimum wage somewhere with little to no advancement opportunities. The variance, while annoying, isn't even really that bad if you got a big enough bankroll and enough money in reserve and you play enough hands.


It's all about collecting value baby. If some months I make 6k, some 2.5k, some 1k, some 3.5k, and even if I have the very rare breakeven month I'd rather be doing that than making $1200 every month at mcdonald's working 40 hour weeks every single week. You aren't even gonna be above the poverty line with that McDonalds job I don't think....unless you get a lot of overtime, which I wouldn't think they'd want to give to you.


Numbers were based on McDonalds paying $7.5 an hour. I have no idea if that's true, but I can't see them paying much more than if they pay more than it at all.


The decreased variance so isn't worth the 75%+ cut in ev. And that's before even looking at bonuses/rakeback in poker. I don't think the cashier at McDonalds makes much in the way of bonuses.



At the very least get a job as a waiter and maybe it's only a 50% cut in ev based on my numbers if you find a pretty good restaurant....again before bonuses.....and again not much advancement opportunity.

[hennnerz]

[ QUOTE ]
[ QUOTE ]
Hey everyone [img]/images/graemlins/smile.gif[/img] I'm curious - is anyone here excellent enough to rely on microstakes for a living? I multitable short-handed .02-.05 and win about $30 - $80 bucks a day, depending on how many hours I play (I'm finishing my last semester in Economics and I work many hours on campus as well).

That's what I wanted to do after I graduate: day trading and online texas holdem.

[/ QUOTE ]

I know I could easily make $50+ a day playing $0.02/0.05NL if I put in 5-8 hours a day but if I had that much time to put into grinding these tables, I would hit $25NL once I hit $1000 and $50NL once I hit $2000. Since I don't have alot of time to play through out the week, I'm content for now with $10 here, $15 there, etc.

[/ QUOTE ]

You couldnt.

[z28dreams]

Not a chance you can live off it.

Let's look even at 25nl - and say a good winrate of 5ptbb/100 (10bb/100 hands).

If you play 30,000 hands a month, that's
30000/100*.25*10 = 750 a month.

A typical 6max table plays around 90 hands an hour, so 4-tabling we're talking about 83 hours of play time here, working out to around $9 an hour. And that's at 25nl.

[mookboi]

What kind of bum can't "work" 83 hours per month?

[clowntable]

[ QUOTE ]
Any young person who lets poker get in the way of their education isn't bright enough to deserve the opportunity to have that education in the first place.

Miserable old bastards like Gelford and me have had our hopes and dreams trashed by life's variances at this stage, so poker is all we have left to cling to. So it's different if you are older.

[/ QUOTE ]
"An education" is overrated.
If you look at it carefully in a lot of fields all you do is signaling your fitness to survive and willingness to adapt. If you look at an education in economics for example, what you learn at your average university can be selftaught in a year no problem.
So basically what you do is get a certificate of your knowledge.

[Lego05]

[ QUOTE ]
Not a chance you can live off it.

Let's look even at 25nl - and say a good winrate of 5ptbb/100 (10bb/100 hands).

If you play 30,000 hands a month, that's
30000/100*.25*10 = 750 a month.

A typical 6max table plays around 90 hands an hour, so 4-tabling we're talking about 83 hours of play time here, working out to around $9 an hour. And that's at 25nl.

[/ QUOTE ]

Well obviously you'd have to be playing more than 4 tables. And you're gonna need to play more than 83 hours a month. Talking full time job 83 hours is 2 weeks....maybe 2 slightly long weeks for a lot of people.

I think 25NL is a bit of a stretch and it won't be great.....but 50NL can be done. I figure I'd make 45-55K a yearat 50NL without too much difficulty and that's assuming I never get better and assuming I never move up.


You really can make a decent living at microstakes and pretty good at small stakes. But you gotta worry about paying for insurance and prepare plans for old age retirement if you got nothing else to take care of it.

[Lego05]

[ QUOTE ]
[ QUOTE ]
Any young person who lets poker get in the way of their education isn't bright enough to deserve the opportunity to have that education in the first place.

Miserable old bastards like Gelford and me have had our hopes and dreams trashed by life's variances at this stage, so poker is all we have left to cling to. So it's different if you are older.

[/ QUOTE ]
"An education" is overrated.
If you look at it carefully in a lot of fields all you do is signaling your fitness to survive and willingness to adapt. If you look at an education in economics for example, what you learn at your average university can be selftaught in a year no problem.
So basically what you do is get a certificate of your knowledge.

[/ QUOTE ]

That last sentence though is the important part. That's what you really need and what college is really about nowadays.

[Spurious]

[ QUOTE ]
Not a chance you can live off it.

Let's look even at 25nl - and say a good winrate of 5ptbb/100 (10bb/100 hands).

If you play 30,000 hands a month, that's
30000/100*.25*10 = 750 a month.

A typical 6max table plays around 90 hands an hour, so 4-tabling we're talking about 83 hours of play time here, working out to around $9 an hour. And that's at 25nl.

[/ QUOTE ]


I wouldnt do it. Making a living playing micro limits is retarded.

But, you'll "work" more than 83 hours a month.
lets assume 40hours a week, makes a total of 160 hours a month.
350 hands/hour at 5PTBB, 8.75$/hour.
1400$ a month. not that good