Go Pro? (Semi) -Please Read-

[Ryanb9]

Ok guys, I would really like your advice / tips / input / comments on this one. I very much appreciate it.

I have been playing in a $1/$2 NL home cash game for about a month now. I started by winning their Sunday $50 tourney for $400. Sat down at the cash game the following Monday and haven’t looked back since. I have got my Bank Roll up to almost $2,000 now.

Basically, I can confidently sit down at 7:00pm (when the cash game starts every night) and leave by 11:00 +$100-$200. My question is: Summer vacation (I’m a college student) starts in about 6 weeks. I will have 3 months in which I would normally get a summer job – doing excavation work, maybe landscaping, etc. probably making about $10 an hour. I am quite confident however that I could make this cash game my full-time summer job.

Obviously there are some risks to this - I know that. However the game is full of rich business owners (who are actually pretty cool guys) who have loads of money and suck at poker. I am by far the best player who ever plays at that cash game. What are some things I should do, need to think about, need to consider, should prepare for, etc. Basically I want to have this 100% thought out if/when I decide to do this.

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Feel free to respond after reading thus far --- more info on the subject if you want –
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Okay, the house is very nice. It’s four guys who deal full time (the dealers don’t play) who rent this house and pay for it + make money themselves just from the tips the players give to the dealers. There are two tables and a kitchen loaded with snacks, cokes, beer, etc. It’s a very friendly place – not shady at all.

The players, like I mentioned earlier, are very wealthy. Most of them are small business owners. They enjoy playing poker, however they are not very good (compared to myself I guess), and they tend to like gamboling. One guy in particular always sits down with $100 and goes all in dark his first hand to “See if I’m going to have a lucky night or not.”

This field is so soft I sometimes feel bad for these guys, however it is not free money. One thing I have learned since I started playing here is that no matter how bad a player is – he is not going to hand you his money. You could be playing against the worst player in the world – but if he thinks he is beat he is folding, and if he thinks he has the best hand (or has a good hand period) he is betting. I have a huge edge on these guys however I still have to work for it. I have been all in with KK vs. JJ two times (pre flop!) against the same player for about $300 each time and lost both times. It just reminds me that no matter how good I am … it IS work to get their chips.

That said, I still feel very confident that I can make an average of $100-$200 every night, and probably $200-$350 if I play full time because I would be staying from 7pm – 4am. Right now I play from 7pm-11pm because I am still in school.
Well thanks for reading guys and I appreciate all the comments in advance. Feel free to ask any questions. Thanks.

[Al_Money]

No.

I mean, you have 10 buyins first of all. And are you really going to want to play live 1/2 every night for like 8 hours or so? Sounds like a good way to make a living.

[carnivalhobo]

is the game raked?

you now have close to a correct bankroll, but you have obviously been running at or above expectation.

Is the game player dealt?

Assuming 25h/hr if you are winning at 15ptbb/100 that $45/100 which is 12 bucks an hour. I suppose a higher rate is possible, especially with no rake. But you need to understand that you will not be making 300 bucks a night.

[carrotsnake]

This isn't really going pro, since your only doing it over the summer. Its kinda just taking the place of a summer job as you said. In that regard, it depends on what your real life situation is. Do you pay for college ? What kinda job do you want out of college ? what kind of lifestyle do you live? From someone who sorta did this last summer(but online) heres what I can tell ya. For one, poker gets boring. It'll be different in your home game than online, but it does. Two, variance is a HUGE bitch. You might think you can confidently leave up that much everytime, but you can't, and there will be streaks of very bad luck.

Honestly, your gonna have to decide this one, this forum can't help but guide you towards your true path. I used to lifeguard as a summer job, but I've never taken an internship, something I regret. However, I think after college I'm not gonna go for a real job anyway atm just cuz poker is being kind, so I can get away with this. But do you want to make this a living longterm ? In general, finding an internship or getting a real job will help you out far more in the future. The other thing to consider is if you NEED the money. If so, just play poker for fun and take the job. Depending on poker for money is not something a person who only plays live 1/2 should do, especially at a home game that no matter what you think of, could easily be busted or the like at any point.

Hmm, think thats the gist of it. Good luck in what you do

[Casper05]

get an internship. play the game from 7-11.

[Ryanb9]

the game is not raked, its "tip the dealers if you want"

and im quite serious about how bad these players are. I am a steady $.5/$1 6max NLTH player on stars... im not a bad player... these guys are about equal to a .15/.25 or .25/.50 game on stars...

[4_2_it]

Find a job that allows you to meet cool people and interact socially because you will be holed most nights playing $12 an hour poker while the other guys your age are out chasing hotties.

[Ryanb9]

Carrot Snake: Thanks, great info. I actually am going to a community college and am living with my parents untill the end of this summer (when i get my 2 year degree in business) then i am moving to Corvallis to attend Oregon State University. I have no idea what I want to do after I finish school ... :/ ... but the money I would be making does not go to school. I get a fund from my grandparents which takes care of my school expences if I keep a GPA of 3.0 or better (which I always do, strictly).

I agree with you about poker getting boring sometimes, I mean I bought a Zune with some of my winnings and that helps, however I can easily stay focused for long periods of time... (i take ritilin b/c i have add). However I would much rather play poker for 8 hrs than be in a ditch shoveling dirt for water lines all day... It gets roasting hot here in the summer...

[biendover]

[ QUOTE ]
Find a job that allows you to meet cool people and interact socially because you will be holed most nights playing $12 an hour poker while the other guys your age are out chasing hotties.

[/ QUOTE ]

Work, play part time, Get drunk with poker monies & meet girls. Rinse & repeat. Well at least until you have an actuall BR suitable for 1/2.

[PBJaxx]

Carrot's advice is pretty good here. You are mostly going to get discouraging comments around here and there is good reason. As Carrot pointed out, you will not continue to make the same money you have so far, and you will be missing out on evening fun, etc.

All that said, if you love it and don't really need the money, go for it.