"Going Pro"
(by the way, I don't like that expresion. Phil Ivey and Doyle Brunson are pros. I'm just planning on making a living from poker)
Anyhoo, here's something by way of an explanation...
I'm not totally quitting my job. I've left myself with the option of going back (and taking the next step up the ladder) in 6-12 months time. So this can be thought of as more of a career break than a career quit.
I was stagnating where I was working and I wasn't really enjoying it. I can't be sure that I'll enjoy it when I go back but the next step career-wise should be closer to what I thought I wanted to do when I started down that path. If that's a bit cryptic or incomprehensible then I apologise.
Of course, I may not go back. If poker goes extremely well and I don't start getting bored of it then I may continue with it indefinitely. I'm also looking at some other ventures that can run along side poker and provide a guaranteed income and a bit of a break from the grind of the online felt.
Here's the plan:
I've decided that playing full time will require more conservative bankroll management. I've always used the 5% rule. That is, never sit down with more than 5% of your bankroll at any one table. If you adhere religiously to that (and you're a winning player) you should never go bust, but you may - after a shitting run of cards - have to move down levels. If I'm playing full time I don’t want to have to move down levels. So, I'm going to change from needing at least 20 buyins to play at any given level to needing 30. That means if I have days of loosing 5+ buyins I shouldn't need to start worrying.
Following those guidelines. I'll be playing the £200 and $500 short handed no-limit tables on Dusk Till Dawn and I'll be trying to play no more than four tables at any one time. In an ideal world I'd like to be playing six, but I need better screen resolution before that as I think that the overlapping tables are the cause of too many mistakes.
I know that many people, when 'going pro', would want to have at least 6 months salary spare but I can probably make about twice my current salary on rakeback alone, which should allow me to pad the roll with any winnings and still be able to pay myself during loosing streaks.
In time I'll want to buy a new computer and a giant monitor as I'm currently playing off a laptop, but that will have to wait until I have more disposable funds.
Well, them's the plans. Now I just need a bit of luck!
Anyhoo, here's something by way of an explanation...
I'm not totally quitting my job. I've left myself with the option of going back (and taking the next step up the ladder) in 6-12 months time. So this can be thought of as more of a career break than a career quit.
I was stagnating where I was working and I wasn't really enjoying it. I can't be sure that I'll enjoy it when I go back but the next step career-wise should be closer to what I thought I wanted to do when I started down that path. If that's a bit cryptic or incomprehensible then I apologise.
Of course, I may not go back. If poker goes extremely well and I don't start getting bored of it then I may continue with it indefinitely. I'm also looking at some other ventures that can run along side poker and provide a guaranteed income and a bit of a break from the grind of the online felt.
Here's the plan:
I've decided that playing full time will require more conservative bankroll management. I've always used the 5% rule. That is, never sit down with more than 5% of your bankroll at any one table. If you adhere religiously to that (and you're a winning player) you should never go bust, but you may - after a shitting run of cards - have to move down levels. If I'm playing full time I don’t want to have to move down levels. So, I'm going to change from needing at least 20 buyins to play at any given level to needing 30. That means if I have days of loosing 5+ buyins I shouldn't need to start worrying.
Following those guidelines. I'll be playing the £200 and $500 short handed no-limit tables on Dusk Till Dawn and I'll be trying to play no more than four tables at any one time. In an ideal world I'd like to be playing six, but I need better screen resolution before that as I think that the overlapping tables are the cause of too many mistakes.
I know that many people, when 'going pro', would want to have at least 6 months salary spare but I can probably make about twice my current salary on rakeback alone, which should allow me to pad the roll with any winnings and still be able to pay myself during loosing streaks.
In time I'll want to buy a new computer and a giant monitor as I'm currently playing off a laptop, but that will have to wait until I have more disposable funds.
Well, them's the plans. Now I just need a bit of luck!
posted by Pinky @ 10:24 PM
5 Comments:
At 2:29 PM,
Anonymous said…
Nice intelligent blog Mr Pink and as you are an intelligent blogger I thought I would highlight a little error, an error that frequently appears in poker blogs and in chat at the tables.
Loose = playing style of many poker players
Lose = incurring a loss
Loosing = nothing to do with incurring a loss. The correct word is LOSING.
TY GG WP and I hope you appreciate the spelling lesson ;) and good form at the tables...
At 8:06 PM,
Pinky said…
Critisism and priase equally welcome. TY
At 11:11 PM,
Amatay said…
gl mate, keep us updated.
At 11:22 PM,
Stefan Klein said…
good luck with your attempt, most people want to do it, it's always nice to see that there are actually people giving it a shot and doing what it takes to achieve it.
At 1:13 PM,
Ooh, Gravy! said…
Hey Pinky,
not been around for a long time and hadn't played any poker for over a year until yesterday! A big break.
Anyway, just saw your latest post about playing for a living again. You mentioned that you'll be looking for an alternative form of income and I thought I could point you to something that might work for you.
Go and take a look at this guys website. http://www.frequenttrader.info/p2.html
He happens to be a self made trader these days, but got out of the rat race by selling cheap telephone deals to joe public. These days, the company in question, Telecom Plus, sell phone, internet, gas, elec and mobile phone tariffs.
The way it works is that you pay a startup fee which gives you some training and guidance. You also get a web site with which you can advertise. Then it's all up to you. You are responsible for your own advertising, posting leaflets through doors etc. What you get out of it is a commission off each sale, but the best bit is a residual income. This means every time someone you signed up pays a gas/elec/phone bill, you get a small % of that bill. The more people you sign up, the more money you get. Even if you decide to quit, you still get the income from the people you signed up.
Obviously it doesn't come for free. You have to put in the time up front walking door to door etc, maybe spending some money on some advertising in your local area, but it's up to you and it's your choice.
I wanted to do this at the start of the year but my new job, at a start up, is taking up all my time. But in your case, if you're planning on playing poker then you may feel you can fit this in.
Hope that gives you another option that doesn't require a fixed timetable.
Laters.
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