I really don't post on here often, as you all can see, but I'm taking a semester off of school in the spring to grind 5-10 NL live and take a shot in the higher variance sense of the term. I've saved up a bankroll of a bit over 30k playing 2-5 live at the Horseshoe in Hammond Indiana (near Chicago) and want to finally go for it, fully willing to risk it all. I've been playing with a fake ID since I was about 17 and am turning 21 in a few months, so this seems like an appropriate time to take my shot if any. I've taken extra classes throughout school, so I still plan to graduate on time. Just as some people take a semester abroad, I'm taking 9 months off to play poker.

For anyone who wants to tell me how bad the poker economy is or why this is a bad idea, go communicate your general misery and negativity to someone in person and leave me out of it. I don't care. If the poker economy really is that bad, I'll find out for myself. But I love this game and am not doing this as a way to get rich quick or even create a career for myself, but because I want to see if I'm good enough to grind with some of the best. I've been studying, reading, and playing daily and this is about being as good as I can. Not to say making a little coin wouldn't be nice...

I've talked to some pros, and have come to a loose conclusion that a good plan for playing 5-10 NL live would be a home base in L.A. with trips to Vegas on big weekends and potentially for the series if I can last until summer. If anyone has any opinions on these please let me know. Honestly open to anything if you can make a reasonable argument.

Or any input at all would be greatly appreciated that doesn't involve convincing me not to do this. The decision has been made but it's certainly in need of optimization.

On another note, if anyone needs a roommate... I'll be 21 in the spring. I love being active, playing sports, and generally being adventurous. I'm a fairly social guy and would love to live with someone as dedicated to getting better at poker as I.

Annnnnd if this is the wrong forum, I apologize. Sorry for wasting your 35 seconds...and if it was 60, I'm sorry you're such a slow reader.

Thanks guys.

Good luck man. What's your hourly in 2/5?

Have you made the full 30k playing 2/5? What's your hourly? Making 30k from poker in any form over any amount of time is a real accomplishment, so congratulations!

As I understand the LA poker scene, it's a pretty good place to be. Principal downsides are weird buy-in structures and cost of living. Other possible areas to consider would be Florida, Maryland and somewhere in the Philly/Atlantic City vicinity. Florida in particular may offer lower costs of living, though not sure how good the 5/10 action is and you also would have to live in Florida... As I understand the games in Maryland are very good since poker is still relatively new there and the DC area is very well off.

On your life plan more generally, I won't lecture you, but will say that you should at least consider getting your degree and then pursuing this, rather than taking a semester off to do it. If you end up doing well, you won't want to go back to school and I think that would be a mistake. Getting that degree will hopefully open doors for you (or at least keep doors from being closed for you). Poker will always be there.

There is a containment thread for this.

If you are interested in great life experiences at a young age then yes LA is the place to go. Tampa probably second on the list.

If you are interested in maximizing earnings, the best poker rooms are ones people have never heard of. If i could go back i would buy a small camper and travel the country and play isolated areas.

As for all of your disclaimers for us to not tell you that you're an idiot, you're an idiot. But you wont realize this until you are 27-30.

Good luck.

Hourly in 2-5 in 48ish since I've been keeping good records. And the vast majority of the money has come from playing 1-2 and then 2-5, though not 100% of it. But I have been playing live since about 16 years old part time with school and other jobs and such.

Again, the purpose of this thread is not to prove myself to the 2 plus 2 community, so hopefully, this doesn't turn into such a debate. I'm really just looking for any helpful information related to this pursuit (as a given, not as a question) or like-minded individuals that are pursuing something similar.

This may be a 'bad' idea in the sense that as a perfectly rational individual I would play 2-5 for another few years, obtain a larger sample size and bankroll, and then take a shot. But that's not what this is about. We got into poker in the first place because we like risk, no?

And as for concerns related to dropping out of school...I am 100% going back to school unless some UFO comes to earth and I happen to win 5 bracelets, an unlikely scenario at that. Like I said above, I've been taking extra classes so I will still graduate on time. In that way, the opportunity cost is literally 0. And I've put too much time and money into school to consider dropping with one year to go because I made 20k playing 5-10, so no issues there.

And as far as location, I would definitely like a home base. Living in a camper is not an option for a number of reasons, though I am certainly willing to travel some. I guess my question would be are the games in LA good enough to justify the higher rake and cost of living? Perks also include easy access to Vegas, which I will surely take advantage of. I've heard a bit about Maryland. Do they run 5-10 regularly?

Any stand-outs off the top of your head? I ask because I have found this to be overwhelmingly true.

Also, where is this containment thread?

Heh, i hate outing sort of as a principle, even if these places are not my home rooms I'd hate for people to advertise mine.

I will say that the best rooms are always the ones with the least pros. This sounds obvious but most people still focus on stakes offered, location, atmosphere, table count, etc.

So as an example a 2/5 game in Ohio is much, MUCH better than a 5/10 game in vegas. But no one wants to live in Ohio.

And as another example, likely the most profitable game Ive ever played was in a room that had 10 total tables, and only about half of them going. It had a 1/2 no max as its biggest game, and there was one gentleman who came from a trust fund or something and would donate $5k on a weekly basis.

Everytime i travel for work and play in a new random area i think "hmm i wonder if theres poker here?" And then i find a place and play and im like "omfg im quitting my job and moving here"

Lol

I would say LA because in addition to the already decent casino options (as avararia alluded to) you potentially have access to home games and LA arguably has the best in the country

Plus the women imo. Which would be my deciding factor.

I would not come to maryland. 5/10 has the same people sitting there every time.

also anyone have any ideas on how to find poker roommates in LA?

They have regular 5/T in isolated areas in rooms no one has ever heard of??

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To the OP, I live in Tampa and it's pretty nice with much lower cost of living than most anywhere else with regular 5/T games, except maybe Vegas, which is similar COL. That said I've never played the 5/T games here so can't really comment on them other than to say they exist. Super helpful I know.

I moved recently myself and did a lot of research and if I were going to play 5/T I think I would have picked Alexandria VA (5 min from MGM). COL is high though, but it's also high in LA and SFL.

this is where i live, old town alexandria VA, COL is super high, the govt payscale (based on COL) is 2nd highest in US only behind SF (higher than manhattan and LA). This area is great for well off 30+ (really probably 40+) crowd, i wouldnt suggest it for a 20 something grinder taking a shot. Everyone here is a middle aged lobbyist or lawyer or givernment employee. This area has great wine bars, and like there are literally 5 artisinal cheese places within a few miles of my house. Tons of cupcake and ice cream places where like 1 cupcake is $5, but if you are looking for a bottom shelf glass of bourbon itll run you $12-14 even at the dive bars (probbaly $18-20 if you want some standard fare top shelf) and youd be hard pressed to find a 1 bedroom apartment for less than $1200, 2 bedroom with a roommate will probably run you $1600, so $800 each. Your best bet would be to rent a room in someones basement out for like $500. I think what people forget is that in a huge city like LA you can find discount dive bars and cheaper places to live that older buildings or whatever. Alexandria is a city of under 200k people, your options are limited, and its limited to the high end of the market. Or you live in maryland for cheap and there is just nothing because maryland sucks.

Also, My parents live across the street from Michael Flynn (embattled former Trump national security advisor who is at the center of the russia scandal) and I live about 4 blocks from Richard Spencer (Neo Nazi head who organized the Charlottesville protests), Paul Manafort (Trump's campaign manager) lives over near the water and recently had his home raided. The Senate majority whip got shot on a baseball field on the north side of the city. Local news is like 100% politics. People protest in front of Spencers house, a whole lot of that sort of thing.

If you like wine, cheese, politics, and history this place is great...

And as i say, i dont play 5/T+, and I know there are regularly tables going here, but when i look over its all the same guys.

I'm a vegan and foodie so high end markets work for me. Also certain neighborhoods are like 5 minutes from MGM. BUT...the rent was just insanely high. Maybe if/when I'm a crusher in a couple years I'll relocate.

I would think the 5/T would be relatively decent just because they usually have bigger games going like T/25 at MGM right? I'm sure there's probably enough pros the 5/T is pretty tough too--I'm just guessing less tough than like Vegas 5/T or SFL 5/T where it's usually the biggest game going.

One good thing about the 5/T at SHRT is it's uncapped. I've peeked in and that game runs deep. Seen people buy-in with 10k. I don't want to lose my whole bankroll in a few days of runbad so I'm avoiding it for the near future, but it could be lucrative for a skilled player. Or rapidly lead you to ruin.

@OP -- do you have 30k bankroll or is that 30k bankroll + liferoll? If you don't have separate money saved for life expenses 30k might not last too long at 5/T. Depending where you live and on your specific expenses I figure you'll need another 15k-30k to last you 9 months.

Come to NJ and play in mine

As stated above, this isn't the forum to discuss where to live.

At your age and with the realization you don't want to live the rest of your life as a poker "pro," go for it and do it. Live where you think will be the most interesting for you. You're only doing this for 9 months, so cost of living isn't really an issue.

Locked.