Background

Multitabled micro plo for rakeback before black friday. Played home games before and after that. Never kept accurate hold em records, but pretty sure I was a loser lifetime in home games and online. Read a million books, watched a million vids. Never got better.

Pre 2017 results

Started playing at the card room after I got a management gig at a fast food place.

Probably a lifetime loser at nlh there too. Only played 1/2 Didn't keep records, spent what I made.

Prob a lifetime winner at o8. Understand that game better than anyone in that room. It only plays at 1/2 blinds though, and doesn't always run.

Probably a lifetime loser at plo before this year. I understand the game better than most of the players in my opinion, but it only plays at 5/5 blinds, and I only ever played maybe 5 times total before 2017, shortstacking and getting busted those few times.

2017 Results So far

Decided I was going to track every session at every level via the pokercharts site.

Decided I was not going to spend any profit.

Played 1/2nl like normal, had a few good sessions but overall for the year I am down $2,273 over 165 hours.

Only played 1/2 plo8 a total of 8 hrs this year for a profit of $571

This is where things get crazy.

I sat in the 5/5 plo, late late night, only 4 handed. We hit the omaha bad beat. My table share was 4k or so, and I continued to play omaha throughout this year, winning a 13k pot during one particular session, and dropping 10k at another.

I've played 116 hours of 5/5 plo this year for a profit of $8300.

That omaha game would run about 5 nights a week on average. And usually later at night. In the times it wasn't running, with my bankroll at 20k at one point, I would just play 2/5nl, which I had never played before. I started off really strong in that game until recently. For the year I've logged 87 hours, for a profit of $3,204

Quitting the Job

The fast food place I manage requires 50 hours of work a week for a salary of 600 a week after taxes. It was draining all my time. I kept going to work after poker with no sleep or an hour nap. I'd go to the poker room after work after downing 5 hr energies and red bulls

And it wasn't my passion or anything I liked. I write. I haven't sold anything, but that's my passion.

And dealers, players, friends were asking why I still worked there while I was posting pics of +3k sessions.

The plan was to quit, free up 50 hours of time a week for poker, writing, and girls. So with a bankroll of about 20k I tried to put in my 2 week notice. The boss asked if I could make it 4 weeks, with the last week being only 2 days of actual work after vacation. I said no problem.

I had been staying with family most of 2017, and the plan was to get a place in May, and work my last day on May 7th. That's when everything went to ****.

The downswing

I started losing every big omaha hand. A 3k loss, a 2k loss, a couple of small 1k wins, then a huge 6k loss, back n forth back n forth until finally I was at around 10k bankroll, and figured I'd just grind 2/5nl before I played more plo.

And then 3 bad sessions at about -3k there.

Bankroll down to about 7k, and in kind of a shellshock haze, I went to play 1/2nl the rest of the night, winning +500.

Current Bankroll and situation

So the bankroll is at $7,451

My last paycheck should be May 12, giving me roughly $1500 of living expenses.

This is not what I had envisioned at all.

Still in kind of a haze, but my immediate thought is to try to grind 1/2 until I have 10k, then start playing 2/5 again.

Not looking forward to the plo regs seeing me play 1/2 nl. Ugh

There was a discrepancy with the numbers and bankroll, turns out I logged one session of 5/10plo (we were shorthanded and wanted a time rake while waiting) where I dropped about 2k

It's 50/50, either you turn pro at the right time or you don't

Get a part-time job, at least. Play 1/2 NL and study til you're actually good at the game and can move up to 2/5. Get a good winning sample at 2/5 over at least 500 hours. Quit your part-time job.

You're welcome.

You need a job to supplement poker losses.

I am in corporate finance and have been for the last 7 years. In 2015 I took a sabbatical to play live poker. I proceeded to go on the sickest heater of my life. I still hated poker. Or I should say playing full time made me really hate poker. I also realized that the prime times I was playing were the same whether I had a job or not (late week nights, Friday night, Saturday/sunday) So quitting my job didn't really free up extra poker time.

More importantly, losses really hurt when I was a pro. I had a very healthy roll, and still a -3 bi session at 2/5 really bothered me. Whereas it never did when I was working.

I went back to work and started liking poker again and am now about to shot take 25/50 plo. This isnt intended as a brag, i just have walked the walk and also work in a money management related field and know that going full pro is not the best way to amass wealth.

Cliffs:

My success in poker is all made possible by the supplemental income provided by employment which allows me to fully gambol stress free. It is without a doubt the best approach to using poker to accumulate wealth and I have confirmed this after thinking about it.

I don't think I can add much more to the conversation that weren't already expressed by Avaritia and Duncelanas. Supplemental income makes all the difference in the world, at least it did for me.

Too late guys. We are in, God help us.

I think I'm going to do 100 hours of 1/2 and hope no downswing hits and I can hit that 20/bb hr stat, and readjust if not.

I'll adjust from there

Read this until you have it memorized.

Poker is fun man. Sometimes it can be really fun. But I don't know a single pro personally or otherwise that has amassed wealth through playing poker. ****, I don't know many pros that even own a house lol and the ones I do know did it because they binked a tourney. Think about that instead of the mindless spew and lies you'll read about in winrate threads.

1212am 1,000 Kdtd khjh ad7d qctc 88 aj asks 3d4d aj qq ac3c kctc a6off vs blind raise ak aj 99 ad5d at aq jq 9sts 2d3d aq tt 33 aj 99 adkd 2s3s 4s5s 1,267 442am

575 850pm 6h8h kk ad8d ah6h aq tt jdtd ah4h 2c3c 33 22 33 9ctc jhqh adtd jhth qctc ak ah9h 4d5d 4h7h as5s kq jq qq 4c9c kc3c 6c7c 99 kctc 9t tt qt 4s6s kk kh4h qj 55 89 88 8t ak 3c4c a7 67 ak 3c4c 9t js9s qh3h as5s 99 aj 5d7d 3d4d ak 22 aq 3d4d kq 55 aa 763 240am

Play the 1/2 plo8 when it runs?

I heard alarm bells when I saw that you decided to turn pro after determining you could not beat 1/2 nl

It's not that I think NLHE is an essential skill to have (though it is probably a good idea to be good at the one game that runs most anywhere), but if you can't figure out how to beat that, I don't think you're nearly as good as poker overall as you'd need to be to win at anything.

Please get a job and hit the books for your own sake.

In my opinion I think you should try and get your job back. You don't have enough hours logged to demonstrate you are a longterm winning player. You can't project a winrate from just a few hundred hrs.

If I were you I would just play poker after work, continue to play in your spare time and keep diligent W/L records like you have been this year. Also utilize 2+2 to discuss HH and try to improve.

200 130am ac8c 22 150am 523

Too late guys. We have burned the boats

I have nothing constructive, I'd just like to wish you luck.

Ya try to get your job back. Saying you were wrong and didn't realize how much you enjoyed your old job goes a long way with past employers. Even if they found someone else they can still give good recommendations. If your committed to poker then realize you were not prepared going into it and are going to have to work extremely hard and be extremely disciplined to make it work.

Naw, I'm not going back.

Obviously we can back and forth in this thread about a bankroll management and a 3-6 month living expenses roll, but as you said, the boats are burned. So what now?

1. Is your family okay with you staying longer (short or long) depending your upcoming grinding?

2. If you can't go back to the same job, have you considered trying a similar position while you get your bankroll situated?

3. What is the plan if you fall below 6k,5k,4k etc ?

4. Have u considered a part time job to supplement?

5. Have you considered trying to get staked?

6. Do u have assets you could sell off if it all goes south?


I live my life burning the boats, I'm not judging. I'm just asking you about your next steps to protect yourself.

200 11am 22 55 kj as5s 77 2h3h at 22 aa qq 77 2c3c at ts9s 2s3s aj 55 ahqh kq 352 120pm

1. They are ok with me staying indefinitely. I'm hardly ever in the house to begin with.

2. No, I don't want to work again in that field really, or to have time taken away from me by a job.

3. Grind more

4. The only part time job I've toyed with in my head would be for social reasons or passion reasons. Like I'd snap work at a comic shop part time, like 2 days a week, just to talk to people and have a cool job, not really for money.

5. No. I know some staked guys, it sounds awful and they never seem to get unstaked. It's like playing poker with a boss.

6. I don't really have any assets. A vehicle

400 830pm 99 ad5d aq 67 jq 67 2h4h kk aa ah5h 4h7h adjd jj kk 642 1030pm

300 1130pm qsjs kq kh9h a5 ah4h td7d at acqc 44 1230am 340