So, I read this thread (in OOT I think) about making $1m in five years and it has inspired me to give it a shot. I really think that it can be done and I'm in a spot where I have lots of free time to work at it while still paying my bills and getting ahead.

My name is Betagainst and I'm a 43 year old bartender from Las Vegas, Nevada. I'm a failed professional poker player and an alcoholic. I enjoy working part time and smoking lots of cigarettes. My net worth is probably -$26,000 maybe -$30,000. I have no friends.

I haven't outlined a detailed plan yet but I'm going to be relying on the following to reach my goal:

* DISCIPLINE (Haven't used this for quite some time)
* HARD WORK
* BUSINESS
* INVESTING
* GAMBLING

I guess I'm going to leave it at that for now and start mapping out a plan and collecting business partners.

Thanks for reading!

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BA

Good luck with that champ.

OP Your a legend good luck brah!

Thanks for the GL guys!

I haven't mapped out an entire five year plan but I have decided on step one: QUIT ****ING SMOKING!!!

I buy three packs per week (maybe four) at $8 per pack. That's min $24 per week. From now on I'm going to buy one green chip at the end of my week instead of buying smokes. Twenty five dollars a week is $100 per month and $1200 annually. That will save me $6000 over the next five years.

Once I get enough chips saved up I'll start using them for poker, sports, horses, and business/investing. I know that alone won't get me to a million but it costs me nothing to quit smoking and the benefits will be huge.


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at first i thought this was a definite troll of my post. Now I'm almost 100% sure. But if not, hey, more power to ya brother! Hilarious.

gl friendo!

Dude, first off. Get yourself out of the red. Pay off APR highest to lowest interest first. Move to a cash only system and don't ****ing give a **** about your credit score. Improve your people skills and if you want friends, be a friend. Alcoholic... who isn't... whatever. It's a goal of mine... to become one... whatever.... listen... gamble in the right spots... segregate accounts... life / gamble / business.... don't transfer between accounts recklessly and without fail safes. Given your predicament.... Maybe shoot for, back on your feet, no debt.... decent apartment... solid job.... better gambling results and say 50K? That or go long, and "don't look back"

GL op, quit drinking and your odds skyrocket

Thanks for the GL!

I've been struggling with the booze for a long time. I drink nearly everyday of the week and I usually drink until I pass out. This type of behavior also leads to some hefty gambling loses and exposure to some other unnecessary risks.

I can't even wrap my head around how I'm going to quit drinking.

I have a really busy/****ed up schedule this week. My goal is to make it through without drinking any liquor. I'll come up with a plan to manage/quit drinking once I get a few days off.

Some good advice, thanks!

The wife has taken over our finances for the most part. She's managing our debt situation. All I have to worry about is getting the money. On that note, I will definitely be operating on cash only. I don't have access to my paychecks or our checking/savings accounts. I have no debit/credit cards. All I have is my pocket and my poker account.

I've got an apartment and I've got a job. My wife is using our income (minus 10% of my tips) for our living expenses/debt. My short term goal is to get rolled for 1/2 or this football season (4k).

wait guess it's not a troll! My bad. GL man. Have you considered sales? If you work in customer service, sales is a logical next step. You can easily make in a week what you make in a month in cust service. Just a suggestion. Also a low barrier to entry in many industries.

You are an alcoholic and you need help. This should be your number one priority.

Yeah, probably this. I think I'm ready to quit (again) though. I'm in the middle of a three day weekend and I'm taking this time to get sober/detox. Easy to avoid drinking on my days off but difficult after work.

Alcoholism is the only disease where you get to be drunk all the time - Norm Macdonald

I try and keep it light too but I've had some pretty serious issues and close calls. I've lost jobs, been to jail, gotten DUI's and nearly lost my family all because of my drinking. I had a pretty sad experience last week. I decided to quit (8/23/16).

I haven't really started my plan to get that M yet but I did do some work on an outline earlier:

I. DISCIPLINE/HARD WORK

A. QUIT SMOKING (add $25 per week to BR)
B. QUIT DRINKING (add $30 per work day to BR)
C. GET A BETTER/SECOND JOB (+10-20k per year)
D. WORK OUT (increased energy... gonna need it)

II. GAMBLING

A. LIVE CASH (once I get $600)
B. SPORTS (going to start w/ small parlays but switch to straight bets)
C. MTTs (I'm going to play every poker tourney I can)
D. FREE PROMOTIONS (might delete this [or not post about it] but I will definately be trying to take full advantage of all the freebies Vegas has to offer.

III. BUSINESS

A. EBAY/CLIST BUSINESS (ugh...)
B. BOOK (bartending stories)
C. BLOG

IV. INVESTING

A. STOCKS
B. TBILLS
C. VENTURE CAPITAL

I'm spent...

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gotta follow this - GL!!

Alcoholism is not fun, good luck OP.

From another drunk who struggles on a regular basis to stay sober, I recall you posting about an aversion to AA something I can relate to. There are other means of support out there from the redditors on r/stopdrinking to the active alki's on r/cripplingalcoholism

Looking at just how ugly the condition can be on a regular basis is helpful, also gambling (online included) has been a major relapse trigger for me over the past 2 years.

Hey, thanks buddy!

Thanks for GL!

I think AA is awesome. I quit drinking for ~2 years in 2008 and went to AA pretty consistently for the first year. I met a ton of people during that time whose lives had been saved by the program.

Once I got sober, like six months without a drink, I stopped going. I had lost the urge to drink and I was surrounded by a supportive family. None of the people in my life at that time were drinkers. I changed my focus to other problems (finances/relationships) and just didn't see the need to go anymore. I probably should have kept it up.

I honestly don't know if I'm an alcoholic. There are two beers in my fridge right now (good ones) and I have no desire to drink them. The thought of drinking liquor or drinking to get drunk right now makes me nauseous. When I compare that to some of the alcoholics I have been exposed to (a distant relative who told me stories of stopping along the road to see if empty bottles/cans had booze left in them or a friend who would jog to the liquor store at 6am and come home with a gallon of vodka which he would drink straight out of the bottle) then I'm not an alcoholic. However, if we use the "you're an alcoholic if alcohol is affecting your life in a negative way" then I definitely am.

I just have some much going on right now that I don't know where to start.


****, I know.

I'm counting up change right now to see if I have enough money to play slots.

Even though I just wrote that I don't feel like drinking what I really want to do tonight is: go play slots with a minimum amount of money, hit a 5/6 spot on video keno for $200-$400, then go play 1/2 live all night long while getting drunk.

It's hard to say no to that when my alternatives are: playing Hearthstone all night, reading, watching TV, or staring at a wall.

****ed in the head right now...

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So apparently, I'm going to have to find a way to:

* quit smoking
* quit drinking
* quit gambling

While being a:

* bartender in Las Vegas
* alcoholic
* problem gambler

****...

My life is falling apart and all I'm concerned about is how high on the neck John Paul Jones fingers. Watching Led Zeppelin videos...

So, I didn't just take my $20 in change across the street to Red Rock. I took $60 over there a tnd minus a $10 for the bartender I blasted the rest off playing video poker/keno. ****. Which is no big deal, I've lost $1200 more than once doing the same. However, I'm broke and on the verge of losing a marriage and my mind.

Just gonna tie one on now and write...

So disjointed that you can't just get wasted and gamble every dollar away every day and some how make it work. Not sure what the point of life is outside of: getting drunk, gambling all of your money, and ****ing. I guess you're supposed to: stay sober, not gamble, and jack off?

****, it's going to be a long road.

I guess I'm just going to drink all these beers until I pass out.

I started playing poker seriously around 2000. Just ****ing around online and in home games I was making extra money. I was betting horses too and winning at everything. Bartending all the while and making money when the boom hit. Then I was making money everywhere. Problem was I was just getting drunk everyday. Getting paid to get drunk. I thought and wished it would last forever.

That's the root of my problem. I just want to get drunk every day and find an excuse to make it viable. ****.

****

That's really what I want to do is get drunk everyday.

Man, stars in Las Vegas right now... You don't get to see them often. City lights block that **** out. Anyway, Orion is up and the lights from the strip make it look like the sun is rising. Clear skies and no wind... 80's temp... so nice.

Wife woke up and moved to the couch. Don't know what the **** I'm supposed to tell her. I wish she would just come out here on the porch and talk.

I ****ing wrecked my **** like four years ago. DUI. Blasted as **** around 6a I hit the exit barrier for MLK going like 75mph. Spent three days in jail. Totaled my Jeep, should have been dead. She didn't know where I was for three days and then had to bail me out. You'd think I would've learned.

Still drinking... wow.

Just going to post this.

Pretty crazy. I've lived up on a hill in Summerlin since 2006. Henderson has a different color street light than Las Vegas. At least, that's what I think. There's this blue ocean of lights to the south east of the strip.

Sun is coming up now. View from the patio is amazing. I really wish you could be here with me now. Anybody. ****ing cool buzz, drinking, listening to blues, smoking, thinking about life... wow. Wow. It's quiet up here. I know there is a ton of **** going on down in the valley and not all of it's good. But, right now Las Vegas just looks serene.

I'm gonna get drunk and listen to the blues. I'm going to drink until I pass out and wake up and start a new life.

Small steps man. Put too much on your plate at once and it's impossible. Change happens one very small step at a time. I know from personal experience.

Yah, I hear you. I'm still trying to sort out what those steps are and get some priorities. It's in the 70's here in LV and I have a couple of hours before the sun blasts me off the patio. I've got a six pack of beer and four smokes. I'm going to do some writing and see what comes out.

The old lady and I are talking now. That's good. I still have my job, my place, and my car. All good. My bills are paid. I've got the support of our families as well so, pretty good foundation for moving forward. I know A LOT of people who are in worse circumstances. I should be grateful. Now that I've written that down, I do feel grateful.

One thing I feel I need to do is, let the dream die. You know the dream I mean. The poker dream. My limited success at the game and the hype of the boom made me believe I had found my calling.

I started out with small deposits and eventually ran up a small roll grinding micros. I hit my ceiling at 50nl but maintained a 4bb win rate at 25nl. Meanwhile, I was crushing it live and earning a decent second income at 1/2. I would bink a tourney every once in a while and thought that sooner or later I'd make a decent run.

It's been 14 years and I just busted my (last) $40 deposit on WSOP.

Online poker is over for me. I don't have an edge, I tilt now (never a problem before), and I hate No Limit Hold'em. I mean I ****ing hate it.

Live cash may be done for me too. My last session I was bored to tears. I can't see myself ever becoming a live grinder now. That honeymoon is over and the thrill is gone.

I might, might, be able to find some success in live MTTs. All of my winnings on WSOP are from MTT cashes while I've become a break even cash player. I think those skills are still viable in the live MTT world but I'm not sure if I should/can commit the time to it right now with all of my other problems.

****.

I lost touch with a poker buddy of mine for a couple of years and then eventually caught up with him. I asked him if he was up on his game and he said, "I just don't think it is going to happen for me." I was really put back by his comments. I wasn't ready to give up the ghost but...

I just don't think it is going to happen for me.

GG poker.

So, now I'm a guy who doesn't play poker who is writing about his life on a poker forum. Feels kinda stupid. I imagine this is what a divorce must feel like. You're whole life got centered around one thing and now that thing is over. You are over too, in a way... So, what the **** do you do now.

I have to quit smoking, grandpaw died of lung cancer. I have to quit gambling, I'm addicted to video poker. I have to quit drinking, alcoholism runs in the family and it's nearly ruined my life. My bartending career is going to end sooner or later, too old. And, poker is done.

****

Time to kiss the old me, the current me, goodbye.

Perhaps I missed it but how are you going to make $1million?