Well, after some lucky streaks in MTTs and downswings, I realize that I pretty much suck at poker. I have been playing around a little more than a year. First made some little deposts in stars but couldn't make money grow. Then I won some smalls MTTs (not at Stars) reached my top at $1500. There I thought I was a pretty good player. Bull ****. Now I am down to $600. I don't know what to do. I realize how much money is in poker economy to be made. But sometimes I think it is just impossible to make, to have an income over $2000 usd monthly, what to me would be a dream. I think on the pros, Negreanu, Ivey, Helmuth, who live on poker and make big amounts of money and that is the only testimony I have that it is posible. Is it really possible to an average man to build a bankroll, keep the bussiness running ( I mean, playing poker as a bussiness), and have a good income from poker? Or it is just I have to forget about that money flowing in the poker economy?

U reminid me of my old days.. I always wish I would be in the same stage with Phil Ivey or Gus Hansen.... haha. Just face the reality man.. to be able to success in poker not only require skill but also bankroll management, and discipline. Look at the bright spot, u know u suck at poker that's a good news because u know u still need to learn... Right now, I really feel that playing poker is like studying in college. It takes at least 4 years to master a degree or longer so just take your time buddy and learn from the mistakes.

anyone on this earth has the mental capacity to make 2k a month at say 100nl cash games, BUT it takes work, and imo lots of it... im actually about at that stage right now.

you have to honest with yourself cause im sure you can make 2k a month from poker but you HAVE TO likely put alot more time into building your BR and knowledge than you think since like every other 19-20 year old is attempting to do the same. so first of all is it worth it? cause you can make 2k doing the most easy bull**** 'real' job ever (for lack of a better word) ... just go to a gas station :P

do you have the time to invest in such an adventure like poker?... If you are in school or something than its likely a good idea to watch some vids and read some advice etc etc on the side of your schooling.

Will you enjoy it if you make it to a point of success? you down with chillin by yourself infront of a comp all day long? your call...

But i dont think anyone should stop what they are doing to focus on poker... recipe for disaster imo

so get better if you have the time and the will

What's your plan Stan?
Business plan?
Start up cost?
Projected operating costs?
Get where I'm going?

Or are you one of the many, "I gots the mad poker skills but little else going for me, so I'll be a PRO POKER PLAYER."?

OP just join a training website and start grinding the smalles cash games online. When you've beat the level for over 30k hands, move up. if u can't beat it, keep working on your game until you do and be patient.

Start playing 25nl, read forum posts, post lots of hands, meet some players who are winners at 25nl and talk hands with them on aim. If you dont have a solid preflop strategy, thats a great post to make in the micro stakes forum. Dont move up limits untill you have atleast 30 bi for each level(I actually use 50bi but im a bankroll nit) There are tons of things you can do to improve w/o spending money on coaches or training sites you just have to be willing to put forth some effort into making it happen.

I think you're just lacking a lot of experience.
And you need to put in more hands.
With a $600 bankroll, to be on the safe side, and stand less than 1% chance of going broke, you should play MTTs for which you have more than 200 buy-ins.
So $3 MTTs at the most, basically.
If you're looking at cash games, you should move down to $10NL, I know you have a $600 br, but you probably need the experience.
And you also need to multitable.
Open four $10NL tables and just grind.
Or start at 2 tables if you cant handle four, and just work your way up.
Get poker tracker, its pretty much invaluable when it comes to how helpful it is to your game.
If you lose like 10 concecutive buy ins at 10NL, just drop to $2NL and play there.
Even though you do have a bankroll for 25NL, I think there's a good chance you'll mightn't be experienced enough to win there.
Try to play basic ABC poker, pretty nitty basically, and I think you'll be fine.

Just remember studying the game is just as important as playing the game.

If you are a naturally smart person, you should be running over low stakes poker after a year of playing. If you arent, then if you read a few books and simply do what you are told then this should be enough to be a low limit winner.

Why are the top pros your only testimony? these guys are the exception, not the rule. Many people including myself have made lots playing poker but are a million miles behind the top top players. Its kind of like saying a want to be a pro tennis player but im not as good as Nadal, or I want to be good at football but I dont think im ever going to be as good as Ronaldo. Damm right you want to be like these people, but it isnt going to happen. That said, with a bit of practice and some brains, grinding a profit at poker isnt too tough.

More importantly in my opinion, I seriously wouldnt think about making $2k as a dream. Get an education, work hard in real life, and treat poker as a hobby. If you can make money from it then enjoy it, but at the very most it should be a back up to 'real life' success. In most countries if you are smart enough to make a decent living playing poker, you should be smart enough to get a semi decent career. Dont think about poker as a career, or even sticking a $2k per month target on the game until you learn the basics and become a regular low stakes winner. Just enjoy the game and see what happens

quit, and dont listen to these guys telling you how much money there is to be made. the golden days are over for anyone without a special talent. what is considered a bad player today is often someone who was considered good 2 years ago. edge vs fish is 10x bigger than versus so called "bag regs" that in fact play good in most spots and **** up some. the returns are normalizing and we are on the way to regs playing regs on most tables with the same strategies. Winner: Rake...

Well it really depends what limits you are talking about...
Anything up to 1/2 and at times 2/4 is pretty soft. I only started a couple of years ago so cant comment on the "golden age" I hear so much about, but there are still plenty of awful players around to donate to anyone who is semi decent. Im sure this isnt the case in higher stakes games, but I dont think the initial poster is too troubled about high stakes anyway.

I would suggest grinding stts until you have about a $1000 roll, then investing some of that cash in cardrunners or stox or whatever, and then switching to 25nl. I started playing cash about 1 year ago at 25nl and I was terrible. I am profitable as high as 100nl and 200nl now. Just watch training videos, think about your game, look over your hands and get better.

I think the answer is pretty simple. if you're over 40, you suck at poker. If you're under 30, you're a wizard. that's about it. nothing too complicated.

There is money to be made in poker for those who are willing to work with it. But really, it's only certain personality types who can really excel in it. Think about it like this: if your family had a business in an industry that was really competitive with small margins, do you think you'd be able to excel? Because most people want something without competition, and big margins.

There are regs who think sitting fish at nosebleeds is all about bankroll size, and whine when stronger regs join their games. Then there are the regs who will study the games you play, battle, and earn your respect. If you see more of yourself in the first group, you'll probably never be able to beat the games.

In order to get good, you're going to need to invest some money in yourself. Get a HUD, then order a subscription to a poker site that has video content in the games you play. After a few months, you should be winning at the micros. Either way, I'd get a coach after 3-6 months of that. I'm not the smartest guy on here, but I have been profiting from poker since 3 months after learning the game from square 1. If you study for a year and still aren't profitable, maybe poker isn't your thing. It's not for everyone.

I see you are new and this was your first post but dude, you are replying to 8 year old thread.

This post motivated me a lot: back in 2008 (golden age of poker for many) people would still complain about tables getting tougher and games drying up.

Reminded me of "A Night in Paris" by Woody Allen.

I can't even count how many weak regs have whined that neither of us win when we reg battle. But my account has more money than when we first started playing, so tell me where that came from?

And you're replying to a person replying to an 8 yr old thread. What's your point?

Any updates? Is op now baller millionaire or busto

omg.. did not realize this thread was mother of all bumps