OK, well I guess you guys are assuming OP has a better, third, option, but have not suggested any. I don't make assumptions like that. Might want to actually give him a suggestion then.

I'm going off advice from someone who did live off his poker winnings. A large bankroll significantly lowers your risk of ruin which absolutely has to be taken into account if you're going to live off your winnings.

Some will say '$15-20K BR' but I think that's too low and would advice at least $40K. $150K would be nice, don't get me wrong, but it's not necessary for a 1/2 or 2/5 player.

Nobody will disagree with the importance of risk of ruin, but $150k would cover his expenses for a year plus 270 stacks to play with. You could also argue he needs $1500k or a billion.

In a more realistic scenario, you would give it 6 month and a maximum of 30-50 stacks to decide if your goal is achievable or not. No reason to drop $50k before calling it quits.

Thanks for sharing, good post.

Where did you play?

Starbucks pays better than that, has benefits, requires almost zero skill, and you get to work during the day.

Starbucks pays more than $16 per hour? I am shocked if that is true even where you live, and I really can't imagine it is true in Virginia.

Maybe where you live? I have a friend who manages a Starbucks in my area. When I asked her last year, starting salary for baristas at her store was $7.85/hour plus tip share which averages $1-2/hour. At the beginning of this year, they increased starting salaries across the US but I doubt that means baristas make over $10/hour around here now.

starbucks pays a smidge over a minimum wage in pretty much all the markets, I bet you can find a freezer that pays $20 though

In the late 2000's (in my late twenties) I wasn't working but was in a fortunate situation that allowed me to have my monthly nut covered or most of it (which was about $1,800) for two years.

This would be the closest I would ever get to living the life of a poker professional, though MUCH better because I didn't have the emotional stress of having to win my monthly nut, and the comfort of knowing if I went bust, I had a safety net.

Basically I just had to not lose any of my nut money and anything I won would be added to my bankroll or spent on various life expenses / luxuries.

I stayed home with my little one during the day and after the wife came home and we had dinner, I went off into the night and started each session around 9pm / 10pm and would end around 1am / 2am.

I played 8-16 limit hold em with a starting roll of $3,500 - stats below.

Cash Game Count: 440
Wins: 229
Losses: 211
Total Won/Lost: $19,178.00
Average / Hour: $9.98
Total Hours: 1,920h

The money / profit was minimal, but I'm really glad I was able to have this experience. It made me realize that 1) I'm not that good a player and 2) I don't want to ever want to try and play poker for a living, a thought (dream) that has been in my head since my early twenties, 3) and that there are much better ways of making money.

I took a 6 year break from the game after this, from 2010-2016 I didn't step foot into the casino, or even think much about the game for that matter. I've started playing again because middle age life is kinda boring ;-(.

Anyways, if you feel that you can really beat the game and keep up with your life expenses, my suggestion would be take a shot at it sooner rather than later to get it out of your system.

It sounds like OP lives south of Northern VA. He can definitely live on $1.2K/month in that area without a problem. He can further reduce that by being diligent with not eating out, etc. I'm not saying it'll be fun or enjoyable, but it can be done in that area.

Only thing is.... no woman will ever want to live like that (unless she's 100% with you on this). OP also needs to realize that if he does this and it doesn't work out (after putting in 100% effort), that's it mang. You can never try again (or you'll have to try it again with a new woman).

Just because you can play poker better than most people at the tables does NOT MEAN you can make a living playing poker.

Variance is a killer. Especially if you have a family that relies on you for support.

If you have the knowledge to turn $20 into $300 in a month then I would stick with sports betting. Keep investing the winnings into your system. After about 6 months you probably won't be able to find anyone to take your action, but you will be set for life.

Month 1: $300
Month 2: $4,500
Month 3: $67,500
Month 4: $1,012,500
Month 5: $15,187,500
Month 6: $227,812,500

(Just in case I would keep the resume current)

The real problem that most people that purse his career have is they generally have (a) incredibly poor work ethics or (b) tilt problems which lead to poor work ethics.

When you are getting crushed and running poorly, people always say take some time off wjixh I think is generally horrible. I always outrun more hours (still playing well) and wait for it to end as soon as possible. However most people usually play much worse or take the ill advised time off and then your life expenses compound with your downswings and it ends pretty poorly.

If you really want to it's not overly difficult to have a normal/ happy life with wife and kids and still get in 2500-3000 hours a year at poker. You are just going to have to make a lot of sacrifices so pick what's most important to you and find out the best way to make that happen.

that being said, I think working is almost always best, until you are in a spot where you are making $50 hour playing poker over a large sample and it makes no sense financially to continue working

I think he said $14. One of my RAs made $15.50 between high school and college. My old company paid interns $25 (but they needed to know ****). In & Out advertises $13. Minimum wage in some liberal cities is $15.

But you know what? If you can't conceive of a possibility that there are daytime jobs paying more than $16/hr I don't really know what else to say. Good luck in life, this is one of the easier problems you'll face?

aorn there are no cities in US liberal or otherwise with $15 minimum wage

cost of living in those magical cities is probably over $1,200 anyway

but sure "lol, find a better job" is a solid advice

California passed a statewide $15/hr law last year. I guess it hasn't taken effect. Google says San Francisco is $13/hr. Seattle passed a law too, maybe that hasn't taken effect either.

So, yeah, I guess $14/hr isn't the nut low. Just fourth pair seventh kicker.

thanks for all the responses the thread has generated. needless to say I think ill stay with some sort of a fulltime job and play poker on the side. I played a long 12ish hour session of 2/5 last night and booked a small win of about $425 and it was a crazy frustrating day, I cant imagine doing it again for another 3-4 days of the week. Although ive always been on my own figuring out things in poker, if I had some sort of guidance or local coach to help me with certain things I think I could grow exponentially as a player.

yeah I guess it didn't what a shocker - SF will be 1st city to implement it in about 16 months, for all we know OP could be making 18-20 in a freezer by then, which is probably an equivalent of 30-35 in bay area

not sure why you keep rehashing 14 either, it's clearly 16 and been posted several times in this thread

Maybe they upgrade you to the day shift in the freezer and you can play poker at night and on the weekends?

theres no day shift for what we do, has to be done at night so the trucks get loaded and get on the road. I'll just find another job (although I hate everything about the process and starting somewhere new) so im a little happier and just find as much time as possible to get poker time in. Theres a big score in my future, just not sure when it will happen.

There will be a better chance of a big score if you stack the life deck in your favor.

You gotta get above the water. $16/hr is survive money, you want thrive money. Acquire rare skills for whatever field you're in - learn how to operate machinery few others can, or how to program robots, or how to speak Polish so you can talk with the Polish drivers, or be the safety officer, or whatever it takes so that when the **** hits the fan and they're looking to close your location, your boss pulls you aside after work and says he's transferring you to another location, or when a new location opens up and they need a manager, you're first in line.

And if you do make more money or have a second stream coming in from poker, be disciplined about spending. If you make $40k in a year, live like you make $30k and - poof - you've got a 2/5 NL roll in a year. When you buy a house, don't borrow as much as the bank will lend you, and put down enough so that you can refinance even if the market goes south a little. It's the sum of all these little things that lead you in five years to either (a) have enough saved and the freedom to take a risk on The Big Shot (whatever that is for you), or (b) be in the same place you are with marginal COLAs and trying your best to stay afloat as expenses mount.

It's never easy to step out of your comfort zone. I left a pretty stable, very well-paying job for a smaller company, basically as a stepping stone to starting my own. Poker allowed me to fill some 529s so that my kids will be more or less insulated from any professional mistakes I will make. I will have the means and the freedom to take The Big Shot in probably a few years, and I fully admit it's scary. But that's my Big Shot, I may get a second one, but almost certainly not more than 2.

So I get it - everyone needs to take some long shots in life. But do it from a position of strength, not weakness.

No offense, OP, but you've been here in the best place to do that for at least three years, and have never posted a hand for feedback, and never participated in a strategy thread. Get your ass over to the Live Low-Stakes No Limit forum and start participating.

I'd start with reading the "Best Of" threads. Then post a few hands and post in some strat threads. Having to articulate your thought process, having it critiqued, and seeing how others are approaching the game will improve your approach immensely.

Go for it OP! you cant get rich in a warehouse or saying "what if"

ive made hundreds of thousands because of this mindset and ive never worked a "real job" in my life GL

The difference between being a serious recreational player and a full-time player is huge. I was laid off from my regular job in Feb 2016. The job was a good one--paid varied $90K-120K depending on how much work related travel I was willing and had the opportunity to do.

I wanted to minimize my reliance on savings, so I started grinding 1-3 and 2-5 NL in Lake Charles, LA. The games there are pretty good and essentially uncapped. I got lucky in two ways--first the layoff only lasted 7 weeks and secondly, I ran like God during the period and achieved a $46/hr win rate (unsustainable I would think).

At the same time, I was a miserable person. There is a huge difference between doing this as a job and doing it recreationally. As a recreational player, three-four sessions a month, I'd think nothing of tipping waitresses and dealers, taking breaks for nice meals in the high end casino restaurants, etc. All of a sudden, those things became drags on my bottom line. No more beer at the table. I never was one to drink more than one or two, but still I really enjoyed them. It is just a whole different experience. After I got called back to work, it was a couple of months before I even felt like going back to Lake Charles to play poker.

I'm 55, and I realize you're much younger so your experience may vary, but in my experience--playing for life money is miserable. Playing for fun like I usually do to use my yearly winnings for an annual New Year's Eve week blowout with my wife in Vegas or ,NYC is a lot more fun.

You might be a slave to the "man" at your regular job, but if you go full-time, you'll still be a slave--this time to variance and your win rate.