So I want to play poker as my main income and hope to accomplish this within the next year (thats when I start uni). I don't think my goals are that far from realistic if I put in the effort, I just want to be able to make enough to pay for my apartment and make it through 5 years of school comfortably. I know the whole 6 months of expenses rule and whatnot but online poker being what it is nowadays I wanted to get some tips from actual pros who pay there bills mainly through poker.

I see a lot of tips on the internet but I'm wondering what are the key tips to success that helped you guys when you made your transition from an enthusiast to a fulltime pro? And what helped you maintain?

What makes you think that these goals are in any way realistic ?

there edited, and I really don't think it is. If I can maintain even a decent winrate with good rb its doable

If you know it's doable and you know how to do it what exactly are you asking?

As a person whos main income comes from grinding LLSNL, My biggest motivator was probably to never go back to the hell hole of a job I had beforehand.

DGI did a really good pooh-bah post on turning pro, It should be in the best of.

Worth a read or 5.

Very difficult to do psychologically playing with living money that you need is not a good idea.

I'm asking for >TIPS<, just because you know something doesn't mean you shouldn't ask others who have been where you are and surpassed for a few pointers. That kind of arrogance won't get you far in whatever you apply it to

thanks I'll make sure to check it out, so you're saying ambition/motivation is what helped you?

also how do you manage to make a living off llsnl lol? (not to offend)

Thanks for the life advice, though it has done pretty well for me so far.

I don't want to sound like I'm arguing something I haven't proven, but I mean if you have 6months+ of expenses and 100 buy ins once you get to that point I'm sure you would be used to the swings (even though at times you might encounter one you haven't). Also this is probably one of the hardest things you need to get used to in poker no? I'd say this concept is more important than your in game strategy

yeah I'm sure your lifes very fulfilled as you go around trolling on threads :* hop off son

One thing I learned early on is that the freedom the poker lifestyle can give you is a double edged-sword. You have to become your own boss. Its so easy to lay around and take 4-5 days off at a time and the next thing you know your up against it.

I have a pretty mellow lifestyle and am conservative by nature and I average around 18/hr at the 1/2 level. don't really have a worthwhile sample at 2/5.

Im also pretty savvy with finance so alot of my poker earnings later become investments to hedge myself against risk.

A pretty kickass girlfriend takes some pressure off too.

lmao no way thats crazy if you can actually maintain 9bb/100 at 200nl live. How much do you tip if you mind my asking? and do you take any bonuses into account? Like I never played in a casino but the backroom games I play at offer early bonuses and whatnot

also how long have you been at it for?

[x] OP is used to grinding 25nl
[x] thinks he's ready to go pro

http://dictionary.reference.com/browse/goal

educate yourself

You only see about about 30 hands an hour so my winrate is more like 3.3bb/100. However the games are generally donkathons so that more then compensates for the slow pace. I've only been playing full time for about 4 months now but i've played "part-time" for a few years.

I usually tip a dollar for every pot >30. If i scoop a BIG pot i'll usually bump it up to 2-3$.

If by bonuses you mean promotional money, I do not factor that into my winrate.

oh lmao I completely overlooked /hr lol (im on my phone), If you avg 18/hr at a pace of 30hands/hr wouldn't that be 30bb/100 hands?

Now that you mention it, I think your right.

Either way, in the live world we generally use the $/hr metric.

But believe me, 18$/hr is totally sustainable and there are guys who beat the game for more. checkout some of the winrates in the LLSNL forum.

will do, and where exactly do you play if you don't mind saying?

Lol im in the DC/MD/VA area

The problem with poker and questions like the one OP poses is this automatically belief that simply because you see someone do it that you can also likewise be just like them...

Grinding poker for an actual income is very stressful, and not everyone can handle that stress. The stress will manifest itself in many ways; not just anxiety or fear but it can translate into impatience, anger, depression, boredom, etc.

Grinding for pennies all day every day can be very taxing.

Sure, its easy now when you break out your spreadsheet and theoretically calculate all the money you can make in a year if you play X number of hands for Y hours for Z days each month...

But the reality isn't near as sexy, in fact, when you do it, you will learn first hand why players call it a "grind".

Here is a thread I've been following of a guy going to school AND has a job AND is trying to grind 5NL and 10NL poker on the side to supplement his income

http://forumserver.twoplustwo.com/17...t-2-a-1321126/

This guy is working his ass off and it is hard freaking work. He started about a year ago and has been grinding 5NL and 10NL and after a year his bankroll went from $200 to around $900.

I feel his struggles are going to be more representative of reality for players like you who are new to poker and think you can just jump in and crush the game and make enough to pay for school and your apartment grinding 5NL and 10NL.

You are in for a rude awakening.

Lastly, you never did give us a background on yourself or tell us how much online poker experience you have (i.e. how many hands have you played and at what limits and when...)

I see a lot of people on these forums quick to shoot people down whether its "constructive criticism" or just for the **** of it, but regardless anyone who ever went pro I'm sure was motivated and didn't get where they are by listening to the people who said that he/she can't do it. I'm aware that majority of players think they are better than they truly are but I won't group myself in this category. I think that my circumstances are good for giving it a shot, I have been playing recreationally for over a year although I was working 7 days a week and didn't have much time for poker but now I think that I have a good shot at accomplishing this. I just recently turned 20 and currently live alone and hold a part time job so I have a decent amount of time for learning and playing. And one thing I think will help me progress faster than most people is I actually enjoy learning new things about the game more than I do playing (maybe since I only grind micros) and I mean this honestly. I'm in the prime of my youth, I have a year to spare and poker is something that I have a true passion for. Yes I understand it will be stressful but I have weighed the pros and cons and decided its something I wanna do. I plan on studying on a daily basis for the next year so I can accomplish my goal by the time I start school (its actually 15 months).

Also I don't want to offend that guy but I only started taking the game seriously recently in terms of hands played and call it a heater or w.e but I got up to 25nl within 3 months. I don't want to criticize and I will check out this guys thread once I'm on my computer but if he hasn't been withdrawing chunks of his roll on a regular basis and puts in at least 10hrs/week its pretty sad how he cant make it past 10nl.

Not as many as we see around here who have a burning to desire to go professional with no history and little idea.

cf

This is probably not a good enough resumé to embark on a plan that you think will pay for an apartment and schooling for the next five years.

No need to be a hater