Hi everyone,

I would like to begin with apologizing if this forum is not the correct one to post in, but as I was playing SSNL when I quit poker 3-4 years ago, and spent quite a lot of time here, it feels a bit like home to me. Also I hope some of the posters from those days still visits here, and are willing to provide some input for me.

* Question 1: Compared to 2012-2013, how are the games today?
* Question 2: Are there any new things (software, sites, et cetera) I should be aware of that has come up over the recent years?

[I'll give my background below here but this content is not as SSNL-related, so feel free to just answer my questions and skip this part if you like].

I made a living out of poker while going to university from the days when it was easy (2005 or maybe even earlier than so), but was too lazy to really pursue more money than I needed to make rent. As CardRunners and other sites started teaching good fundamentals, poker became increasingly less profitable and more and more of a chore. It bored me enough to (with good help of my laziness) convince me of looking for other options. I kept on playing every now and then though all the way until 2013 when I found myself unable to balance having a girlfriend, a real job (software developer, quite taxing mentally), and poker.

I have since broken up with my girlfriend, made something of a decent career in software development, and am now at the verge of finishing a project after which I could (should I opt not to look for other jobs) be also unemployed. As writing code also becomes a chore (albeit a well-paid one), I'm at a crossroads now, considering giving poker another go.

I have a strong theoretical approach to the game (at one point I calculated Nash Equilibria given certain premises), and I recall liking thinking of things in so called Galfond Dollars (or G-bucks maybe it was). So skillwise, after getting back in the game for a while, I think I should do ok for myself. This might be overconfidence on my part though, feel free to tell me if so.

For those of you who read this far, any additional advice to give? Similar life stories that you would like to share with me?

I thank you in advance for your time.

Sincerely
Rickard

If you're from Sweden theres plenty of fishy euro/UK + Scandy sites and despite what BBV and NVG will tell you Stars Zoom is still very beatable though it is obviously harder than it was in 2012. If you have decent liquidity I would hire a coach as it'll definitely expedite your game into 2016. If you have a history of beating the game for a living then you can do it now it's just a lot harder and you have a fair bit of catching up to do.

I thank you for your insights. I'll consider some coaching deal for sure if I find myself unable to keep up with the current pace of the game.

If poker bored you before and you lost interest, what makes you think that you would become super passionate/interested again?

You have a great job/profession and steady income. I would continue to work and play poker on the side. If you get back up to 200NL+ or whatever and you really enjoy it/like studying poker/improving, then I would consider giving poker another go full time. But for now, working and playing on the side seems like the best option.

For your two questions:

1) Games are significantly harder than in 2012-2013. They are still beatable (especially on some select sites, such as Bovada and Svenska Spel) but you have to really work hard in order to succeed. There isn't a 3 fish to 3 regulars ratio at a 6-max table like there was back then.

2) There have been a lot more software the last few years in the poker industry, the biggest one being commercial solvers such as PIOsolver/SimplePostflop. Doing simulations on these products will help you move closer to quasi GTO strategies than before.

It's almost like you read my mind on parts of the questions. This is the kind of feedback I was hoping for, and almost certainly poker will start out as a side project on my part. My thought was lately that if everything eventually gets tedious, then why not try to excel at something that might at least earn me more money/time unit. I am truly happy to see a familiar face here, and grateful for the response. I will look into the new software to see if they can speed up my theoretical learning. Thanks again!