BACKSTORY:

I'm a 33 year old guy from Kentucky. Leading up to the move I was working as a delivery driver for an alcohol distribution company making $12/hr. I did that for almost a year while living with my parents and I managed to save around $15k. I have no debt, no dependents, and I own a 2000 Ford Ranger.

I've played poker for many years, both live and online, and I'm a profitable player. However in the years leading up to this story I've played very-little-to-almost-no poker.

THE DECISION:

While humping my dead end job I come to the realization that it sucks and I don't want to do it for very long. I start regaining an interest in poker (something that had died within me long ago). I begin watching content on the internet and then decide to deposit $100 on a poker site. I spent many months grinding the small stakes cash games and tournaments and managed to profit over $2000 from my initial deposit while using strict bankroll management, which is one of my strengths.

I become determined to move to Vegas and give it a shot at playing cards with the backup plan of getting a job. I start saving every penny that I can and then I quit my job at the end of 2017. My plan is to find cheap and furnished housing somewhere near the strip and then to drive there and start grinding the hell out of live cash games.

THE MOVE:

I fly out to Vegas in January to look at places. I end up deciding on a studio apt that has all bills included, even cable tv/internet. I sign a one year lease, beginning on Feb 1st, and pay 3 months up front. They also gave me a month for free as a signing bonus. So now my bills will be paid until June.

I put in a few poker sessions (Flamingo, Bellagio, Wynn) and profit $600 overall. Lovely. I fly home for my last few weeks in Kentucky.

After saying farewell to friends and family, and packing up all my worldly goods into my (trusty?) old pickup truck, I set off on a 2000 mile journey west with a lot of anxiety but even more determination to make this work.

The road trip went without hiccup. For the first 20 hours I only stopped for gas and food. Eventually I needed to sleep so I found a cheap motel in Oklahoma that let me check in at 10 a.m. and I didn't need to check out until the next morning. I think I stayed there around 20 hours, playing some online poker and even hooking up my Xbox and playing my beloved Rocket League with pals back home. The last 10 hours of the drive was a breeze after the extended rest and I rolled into Las Vegas wide eyed and ready to play some poker.


To Be Continued...


TLDR; Kentucky boy saves $15k and moves to Vegas to play cash games. Will he make it?

Subb'd, so that I may live vicariously through others.

Finally a "moving to Vegas" thread where the poster has already been in Vegas for a while, which hopefully means no vanishing act.

Look forward to following this.

Best of luck!

agree with eco - gl mang!!

http://bonanzabev.com/employment/ (now hiring)

https://nevbev.com/careers-nevbev/

Just in case .....

Congrats on the move.

Just so you're aware, you are moving to the toughest place in the country to make money as a pro. If being a pro is what you really want, you could have moved to cities much closer to your home. Places like Chicago or Philadelphia for example...or if you really wanted to be out west then Los Angeles poker is only 4 hours away and much softer.

I'm not saying this to deter you. Its just advice for your next step if you decide to make a career out of this and find the games in Vegas to be below average.

*** FEBRUARY 2018 ***

I'm officially living in Las Vegas! A year prior I would've said no chance whatsoever of that happening. But I had a vision and I saw a path and I took the steps and it became a reality. At this point I'm feeling good about myself for, after years of stagnation, putting a major plan into action and I'm energized to earn some money.

My bankroll is sitting at roughly $10k and I don't have to pay bills for four months. My confidence is high that I'll be able to grow it substantially in that time. The plan is to play 1/2 and 1/3 no limit holdem for the foreseeable future. I don't set any high expectations other than play a lot and keep a cool head (or else quit).

Having not been in Vegas for many years, I'm a bit of a kid in a candy store. The weather is great and I want to play in every poker room in town. In this first month, the shortest month mind you, I play 38 poker sessions, hopping around to multiple casinos on many days. The good thing about playing the lowest stake is that its available everywhere.

I soon discover parking fees at the major casinos, something that didn't exist back in my day. I refuse to pay the fee and decide I'll just walk the strip if I need to until I get the higher tier players cards that allow free parking. Gotta earn it!

After a week or so I find myself down around $750 and after two weeks I'm right around even. Thankful that I didn't have any money going out and that my bankroll was healthy for the stakes, I soldier on with confidence. I feel I'm playing well and have a nice edge on the field but variance is testing me early. Gotta earn it!

I finally get some wins going and I start to get very comfortable with the size of the games I'm playing in. I start playing in deep stack situations more often and am less cautious about getting into a game for multiple buy-ins. I end the month on a very nice win streak.





Bonus pic at the Golden Nugget




To Be Continued...

I remember one particular session early in February at the Venetian. This was during my first few days there. I get into a 1/2 game for 1100 and i remember sitting there with 200 in front of me 8 hours into the session. I remember thinking 'what have i gotten myself into?'. I ended up playing a 15+ hour session that night and clawing my way back to 'only' lose 300.

live and learn....

Any particular reason why you're posting February reports at the end of August ?

Just curious, good luck.

I think it’s funny this thread got started after the “I think I’m finally tired of visiting Vegas” thread was started.

in, and thanks for posting!

HEllo. I’ll give u a players card sometime so you can park for free everywhere.

This thread is currently in the past. The present me can park anywhere. Thanks for the offer!

in b4 op sattys into the main event and makes the final table.

Subscribed! Great start OP!

zkagz,

I've been a professional poker player for 14 years (the last 3.5 years in Las Vegas). I primarily play 5/10 to 20/40 at Bellagio, Aria, Wynn, etc. and I fly every now and then to LA (I was just in LA a couple weeks ago at winopoker and Johnnievibe's Commerce Casino 35th anniversary meetup game). I used to run a rakeback site around 2006-2009 and I also ran a free poker coaching website about 10 years ago. I've been on 2+2 for 14 years. If you'd like I'd be more than happy to offer you some free coaching sessions. When I first moved to Vegas I had someone offer me free coaching and it really helped to improve my game so I'm basically just looking to pay it forward. Someone helped me in the past and I'm currently in a position where I can help someone else. If interested, please feel free to PM me.

can't vouch for this guy as I don't know him but OP be smart and take this offer...if not for the direct poker benefit but for at least the business/life experience.

Venice10 and Poker Addict should be able to vouch for me as I believe they did a couple videos for the free poker coaching site. RakebackRUs.com was also my rakeback site but I sold that when the DOJ shut down Pokerstars and Full Tilt in the US. That was almost 9 years ago though I think.

CWsports,

I'm certainly interested in your offer. I'll be PM'ing you.

Subbed! Enjoying your ride so far. I'm in a similar position myself but took the entrepreneur root before Poker. Now that i have companies bringing in income, my desire to grid it out is more real than ever. Glad i'm doing this in my 40's and not my 20's.

*** March 2018 ***

I ran very very well.

Now that I've been in Vegas for a month, I've developed some comfort with the lifestyle and routine. I've learned how all the comp systems work in the casinos and I've discovered places where I like to eat and shop around town. One perk of living in Vegas is all the great and diverse food available at an arms reach. Grabbing some quick Chicken Tikka Masala on the way home in the middle of the night is not something I could've ever done in Kentucky.

I find out that the Venetian is running a very nice promotion this month. From noon until midnight every day they are giving away $400 every half hour to the highest hand in the room. I decide that I'll be playing there quite a bit but still I'm going to be mixing it up with location.

The first week of the month is rocky, with me being up over a grand in the first few days and then back down to even by the end of the week. Then the boomswitch engages. I profit in 13 out of the next 15 sessions and going into the 21st of the month I'm at around $4k profit. And then...

On the 21st of March I hit the BAD BEAT JACKPOT at the Venetian.



I have the winning hand when my QQ sees a flop of Q 2 2 and I get it all in with a short stack who has pocket deuces. The queen on the turn seals the deal. My share of the jackpot is $5k and my quad queens is also good for the high hand jackpot. Pile another $400 on top.

Unbelievable right? I certainly couldn't believe it. For the last three weeks in March poker felt like the easiest thing in the world. Leading up to the bbj I couldn't lose and for the rest of the month I also couldn't lose. After having a slow first week I only lost money in 4 of the remaining 27 sessions.

A couple buddies of mine came to town at the end of the month to play some WSOPc tournaments at Planet Hollywood. I had a good time with them and even played some 4/8 Omaha 8 or better at the Orleans one night. I had never played before but the rungood was real and I even profited $150 playing with those maniacs.

Life is good for an up and coming zkagz in March of '18.





To Be Continued...

Also in March I played in the Trooper game at the Westgate. Nothing much to speak of. I said hello to the OG vlogger himself but never played at the same table (spoiler: that wouldn't come for a few more months). I think ol' Troop was having a bad night at the tables but it was March of '18 so of course I won around $700.

Great thread, very excited about how your journey until now has turned out!

Enjoying! Keep them coming!