Hello, My name is Rich

Not sure if I am looking for staking and/or backing or if it is coaching and direction I am looking for. What I do know that I need is structure and accountability. I travel a lot for a living and feel like I am well equipped to handle and prosper doing the tournament circuit grind. I kinda do a mini grind now.

Here is a bit about me and what I am doing.
https://forumserver.twoplustwo.com/1...lions-1695323/

Played 16 tournaments so far this year, average buy-in is about $125. I am thinking I want to move up and play tournaments $500 and less. Run Good Poker Series, WSOP-c, and many mini series with larger fields and guarantees. I drove 10,000 miles last month and played poker on the side. Would like to transition to playing poker more and driving on the side.

Options:
1. Keep doing what I am doing and get their eventually
2. Try and sell pieces of certain tournaments to help with variance and my bankroll.
3. Find a backer to fund all my tournaments for a split

With any of the options, I know I need some coaching/mentoring. Out here traveling from town to town with really no one to talk to about poker. I think that is more important to me right now than the financial backing.

I only have one result on Hendon. Think I have only played 3 tournaments that would have posted there.

http://pokerdb.thehendonmob.com/play...781.1507072973

Not much to brag about online
https://www.sharkscope.com/#Player-S...s/StackinRocks

Your thoughts and opinions would be awesome. Feel free to send me a PM or post here. In the research stage at his point and looking for guidance.

Rock On

Hello Rich,

I can see from your post you really do lack direction with regards to poker and it is going to be hard for anyone to help you if you yourself do not even know what you want. Whether you should get staked or not should mainly come down to your bankroll and how much money you are willing to risk, in my view. I do not think most people would be willing to stake you to play so high with you having so little sample of games played and even more so if you will be only playing part time (variance will take longer to even out with a small volume). If you decide to go the staked route I think a better option would be to start lower and build up trust (rep is hugely important in the poker world) and get a good sample to show you have solid results. Same applies to selling pieces of action.

If you are pretty green in poker which is the impression I am getting you will most likely need to work on your game a lot. You can either do this on your own or you can use resources like training sites or get someone to coach you. I don't have much experience with live tournaments so if they are very soft it might be alright to start fairly high but be aware that even in weak fields the swings can be pretty big so do some research about bankroll management and only risk money you are willing to lose.

Hey Eselsbrucke,

I really appreciate the reply. In your opening sentence you questioned if I even knew what I wanted. That one is easy.

Short term: Generate enough income playing poker tournaments to provide for my household and to play full time.
Long term: To be the best. Bracelets, rings, titles and Poker Hall of Fame.

I do know what I want and I know why I want what I want. The purpose of the post was to get some input and guidance for the "How". I can keep playing tournaments like I have been and build my bankroll, keep studying and I will get there eventually. I thought maybe coaching and backing would help accelerate the process. All of that is bankroll dependant and why my average buy in this year is only $125 playing live daily tournaments.

Love your idea about starting smaller and building a reputation and history, that makes a lot of sense. I completely understand the downswings and variance, already had an 11 tournament, $1300 downswing this year. Which was another reason for interest in the possibility of finding a coach, staking or selling a piece.

As for needing to work on my game...always and ongoing. Thanks again for your input, it was helpful.

Hey,

I like your ambition. I agree with your view to a large extent. Realistically, I do not think anyone would stake you to play as high as you are playing without a proven track record, so unless you know someone willing, I would take that option off the table for now. Provided you use good bankroll management so you do not go broke from poker or get stressed from the swings if you work hard and study you will improve a lot from that. Both experience and study are crucial for any aspiring poker pro even more so these days as fields are getting increasingly tough. I certainly agree with you coaching will act as a catalyst for improving, if you get a good coach. It is definitely possible to learn solo but it takes a long time because you have a lot of variance which can make it tough to know what the right play is in certain spots as it takes a long time to build up a good idea of population tendencies whereas a coach could tell you that straight away. Also a lot tricky stuff can take a long time to figure out on your own.

I really admire your ambition and passion for poker. If you are smart about it for sure you can go a very long way. People say poker is tougher these days and it certainly is, at least online, but it is still very much beatable with the right approach.