Johnny, as you know, I recently made a similar leap. I'd be a total hypocrite if I told you not to do it. I don't know your whole situation, but I just want to throw a couple things out there.

I think most in your position fail to consider the career possibilities that exist outside of their current job. Just make sure you take the time to think about other possibilities. I'm sure that there are work environments that you would be much happier in. A lot of time people equate their 9 to 5 sucking to all 9 to 5s sucking. In reality, there are a lot of really good jobs out there, especially if you are willing to take the leap into being your own boss.

Also, just make sure you are ready. Most people that quite their jobs have trouble surviving off of poker, much less thriving. Are you really the best player every time you sit down? Do you keep it together when going on a big downswing? Do you have enough hours to be confident in your win rate? Those are just some of the questions you need to ask yourself. Either way best of luck.

I am in the process of moving out of poker.

I think I'll be able to by end of this year.

Although I will always maintain my skill edge, or try to, given that poker is literally the most reliable income if you are good.

Most people who play poker full time hate it.

Well, most people can't do it.

Fwiw, I loved it.

Why not continue?

Game is only going to get smaller, just nature of a shrinking market.

Yeah I love it. With terrible insomnia I'm unable to keep any consistent sleep schedule. Honestly don't know if I'd ever be able to make it with a 9-5.

Idk, live poker is a good market that I don't see dieing anytime soon; people are going to remain just as bored and just as bad years from now. But thats why the future is PLO!

Well, there are shrinking markets so big that you can't tell they're shrinking, and there are smaller ones.

Thanks for the post t_roy. There are a lot of factors. My 9-5 is more like an 8-7 which for an insomiac night owl that stays out at the poker room until 3am makes for a challenging schedule. I've done it for the last year but it was tough. The hours are bad, the location is bad, I'm not developing a skill set that I see transferable to what I want to do in the future. People say poker is a resume killer but I have no intention of rejoining the corporate world.

I'm really just tired of trading my time for a decent wage making someone else rich. Those 50-60 hours a week can be spent on myself, acquiring knowledge, working towards passive income streams, etc. I don't think I will ever achieve that while working the corporate grind.

I would like to flip a house this year. I've got a lot to learn. I've met a lot of older gentlemen involved in real estate on the felt. Who knows - if I spend some of these newly free hours studying up on real estate, building out a cash flow profitability model, attending local conventions/networking events maybe one of them will offer to be a mentor.

I actually find poker to be a pretty good source of networking and I think an older self made fellow would respond favorably to a younger guy hustling, looking to get ahead, learn, etc. Maybe my intentions aren't totally pure but if I can make someone else's life easier on a project in exchange for knowledge - hey why not?

In terms of the preparedness, yah I think I have a sufficient sample size to determine this is a realistic shot. I've got about 1000 hours logged between 1/2 and 2/5 at 12-17 BB's per hour.

tldr; i want my time/life back for myself to pursue my dreams

There was a TV show about flipping houses. Think it got cancelled a few years back though. Maybe you can past episodes on Hulu?

Those shows are pretty full of it. I can't imagine making much profit if you need to pay so many contractors to get the job done.

quit your job yesterday

I've known a guy since 1997 who has been in the biz of buyin' renovating & selling houses long before I met him. He has done quite well, however, just like everyone else, the crash of 2009 hurt.

He profits handsomely because they also have their own real estate business, so those profits also go into their pocket. The don't do any heavy marketing looking for people to come to them to sell their house for them, but if someone does they have more free money if they can sell it, since they have ability to get the house on the market.

The business pays for all of them to go to Vegas once a year in the winter & a fishing trip in the spring/fall, along with another trip whose destination is determined by their wives.

It's a FULL-TIME job, limiting his ability to play poker no more 15 hours a week. And that's on the weekend, and it's not 15 hours every week.

What do you guys do when you have two losing months in a row?

Take a long hard look at what youre doing wrong. As bad as a a lot of live players are, I honestly dont see how you could have back to back losing months if you are playing well. You can tell yourself you're getting unlucky and running bad, but if you step back and take a long hard look I bet you can think of lots of hands you screwed up....or you just just dont have much of an edge over the table in the first place.

Example:

I know a 2/5 pro who plays fairly well. Hes very TAG and ABC but thats enough to win playing live. He got coolered a few times back to back and then played this hand

He raised to $15 with AK. 3 callers.
He bets $40 on a K74 flop. A guy raises to $125. 1 fold, then the next guy goes all in for $300ish. He called and freaked out that he was behind. He was obviously blinded by his losing streak and is compounding it with bad play.

Of course it's totally possible. Especially if you're not playing professionally and only get 50- maaaybe 100 hours in a month.

Obviously we should always be evaluating our play, and many players add some variation of tilt to their downswings. That doesn't make putting a couple hundred losing hours in a row up impossible.

You should question your Relentless Doubt and deal it with accordingly.

Like Zune said, a bulk of money from flipping houses is obv keeping costs low. How do many do that? They do work themselves (Source: father was a builder/licensed electrician who did this for a living and I used to help when I was younger). That's not to say you can't GC it and still make a profit, but you really gotta stay on top of contractors, they tend to do stuff and then not always have time to come back to finish, especially when there isn't someone living there calling them everyday

Yah I definitely wouldn't want to half ass it. I'm planning to get in on one with a husband/wife that own a R/E company that I met through poker. More to see how the process works, what's involved, how long money is tied up, etc. and hopefully make a small profit on it. But the knowledge is more important.

drink a little bit less while playing

This is good advice. If you don't think losing streaks over 100-200 hours are likely then you're likely completely ignorant to the how winrates and bankrolls work. Or you're super good at poker.

I have something to admit. I play short!! I buy in for $100 at 1/2 NLHE.

My win rate since I started logging house is $26.88 Per hour ($93.76 STD), total of 240 Hours. Biggest single win was a measly $682, and the biggest single table loss was $300.

I hear all of the 2+2 Mafia lauding over the benefits of deep stack play. But, I love playing a very tight, splashy short stack game..

When short, I feel like i have a huge advantage over the loose passive regs at the local games. They always seem to be calling their draws with almost ZERO IO.

Am I leaving money on the table? Anyone else enjoy short?

My wife and I were buyers in 2009 when the market crashed. We have bought and held our properties, and enjoy being landlords.

Its not for everyone, but we don't have kids and enjoy collecting rent, fixing the houses, and trying to make our tenants happy.

The rates or return aren't what they were in 2009-2013, but there is still a nice income stream (+ capital gains) if you can get into the right home, and do a good job of placing the right tenant.

Flipping homes (to me at least) is like trading stocks. The only people making any money are the dealers and agents taking their percentage off the top.

If I recognize a donator, I'll buy in for an amount that will cover them.

If I don't recognize a a single player, I'll buy in for 100 BBs.

Most of the "2+2 Mafia" would probably do better by buying in shorter but it all depends on previous reads, dynamics, etc.

A lot on whether you should buy in bigger will depend on how good you and your opponents are post-flop. The bigger your edge, the more inclined you should be to buy in deeper.

Do you bounce after doubling through and rebuy short again or continue to play deep?