this... plus, Target has small bottles of hand sanitizer for .99 cents. I buy ten at a time and keep them in my car -- that way I always have one to conveniently grab and take with me into the card room. I just keep it behind my stack and use it often (like every dealer change).

I used to come home with the sniffles every two weeks like clockwork, and really down-and-out sick once every couple months. Not any more.

I tell them I play poker for a living and show them my tax records. If you have money, it's no big deal.

Played for 6 years

2 years as sole income.

Beginner Tips:

Make sure you have a solid social life outside of poker. Loneliness crushes your game.

Make friends at the poker tables without letting it distract your game. Go in with a good attitude and chat it up with the players. Most of them are there to have a good time and if they're having a good time they'll play more hands. If they play more hands you'll make more money.

Pay your bills early but not so early that you dent your bankroll too much. Usually they say pay your bills 6 months in advance but that's unrealistic (Even Ivey slept under a bridge a few nights). Pay your debts but make sure you don't use all of your investment capital.

When you get that little voice in your head telling you to quit. Do it. Immediately.

If you have something better/more fun to do with your time spent playing poker do that instead. This isn't to say you should be lazy however, if you simply want to sit at home and watch TV don't be a fool, just show up and grind out something, you'll feel much better if you do.

Eat a clean diet and do some sort of exercise. If you don't take care of yourself, your game will weaken.

Find a community within the game and make sure they're not degens or at least make sure they're winning degens.

Get used to losing. If you can't handle losing large sums of money then you can't handle winning larger sums of money.

Always remember: Have ****ing fun

Wow, this was really good. Good job!

Here you go

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sgb91W2w4rI

also, take a look at the stickies at the top of this forum

http://forumserver.twoplustwo.com/17...llsnl-1168186/

http://forumserver.twoplustwo.com/17...-guide-902936/

we also have a bankroll management thread in the forum that will answer a lot of your "what can I expect when I turn pro?" questions

good luck

DGI, I know ur a badass, but I'm honestly not sure if this is a level... I've watched the first 10 minutes and still not sure. hahah. Honest question- Do you think this stuff is genuinely relevant still?

I've never read a Caro book, surprisingly cause I've read like 20 poker books. I have always been skeptical, but I respect ur opinion.

Thanks man! Will look into it!

I know, when I was first watching that video I thought it was fairly stupid, but the truth is, human behavior is human behavior, fish are still fish and have always been fish since the dawn of time...

so it still applies.

Yeah, it's cheezy but that video series has probably increased my winrate by 15% easy....

Mike Caro does know what he's talking about and if I see him in Vegas this WSOP I'm going to take a pic of me handing him a hundo to say thanks

In fact, I think I will try to start a new poker trend, that is, if you are a winning player and someone in poker has done something that has been instrumental in making you a better player, that you privately thank him (or her) by shipping him some monies he can rub on his titties

I need to think of a new name for this trend...

MTMR: mentor-titty money rub.

You're welcome.

Or develop an immune system, which is difficult if you never get exposed to germs.

Lol at washing your hands a gazillion times like you are somehow killing more bacteria.

100% agree. Dont over inflate the value of tells but a lot of these tells still do exist...especially if you play draw

seriously though the shrug bet = nutz you will see once a session.

You don't have to BEAT the market to profit from the market. Anyone interested in investing in stocks that doesn't know anything about the market should just start with a basic Roth-IRA investing in the S&P 500. Don't get fancy just max it out every year and you are ahead of 80% of the U.S. population.

I've heard the existence of this thread has helped reduce teen pregnancy. I that true??

Rub it forward?

^^Thanks to everyone in this thread. GREAT stuff in here. Really enjoying the different points of view and the brutal honesty.

Question: Do any of you guys travel to play cash strictly or mostly just home casinos? I live in CO and the games are a bit meh due to the $100 cap in betting. Looking at traveling twice a month to LA, LV, and some smaller casinos in the midwest. Anyone making this work?

Nice thread.. Very informative

seeking advice.. Ive decided to go back online to play for bankroll reasons.
I have only played live 3 or 4 times and the games are extremely soft here
In nor cal.. Ive noticed, especially in my last session my lack of control at the
Table. Its like I dont have control over my body. I say ive seen,the impossible
But also understand I lack experience. Im talking about bluffing the fishiest
Of fish for 3 streets on a fd flop.
Betting oop mw w tpnk then gii on turned 2p on fd board w the asain nit I didnt even kno was in the hand
..any insight? Type a addictive personality risk inclined not chatty unless
Convo has started

Also how not to flip my **** on omcs whem they have something smart to say
And dealers when they are rude and dont give you time to think.
I am a blk male 23 idk how im percieved in the poker rooms..

Start by asking one question at a time and making it easy to be understood

U pro bro?

Sincenter this thread was made we now have obamacare. Has this helped any of the pros here?

ruprobro?

I am exactly what you are describing. I used to work for a call center job which was horrible but paid decently. Work was tiring, u would talk for 8 hours a day nonstop on busy days. This is coming from a guy with no post-secondary completion, so its hard to land a "good" job. Finally found the quit button 1 year later. Only had less than 2k of cash with no debt. Decided to try live poker to maintain living. Mandatory bill was only phone bill, gas, food and every day expenses. It lasted for a good 3 months. I would play live 2-3 days a week. It went well until I lost couple buyins in a row & tilted money in pits. Then I had no choice but to hang on to last $800 and quit gambling until I found new job. Now I'm stuck making 2k a month at my dayjob while trying to dig time for part time poker. Losing 3 sessions in a row lately didn't help either, then again, I'm playing bad. I'm working on my game slowly but surely. Finding new points everyday to improve my game on the table. I really hope 1 day I get to sit at that table across from me and address myself as a reg at that max $1500 buyin 2/5 table. I dream of travelling the world while playing highstakes poker to make money every night.

I've been a pro since early 2011....I won an FTOPS, moved out to South Florida and within a couple of months....black Friday happened so I was left in a spot where I had quit a decent day job (have a college degree with some work on my masters), moved across the country, and had to change my plans to playing full time live (without receiving all my money off full tilt at the time).

I play predominantly 2/5 and occasionally 5/10....hourly rate has steadily grown over the years but stayed between $40-$60 per hour on a yearly basis. I've been able to play higher but have always stuck to stakes that I know I have a big edge at. My issue has always been the ability to get in the hours (typically get in 1200-1500 hours per year). I've learned to only play when I'm in a condition to play my A game meaning: I've got to the gym, in a positive mind frame, had adequate sleep, got my studying in for the day, and WANT to be at the poker room.

The conclusion I've come to at this point is this....poker is a game that I love and I'm good enough to beat consistently. I simply need more to my life though. After ruined relationships, going through a huge chunk of my bankroll from overspending/partying, drugs, crazy women, dealing with the emotional roller coaster day after day, depression (all occurred within first two years of playing...have calmed down dramatically now)....I really had some evaluating of my life to do. While a lot of these "life leaks" have nothing to do with poker...they still do in a way. Poker is simply a business if you want it to be a living and you have to treat it as such. Fast money and a lot of temptation is difficult for anyone...there's a right way and a wrong way to handle it simply. If I would've been at my old job and living this way....I would have been in REALLY big trouble though. In a game that I've always prided myself having such discipline in....simply wasn't true with my life outside the poker tables.

A year ago, I decided to get involved in real estate out here and get my license. I can't tell you how much more I enjoy my life now that I've taken a lot of emphasis off playing poker full time (not to mention I enjoy playing a lot more, making the same if not better money, and actually playing better IMO). I still play about 20-25 hours per week but spend mornings/the rest of my day focusing on other endeavors. I'll always be a poker player but at this point in my life (early 30's), I simply want more and expect more out of myself.

For those of you who want to give it a shot, it takes a lot of hard work on/off the tables. Poker is the same as the game of life....all you can do is simply make the best decisions possible and not worry about the things that are out of your control. In the end, to this day I DO NOT regret my decision to move across the country to play poker full time. Everyday is my own to do as I wish, I go to the beach on a daily basis, love both of my jobs, make good money, and each morning is full of possibilities...love the life I've created. Taken a lot of hits though and will continue to do so in the future....it's the way life works.

All-in-all....you have one life to live so get out there and make it original....do what you love and take some chances. Just be smart about it.

....and if you need a home in South Florida...hit me up

Tips:

1. Only play when you have the ability to play your "A" game.
2. If you'd rather be doing something else, go do that. Poker games aren't going anywhere anytime soon.
3. Stay away from the partying/drinking/drugs and stay disciplined about it.
4. Find a group of solid people both in and out of the poker room.
5. Get some exercise before each session.
6. Get sleep and some studying in everyday.
7. Realize that this is your life and your actions/choices will have consequences even if they don't become immediately apparent.
8. This is your dream...don't take it lightly and don't lose sight of your goals. Playing poker day after day can turn your life into a monotonous cycle with no end in sight.
9. Diversify and leave yourself some outs.
10. Strive to be a better person everyday...won't believe the impact and change it can bring about in your personal growth.
11. Realize....self preservation (keeping a bankroll/keeping sane) should always take precedence over instant gratification.
12. Live below your means...money should simply be a way of keeping score in poker.
13. Last but not least....women can be the biggest cripplers of bankrolls (and sanity)...choose wisely!!! Wrong one can be devastating.... LOL (right ones are a diamond in the rough though so be good to them if you find one)

just a few things that came to mind...