Just a general question out there to get some feed back.
if im starting out to play 1-2 live, which im pretty much gonna expect minimum wage income even if i am a winner.

Do you think its a good idea to get a part time job like at subway or something maybe 2 days a week for like 4-5 hours a day (i've worked at subway before and i know they have short shifts like that)

im properly rolled with additional living expense for 4-6 months, but im expecting to live pretty poorly since 1-2's not really gonna give someone the luxury to buy expensive things or eat like buffet everyday or wutever. and getting a job at subway i can get 50% off sandwich, which makes me food cost less and subway is a decent and healthy meal.

so my question is this... should i

1) find a subway-like job but that means i get two days out of the 7 days taken out, but with say 2 days of 4 hours shifts i can gather in extra 300$ a month + saving money on food to help with my expenses.

2) or if im gonna decide to go full time i should just forget working and just focus purely on poker since im taking this 6 months out to give it a shot. its smarter to just focus 100% on ur goal and not be distracted.

I realize this is more bout bankroll/ living kinda question so this may be in the wrong section, but i dont see another section that fits it, but i posted here cause im playing live. any feedback is appreciated (especially if anyone has actual experience with this) thanks in advance

Assuming you can beat the game for a decent clip my advice would be to have some other form of income even if its a part time job. It is near impossible to LIVE off of 1/2 winnings AND build a bankroll big enough to play higher which should be your goal, as just playing 1/2 to grind out 15-20/hr would be a pretty crappy existence, given that there is no health benefits no paid time off no retirement etc.

5, 5 dollar, 5 dollar foot long

Well if your expecting to grind out around $15/hr playing poker, I'm sure that's double what you would be making at subway, why not just play 8 extra hours of poker each week instead of going to subway?

I will give you my honest advice:

1. Don't listen to all of the haters or negative people who are always trying to shoot down your dreams.

2. If you truly do have 4-6 months of living expenses and poker bankroll saved up, then go for it. Just play poker full time for those 4-6 months and do not even worry about getting a side job. Give poker all that you got and see what happens.

3. Work on your poker game every single day. Learn from your mistakes and correct them. Don't just continue to play bad or even average. Read books, blogs, get coaching, watch training videos, listen to podcasts, and talk about hands with other players on a daily basis. If you want poker to be your profession then treat it like one. Get a poker education.

4. Work on your tilt. In the live games you are more liable to tilt much easier due to boredom and being card dead. Turn yourself into a tilt proof machine.

5. Work on your table manners and poker face. Don't let yourself turn into a player that is easy to read and easy to exploit. Try not to smile or talk to much when you hit a good flop. Be unreadable.

6. Don't let yourself get too concerned and wrapped up in the big overbets that opponents make in live games. To a weak player, huge bets can be very intimidating and scary. Don't fold your made hands so easily. Inject logic and learn how to read flops and determine outs and pot odds etc...

7. Most casinos have meal comps. You can eat that way. Don't worry about the Subway gig offering you half off deals. $5 footlongs are already cheap enough and if not then McDonalds always has the $1 menu

8. I am sick of people saying that $1/$2 players cannot make a living. What can be defined as 'making a living?' The average income in the US is around $35,000 a year. Let's break that down: 35 grand divided by 52 weeks in a year divided by working 5 days per week. That comes out to around $135 bucks per day when working a 5 day workweek schedule. If you played $1/$2 5 days a week, do you seriously think that you will NOT be able to at least double up your $200 buy in at least once per day? IF all you were aiming to do was buy in for $200 and then leave as soon as you doubled, your annual income would be $52,000. Once you do the math it becomes a lot more feasible. Don't listen to the haters.

Peace out and good luck,
Trav

I disagree with Trav. Sure, you can double up at least once/day. You can also double someone else up a few times/day if you have a bad run. So, to say you should win a minimum of $200/day every day is a bit absurd. I'm not saying it can't be done, I'm just saying that variance will require you to win $400-500/day to offset the days when you run badly (or play badly).

Next, talk to your casino brush (not the manager -- his job is to keep profits) and ask how they comp meals, how long you need to play, etc. Where *I* play, the rule of thumb is 3 hours per comped meal. The poker room comps the meal and doesn't take it from your reward points -- however, the poker room down the street will use your reward points FIRST and only when you don't have any remaining will they comp the meal out of the poker room funds.

I tend to play about 6-9 days per month. I get my room comped by my rewards card (not points, just my level of play) usually, and I eat free the entire time I'm there. Make no mistake -- I got there to play poker and I play while I'm there. They know me and don't bat an eyelash when I ask for a comp. I play 1/3 NL, so it's not like I'm some big-time player or anything. The poker room is just good to me.

Meal comps after only 3 hours is a dream. I have to log 8 hours before I can get a meal. Room comps don't even exist at my casino.

If you put in the volume you can do it. Look to play 8+ hours a day.

I can see both sides here, but what I dont understand is why is there only two options, 1-2NL or subway? I think to better respond to the question, more information is needed. I key question is: Whats your long-term goal? Are you going to work at subway for the rest of your life? Are you trying to play poker as a pro? Have you considered getting an education while playing poker?

If you don't know whether your hourly rate at playing 1/2 is greater than the hourly rate at working a Subway-like job, then I question whether you're ready to play poker full-time.

What are your results? What makes you think you can play full time?
Sorry if this sounds a bit aggressive, but you shouldn't play full time unless you're beating the game consistently. In other words, you should be one of the best players in the room...

most players are losing players.

I'm not even talking about making $2/hr. A $2/hr player is a winning player. Most people lose. Just keep this in mind. If you crush the game, then nevermind.

Good luck!

This.

As long as you treat poker like a true profession, playin 8 hours a day, 5 days per week, and workin on improving your game (coaching sites, books, forum discussions) you will make it.

If you can grind out $15/hr then you"ll be making a little over $2k a month, hopefully that will be enough to cover living expenses and add to your bankroll so you can reach 2/5

Good luck brother

Two things to keep in mind.

First, grinding poker day in, day out is more difficult than you think before you do it. The down side of playing tilt free poker is that it quickly becomes boring. You've seen everything and had every situation come up. To compensate, players blow money on hookers, blow and craps to make things exciting for them. Of course, all of these cost players money and eat into their winrate.

You have to put the hours in. Nobody cares if you don't show up at the tables unless you're a losing player. If you're a winner, they're happy you're not there. Therefore you have to have the will to play even when you don't "feel like it." You'll be working when everyone else is having fun. Not many people have that kind of will power.

The result is that even if you are in the minority of those who are winners, the lifestyle chases out many of the rest. The reality is that while you'll do everything to succeed, you're likely to fail long term. There are lots of threads with players asking how do they cover up in a resume that they played poker full time. Therefore, I think it is a great idea to work 8-10 hours/wk at Subway. If things don't work out, you merely point out you were working at Subway. Everyone knows it is a part time job, so a future employer isn't expecting to see full time. It will give you a break from poker that will be more refreshing over time as you keep touch with the real world. It will also give some cash to buy ramen noodles at worst. It won't interfere with poker playing since you can work during the week, leaving your nights and weekends free. As for time, it just isn't that much.

I made a little adjustment to your statement above.

To think that someone who plays 8 hours a day and really works on their game will absolutely be successful is foolish, to say the very least. How many people out there do you think tried to become pro poker players and did EXACTLY that and went busto? I'll give you the answer : most of them.

What amazes me is that someone is even considering living a life where they have to decide on working at subway or not. I just don't understand. Why don't you put 8 hours a day/5 days a week for 4 years into schoolwork and ensure a decent life instead of talking about working in a fast-food restaraunt for 5 bucks an hour?

Wow.

Poker or Subway? It's a question we all face... and, goshdarnit, someday I hope to find the answer.

Oh sure...goto a 4 year college and graduate with a lifetime of LOANS that you have to pay back while driving a yaris to your boring cubicle job everyday. That is truly the American dream.

Royal,

My advice is to stay at Subway and see if the casino will hire you as a prop player. Grind both of these building your bankroll and getting the experience. Once you have a great poker knowledge, play some local tourneys(gains experience no risk to bankroll), and when you feel you can destroy 2-5 and 5-10................Leave subway


Slow down....the economy is hard and fish have no money............

Speaking from a player who has his sole income from grinding 1/2 I have mixed emotions about it. This year I am making $17.60 an hour. Problem is that I have expenses that are crazy so its very very hard to ever get a chance to go to 2/5. My bankroll takes a hit almost every month. A large part of the reason it takes a hit is because I go to school fulltime.

OP, a lot of the people in this thread have given you good advice. Some people are for it, and others are against it. Coming from someone who plays for his income until I graduate univeristy, I can see both sides of the coin. If you ONLY play 1/2 as your sole source of income, the odds will be against you to ever move up. If you are a small winner though you will drown in the dust.

If you get the job part time at some place like subway, even if its 12 hours a week, you will have a much higher chance of succeding/making REAL money at 2/5. Let's face it, its going to be tough to move up stakes when you are grinding ur ass off at 1/2 because of living expenses. Working 12 hours a week even at $8/hour will keep you afloat in a downswing and keep gas in your tank. That way you dont have to take a lot of ur roll our for expenses, and being able to grow your roll will be way easier so you can move up to 2/5.

There is so so so much more than what goes beneath the surface when playing poker for a living. Here are some miscelaneous, random thoughts and tips that I will give to you in no specific order that you need to do to be successful:

1) Make sure you exercise. Purchase a gym membership
2) Post hands on 2p2, watch videos from Bart Hanson.
3) Skype hands with some of the 2p2ers on this site.
4) Make sure you get good rest.
5) Live a balanced life. Make sure you go out with friends.
6) Be a nit with expenses. Don't spend/splurge your winnings away.
7) Don't get too high on an upswing and low on a downswing.
8) never be results oriented
9) Be truley upset when you win a big pot and misplayed a hand/got lucky. Be mad when you win the pot but miss max value.
10) Be happy when you loose when you played the hand the right way. Be happy when villain sucks out on you and you loose your stack, so long as you played the hand the right way.
11) Leave the game asap when you are on your C game. This is the biggest hit to your br.
12) Walk away when you are steaming
13) Soak all the good information you learn like a spunge.
14) Always have a 4k+ bankroll. This way you never worry about not taking up a small edge that you need to take.
15) Eat Healthy. Subway isnt really healthy

If you want to discuss further, you can PM me. I also have skype. Goodluck man.

IMO you should try to do something else part-time if possible. There are several advantages:

1) Somewhat steady income in case you have a horrible month (which will happen eventually)
2) A few days of normal hours where you can hang with normal people (instead of casino degenerates like me hehe)
3) Depending on where you work, you may be able to get for some kind of benefits. Probably unlikely, but anything you can get would be really helpful.
4) Something to put on your resume if you fail
5) Forces yourself to take time off of poker to reflect, which is really good.

Also, all of the stuff that Pay4MySchool said is really useful. I agree with all of that.

+1 bolded

OP work your job, there is nothing like a guaranteed check every week or other week. With no online poker its really a waste of time to not have a job playing low stakes live. I hate not having a job, but the economy is to hard to find a steady one. I sit around all day, have no schedule. I feel like im wasting valuable time. Good luck in your quest, if you have the ability to work long hours at the table and away from the table. You should do fine, those qualities alone is less then 5% of all live poker players. Life will be much easier when online poker comes back.

+1

This is simply stupid. If you believe everyone who goes to college gets a job they hate working in a cubicle and drives a Yaris, you are ignorant.

It's a sentiment that keeps coming up over and over again, and it's flat out WRONG.

If you're stuck in a job doing something you absolutely hate then somehow I think you made wrong decisions somewhere.

I went to college and I sure as hell don't sit in a cubicle, drive a Yaris, or am unhappy. Not in the least bit. I also wouldn't trade my life to be a 1/2 poker player asking on the internet if I should keep my job at Subway, and if you think that's a lie something is seriously wrong with you.

My dog has spent the last five minutes trying to jump on the table to get some leftover pasta. Her plan makes more sense than yours.

Ever heard the phrase, "tongue in cheek?"