I should have added the caveat that the risk is dependent on your winrate.

A player who has a $42/hr winrate at 2/5nl does NOT have the same risk factors as a player whose winrate is $25/hr at 2/5nl...

The risk chart I whipped together for this thread was dependent on OP being towards the "above average" end of the spectrum in terms of winrate.

Also, we have to quantify and define what "risk" means. When I say, "Medium risk" that is a big deal. Yet, for some people, medium risk doesn't sound that bad. We need to define a context.

And the context I would use would be being homeless. So interpreting that into the chart I came up with and the chart would/should read...
If your bankroll is $4k then you have a very high probability of being homeless.

If your bankroll is $8k then there is a moderate risk of you being homeless.

If your bankroll is $14k then there is a low risk of you being homeless...

Put in that context, low risk doesn't sound all that good. Low risk??? I would rather have "no risk"!!!

And knowing that if we are at $13k we are only a few bad beats away from going from low risk to moderate risk!!!

However, all of this isn't to be confused with proper BRM and should definitely not serve as a substitute for BRM. The chart was moreso to just provide some perspective on how we should view our rolls. And again, the context is that of a winning poker player. I should also add it doesn't account for liferoll and living expenses. Its just about playing and beating the game.

And if you are a winning player, if you are at 20 BIs, your RoR should be fairly low....

I was strongly agreeing with him on game availability. At my local casino on Thursday there wasn't even a $3/5 NLHE game going until 6PM. Friday I played $3/5 NLHE at a 2nd table which didn't even open until 8PM.

Tonight the $3/5 NLHE peaked out at 2 tables - it's probably down to 1 table by now (1 AM). Meanwhile 2 hours south of here there are currently at 1AM - 10 $2/5 NLHE games going, 10 $1/2 NLHE games and 10 PLO tables according to Bravo - that alone is more games than our poker room has tables (20 tables).

For me it's no contest because I live 5 minutes from my local casino and it would cost $30 in tolls rountrip, but for someone in the NW suburbs of Chicago that would for some reason drive 1.5 hours to here (Milwaukee) instead of 1.5 hours to the Horseshoe Hammond (Gary, IN) is just insane.

we may end up crossing paths. If so, lets meet up for a beer. I played at Revel before they closed the poker room, loved that place. the terrace overlooking the ocean was the perfect place to take a break mid-session.

well, the more the better when it comes to bankroll. At this point I am just trying to reach a place where I can be confident that my ROR is very low.... I think $15,000 dedicated to poker is a solid start. I will be adding to that afterwards to build a very stable bankroll and hopefully never have to worry about it again.

I will hit up the Horseshoe on my next road trip, you'll have to make the drive down to meet up man!

good work man. My roll is a bit short because of a downswing I had at 2/5. I've been trying to grind it back at 1/2 but I've been thinking about just going back to 2/5 with my 12 buy-ins and just hoping for the best (obviously aborting the mission if I take another beating). The allure of 2/5 is just so great.

thanks man. I'd be playing 2/5 with $6k if you are OK with the associated risk. Here's a thread with some good discussion on it: http://forumserver.twoplustwo.com/17...kroll-1160302/

Just made $1842 profit in a 3.5 hour session.... Poker is awesome. Played well and made some hands. Felt very disciplined in playing an appropriately tight range and playing almost every pot in position. You Can't value playing in position and not calling with dominated hands enough. BR $11,900.

I was wondering what advice you guys can give me on how to best approach improving my game. This is an area I have been slacking off in lately, and I believe it is because I feel that I am getting diminishing returns from the classic strategy "read poker books, read 2+2, post hands." Any advice on how to approach this? Even links to articles and videos that might be thought provokingwould be useful.

Hanging out at the hotel room reading some philosophy and trying to find something to read about poker... Then back for another session tonight. Oh yea, ended up going home the last 2 nights, cut an extremely toxic relationship with my X gf out of my life, worked out, and told Brad that I would give him $100 if I ever smoke another cigarette. Going to start going to sleep at 3am and waking up at 10am every day consistently. Time for a paradigm shift in lifestyle!

Discuss hands with another thinking player. Not the standard live degen, but also not the exclusive online 6 max player either. Someones game that you respect that can give you some serious thoughts on other ways to play key hands. Key hands that are both winning AND losing hands. See how another thinking player approaches the live LLSNL game.

Coaches like Aseah on skype that are proven winning live players to critique not only your play but your mind set in the game as well

Cutting the "fat" out of your life is huge and hope you see improvements in your focus at the tables and other aspects. Should help you to stay feeling positive too.

Keep it up.

Hey man, I'm new to the forum but have been following your thread from the start. Congratulations on building your roll up, hopefully you keep playing well and running good! I'm kinda in the same boat as you, I recently graduated college with a degree in finance and have been working a 9-5 job for the past year, but have been miserable and I want to take a shot at poker. I'm from the Boston area and I have a couple good home games i play in and I try to make it down to Foxwoods as much as I can.. I'm trying to make a trip down to Foxwoods this weekend, if your around let me know! I'd love to bounce some ideas around about starting out a poker career. Most of my friends who play know are recreational players and it sucks because they don't have the passion for poker like I do and I'm trying to get more in the poker community!

Coaching is a serious consideration once I hit the goals in this thread, and have a small amount of discretionary spending money.

He sacrificed relationships and sophistication to live how he wanted, minimizing distractions in the name of a simple, unprecedented goal.

Thanks bro. You can build up a sick bankroll and savings from your 9/5 before you take a shot and vastly increase your chances of success. I'm going to do some partying for Halloween but I'll be around Foxwoods most days. Let me know when you come down and we can talk poker over some beers

Yea man that's what I'm planning on saving some money up and just trying to improve my game until i decide its time for me to make transition to full time poker.. Will def let you know when I'm heading down there... Also if your into home games, I play in a couple in Framingham where the actions is good and there's plenty of fish if your ever interested.. I usually go there if I don't feel like making the 2 hour trip to the Woods.

GL subbed

Only skimmed the last few posts but just keep a bit of money aside which will last you long enough to get a job, if you go busto then do that for a while on the side and you shouldn't have a problem with becoming homeless.

Great. what stakes and rake do you play at the home game?

Thanks m8. I'll save enough money for beer.

7 hour +$143 session. Ran dead, low action table. Reading a bit then back for a second 5 hour session.

I was at a table sat night where these guys were talking about a home game I'm Framingham. Also, I got a couple pretty good home games if your ever interested. 1 is a 1-3 and the other is 2-5 some nights with a half hr of NL Omaha which is crazy lol and the players are awful and half hr hold em. Both are pretty juicy.

Nothing against bostongrinder or the other guy but just in general it's probably smart to be a little weary of playing in random home games unless you are sure it's a safe/trustworthy place.

No worries I hear ya man. Just throwing it out there. Doesn't effect me either way lol

Yeah definitely wasn't suggesting you have bad intentions or anything, just mentioning it in case OP didn't think of the possible downsides to home games. I'm sure he's aware of the risks anyways.

I played in a couple home games in CT when I was at school so I didn't always have to make the 2hr trip to foxwoods. action was always much better and nothing shady at all from my multiple visits, but only 1/2 but with straddles and the uncap it played slightly bigger.

one was in Stratford and one in Shelton, but I think the Stratford one no longer runs from what I've heard.

There are 2 different games I play at Framingham.. One is with mostly older guys and its 3 days a week, Tuesdays and Thursdays are 1/2 with a 200-500 buy in and It's pretty legit have 2/5 300-800 buy in on Sunday.. It's pretty legit, the rake is like typical casino, I think its 5% 6 dollar max but I'm not sure. They even have a bad beat jackpot of Aces full over Jacks or better, which is at about 8k or so. The game is really soft though and there are only a couple decent players there.

The other game in Framingham runs 6 days a week (every day cept Tuesday) and is mostly 1/2 with a day of 2/5 on Thursdays. That was is a bit tougher though and it is a lot younger crowd for the most part.

I've been playing at them for about 6 months now.. Was a little sketched out at first. Meet one guy at Foxwoods and the other game was like a friend of a friend but they both turned out to be pretty good games. But I was definitely skeptical at first.

+$612 day. BR $12.5K. Closing in on 15, five buyins to go. Even though variance prevents us from accurately setting monetary goals, there is something to be said for doing it anyway. Live poker can become a huge grind, and you need every piece of inspiration you can get to put in the time and deal with the downswings.

Today was incredibly boring, I was card dead all day and not challenged with a difficult decision once. But I stuck through the hours and was able to add a little cash to the bank. Define your long term goals and ambitions, keep them on your mind, and use progress to inspire you through the mundane.

Bart Hanson's stuff is really good imo. He produces basically the only educational stuff related strictly to live play.

Live at the Bike is a show featuring 5-5 and 5-10 hands with hole card cams from a game at the Bike Casino. Bart takes this footage and gives commentary and analysis over it, pausing to explain his thinking. I find his analysis pretty good, but even if you muted it, just watching hole cam action from a bunch of typical low stakes droolers is a big time education into how these types think.

He has some free stuff on his site but the videos are a small subscription. His podcast, tons of which is free through the iOS podcast app has great content as well -- all focused on live play.

Subbed. Keep crushing!

Thanks!

I'm a big fan of his podcasts. IYO are the videos worth paying for? I'm also going to use the deuces cracked free trial soon and hole up to watch as many videos as possible in 7 days....it's going to be epic.

Booked a room at bellisimo for the next 2 nights... $35 when split with my friend is reasonable for a bed, shower, weight room, and quiet place away from Foxwoods. Room is pretty sweet.

ECgrinder,
How often are you taking breaks at the table for your long sessions?