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Taking MY shot at going "pro" Taking MY shot at going "pro"

02-23-2011 , 03:40 AM
First my background:

Im 26 years old, live in NJ. Im about an hour and a half away from Philly and AC. I just got laid off from my job yesterday ( knew it was coming and have been preparing for it for almost 2 months ) In the last month, I have been seriously deciding on whether or not I should take my shot, or go find another job. Well last week after a few interviews and not getting any potential positions I was hoping to land, Ive decided its my turn to go ahead and take my shot.

My Bankroll right now is sustainable for 1/2, and thats where I plan on starting. Eventually I will move up in stakes when I feel the time is right. I have to add that I do have 8 months worth of bills and expenses saved up and I have 2500 banked for emergencies. Honestly, I dont plan on staying "pro" for very long. I used to grind 1/2 and 2/5 back in 2006-07 and I made some decent money, but I got tired of the lifestyle, so I went and got a job. I believe that I have a position lined up for myself with a career that I want to follow, but that isnt going to be for a few months. So with that said, Im not trying to be a balla, im not trying to win 6 figures, Im simply trying to pass the time and win some money, so that the 8 months worth of money i have saved away can stay there. Today was my first day, heres a TR.

DAY 1 - So I woke up this morning, refreshed, knowing that this is going to be the day I am my own boss, I made my own decisions. Got into my car at 8:30 and arrived at Harrahs front door at 9:50. I parked the car and headed into the casino and headed straight to the poker room. Its been a while since I have been to Atlantic City on a weekday morning. I forgot how dead it can be. There were only 2 tables going. One 1/2 and a 2/4 limit table going. I put my name on the list for 1/2 and stood at the rail for a while before I decided to leave because it didnt look like there were going to be any seats for a while.

So I jumped back in the car and headed over to Ceasars. (Before I get flamed for not going to taj or borgata, I play mainly at Harrahs properties because the comps are so much better) I decided that before I sat down I was going to eat so I went up to Ballys and ate at Six Bistro. 7.77 steak and eggs, cant beat it. I decided to head on into the room and see what was going on. There was 1 game going LOL. It was a 1/3 but it had a TON of money on the table. There were 3 stacks of 1k+. I put my name on the list and decided this would be the game to wait for. They started a new 2/4 limit game so I sat down to kill some time, I lost 26 dollars while waiting, all thanks to my AK being cracked after flopping three Aces by QQ to runner runner flush.

They call a new 1/3 game, i sit down, hoping to finally land a seat at the big game. Only really two hands worth noting here. I hit a set of 8's on the turn against Aces against a decent player, only really got what I thought was max value from him, probably would have stacked any of the other 7 players at the table. Also made a straight on the turn against a loose older asain guy, he paid me off.

Results: 5.75 hrs / + 304

Thanks for reading.
Taking MY shot at going "pro" Quote
02-23-2011 , 03:46 AM
Drive time going to kill your hourly imo. If you are going to try to play live for a living, I would seriously recommend staying at the location you are playing at, can probably get a screaming good deal on a room as well.
Taking MY shot at going "pro" Quote
02-23-2011 , 03:50 AM
Quote:
Originally Posted by BAEVentures
Drive time going to kill your hourly imo. If you are going to try to play live for a living, I would seriously recommend staying at the location you are playing at, can probably get a screaming good deal on a room as well.
Yeah, this was definitely brought to my attention while I was talking to some friends last week. I should have mentioned that I only have to be home 2 nights a week for some prior engagements. I will most likely spend 3 days in AC a week, and then probably drive to Sands or Chester 2 days a week ( both are only 1 hour from my house )
Taking MY shot at going "pro" Quote
02-23-2011 , 08:42 AM
hey pockets gl with your new start, should try going to the taj or the borgata always games games there, would be able to table select at least
Taking MY shot at going "pro" Quote
02-23-2011 , 10:25 AM
Thanks Skyfyre, the only problem that I find with the Borgata and the Taj are that I dont get enough free rooms, with al of the Harrahs properties, they are literally throwing everything at me, good comps, rooms...even on weekends. I should re evaluate playing those two locations. Today Im going to be grinding at Chester, have to be home later on tonight. Then Im heading off for AC tomorrow until Sunday. Updates to follow.
Taking MY shot at going "pro" Quote
02-23-2011 , 02:09 PM
Quote:
Originally Posted by pocket300
Thanks Skyfyre, the only problem that I find with the Borgata and the Taj are that I dont get enough free rooms, with al of the Harrahs properties, they are literally throwing everything at me, good comps, rooms...even on weekends. I should re evaluate playing those two locations. Today Im going to be grinding at Chester, have to be home later on tonight. Then Im heading off for AC tomorrow until Sunday. Updates to follow.
Just wanted to give you my 2 cents, Take it how you want it.

I was in a similar situation as you, was doing seasonal work and playing cards, one season I just decided to only play cards. I wasn't rolled right in that I didn't have the money to not worry about bills and food and stuff for an extended amount of time. Anyway, it started off great, my motivation was high and I was into it. But as the weeks and months dragged on the ups and downs got to me and I got super depressed and had to stop and find a more stable job.

I don't see what your trying to do as sustainable because of the distance you have to commute to play. I don't know how you plan on staying in AC but if your at a casino its going to eat at your hourly, and if its in your car, its going to eat at you physically.

If you really do have this other career position coming up in a few months then you can really just enjoy this time and do what you want, and you will not have any problems. But if you want to sustain the grind, (especially at such a low game) you need to move closer. The average hourly at 1/2 or 1/3 is very low for even the best players, and it will just make the distance so much worse.
Taking MY shot at going "pro" Quote
02-23-2011 , 03:30 PM
I live 2 hours away from ac, and when I drive down there as soon as I sit down on the table im allready tired from the drive.. I go down there once every 2-3 weeks and play 2/5 @ the B.

Like White_lytning said." I don't know how you plan on staying in AC but if your at a casino its going to eat at your hourly, and if its in your car, its going to eat at you physically."

So heres the breakdown and #'s: If your really looking to go pro you might want to go down there for 3-4 days a week in a row even if you have to pay the $39 dollars a night poker rate.
Your commutting 1.5 hours each way, thats about 90 miles X2(round trip)= 180 miles, $3 a gallon gas, plus the 5 tolls each way x2@ $1= $10 is about $40 in gas and tolls alone each day.
So its about the same, plus you will cut 3 hours of driving time off each day!

Last edited by x18robbase; 02-23-2011 at 03:35 PM.
Taking MY shot at going "pro" Quote
02-24-2011 , 04:38 AM
So it seems like Ive got some run good in my back pocket. I hit the road this morning with intentions on gonig to Chester, but since I had to be home tonight, I decided on going to the Sands instead. My 9 hour session was at two different tables, broken up by a lunch break.

Table 1: After only a 5 minute wait I was seated at a 1/2 game. When I first sat down, there were 3 people with stacks over 500, 3 people with 100-200 and then 2 shorties. After one orbit, I saw how wild this table was going to be. 5 or 6 people seeing every flop, whether it was limped or raised, and no, it didnt matter what the amount was either. It didnt take long for me to get into the action. One orbit in, I pick up two black 4's. We see a flop 5 ways after the BB made it 18 to go. I flop a set, crack aces and double up. Good start. I pick up a few decent size pots when some spewtard starts by playing aggressive but then it turns into pure tilt. The other big pot I picked up was against him when my AK of hearts made a flush on the river and he paid me off. After that hand, I couldnt pick up a hand for about an hour so I decided to rack up +587 and take a dinner break.

Now I havent been to sands in a few months and I was pleasantly surprised to find almost 80 dollars in comps in my account. Free food, even better.

The second table wasnt much action, i bought in full for 300 and won some smaller pots to build my stack to around 420 when this hand happened. I am in the BB and I am dealt KK. An older guy who hasnt played a hand in an hour raises it to 15. Now Im thinking to myself great, he has to have Aces, I havent seen this guy play but maybe 2 hands the whole time ive been sitting at this table. I repop it to 45 to try and isolate and get it heads up. It worked and we see a flop of K Q 4 rainbow. Perfect, I hope this guy stacks off his aces to me. I lead out for 40, and he insta raises me all in, I snap call and he shows QQ....oops...I scoop the 800+ pot. I stick around for a few more orbits and lose a small pot when my flopped straight loses to runner runner flush, then decide its time to head home.

Total for the day: 9 hours / + 1087
Taking MY shot at going "pro" Quote
02-24-2011 , 04:41 AM
Good luck with this. I grind Chester nearly every day, so I'll probably see you at the tables at some point.
Taking MY shot at going "pro" Quote
02-25-2011 , 03:05 PM
About 20 minutes away from AC, staying here all weekend...I plan on grinding all weekend, probably going to put in a good 25-30 hours this weekend. Hopefully I continue to run good. Will update later tonight
Taking MY shot at going "pro" Quote
02-25-2011 , 03:21 PM
Sick life. Live poker is so soft/fun. GL sir!
Taking MY shot at going "pro" Quote
02-28-2011 , 01:31 AM
Sorry for the delay if anyone is actually following this thread (which i dont think anyone is lol) haha but thats okay, this is for me to keep me motivated and to share my story...

So Friday I put in a little under 9 hours at Ballys in the 1/3 game. I was pretty card dead for most of the day, played at 3 different tables. I made a few moves, got caught running an open ended straight draw bluff when i barrelled on all 3 streets only to have this guy call me the entire way with an under pair and hit his set on the river. I cracked Aces (seemed to be my way of winning decent sized pots this week) with a flopped flush. Fridays numbers 8.75 hours + 403

When I woke up on Saturday morning, I was feeling a little under the weather. I was really hoping it was just because I didnt get enough sleep and I was hungry. Not the case as I later found out. I headed over to Borgata for the morning, ate a small but delicious breakfast at Bread and Butter and headed into the poker room. I sat down at a 1/2 game where the average age was probably 60 years old, no other seats were open, fantastic. The game was bad, and i wasnt really focused, my head was pounding, i only played for about 2 hours, didnt pick up any hands, cant move the 60 year old guys off a hand once you see the flop, and god forbid you raise preflop, they hiss at you like its a 2/4 limit game. As the time went on, i felt worse and worse and decided to pick up when I couldnt even remember the hand i had just thrown in the muck, headed back over to the room and went back to sleep and didnt wake up until about 9 pm and felt even worse than before. I decided I was going to call it a weekend and head home to recover from whatever this cold is that I have.

Saturday: 2 Hours -13

Im still sick, dont think Ill be heading out tomorrow to play, which sucks, I had a great first week, was running good and was making good decisions and playing on top of my game.
Taking MY shot at going "pro" Quote
02-28-2011 , 01:48 AM
Hey man interesting thread,
Sucks to hear about the cold cuz you were running pretty hot, hopefully its just a 24hr thing

will follow!
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02-28-2011 , 04:18 AM
I'm following this man interesting read so far. Gl
Taking MY shot at going "pro" Quote
02-28-2011 , 06:19 AM
Hey just read r thread & really enjoyed it. Not being from America i really enjoy hearing about the rooms , comps etc.

Maybe you could keep a running total also.

Best of luck on the tables ; look forward to reading your adventures.

Regards 5cent
Taking MY shot at going "pro" Quote
02-28-2011 , 11:03 AM
good luck
Taking MY shot at going "pro" Quote
02-28-2011 , 12:52 PM
Thanks for the confidence guys. Looking back on the week, it was short, I didnt play many hours and I know that my winrate is seriously over inflated. Im actually feeling much better today and Im headed back down to AC tonight until Wednesday, then Im going to grind PA rooms for the rest of the week.

So after my first week I really have to say I'm not surprised at how live poker is so ridiculously soft. A few friends that are trying to keep me focused were talking strategy with me yesterday. I have to say that in 1/2 NL, ABC poker is just the way to go. When i played full time a few years ago, the players were bad, 4 years later, its still the same. Betting patterns are so easy to pick up on. Live 1/2 players have no idea about position, pot odds, etc. Its true, they only play their own hole cards and dont seem to worry about "what the other guy has".

Today is going to be full of rest and relaxation, laundry, and the gym. Back to the grind tonight....cant wait to hit the tables again.
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03-06-2011 , 12:00 AM
Quote:
I have to say that in 1/2 NL, ABC poker is just the way to go.
I've played at Harrahs AC almost exclusively for the past 3 years and couldn't agree more. In fact I used to do much better up till about 1.5 years ago when I started to notice my win rate seriously drop off and I have come to feel that it's a result of me getting too creative at the 1/2 tables where generally ABC is the best play. Sounds like you have enough discipline to not play level 4 poker when level 1 is called for lol wish you the best!
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