Hi guys, I am new to the twoplustwo community (although I have followed some interesting threads here in the past) and would live to seek some opinion on some of the doubts I currently have from other poker players.

I am a Singaporean who recently graduated from a decent university in London. I have been playing poker for the past 7 years, and would consider myself a semi professional as I have been playing in London to pay off my own living expenses for the past few years. I play mostly live cash games, ranging from £1/2 deepstack games to soft £5/10 games whenever they are available. Overall, I find myself pretty profitable, especially at the lower stakes, and would say that I am able to afford living a pretty comfortable lifestyle overall.

However, having graduated from university recently, I am now faced with the choice of finding a full time job or continue pursuing poker as a full-time career. My decision leans towards the latter for the following reasons:

Firstly, due to me playing poker during the summers, I did not do any internships during my entire university term time. As such, I lack the relevant experience required to land a high-paying job in the finance industry (I majored in Economics). Playing poker would definitely pay more than my any job that I can currently find.

Secondly, I have proven to be profitable over a large sample size in live cash games, and I take the game really seriously as well. I truly and honestly believe that excluding expenses (we will get to that later), I am a profitable player in the long run.

Lastly, I am the kind of person that hate mediocrity and rigid schedules. I detest the idea of being stuck in a 9-to-9 job where I have to deal with office politics and other similar nonsense. Playing poker allows me the freedom that I crave for my life. I am able to dictate my own grinding hours and take breaks whenever I want. I would also be able to travel around to play poker, which sounds like the dream. I know many regs at this point might comment that poker becomes a grind/ I would burn out eventually, but I feel that with a balanced lifestyle, I would be fine with putting in the required hours grinding and studying the game. Having been at it for quite this many years so far, my love for the game is still going strong. Besides, who says that live has to just be about poker?

Now on to the downsides:

One of my lesser concerns is that playing poker full time at my current stage of life could potentially affect my prospects in the future. For example, if things do not work out, the 1-2 year gap in my resume would look horrible to potential employees.

A bigger concern I have would be the expenses that comes along with being a full time TRAVELLING poker player. The poker scene in Singapore is dismal, being high rake structures for private games, and a 150 dollar entry levy to the local casino, where games aren't that good anyway. As such, I would have to be travelling to other countries to play, such as Manila, Vietnam, and Cambodia, or maybe play in private games in China. These costs adds up really quickly, and I am worried that my profits would take a huge hit because of these factors.

I am starting this thread because I hope to hear from poker players who have been in a similar situation, or who are currently travelling to play poker as well:

1. How would you rate your current lifestyle/happiness?
2. How much of a bankroll/liveroll do you need to actually minimize your risk of ruin?
3. What stakes do you have to play to ensure a minimum quality of life/ cover your expenses?
4. Accomodation is my biggest concern as it takes up the biggest proportion of my fixed costs. Do you think it is still profitable to travel and play if I don't rent a place long-term?

I would really appreciate any constructive input, so thank you in advance!

(P.S. I will be making a 7-day poker trip to Manila in the following week, and then onwards to Shanghai for some private games, so I plan to keep updating this thread on my progress!)

If you are determined to make a living out of LIVE cash game poker. IMO you need to get the idea of traveling around the world out of your head immediately. Especially if you are just starting out. You need to go somewhere like las vegas where you can get a consistent low rake game in close proximity to a place to live with low rent and grind that game until you have a sufficient bankroll/liferoll. By the looks of this question alone it doesnt look like you have either. I understand traveling the world sounds awesome but lets be honest it is not at all necessary neither is it helpfull in making money as a poker player unless you play high stakes mtt in which case i doubt you would need to ask this question. Pick a place. Stay there. Play poker. Save money. Reevaluate your life.

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Some perspective from the recreational/semi-pro side of things. I have been in finance (commodities trading) for the last 7 years after a mediocre few years as a poker pro after college. I have made mid-high 5 figures (this year more due to a wsop score) playing poker on the side that entire time. I would tell you this:

Your monetary upside in business is much higher compared to poker and you are more likely to succeed. You might think the money in poker is better than a job right now, but that potential income does not grow at the same rate. Also, a few years down the road when you are maybe looking to settle down, starting a family etc the instability of poker might not be so appealing.

Finance ends up being a meritocracy once you get your foot in the door, so the earlier you start the more time you have to catch up. That being said, taking six months to "travel" after graduation will not be the end of the world to a potential employer.

Poker is much more fun when you are not forced to play and are not depending on it to pay the bills. I still get to play plenty of poker, and you probably aren't missing the best games on a tuesday morning.

In the end, you should do what makes you happy. Im sure some others would say that the freedom and flexibility poker provides offsets the downsides. I personally enjoy my job and that helps to motivate me. If you find something you enjoy and work really hard at it, that is your best path to success, poker or otherwise.

Feel free to ask any questions, good luck!

live poker is dead everything above 2-5 nl is private get a private game or get out of poker

Hi Everyone,

Thanks for the constructive feedback, I really appreciate it!

I just finished a 6 day grind at Manila, playing 100/200php (roughly 2/4 USD)at the Okada. Games are decent, with zero competent regs on the table for the entire week I was there. However, the locals are really tight, and there aren't any spewy whales as well. Furthermore, rake is ridiculously high, at 10% capped at 4bb with a Badbeat jackpot. They even rake preflop 3bet pots!

Sad to report that I ended the week long grind being up only around 400USD. Was up over 2k USD before I got coolered for a 1500bb pot where a chinese fish decided to 4bet rip AK preflop into my kings and spike an ace on the turn

Currently in Shanghai grinding 1/2USD games without rake against rich chinese students. Games are very soft here, and things are currently going well, but I have yet to formulate a long-term life plan. Might be going back to London to grind the higher stakes for a few months as well, as I can stay with fellow poker players without rent which is pretty cool.

Thanks for the feedback. I agree that Las Vegas would be a good place to go and grind for abit and I will consider this option seriously.

Hi MountainsPLZ,

Thank you for the feedback. Commodities trading sounds really awesome! I've been applying to quite a few prop shops in Singapore, hopefully I will hear back from them soon.

Hi, I am a Singaporean grinder. Hope to link up and hopefully have a travel companion when the borders opens. Currently grinding online....