Hello 2p2... I desperately need your help. My name is Brandon, i am 19 years old. I have about 4,000 saved up and that's all the money i have.... i am living with my friends in WA, i can't grind NL or any sort of poker for a living in this state, i need some suggestions on what to do... i quit my minimum wage job, and ONLY want to play poker, it's all i think about it, it's my dream to play live for a living.

i need your help, give me some suggestions, what the hell do i do from here, i am scared but excited to start. i know 4k is thin, that's all i have BR+living expenses, i might be able to get another 3-400 from some items i am selling so let's just say 4.5k

if you had 4.5k and wanted to make a living off poker what would you do in my situation. ty all serious suggestions are much appreciated.

I have no ties, i can go anywhere i'd like too, but this is my only shot.

I dont have a credit card, so hotels are pretty much out of the question....

Uhhh,,, first off. This is a terrible idea. Living off casino food and in dirty motels is an awfu l idea. With a 4.5k bankroll you don' have much of an option.

I heard florida is the best place to grind from a few people and it's a nice place to live. I guess you could go there, you have a good working car, right?

Well if so and you're really committed, i'd download a thousand poker books on your laptop, drive down to florida (-$200 in gas monies? Just a guess) then play poker and live out of your car until you have $5k. Then find a place to live on craigslist so you have a place to shower and sleep. So after that just study poker and play. However a 4k bankroll + liferoll is awful. 4k bankroll is probably good enough of a roll for 1/2 unless youre insanely unlucky or a bad player. However if that's a liferoll to you're in not a good shape. Are you living at home right now? If work 2 jobs for 80 hours a week and save up 10k and read more books and every post on 2+2 Live low limit.


I'm trying to do the same as you right now, but I have a 3k bankroll and a 3k liferoll for food + rent + college expenses and i feel that even THIS isn't enough.

If you get sick, get into an accident, get mugged or basically life variance happens you're screwed.

look i know it's not optimal, i know that... but this is my dream... i quit my day job 3 days ago, and have felt better about my life than i ever have, working a 9-5 making minimum wage makes me want to kill myself, poker is my dream..... this is my shot... i must make the best of it.. i have a good working car, but i'm kind of scared to drive across the country by myself, whne the most i've driven at one time is a couple hours.

good for you man, yeah i agree 10k-15k would probably be best, but like i said i have 4k-4.5k and i must make the best of what i have...

then if something like that happens, i guess it just wasnt meant to bee........

craigslist is a good idea ty

Very well put...
First thing I would do is get you an emergency fund and leave it with someone you trust(parent/brother/sister) for any true emergency you might have. This will allow you and still have a peace of mind knowing if you go broke you can still go home.

With that being said I would by all means pursue this when you have the poker bankroll to do it. That way when you are older you can always have the memories and say that at least you tried for your dream.

Just my opinion...

i agree, this would be my safe haven.. back up, i can always go live with my parents if i go busto... plan B would be taking out a student loan and going to college. it's not like i'm all in. this is just my 1 shot at my dream, and if i fail i'm done with it and moving on.. but i want to put my 100% into trying for my dream now.

Poker variance will make you want to kill yourself more imo.

how can you say that without knowing any of my experiences... i disagree.... i think that i can tough it out and pull through.. i just need to devise a plan......

i guess ill be the first person to support you. go for it man! if its really all you want to do then go for it. you should definitely read mike wolfs thread (insanepoker7 or something). that **** will make you want to take the poker world by storm. also is the age to play poker in florida 18+?

THANK YOU BRO, god bless... i have skimmed through that before, that is awesome, absolute awesome.... i think poker in florida is 18+ ****ty part is that it's on the ohter side of the country ahaha.... but definitely the best place for me to go..... atm

Hi OP, I've been in the same situation as you and my only advice to you is don't give up, make the best decisions that you can but keep going no matter what happens with variance. It's easy to bust a 4k roll playing live and living from the money but all you can do is try your best if that's what you really want to do. Try to learn as much as you can.

Be as tight with your money as you can outside of the game I know it's really easy to spend a little here and there but that is a pretty big leak when you're trying to make it.

goodluck and have fun!!

^ Your getting good advice, its doable w a 4k roll But with living expenses it will be very tight. SO spend wisely and be prepared with a back up plan. But It will be a great life lesson. I say go for it GL at the tables. Plz read insanepoker7 thread it will help you

yeah you can live very cheaply, maybe you could find some area where they have indian casinos cuz theyre 18+...im thinking like oklahoma or something? is choctaw 18+?

Craigslist.
Go to hollywood florida.
That is your best bet I think (assuming I can't talk you out of this?)

I dont have any realistic advice but im interested in your journey.

It seems like your in a somewhat "bad" situation to take this shot but in my opinion looking back in history some of the greatest or craziest things people achieved is people in situations that are super tight and "failure is not an option"

Having almost no fallback makes you try alot harder to get **** done. If your able to do it, your going to do it GL

Follow your dream bro, you will never look back on that and regret it. You are still young enough that this isn't your last shot at making something of yourself. People may think that "failure is not an option," but failure is always an option because that will mean you at least tried. If you do not try then you will never know, and that will be what you look back on and regret.

You can read a little bit about my own story in a PG&C thread I just created today. I chose to follow my dream, actually succeeded, then chose to resume the path I was previously on. Best times of my life was traveling, living out of suitcases, eating casino food for free, sleeping in less than ideal motels, and just doing what I loved to do. No regrets there and neither should you whether you fail or not. Only regret I have is not keeping some money intact to get right back to the grind when I finished college.

Ideas for living cheap:
-Never spend money unless you have to(try and get everything comped if you can: food, rooms, parking, etc)
-Find cheapest lodging and if they are super expensive on weekends then sleep in your car every weekend until you can afford it
-Walk everywhere unless impossible or unsafe
-Find other grinders that seem trustworthy and room with them
-Always check regularly for any kind of promotion you can take advantage of(bonus rewards month, freerolls, vip levels, etc)
-You could always get a p/t job also around wherever you decide to grind

Hopefully you will start the grind off right with some positive variance and a huge upswing, then never look back.

If you can get to South Florida, do it. It is seriously a goldmine. Maybe even message Mike (insanepoker) and try to get some tips advice on the best way to go about it. While it may not be the best choice in life, you only live once and you will never know would could have been if this is truly a dream/vision if yours. Go for it! Best of luck and make sure to post updates.

Choctaw is 18+ haha. This and winstar is where im grinding at.

Well OP if you end up coming to Oklahoma message me and we can destroy the 1/2 game.

There's other options than working 9-5 while playing poker you should investigate. I scored in the top 1% on the SATS and have been meaning to tutor other students. I know friends that do this and make $25/hr but the max you can do this for is about 4 hours a week. Some of my other friends tutor for computer science classes for $15/hr, etc.

Anyways, just consider some atypical jobs that you can do for some spending cash.

casinos are 18+ in florida? and by southern florida i guess you mean miami/hollywood?

POKER is 18+ in florida, drinking and the rest of the casino are still off limits to you

Choctaw and Winstar in Oklahoma are both 18+ casino's. Also, the cost of living is low in Oklahoma, and both casino's are close to Texas if that is your thing.

I would try and grind in a place where friends are close by if that is an option at all. This way you sort of have a fallback plan of sorts and could maybe split some rent money or something.

Good luck on your journey.

With so little money, even the cheapest motels would be pricey. Ideally you could find friend/family/friend of family to stay with. If not, then you really need to find a roommate situation close to whichever casino you choose to grind at (preferably with all bills paid). I find all my roommates on craigslist, and obviously you need to be cautious meeting random people off the internet but I have had a ton of success with it (dozens of roommates over many years).

BTW, what experience do you have playing poker? Can you beat 1/2? Have you beaten any stakes online?

The only realistic places you can play OP are Tampa, Florida and South Florida/Miami area. I would recommend Tampa and here's what I'd recommend. Around the Tampa area there are several colleges and universities where you would be able to find a cheap sublet or shared apartment on Craigslist. If you shop around you can probably find a temporary living situation for about 3 months. Take 1,200-1,500 of your roll and pay up front cash for a 3 month living arrangement.

This will leave you about 3k to play and give you the comfort of knowing you at least have a roof over your head. Just grind, grind, grind for 3 months and see if you still have the heart for it after. Keep your diet cheap and healthy with a lot of fruits, vegetables, and PB&J sandwiches. If you succeed in building a roll go from there. If not, you at least gave an honest effort and know what it takes to play poker full time if you want to take another shot in the future.

Best of luck.

--Dizzle

Try to get an arrangement where you don't sign a longterm contract, preferrably a month to month. Preferably all bills paid. You want to keep it as cheap as possible and put as little down upfront as possible (preferably no deposit). I've never required a roommate pay 3 months up front, and I see no reason that you should do so.

I read that some of the casinos in Washington are 18+....why can you not grind there? Not enough action?