I’m 31 years old. I live in a van. I have around 200€ to my name. And I will try to make a fortune playing Spin and Go’s.

Well, this is not entirely true. The first three parts are. It’s also true that I work as a bike messenger in South of France and have been told they will cut me off from that in two weeks time. I will have basically no money to my name. But I’ll be fine, for as long as I’ve stood on my own it’s always been the same story: I have just about enough to get by. None the less, none the more. Always. I don’t know what options will present themselves but I’m sure something will come up.

Something is telling me to try and spin up the 50€ I have at pokerstars .fr. Play Spin and Go’s Max. I’ve been running insanely hot on the 1€ games, ran it up from 15€ to close to a hundred before one day of shot taking at the tourneys and lost half the roll plaing satelites.

I should be out biking tonight to try and make as much as I can before I can no longer work. But I only got hold of three hours tonight, and it barely feels worth to drive my van (am sitting in it writing this) to a parking, take out my bike, and get going for 30-40€. Actually that’s not the entire story. I am sitting on a parking lot to a mall and am connected to the app at the moment of writing. I am guaranteed 10€ an hour aslong as I accept all orders coming in. So the responsible adult I am I will get to work if an order does come in. Knock on wood, I hope it doesn’t.

This is a lot of rambling, maybe. Believe me, I wrote a longer one that I deleted first. Anyhow, I do believe there was a point somewhere in this.. oh yes, I will take either entire nights and try to spin that money up, or just hours here and there. But I want to keep myself acountable and therefor am posting this challenge here. I hope this will inspire me to take the moments I put into this seriously. I’m talking in the sense of, when I do play, that I fire up multiple tables and try to stay focused, not as in a means to waste a moment here and there. Also, that I hold myself acountable and don’t blast it off on tournaments in a panicked try to get the money I so desperately need. And that I stick to the bankoll management guidelines I have set up.

Obviously the way to longterm success is longterm thinking. Not to try and make a few bucks in the short term. But this seems like a fun way to go about though.

Cheers to a thread that will most likely die out before it has even seen its’ second post.

Ps. I am jonasandthevan on Youtube

Good luck! I am 32 and also living in a van in Los Angeles and trying to gamble it up at the local casino. Poker is a lot of luck so I would look for another job with only a couple hundred euros.

gl bro, im not living in a van but im trying to make it too, best of luck

Good luck bro, im not living in a van but have come close a few times

Thanks for all the replies guys, was expecting a bunch of trolls so it's a nice surprise haha

It was my dream for a long time actually, and I absolutely love it. Have a super nice van with all the comforts I could ask for, like heating system, solars, electrical tap, several outlets, two gas stoves, fridge (althought I've taken it out).. it's pretty much my dream van. I hate being an apt- or house-dweller myself haha.

Glgl

Gl man, pm me if you wanna share thoughts or whatever.

So tonight came off to an interesting start. I was connected throughout the three hours for the 30€ guaranteed, and a quarter to the end of the shift I was sitting in the front smoking a cigarette thinking "if an order would still come in, I'd take it" and voilà, it did haha, the first for the night. A really nice night to be biking though so I took the bike out and ended up back 30 minutes later. I was considering taking the van but trying to keep the driving to a minimum. I'm an absolute financial mess and haven't afford the oil change that really needs to be done by now (I know, I know, it's bad..) and my lights need to be changed. Anyway it was quite a nice ride on the bike.

I ended up doing 2,5 hours tonight, BR from 52€ to 75€. As BR-management I am letting myself play on the next level as long as I have 50 BIs for the previous one. For a bit I fell below 50€ and went down to 1€. It'd be nice to reach 100€ and move up. But it's an important lesson in not staying results oriented, and try not be hung up on the results, but just go with what happens.

I might do another session before bed, not sure. Have a really good morning routine going where I am up at ten, do twenty minutes of meditation, a bit of writing of just sorting out my thoughts, and 2h of working on videos for Youtube. We'll see how this challenge plays out. After the routine and dealing with daily practical stuff there's not a lot of time before I start working in general. We'll see, we'll see..

Pics of bike! do you do food and parcels?

Just food! One of them regular food delivery guys

I hope this works for the photo:

Tlrd, thanks for the pic love the front rack and heat bag although the heavy backpack has got to put a hurting on your back. For the last 3 years I've delivered food on bicycle primarily for the sandwich shop Jimmy John's but also UberEats. Lot of fun good way to break from the tables and get some exercise, do you have other delivery options after the current employer drops you?

Two friends of mine are going to participate in the Paris-Brest-Paris ride in August looks like a fun event, France has a proud cycling tradition I'd imagine in the south you get the best overall weather to ride in on average.

Are tips on food deliveries a thing in France? Keep hearing how the USA is one of a few places to have service workers rely on tips, the average tip for JJ's was close to $2 an order with Uber tips were few and far between maybe 20% would leave a tip.

Good luck on the bike and at the tables, slap a bell and some bar end caps on that for safety's sake too so you don't take a core sample!

Bonne chance mec

Is there no ways to make more money than playing online poker?

Seems there's a lot better ways to make money when the bankroll is only 200 euros. if the bankroll was 15000 euros and the win rate was 30 euro an hour it might be worth it.

there's also the element of variance in this game and learning mtt's could pay off financially in the future but it also could lead to ruin especially live.

playing satties are going to lead to ruin most of time. however sometimes they do pay off big time.

the odds of making money enough to live on is slim. but so is being born.

Good luck.

Those cubic bags that UberEats etc supply you with will definetely hurt your back! I was riding with one before until I woke up and couldn't move because of back pain. I have invested in a very nice bag though. It's a Blahol, handmade in Poland with lifetime guarantee. I have it stuffed with stuff though (rain-gear, for repairs etc) so it's quite heavy. But as long as a backpack is ergonomic it won't ruin your back. I've been doing it for a long time now with that bag and sometimes up to 50h a week without any problems even as I have a history of back problems. Never any sore back or neck at all.

I can still do UberEats actually. And I might be forced into it. It's just that it's major exploitation. Deliveroo pays okay in the end although it's getting worse and worse, and the overall conditions are bad. But UberEats is another story altogether.. the pay is less and you are supposed to even declare their profit margins! If you get let's say 5€ for an order, there is a 25% fee on top of that which you are supposed to declare aswell. So yes, if no other options around I might be forced into that but am hoping not to.

Yes, France has a very nice biking culture =) I'm originally from Sweden and over there people bike all the time for transports but rarely as a sport. Here it's the opposite. You can see it by adds having been up for a while already here in Toulouse about the stop for Tour de France coming through in the summer. I'm not in the mood for a long distance ride in the near future, perhaps one day. In 2017 I biked from Paris to the mediterranean though.

Tips is not a big thing no! Personally I rarely get them anymore. I used to have more but I stopped going up to the door. I always ring them from downstairs and if they ask me to come up I just ask them to come down lol. In some places it's highly expected that you go up, for example in Nice when I worked there. But here it's generally expected that the client come down and most riders would tell you that they don't go up. Anyway, if you go the extra mile you'd be getting more tips. I'm in the case of having done it so long now that I can't be bothered, especially after before having done it many times without being tipped. I can't give you any exact numbers on the tips although I have it noted down somewhere and will at some point go over all the numbers of what I've made an hourly including how much in tips.

Merci mec

Definetely not a good idea with that little money, no. The 200€ is not even the BR. At the moment of writing the BR is up to a bit more than 100€ and the liferoll on top of that is now about 200€. I'll give my thoughts on how I approach poker in this post, just gonna wrap it up in some other thoughts, give it some context..

Nice to see all these comments guys, here's what I had in mind for today's update:

"Discipline is the key to freedom," or something along those lines said my ex-flatmate, a 60+ guy who is a very liberated kind of guy; he breathes what an old friend ones told me: "you're young until you're 70. He was quoting some French philosopher. Discipline is so f****ng key. I used to hate the word but now I love it, and I'm staying quite disciplined at the moment with my routine.

I have a project in mind that I've been wanting to get out for so very long. It's documenting my travels. When I biked through France almost two years ago I filmed a **** ton and took a lot of notes, which I want to turn into a book and Youtube video. I hithchiked to the Balcans during that trip and biked without money from Lyon to Montpellier, making my first few money as a maskot in Toulouse (while turning down money offered to me). I felt like I had a point to prove. Anyhow, this ties into living this vanlife. I want to create a site where I document all of this.

For so long now it's been lying over my head but I haven't got around to it. There was there idea around it that I would need to dedicate myself to nothing but that for some time to get it done. But I think that's BS, atleast for me it is. I believe in slow and steady progress (as with successful poker), of doing a bit every day. Atm I am just trying to build on this momentum that I have going for a bit. 2h every day. 2h every day will get you somewhere in the long run. Although it's a super frustrating process. So far I've only managed to get my first video out. That was with a computer that kept crashing and I eventually managed to get another one. Now I'm back to researching editing programs properly and will probably pay a little of the little money I have for one. I've been hitting the same obstacle over and over again: I choose a free progra, start working with it only to see that it's not good. So it's a frustrating process but it's part of the process to go through this.

That is my number one priority in life: to do 2h of that each day. This means I can not work split shifts at the bike even though I need the money badly. In the end, nothing is guarenteed. I can put in all the efforts needed to make money but if I in the end lose this momentul of progressing it's not worth it. It terrifies me the idea of finding myself in a year, six months, three months from now having lost this momentum. I don't know what means more to me than getting this project out. Except, maybe, my precious van.. If I got to choose between a year from now having won a big spin and have 20k€ to my name but not having advanced in this, or have so but be in this same financial situation, I'd choose that.

My second priority is working. I want to let the BR grow without desperately needing the money.

So it comes down to discipline. I had such an urge to play poker yesterday but I stuck with the project and biking. Even had a hard time sleeping before yesterday cuz I wante to play but I stayed disciplined. I f***ing love having that discipline.

As for the poker itself: I've ran really well (with +EV chip wise). Up from 52€ to 119€ in a total of 5h15min. I like having this challenge around the play. Stay focused. I put an alarm at 45 min and stay focused on four tables. Before my go to was Twitch, I think this is better. I changed the BR management because it felt too aggressive. Still quite aggressive but it's fine: for every 25% I advance from 50BI at one level to 50BI at the next, I add one of the four games at a higher level. So at 75€ I could add 2 tables of 2€, at 100€ have all the four being 2€. 50BI at 5€ is 250€, so at 25% there from 100€ (137€) I can have one game of 5€ thrown in. Perhaps messy but i hope someone gets what I mean.

Very long post, perhaps someone read it =)

Just to touch on this. Yes, absolutely. Here is my take on it in regards to my situation:

I am trying to make sure I need to have done what is needed in life every day, and try to stay afloat without using poker-money. Stay disciplined in only playing when I have time over, and use that time effectively. Make a proper challenge out of the time I do play. Use a not overly aggressive BR management. And see where that might take me.

It's an interesting challenge trying to grind it up and if I would to manage to reach a few thousand euros it would have a massive impact on my life. It's worth taking the shot to try and make that happen. I don't see another way of reaching that atm. What really draws me in with poker is the entrepreneurial (spelling?) aspect of it. I can't stand having a boss. It's the aspect I love the most about bike messenging, the freedom. I want to be an entrepreneur so bad. And the option that I see available at the moment is poker. Plus I'm very fascinated about the game. Whenever I chill I just end up watching Twitch.

Very interesting, I’ll tag along.

Damn. I just hit a spin for 137€ at a 2€ buy in. Ran like a god.

I hope this photo works:


8 runners, top 6 paid. With 8 left I was down to 295 with blinds at 60. A guy in early position makes it 3x. I can't fold AJs from the cut-off in this situation, can I? It's either I go for it and make a win a possibility or I blind down hoping for a mincash. I shove and get overcalled by SB with 10bb. F**k. OR calls. OR has QJcc, SB A5s (what the ****?). Flop comes an A with two clubs and a gutshot for A5. I hold.

I'm tied with the guy to my left for first. 15bb utg I look down at AQo. I shove and get through. Next hand JTs and button limps. Flop an open-ender and take it down. Next hand TT in small blind. A shove for 5bb and a call for 2bb. They have 44 and KK. I hit a set on the turn and river quads.

At this point i have almost twice than second with five left. 86s with sb and bb at about 6bb. This is the time to ramp up the aggression, take advantage of the fact that most people tighten up. I shove and run into AJ in the bb. I flop an 8, he turns a flush draw. But I'm in god mode of rungood and hold.

I shove A6s next hand. Hold. Sb who is still second (all these pots have been back-to-back-to-back-to-back) keeps limp-folding to me stabbing my trash on the flop. Next hand I shove 95s into bb and get through. After next hand we are down to 3 players as bb who is auto all-in is faced with AA from sb and I can fold my limp from button pre with 65o.

2 hands left. I fold trash bvb cuz I think the guy will be tempted to call. Last hand I shove Q9s from the button and get through.

All-in mode. I have 2800 chips, second and third at 655/545. So one of them needs to win three in a row or I take it down. I only need one hand. TT, again and I hold vs 44/Q5.

177/137/106 at top and I take down 137€. This is the time to run good.

My BR started at 52€. At about 140€ it started feeling silly to shot-take on the 5€ games already. So I changed my strategy to allow myself to play at next level if I have 100bi on the previous. I've been running really good. On the 14th I played 3h and went from 52€ to 74€. On the 15th 74€ to 119€ in 2h. On the 16th in 1h30min 119€ to 138€. On the 18th up to 225€ in 3,5h. The 19th down to 216€.

As I was playing this game I was just below 200€ and the shot-taking had ended. But now I have some cushion for the 5€ games.

haven't been very focused on poker but on sorting out life-stuff, and have poker as a fun thing on the side if I am feeling good. For a day or so I wasn't at all, so I didn't play, and I'm staying disciplined to advance on my videos and work as much as I should. I have been advancing quite well on both fronts and I got great news from the delivery company: when it's official that I'm getting let-go, I'll have another month to work. So at the time of writing I have five weeks to put some money aside for my next adventure, and hopefully sort out my van problems.

If I'm allowed to dream, which I am, I'd have 5k to my name by then. 2k to make some upgrades to my van to have it just as I want it, 1k as an emergency fund if anything happens to it, and 2k to my name for the next adventures. We'll see. I am focusing on sorting out my life without the help of poker and I should be fine, so whatever comes will come as a bonus. Atm I have 329€ in my pokerstars account. Which for me is a lot of money, and honestly, if it grows, it'll be hard to wrap my head around having so much money on a poker account. I'm hoping I can stay with the mindset of it being a bonus.

I have felt great for the past few days. I had an ephinany on the bike. "Why is everything so messy? Not just now, but always?" I thought to myself. Not as in looking at myself as a victim, but really trying to understand the reason why I am in this situation. And it hit me: because of how I feel and how I've felt. So I made a conscious decision to change the way I feel. I wrote it down as a few steps even. Might aswell share it here.

1) Sort out frustration through active meditation (by Osho, great 1h practice)
2) Make mends for my wrongdoings. Perhaps what is happening is for karma of stuff I've done in the past? I don't know quite how to make mends but a promise to treat all living beings to the best of my capability.
3) Write a letter of intent.
4) Every night give thanks for everything I've received throughout the day to change perspective into gratitude and abundance.
5) Embrace everything I go through, be grateful for what it teaches me, and be grateful that I have oppurtunities to overcome the challenges.
6) Try my best to sen out good vibes.

Thanks!