Hi guys

Im 19 years old and believe Im already comfortably good enough to be a live pro but i dont really have the bankroll i want. I want to play 2/3 NL and 1/3 PLO (lowest stakes possible) and only have about 3.5k to my name, most of which has come from poker

Just a very brief background, i started playing online 12 months ago, although ive only been playing a few. Over around 2500 tournaments (mostly HU) ive profited around 600, although im barely winning at $7 NL HUSNGS, most the profit has come from home game mtts (so it doesnt show on sharkscope but i have pokertracker 4 so still verifiable). I also play local tournaments and have made about $5k from these. Ive played a few times at the star casino and was shocked at how bad the play was (and how few regs, probs due to very high rake).

So my question is, what us the best way for me to try and go pro? i dont want to play with 10 buy ins, so ive narrowed my options to finding a stake, or playing the odd $300 tournament at casino with small percentages of myself (i would be able to sell easily) and after good result using money to play cash. I really want a stake but have no idea as to how i would get one without an amazing online record. I dont even know how i would go about finding someone to ask for a stake (wouldnt be comfortable asking a friend/family)?

What are your suggestions? It makes me sick knowing i can crush low limits live but just dont have the roll, feels like a waste of ability.

Thanks (this is my first post btw)

when i said i started playing online 12 months ago, i meant serious grinding. i started playing online when i was about 12 as a casual sit n go/mtt player

If you really think you'll do good, take a 3k$ loan from parents/bank w/e and go play 1/2 1/3 NL.
20 buy ins should be plenty enough for any decent pro imo.

[QUOTE=Leha;52544508]If you really think you'll do good, take a 3k$ loan from parents/bank w/e and go play 1/2 1/3 NL.
20 buy ins should be plenty enough for any decent pro imo.[/QI

I wish, my dad would as he understands more what it means to be a poker player but my mum would never go for it, ive tried explaining it to her but she thinks its just gambling

My advice might depend on how you came to have so little to your name if you are crushing low limit poker. I was supporting myself at 19, so I'm not judging, but since your liferoll is your bankroll, the direction you go from here should take your whole situation into consideration. Can you share more about yourself? You are right to not want to sit with 10% of your net worth at the smallest stakes.

Edit: I'm mostly interested in your other sources of income, your expenses, and the degree to which your parents support you at the moment.

Are you trying to live solely off your poker income? What are your monthly expenses each month? What'll happen to you if you go on a 2 or 3 month breakeven stretch at the tables?

Regardless, 3.5k or 10 buy-ins as a life roll is wayyyy too little. You'll want at least 3 months expenses saved up in the bank and you'll also want 30-50 buy-ins for the 1-3 PLO game saved up on top before "going pro." PLO especially can be very swingy and you could lose that 3.5k in a week or two if running bad.

Get a part time job, if not a full-time job, and grind poker in your spare time at first. You don't want to be playing poker on money that you can't afford to lose. The stress will eat you alive over time and not even the best players can avoid the occasional downswings.

Once you have a bigger cushion and more live experience, ideally hundreds of hours of play, compare your win rate to how much you can make per hour at a normal job. If you make more at poker and you have a lot more saved up than just 3.5k, consider at that time going pro. Until then, it's extremely risky and unwise to play poker for a living with such a small roll and unproven results.

Do what you want. It's your life. I'm just trying to help.

The answer is easy, though you aren't going to like it. Get a job (part time or full time) to supplement your roll and give you a fall back income. Save money like a beast. And dedicate the rest of your time to playing poker and building up your roll. If you are as good as you think you are, you should be able to build up a roll pretty quickly.

Im at university so i still live with my parents and dont have many expenses at all apart from petrol and gym. I turned 18 May 2016, but had to study from July-November so i wasnt playing poker or working all year (by the end of exams in november i had literally not a dollar). I now make most my money off poker and also get a few grand a year coaching soccer. My dad really supports me and staked me to play 1/3 PLO once to try it out.

Btw im not claiming to be some amazing player, but as i said the level of play at 1/3, 2/3 is shocking. In my PLO session i had people not knowing the rules and stuff like that, so im sure in long run i will do fine even though 90% of my experience comes from NL heads up

I think i may go this route, if i make 10k a year from a part time job i can play 1/3 on weekends selling around 65% of my action to friends and stuff. i can sell action every now and then, but none would regularly stake me

This x1000. If the goal is to get out of the lowest stakes as quickly as possible a job should be in the plan. Focus more on job and less on getting staked.

My goal is to earn a steady amount to the point i can play regularly, and eventually turn pro. I dont really have any expenses apart from gym/petrol, i live rent free with my parents and so any money i earn is money i can save. so the positive is if im not profiting of poker there are almost no consequences.
Btw im not considering going pro now, im asking advice for which is the quickest route. (i dont want to have to work as an accountant for a few years then use that money, i want to go pro within next 18-24 months)

I havent needed a job due to little expenses, but i will definitely look into getting a part time job, especially if online goes down (I live in Australia)

Um, is that at the Star or the Crown? 300AU$ in AU doesnt go quite as far as 300 US, also these games are higher raked. Getting a job sounds like a good idea. 3.5k is def enough as a poker roll, but if you need to fund life expenses with it(even if they are not that much cos you still live with your parents), forget it

Do you plan on quitting schol?

[QUOTE=panetta23;52544612] Just get it from your dad then.

Why do you want to go pro? If you're smart enough to be in university and smart enough to be a successful poker pro, you are smart enough to get a job with your degree that will pay a lot more with a lot less stress than poker.

Playing poker as a hobby is 95% more fun than playing for a living.

Playing poker for a living (if you are able) is 100% more fun than grinding away the 9 to 5 for limited upside.

Have you ever played for a living?

Pensfan posts in the Beginner's Questions forum fyi. 14 of his last 18 threads in fact. It's important that OP knows that.

Save more $ then give it a shot

Gonna have to disagree with that. I trie playing for a living for nine months. Spent the rest of my life working salaried, full time jobs. Yes, the job can be tedious. But if you dedicate energy and effort to your career, you can always move to a different job, advance in your career, etc. And here is the thing, when I work at corporate jobs, I got paid. Had a bad week at work-got paid. One of my projects overran a deadline-got paid. I made a mistake-got paid.

When I played poker, it was incredibly stressful. I could do everything right, play brilliantly, and still lose money for the week. And I had to play, even when I was losing, I couldn't step away from the game to reset. It was exhausting.

I enjoyed it, but enjoyed the stability of a job even more.

Point is, if you have the intelligience to win at poker, the discipline to improve your game, and the work ethic to grind, you should be able to use those same qualities and work your way to a good paying job within a few years. How many poker pros do you know net $75k to $100k a year, plus insurance and 401(k)?

Rake in Australia is unbeatable I hear.

I plan on staying at uni but leaving if i do well enough

All the usual reasons, freedom to work whenever/wherever in the world i want/, not having to work 9-5, ability to do something i have a passion for for life
Also in Australia i wouldnt have to pay any tax

I'm playing live NL 1/2 very successfully. I had a good start but have never run down more than -$600 when facing the really bad side of poker, fortunately enough for me, was eating into my winnings not my personal investment.

Playing a tight range avoiding weird spots and losing the least during the "bad side of poker" is how to be successful at the game. When you are on the good side, money can't help but flow your way. It's your job to keep it.