Hi everyone, I just want to say before I vent on this post, that I have alot of respect for the members of 2+2 community. I often read the forums, and the people give great advice, and have great wisdom about this game we all love poker.

A little bit of background information about myself, I am 29, I started playing poker at 17, 7-card stud. At 26 due to this recession, my business went under and I started playing poker to pay my bills, rent. etc. I never really considered myself a pro. I have always played recreationally in atlantic city and home games, and consitantly won . My goal at the time was to grind out about 1500 a month, and work part time to cover all my expenses. I never really had much success online, I consider myself mainly a live player.

Along the way, friends who I went to High school with were doing very well in the higher limit hold 'em games in AC, and in tournments, making very good money. But i always stayed true to my bankroll managment rules and never took much risks, in bigger games, or buy in tournments,(eventhough I had over 50k saved in the bank from my days in business.)until i felt i was rolled enough to move up limits.

I have always considered myself a person who wants to learn as much about my craft as possible. Ive read almost everybook, listen to advice from better and more experienced players. Througout 2006 and 2007 i grinded my ass off in lower limit games, from 1-2nl, 2-5nl, and occasionally 10-20 and 20-40 limit. I had a few scores in low buy in tournments for 7g , and a few 2gs.

Sorry to keep goin on, Im going to get to the point now.

The advice I seek now, is how to maintain a lifestyle playing poker professinally. The traveling back and forth my philly to AC, sleeping in casinos, having good home games dry up. Everything has fell apart for me in the 2nd half of 2009. From 06 to 09 i played on my bankroll i built up over the years, payed my bills and rent, but thats barely it, didnt have much extra money. This year I decided to step up, play more tournments, and some bigger games, and partied and spent money, and didnt save. Im been considering looking for employmet, and giving up on my goals in poker. My confidence is at a all time low at the table, and personally and professionaly i feel like I have a black cloud over my head. I blew my bankroll , and now Im trying to figure out if i should either ante-up, take my money from savings and start over.

Sorry for rambling on and on, I know you guys are not therpists, i just need some positive advice from people who understand my situation , Im running bad, feeling bad, and in the middle of a recession, where theres not alot of options. Any words or advice would be appreciated. God bless and good luck to everyone.

So you blew about 50k?

Just one piece of advice, everyone goes bust once in awhile. I went bust two or three times before I started making good money. It was only about 600 700 dollars, but it was alot for me then, considering how I was playing 20 30 dollar sngs at the time. But lucky I was still young.

I think you should figure out if you are ready to come back. Its really hard to come back to playing 1/2 when you just blew your 50k BR(im guessing). Id step away for awhile, until you are hungry enough to play the game again. Id just try to have good few 1/2 sessions, then move up to 2/5 with like 4-5buyin br if you know you can beat the game.

Good luck in the future.

p.s. Please use paragraphs next time

He didn't. But I guess you don't actually expect anyone reading the details when it's horribly written in a giant paragraph.

I totally understand where you are coming from ! I recently had a similar conversations with some other players. I think with this recession, the tournamnets just get tougher with the better players playing more and less fish ! I also think if you playing in 2/5 or 10/20 & 20/40 LHE you will find the same thing is happening more good players are just grinding and again less easy money...

I hope you still used good bankrool management while your running bad? Poker money is NOT parting money !!! I know it's hard when your running bad but still it is our whole life ! If you entered a couple of $500 or even $1000+ tournaments... Thats a lot of buyins at 2/5 or 10/20 !

Take a break and good luck.

The truth is that it sounds like you tried to move up in stakes and did some shot taking in bigger tournaments looking to make a big score. Bigger tournaments have such a high variance that no one should be expecting to make a living off of them without sponsorship or staking. It also sounds like your game wasn't ready for the higher levels.

Your biggest problem is yourself. You can't play poker with a "black cloud" over your head. If you start believing that you're going to get beat all the time, unconsciously, you'll make this self-fulfilling by calling in bad spots. Then you'll console yourself with, "I never get lucky."

The only person who can correct this is yourself. Poker is a cruel master. You can run worse and for longer than anyone can ever imagine. Without the ego to say either, "I know I can beat these people", or "I can learn to beat these people," you can't succeed. While Phil Helmuth is over the top with, "If it wasn't for luck, I'd never lose," it is directionally correct for what someone should be thinking. Given what you've written above, you don't have it right now. Unless internally you can turn it around, you're better quitting poker.

If you can, then next step is to get serious about poker. I'd personally move to the AC area and start putting in more hours at a lower level to rebuild. Get a roommate to cut costs. Reading books and lurking isn't enough to improve. The fact that you couldn't beat on-line poker shows that. You need to be working your understanding of the game and how certain concepts are applied in various situations. You should be discussing this with others. Poker is getting harder. The glory days where everybody who watched Norman Chad once on TV thought they could win at poker is over. Only players who are getting better faster than their peers are going to survive. If you don't want to put the effort in, you're better off working and using poker as entertainment with no expectation of making a living from it.

This probably wasn't the "positive" words you wanted. But they are the words you need to read.

This looks interesting. I tried my best to put it into paragraphs so that I can read it, although it doesn't really lend itself to structure.

Now I'm going to read it.

OK, here is my best advice:

First, it's important to get a job and establish a base lifestyle. That way you won't be playing with scared money, and you'll be free to play your best.

In the meantime, be sure to dedicate effort towards working on your poker skills. By your own description, you have plenty of room for improvement.

Finally, keep your poker bankroll strictly separate, and play within your bankroll. That's been a problem for you in the past.

I play my best when I'm playing in a regular game 6 days a week, 12+ hours a day..Having a job makes it almost impossible for me to dominate a poker game..

The only way Ive ever steadily won BIG is by grinding my ass off for 2 or 3 months at a time..Then after Ive made my load, I quit playing cards for a few months and go volunteer at the local foodbank and/or animal shelter. ..Take care of the fam..It's a good way to give back and unwind.

When I have a job, I barely eek out a profit at the tables. Luckily I learned at an early age, whatever you do, do it full blast.

Fat City -

Sounds like that worked out well for you, and congrats on your success. But people are different. My advice is directed to the OP.

The OP tried the same route as you, and unfortunately it has gone badly for him. Now he's lost all confidence, and he has financial pressures to deal with. So he needs to figure out how to change things around. Doing the same thing seems like a bad option.

Thankyou very much for all the advice. Basically, for me I think everything is coming down to confidence, and finacial pressure. I have been able to pay my bills for a few years playing poker, but barely getting by . I have been battling alot of personal problems , that is affecting me at the tables. Finacial pressure as made me try to "book wins", and not stay in good games , and that is been a major problem throughout my poker life. I have a lot of soul searching to do, I have been successful in this game in that past, and I understand the ups and downs, and the daily grind. I think this forum is a great outlet to vent, and great for the poker community, and again I respect all the time you members have taken to help out with good advice. I think part time employment and , cutting back on my poker will be the best plan for me at the moment.
Thanks again and the best of luck to everyone.

Best of luck plb and yeah a part time job should ease the worries and basically start over playing 1/2 , 2/5 and small entry tourneys.

Once you are ready to comeback give it a try full blast.

Yes, best of luck to you.

My best advice after 17 years of the pro grind is this...

Get out of the business!! It's too late for me, but you can still be saved.

Ive had 15 good years and 2 bad one's. But it's still not worth it..Imagine if pro golfers had to bet their own money to win money on tour..You think very many of them would last 17 years? It's a f******g brutal way to make a livng. You have to always be on the defensive..Even if you make a sh*tload of $$$$ in any given stretch, you really can't relax and go spend it. Not if you plan on getting through the bad times without too much pressure.

BTW..The way I fought through my toughest times was to prop in California..It's a great way of steading the ship IMO. .. but you almost assurdly have to work a brutal graveyard shift.