This is just wrong. The game is evolving so quickly that the guys who will have the real advantage at the highest limits are the guys who started when the games were insanely tough and have been forced to study to make money, not the guys who sat back and printed in 03. I GTD you there's more guys who have been taking it seriously for 2-5 years who are running a lot more Pio sims than "10 year+ minted pros".

The people who made it several years ago can use piosolver and other software just as well as the people starting out now. The only advantage they (the newcomers) have is that so many more of them will fail, and so on average the ones that succeed will be better.


But what high stakes games are we even talking about? This is pretty much peak holiday action time and on the main stars server (by far the largest) there're precisely four 5/10nl tables, with 5 of the 6 players on each table being regs, two 10/20nl tables that are 3 handed, and zero games higher than that. It's not unusual for there to be one table.

he said there is NO profession, please dont question the man. post traumatic stress disorder is very common while playing games.

Love your thread Meale, i'm proud of you for what you've done. It's also been a great read!

<3

Wow. Are poker pros really that deluded that they think anyone {except very low income workers with non prospect} are jealous of what they do ?

They both sound far more stressful and dangerous than poker, which is think is your point ?

My point was more about grinding online with its mass tabling, thousands of time stressed decisions a session and emotional swings /dealing with variance, working in isolation etc being hard to compare to any other vocation. Pretty sure you knew that though :P

Most the time, posting from my phone...I’m not bothered about proper punctuation. At least I don’t suffer from failed reading comprehension. Please show where I have shamed poker itself? All I have done is called into question the legitimacy of poker as a career choice and how poker pros have been instrumental is ruining online ...as well as the general ethics of those who chose that path

Only on a poker board could it be called into question the fact that the pro ranks are full of scumbags and poker is a terrible career choice.

Anyone looking for help transitioning, hit me up. The game is harder than ever and I love playing more than anyone you’ve ever met.

you clearly stated that "many are in denial of the adverse effects of poker." To me, that is shaming poker. You are stating there are bad effects for someone who plays poker but you didn't state those adverse effects, I would actually like to hear them.

you said, "how poker pros have been instrumental is ruining online ...as well as the general ethics of those who chose that path."

You like to use a lot of generalizations. You seem to think every poker player's ethics are basically the same, terrible. "the pro ranks are full of scumbags," you said, where is the evidence, who are the scumbags? Have you saw all of these sexual misconducts taking place? there are dirtbags in every profession. There are corporate people, politicians, hospital employees, etc. that undoubtedly steal, lie, cheat, manipulate, etc. I guarantee the "true" poker pros, the proven ones, are actually not like you would describe at all. I know what kind of character it takes to be a professional poker player, not a "so-called one," and the characteristics of a true one, generally, are positive, because quite frankly, a negative character can't cut it in this profession. I am anticipating your list of the adverse effects of playing poker and I am not saying that in expectation to see a blank or short list. Surely, there will be some, but I bet many will be able to apply to other industries as well.

lol @ not having bumpnrun on ignore, the guy have been writing nothing but countless iterations of one, same post ("poker pros suck, get a life") since his registration date

How have they? Because the game is not as beatable for the same winrates as before?

Sounds like something that would matter to a frustrated former winning player but not a genuine "rec". Sounds like you'd like to switch places with them and be a winning player again.

Interesting thread. But what percent of grinders online whether cash or tournaments do it online are in their 40s? I can't imagine it being much more than 3 percent of the population of pro grinders online? The only person that comes to mind is that guy who i believe is in his 40s and grind tournaments online on stars and twitch them before he got banned and was from canada. Does anyone recall his name? It was like big dog or something?


Also most of the people who took up poker in the poker boom are now in their early 30s to early 40s i say. But how many of them still do it for a living? I know there has to be much more live grinders in their late 30s or 40s compared to online. Thus im sure if you go to bellagio or any of the casinos, you would notice this. But are there many online grinders in their late 30s whether its online cash or online tournaments? Obviously early 30s to say mid 30s, there are definitely a good amount of those players. But its like late 30s online poker player, its really rare? Does anyone know of any online tournament grinders that are in their late 30s or older that has been doing this for a while? I really can't think of anyone at the moment in their late 30s or older.

check back in about 5 years...

I am 35 plan on doing on it for a long time, did not work in over 11 years. Used to do mostly sports betting and live cash but now do mostly online mtts. Fitness is important if you want to do it as you get older am eating a lot healthier now, working out more, and playing online mostly standing up.

Is there a reason you stopped sportsbetting and live cash, but particularly live cash? Because live cash there is more consistent money than online mtt. So curious why. Also i seen you post a few times and i believe you mention you are in vegas. So im guessing when you say mostly online mtt, you mean sites like wpn and bovada as oppose to wsop.com right?

As a janitor 5 years ago I was thinking to go pro playing poker . After I read this thread so glad I didn't and realize I make more the many very successful pros. I think running a business is a way to go and play poker on the side.

I just started grinding 1/2 NL in 2018 and I'm 47. Completely disillusioned with the corporate world after getting laid off FOUR times within 20 years in the financial industry. Sure, I could have gotten my CFA, but by the point I thought about it I really hated the industry.

Without going into details, I have obviously blown a lot of opportunities in the financial markets during my time. Hindsight is always 20/20. I think, though, through my experiences in that arena as well as playing DFS for a few years full time, I will finally put it together and at least at some point in the near future be playing 2/5 NL (hopefully in 2019 sometime). Of course I have side things going to try to bring in more income and it has been really difficult putting in a ton of hours playing poker, but I'm just trying to build all of this into something I feel I can make a living at. I'll probably give myself through 2019 to see if i can do it. If not, I'll move on to something else. But I do have to say I love the freedom playing poker gives me. At 47, I realize at this point in my life I'm never going to be rich so I'm more focused on experiences than accumulating useless objects. That might sound cliche or an excuse, but that is where I'm at in life.......

35 here and playing poker for a living for 8 years already (mainly online). I do have the advantage of having life expenses on a weak currency but earning either usd or euros.
I have always had the impression that being an online poker pro is not as attractive on 1st world countries where earning +40k usd yearly is very achievable in many work areas, but for example in Latinamerica, if they guarantee u is not that hard to earn over 20k usd yearly if u devote urself to play and study online poker, the idea is seen as very attractive.

Chess players drop maybe 10 to 50 rating points when they turn 40-50. At 80 the top players are still playing at grandmaster level. Being in a good enough physical shape should be enough.

Health, as opposed to fitness, is most important if you want to do just about anything as you get older.

Grinding online would have to be difficult as you get past 55 or so. I've known a number of successful players, online and live. I believe the skills online are probably tougher to keep sharp, doing live for a living is a tougher row to hoe but may offer better longevity.

Curious why you switched from sports....

Have done much worse in sports the last 5 years, fantasy becoming popular really hurt my ability to make money on prop bets. but I also feel it numbs me too much and is bad for my personality. No longer live in Vegas but go there maybe 60 days a year.

I am a much better tourney player than cash also I eat better and can spend more time with family.

late reply, but ... absolutely.!

usually happens if you happen to love (or at least) enjoy work in a somewhat lucrative field. Something like tech, finance, sales, skilled trades, etc.

posted this march 2017. Got lucky on the crypto train, got greedy and didnt exit before the dreaded january 2018 so i got suppressed 70%. However Poker been going better than ever, had a record year 2017 and im not slowing down in 2018 other than by a few % in terms of hourly. Not what i had in plan, or hoped for as ive been playing poker since i was underage(17) but I guess alot of ppl are stuck with what they do until opportunity arrive, which i might have been served atm. Going to punt a bunch of money into a company and become part-owner. GL ME.

GL you.

Be careful of becoming a "part owner", unless you have an active management role or formal input into key decisions.