The thought of playing poker live in a casino day in and day out does not sound fun. Being around a bunch of smelly, whiny, annoying fat asses ordering their stupid hot chocolates and bottled waters. Oy!
When the games were easy, many easily grinded their way up, like Antonius (plo, lhe at least, although I don't think he started his lhe from very low but paid for his edu by losing against Erik123 or so and played the high limits that were then like 30-60 at stars I think), while wooki3z (nlh50 to 5k), trueteller, the speed still seems to have been in a couple of years, and they are not so old.
From live players I read (or maybe heard) Jennifer Harman did grind the levels up, but that was a long time ago. Negreanu spent his days at normal live tables (when the games were easy but tough for him during day times) although he became a tourney player.
Maybe a ton of high limit players have always been high limit players, or more like moving down instead.
Ivey luckboxed at some high limit live games before he became better, according to Doyle Brunson if I remember right.
Isildur1 took some risky paths and sure didn't grind many of his forms up, other than heads up nlh.
It seems to me St1ckman moved from high limit lhe to high limit plo more or less directly, as have so many other high limit players done.
"Hoss" Hawrilenko, a lhe (heads up expert) deposited 100 and ended up losing his roll to Ivey at 500-1k lhe, although he still scored enough (3-draw, I think, and hardly grinded his way up from 1c-2c) to move back to study.
Nanonoko was playing 2/4 and 3/6 and also 5/10 maybe, first, not necessarily grinded much below, but it would have been too fast with 24 tables for anyone to have taken notice. Ended up playing also 25/50 or so after a couple of years.
TPirahna was one of the massive high limit limit holdem grinders for, 5 years? 10-20 to 30-60 maybe usually but played also more or less of the highest. Got fed up to the grind and moved to fantasy sports. Not sure if he grinded himself up but I might have seen some note of it when he passed the 5-10 finally but it is a too fuzzy memory to know, also as there was some nlh player getting beat every time he tried to move up to 10/20 nlh.
I thought Harman inherited money I read somewhere and just jumped way up in limits, I think she may of grinded form 3/6 to like 20/40 but not to the top.
Haha most prob haven’t heard of me but yeah I’m one of the self made started from .10/.25 and $11 mttz and April will mark 9 years as a pro. Have 1.8 trips to busto (didn’t quite bust second time around lol) and 4 trips to 6figs. Had thought I’d have 3m in the bank by now, but lol variance. Poker also brought me to crypto, which very well may be all my grandkids ever need to get by.
Coulda done something different prob; but no complaints here. No stopping on the horizon either as this is the only way I’ve ever made an actual living lol.