Hi Guys,

I'm in Australia and never taken poker seriously as I work fulltime and dabble here and there play some tournaments and cash games normal recreational player.

I am planning on traveling Asia next year for 6 months then plan to settle in Vietnam, I will have enough money to live quite comfortably for 1-2 years as I'm saving money from my job before I go.

I was looking at maybe playing poker more seriously not using it to make money to survive overseas as that is a recipe for disaster but it would be nice to be solid in the games and if I make a little bit here and there that is money I won't have to dip into my savings.

I plan on allocating $2000 to Poker i either make it or don't if I lose this I won't be topping up again, if I can keep my original roll plus making a little extra that would be great.

I plan on playing PLO cash as I like the action packed game I find NL Holdem a little too boring and tournaments just to long as my main idea would be to play a session 1-2 hours max then go out exploring again as I don't want to be traveling overseas just playing poker for 6 hours a day.

Do you think its worth seeking a coach now to build up a solid foundation on how to beat low stakes PLO games or just watch videos? I'm hoping to start of at 10c/25c Zoom then move up to 25c/50c and by the time I'm overseas be at 50c/$1 or winning player at 25c/50c and taking shots at $50c/$1

or

Would you recommend a different approach maybe playing and learning different games with less variance? I am open to all suggestions at the moment.

Thanks

can u teach me how to play MTT? I'M IN MACAU

Hey Bot,

That's super exciting! Congrats on setting yourself up for this. The one thing I would caution about choosing Asia as a base is the hours. I have many friends that play from SE Asia, especially Thailand, and the hours can be brutal compared to say the Americas or even Europe.

Regarding your roll, read this article on bankroll management.

Regarding coaching, if you do go that route, here is some general advice about getting the most out of coaching.

But whether to do it ...is tricky. I usually refer to it as a "turbo boost" to your game. It can launch you 6 months ahead of where you would've gotten on your own accord. But while I haven't met any personally, I know from my students that there are a number of dodgy coaches out there, so if you get the wrong one ...then you may have just wasted money that could've been used to play a higher level.

Thanks for your response fooz,

I agree that the coach is worth it but it comes down to how much I should look at spending and how much time to allocate to coaching.

Like should I play 30k or 50k hands then get a coach or I just get a coach before even starting to play with a $2000 bankroll.

I think I would like to use a coach prior to playing seriously and depositing my $2000 to get me into the right mindset and set out a plan on how to play and what goals I want to achieve for a certain amount of hands like 30k or 50k he can review and tell me what goals I met and what I didn't then review again and set some new goals.

As I am someone who is a very organised and goal orientated person I think if I have plan set out and goals I want to achieve this will help me keep my focus and stick to playing a solid game instead of turning into playing like a apetard and losing my roll.

Quite a few coaches out there with expensive price tags for someone that just wants to play low stakes to start with.

Hey Bot,

Best of luck to you. From what you've listed, coaching is a very bad idea with such a short bankroll and short term goal of "making it" with $2000, especially with PLO, a game with such high variance.

Check out this variance simulator:http://pokerdope.com/poker-variance-calculator/

If you play 50PLO for 80000 hands with a win rate of 2.5BB and (probably low) standard deviation of 600BB, there is a 45.3% chance you will have lost money. That calculation doesn't account for rake, which is going to eat away at your win rate.

Basically, the mathematics around this test of yours sound not viable, and coaching is only going to increase your risk of ruin because you'll pay too much of your small bankroll and be around too little time to realize the effects of what you learn.

I would suggest finding a PLO training site, playing A LOT of hands, and playing within your bankroll. Also, give yourself a lot of time. Playing PLO professionally is going to be a swingy life, and $2000 can be a few bad days in a row for a winning player at 50PLO.

I'm really no expert here but with that roll I wouldn't be playing a single hand of PLO.

Focus on NLH, a game where the variance is a lot lower.

Personally once you get into the nuts and bolts of NLH I don't think it's boring at all, okay, maybe full ring but who really enj-.. I'm gonna stop right there

i think vietnam is the best, baby. you can have breakfast with only $1. saving a lot of money for your bankrool.

Sounds like you already know what you want.

Did you...
...get a coach?
...go to Vietnam?
...try PLO?
...something else?

Good Luck on your adventure bot007! I have another mate who has done the same thing that didn't turn out to well for him because he went off the rails with alcohol etc. because it is so cheap over there!
As it sounds like you're committed to becoming a better player and becoming a success....all I have to say is go get it and good luck man~!!

Any coach worthy on advising you on big goals will demand more payment than your bankroll.

Do yourself a favor and figure out YOURSELF what you want. Nobody knows that better than yourself.

There are 3 ways to improve:

1) Self-educate
2) Hire a coach
3) Join a coaching for profits program

Check the pros and cons of each and you'll find what you want.

Thank you for your positive words of advice! I appreciated everyone taking the time to reply!

I'm not leaving Australia until 2016 I am currently still working in my fulltime job so I can save up money to fund my move so I will feel comfortable over in Vietnam and not be worrying about money and the way the AUD is going it's probably a good thing I am saving up!

I now have an exit strategy which will be I am taking 1 year off from work as unpaid leave which will allow me to decide if I am enjoying it in Vietnam and if things are working out if they aren't I can come back to Australia and go straight back into my job if not I can resign or ask for another year off either way I think after a year I doubt I would be back anytime soon and my mind would be made up.

I like Latex and Pokersprouts comment about variance in PLO and that's one thing I struggle with especially in PLO just as a rec player, so I have been watching some NLH zoom games and there is still quite a bit of action and some fishy play so I am actually starting to get a feel and enjoyment again for NLH which is an avenue I most likely will pursue in the beginning.

I now have access to all major training sites so now I will just be watching vids and studying the NLH cash games which will allow me to hold off on a coach to I get some solid hands under my belt and know what I want which will make it easier to find the right poker coach.

I just made my first purchase for going overseas which is the Dell XPS 13 laptop lovely machine small and light easy to travel with it will certainly do me for 2 tables of zoom maybe 3.

It's a good thing I'm over the alcohol stage I can't handle the hangovers but I am old well not really in my 30's lol so this is basically the start of a new life for me (I was a late bloomer with the traveling scene and caught the Asian bug also known as yellow fever haha and no I'm not some creepy balding fat guy)

I am not going to rely on poker as a source of income as I do have another avenues I will pursue over in Vietnam but if poker can give me a little extra spending money in the beginning that would be fantastic! If it becomes a serious source of income then I think I would be over the moon!

I have been reading quite a few threads on here about people moving overseas and playing Poker these two thread have really appealed to me:

This guy is sort of in my age bracket so I related alot to this thread and he also had another avenue besides poker.

http://forumserver.twoplustwo.com/62...w-pics-771516/

This guy is just awesome playing low stakes met a nice girl and had child really inspiring he never gave up.

http://forumserver.twoplustwo.com/17...t-itt-1375134/

I have made a few changes especially in my poker habits I have put limits on my game play so I can't monkey tilt and move up to high limits after a bad session or bad beats and even if I try remove the limit in place I still have to wait x amount of time before its done think its 7 days and the next day or after a few hours I'm all calm and thinking straight again so would reapply the limits back in place, I'm not perfect but I certainly am taking steps to minimise stupidity play lol.

Sorry for the long write up fingers crossed the AUD goes up once again I appreciate all your time and advice provided in this thread thank you so much