First I wanted to thank the regular contributors on this site. This is my first post and I've been lurking for a while now.

I'm recently retired and 34 years old. I haven't played any casino poker for about 12 years. I was a small winning player in the casino back then (bigger winner at alot of home games in those days). It seems alot of things have changed in the poker world since then. Of course I didn't track things properly and mostly played 1-2 and 2-5 nl in the Vancouver (Canada) area. I didn't prioritize the time necessary to be happy with the level I was playing at, so I stopped and put it out of my mind. Work ultimately always came first.

It's always been a goal of mine to prove to myself that I can be a profitable player with enough time to dedicate to the game. Now it's time to buck up and find out.

I have a bank roll of $15, 000 and plan to play 1-3 nlhe live in the Vancouver area (mostly Langley cascades and Grand villa Burnaby for those familiar with the area). The bank roll will not pay for expenses outside of poker buy ins and I have more than enough passive income to continue living a great life. Essentially I've written off the 15k from my life - I will either build a bigger bank roll and move up or go bust and look back with no regrets.

I also plan to play some weekday $60 tournaments (3 tables max) in Langley and possibly some of the bigger ones on the weekends ($100 to $300 buy ins at hard rock/river rock) once I get my feet wet. Not planning to play online at this stage, I prefer live games and want a separation from home and casino. I'm slightly concerned about getting enough hands in but we'll see how it goes. Additionally, I won't have the option to move down if the bank roll deems it necessary as it appears there is nothing smaller than 1-3 in my area.

The bank roll will be strictly for buy ins and has no effect on my day to day life or expenses. I feel this is a reasonable to generous amount and gives me some flex to get back into the groove. The buy in for 1-3 ranges from $100-$400 in this area and I plan to start buying in at $200 for the first little bit and move up to $300/$400 buy ins once more comfortable. 2-5 buy ins are from $200-$1500 which I'll be avoiding until I build the roll.

I'm going to track hours / BR / buy ins / location / mileage / game type / time played / all tournament placements - anything else I should track early?

Something I'm going with (I'm sure it's been done in the past but funny enough it's something I haven't read about); I will be fully accountable and honest with my wife who is 100 percent on board with this. I will track as stated above and we will review things regularly together, both get access to view the bank account that the bank roll will be held in as well as the excel sheet which I will update daily. Strict rules - no more than 3 buy ins lost at a single session, no more than 15k (if I lose it all, it's over), I don't have a win limit but will be adhering to no more than 4 hours per session to start, adjust as things progress. We are able to do some traveling as well which opens the door for me to play virtually anywhere while we travel - tournament suggestions? I think it will be really good and important for me to be successful. It will keep me accountable and in line so to speak (proper BR management with less emotional and impulsive decisions knowing I'll be accounting for them). Something I was definitely lacking at times in my 20s.

I'm learning more about the game than I ever knew 12 years ago and am amazed at how much info is available now. Studying about 3-5 hours a day and trying to consume as much as possible. I'm 110 percent all in on things I choose to do.

I've spent a few hours watching the cascades room and overall it seemed fairly soft (admitted limited sample size) with some nitty regs mixed with some loose play. I'll be making a few more visits to each local room to check things out before starting.

I plan to start out playing about 2-4 hours a day looking for quality play over quantity.

I've read some about picking a game and sticking to it. The advise seems to be pick the game you like the most or are the best at. It's been so long for me that I'm not sure whether I like cash games or tournaments more. I figure my BR is large enough that I can experience both for a bit of time and track where I succeed most and what I enjoy most. Adjust where it makes sense to adjust. Admittedly, I like the idea of cash games to pay for tournament entry fees and trying to build the roll with some tourney success.

Due mostly to some personal life commitments/travel I will start the journey in March 2018 and consume as much info as possible until then. One 4 day vegas trip in late February where I will put a few hours in. Basically another month of studying before I finally hit the tables.

Advise, favorite books, tips, local insight, would all be appreciated. I'm already hooked on consuming everything no limit hold em right now so looking for more quality study material. I'm super fortunate to be able to do this and I'm truly excited about it.

Apologies for the length of the post as it got away from me a bit, appreciate if you got through it and any responses

Tell me more about retiring at 34

This

Check out Jonathan Little book for beating low stakes live cash games to get you started there. No need to be overthinking things at the lowest levels.

Also +1 to finding out more about your early retirement

Thanks. His books aren't easy to find but I will bite the bullet and get a couple online orders going.

As far as retiring goes, my wife and I made an above average household income (both worked), paid off all our debt, invested in real estate and stocks with the rest, sold our real estate in Vancouver (which did well for the last decade), took 2 early pensions. Always rented a basement suite. Basically created as much passive or nearly passive income as we possibly could for 10 years. Now we are comfortably retired. My wife probably articulates it better and blogs about it at http://Freedom101.ca if you're really interested. Appreciate anymore advise or book recommendations.

Why do you want to play live vs online?

Good question. I tried online 10 years ago and didn't seem to have the patience for it at the time. I was more easily tilted and prone to make poor decisions. I found with real people at the table and the slower play I made less mistakes and enjoyed it more. Additionally I have a wife and two kids at home so things get busy around the house and I want some clear separation. Once I get back into the groove I wouldn't be totally opposed to trying it again starting with a small online bank roll for hand volume and maybe some larger tournaments.

But for now one step at a time, gets me out of the house for a few hours a day and from everything I've read recently live games are significantly easier to be successful. For now I want to have some success. I only get one crack at this and don't want to screw it up by playing too much too soon online.

There are two different Jonathan Little cash game books at the Chapters in Langley, 5 minutes away from Cascades. At least there were yesterday.

It takes me 1 hr or 1.5 hrs to drive to the live places I go to (and the same to return home). When I get there, sometimes I can get a seat right away in a game I feel comfortable with but I have also had to wait up to a couple hours before a seat became available. While playing the times I have closely watched money flow, and usually only 2-3 at the table are ahead after I have been playing a few hours. Between the rake, jackpots, and dealer tips frequently $150-$200 gets removed from the table per hour. I disagree about the people who say it is easier to win at casinos.

I prefer online because I can jump into a SitnGo and play and be done in less than 1 1/2 hours. I can play 2-3 and keep alert enough. I dislike MTT because they last longer than I can maintain attention (to win). I also can play free games to learn new games and variants.

I would recommend a few hundred into a online account, even if just to get a lot of hands practice.

Really sick stuff. I sure would love to be in a similar position when I'm your age.

I'm less than 10 min from one casino and 20 min to two more with poker rooms so that plays a big roll. They all have call in as well where you can call in and get on the list 1.5 hours before you show up negating long waits most of the time, or so I'm told (I'm about 45 min to 2 more). Proximity plays a big roll for me in this decision.

You make some good points and at some points and if things progress i may likely have to get online, I'm just not going to start there.

You can be. If you think about it this way: live below your means no matter how much you make. Look for creative ways to increase your income. Invest the money you do save (do alot of research). Work hard when you're working. You'll get there. It's not always easy but it's actually quite simple.

Have you ever heard of Mr Money Mustache? I read his blog quite a bit. But yea, I'm not materialistic and I'm really into keeping my living costs low, I just need to work out the best investment strategy.

While a lot of money is removed from the live game, the same holds true online. Competition is softer live.

OP - You don't need a couple hundred to start online. Start with $50, that is 25 max buy-ins. That's plenty to start playing 2NL to get your feet wet and learn.

You will really be short changing yourself if you don't play online as well as live. It will take too long to learn what you need to learn if you play live only.
You can play far more hands faster, track your your play, look for leaks, close leaks, and play against better players...for less money. Then, when you play 1/2 live, you will have the lessons learned from playing for 1/100 the money.

Yes I've read all of his stuff. We used alot of the same concepts except we like to indulge on things we get value out of rather than just be as frugal as possible in every scenario (eg: daily Starbucks, spending a bit more on travel, driving an electric car, and a few other things the he would never commend). We don't need alot of materialistic things but the ones we derive value from we don't mind investing in. Best of luck with your trek towards FI.

Appreciate the comments. I think you have a good point in the ability to play micros online. I'm definitely reconsidering and recognising that I'll have to build it into my game sooner than expected.

I have found the competition is more difficult online (for comparative levels), but easier for me to get in and out than live.

The equivalency seems to be roughly 10-20 times for relative levels. What I mean is if you can beat 0.10-0.20 online, you should be able to beat 1-3 live.

I would still practice online and play live once a week or a couple times a month until proficient. Friday/Saturday seem to have less percentage of grinders and more inexperienced money.

I play both online and live - both tourney and cash. I am much stronger in tourney's - both live and online. I was on poker stars, but my account got hacked and now I owe like $580 US (even though as soon as I knew it was hacked I told them) yet nothing can be done...simply explaining why I'm not on poker stars right now. That said, I've only been playing for 3 years, but have placed 3rd in a WSOP event in 2015, placed a few times on live events in BC (we just don't have enough tourney availability here) and cashed alot online on PLAY NOW.

Competition online is more difficult only because there is no in-person interaction so you don't have the "tells" you can't analyze the players so much, and even if you play the way a good players play (i.e. considering the math and %, position, etc..) you still can get dipped because many online players think they are great players , yet will play the most obscene hands you have ever seen. If you are true to your game, your style, I truly believe in the end, if you are good at what you do, you will get the results you are looking for.

Thanks for all the comments above.

I just finished Gus Hansens book as well as Doyle Brunsons suoersystems (1 and 2), Mike Caro's book of tells as well as another one from him that I picked up from the library.

I did pick up Jonathan Little's excelling at no limit holdem. Thank you @evildeadalive for the comment at chapters. Looking forward to this read.

I've also been watching a ton of videos. Starting to get excited about hitting the tables. I maypve my timeline 80 a bit and get a few hours in before my vegas trip in 2 weeks.

OP, if you have a sufficiently high boredom tolerance, one thing you might consider, if it's possible at your casino(s), is starting out as an NL shortstack player. The tl;dr is that if you're allowed to buy in for 30 or 40 big blinds ($60 to $80 at a 1/2nl), the shortstack strategy usually works very well. If they'll force you to buy in for at least 50bb ($100 and 1/2), it doesn't work QUITE as well but still works somewhat well.

Shortstacking is mind-numbingly, soul-crushingly boring. But the big advantage it gives you is if you follow it rote, you will USUALLY be getting your money in with an equity advantage. The other advantage to starting out shortstacking as a beginner is you'll be folding 90% of your hands, so you have plenty of opportunities to just watch the rest of the table - watch the loose-passives, tight-aggressives, weak-tights, balanced crushers etc.

Here is a thread I wrote where I talked about shortstacking:

https://forumserver.twoplustwo.com/3...05/?highlight=

The other thing to consider is starting out at fixed-limit hold'em instead of no-limit hold'em. As a beginner, you *will* make mistakes. Mistakes at fixed-limit hold'em cost you a few bets. Mistakes at no-limit can cost you your whole stack. It is true that if you later decide to switch to no-limit, you will still make mistakes because they're dramatically different games, but you will make less mistakes with a couple years of FLHE under your belt than you will make as a rote beginner.

Personally, I find FLHE much much much more FUN and it's not even close. YMMV of course - other people find shoveling $150 worth of chips into the pot on a pure bluff and watching the other guy tank, fold, and show a good hand fun. For me that's terrifying .

If you do decide to try FLHE, the bible is Small Stakes Hold'Em by Miller, Malmuth and Sklansky.

Good luck!

Thanks alot. I checked out alot of your posts re: starting up and short stacking. I appreciate the time you took to write those up.

Have you had any sessions yet? or are you studying up?

Interesting read. I'd hit the casino during early hour if you want to make money vs older dudes and if you want to learn and improve probably go around when people get off work learn exploitative style.
Patience and discipline always wins at 1/3 though or most places.

I took some advice and decided to play small stakes online for hand volume and to get back into the groove.

I've played about 8 sessions between 1.5 and 4 hours. 2nl and $1.50 sng 6 handed. In that time I've won $11. Some good days with both formats and some off days with both.

I sat down at 1 local $60 buy in tournament. 2 tables with 22 players. I ended up chopping 1st and 2nd for a $400 payout. Was pretty happy with how I played there.

I'm in Vegas right now for 2 days and going to play a bit (recommendations on softer tournaments appreciated! Staying at the MGM).

So far it's been fun and a bit of an information overload.
Studying a few hours a day (varies between 1 and 4).

This is my plan, mostly morning to afternoon play. Thanks for the advise.