I've been playing poker since 2005 and I am a winning player, although I am far from a big winner. If I had to estimate my monthly income from poker at this point, it would be probably around $1K USD. I have some money as passive income as well of around $500 USD. I'm not good enough to live off this money in Vancouver, Canada, but I'm contemplating the idea of moving to a lower cost country to try this.

I currently work as an accountant. I've been a journeyman throughout my time doing it. Its something I have never been super passionate about and just viewed it as a possible career path to earn a living. Maybe that lack of passion and drive is what has stagnated my career.

I've always enjoyed poker though. I also know that I could get better, so the idea of continuing my training and increasing my winnings is also a possibility.

Does anyone have any places they could recommend for me to pursue this change in life? I'd be looking to live in a place that has a few qualities:
-safe
-easy to communicate (English speakers)
-affordable
-nice climate is a preference but not necessary

I'm in my mid 40s, and I'm just not sure if grinding out the next 20 years as an accountant in Canada is the way to go for me. I've got the 2nd half of my life to live here, and I'm not sure if that is the path I want to go. Also, I'm single with no kids.

Thailand, Bali. Maybe mexico but it's more expensive from what I see.

Before you choose the location, there is a step that is crucial for every qualified, professional person considering a poker career.

Get the biggest sack you can find. Make it huge. Fill it to the brim with money. Use your savings, sell your belongings, borrow from relatives. Take advances on your credit cards. Whatever it takes, get your hands on every bit of cash you can and put it in the sack.

Add a brick to the sack, take it to the nearest river and throw it in.

This process will save you time, money, and lots of heartache. Go to your job and pat yourself on the back, knowing that you accomplished in days what takes most poker professionals a lifetime to achieve.

Good luck!

Do you have savings for up to a year at least? You say you have income of around 500/month but besides that you should have at least one year expenses saved up. Also do you play cash games or MTTs? Because if the latter it is not uncommon to have 6month+ downswings.

I think 1500 is a bit tight and south america would probably be your best bet with that budget, but you'd need to speak some spanish/portuguese. Also don't forget that besides living expenses you need to grow the bankroll.

Assuming you could get a similar accountant job in one year's time without worry and have savings as I mentioned, I'd say go for it or you probably regret it later if you don't try. But be honest with yourself that you are in a good position for it.

It would seem south america and southeast asia would be the best places for this. Eastearn europe is getting expensive in comparison. I only know people in south america and 2k per month would be enough to get by in most places and timidly grow the bankroll.

Suggestions without research: Florianopolis in Brazil, Vina del Mar in Chile.

Do it Yolo you wont regret it most likely!

Ya I do have savings well into the five figures. I hadn't thought of Brazil, as I dated a girl from there many years ago, and she did mention that it can be dangerous. Maybe I can try and read up on it and see if it is possible. I did have places like Thailand in mind and possibly Vietnam.

Safe and affordable is key. Hopefully there are other English speaking travellers there as well.

I'm 45 and have lived in Vancouver almost my whole life. Single, no kids, no wife and some really disconnected relationships with people. There isn't really anything for me here. Being a journey man accountant, do I want to keep going with this? Maybe its time for a life adventure and see what else is out there. At 45, I'm over the half way mark for how much longer there is. So it feels like I'd want to experience more.

lol what?

Lol

South is relatively safe compared to other regions of Brazil. Criminal gangs have a low presence, on the south only more on the border with Paraguay maybe.

There is a large expat community in Floripa and Balneario Camboriu, but the latter is more expensive because it is a large tourist destination mixed with high real estate density near the beach. Argentina could also be a consideration if you want to always have the trouble of exchanging money at good rates. It would be cheaper than Brazil, Buenos Aires and Cordoba are great cities.

Southeast asia there will be more english speaking persons I'm guessing and more safety than latin america. Never been to Asia personally so can't speak with experience about it but flights seem long and expensive if one wants to go back and forth.

Brazil is amazing. More people that are scared to go the better. It can be rough, can't just plop yourself down anywhere and hope for the best. Rio is great, no place like it. Chances of getting mugged are up there, but gangs kill each other and have strict rules not to rob people in their communities. If you get mugged it'll be from someone punk not from your area.

If you end up planning for Brazil you can lmk

OP, I am 100% of team sack here and I say that with all respect.

1. You're not poker young and you won't be getting any younger. The game is only going get harder to win and you're only going to get slower. In my 20s I could 18 table no problem, today if I have more than 6 open I begin making mistakes and going it nit mode just to limit the amount of tables i need to actively manage.

2. 1k a month is not comfortable anywhere in the world. Yes, you can survive off of it but look at this with the perspective that nearly everyone who lives in the countries you could go to live off 12k a year would happily leave behind their 12k a year lives in that country to go emigrate to vancouver.

The novelty of the new exotic life or low cost of certain things may make it seem like a good choice. But after a few years the place will lose it's "oh that's new and interesting" charm and you'll no longer see $2 fruit smoothies vs $9 ones enough of a tradeoff. I'm paraphrasing, but David Sedaris said it best, it's wonderful to be a tourist on vacation but there's nothing worse in life that being a foreigner. Not being able to understand most people, not being able to have simple conversations with those who you do understand, not being able to make certain references that everyone understands and likewise, learning the language where you hear and understand everything that was said but still don't know what they meant because you don't understand the background context they are referencing. You are basically Borat, someone few people take seriously and just want to have around because the things that make you unique entertain them and make up for the fact that you are difficult to talk to easily.

You're a million times better off keeping poker as a fun and profitable hobby. Perhaps even go on some poker vacations where you go to a place to grind for 2 weeks etc. At the very least, if you will do this anyway then spend a few months at home dedicating yourself to the grind and prove that you can earn what you expect you can. A few times after my retirement I considered diving back into the game that treated me so well in my early 20s. First time I conservatively estimated I could earn about 3k a month and turned that down because there were much better non poker options. Several years later I did the same dedicated grind and found that number was now 2k a month. Yes, I knew I could study and improve and perhaps increase those winrates. But the trend was undeniable. The game was getting harder, I was getting dumber/slower. Meanwhile, if you earn money outside of poker it's the opposite. Each year you'll earn more and your job will become less stressful as you get better at it.

And if you do ignore this, for the love of god go to a place that has a healthy expat community so you have people to socialize with and don't feel isolated.

Do you play live in the Casinos or online? Hardrock in Coquitlam or River Rock in Rmd?

Hey man, thanks for giving your feedback. You made alot of good points. Ya, I have always felt more comfortable with keeping poker as a hobby. That way, any profits I make, I can enjoy and feel good about, rather than have to depend on for life expenses.

Ya I can totally see how a new environment can seem like a cool escape, but that is very different than making it your new home.

I think I'm at a point in life where I am a bit lost and I'm looking for new ideas and answers. I left my last job at the end of December, and I'm currently on employment insurance while I try to figure out my next move.

Hey man, I haven't played live around the lower mainland for awhile now. The last time I did regularly was at Edgewater around 2015 and 2016. I have played a few sessions at both the River Rock and Hard Rock though. I've contemplated checking out Grand Villa, as I've never been yet. Haven't gotten around to popping in though.

On your budget you're gonna have to make compromises on lifestyle. Are you okay with having a random roommate? Slashing your rent in half will go a really long ways on making ends meet.

Do not underestimate how damaging an ordinary downswing is when your bankroll is already dwindling month-by-month to pay your living expenses. Even just a long breakeven stretch is, in effect, a downswing. It's extremely stressful when you don't know when it's going to end. And you can't always just put in more hours to boost your earnings. You get tired, you start playing worse, and next thing you know you're making enough mistakes to wipe out your edge in the game. I've known guys who turn pro and then they spend 80 hours a week breaking even until they give up on it.

I wouldn't recommend anyone to turn pro unless they reasonably expect to earn double their monthly expenses. Otherwise it's only a matter of time before you get wiped out by variance or medical bills or who knows what. When people want to turn pro they don't like to consider the fact that over time they'll need money to buy new clothes, new computers, new phones... and surely you'll want to visit home from time to time. That all has to be budgeted for.

As long as you know you have a Plan B to fall back on then it's no big deal. Just make sure you know what you're getting yourself into. The lifestyle can be great... if you're winning and your financial situation is extremely comfortable. It can also be really horrible. Stuck home alone all day, people only socialize on weekends and a little bit on weeknights but those are the hours when the games are the best, so you have no social life and there's no sign that your situation will ever improve.

I went on this tangent as a way of saying that you really want to minimize your expenses as much as possible. It's not like any other job where you're fine just as long as your income is any amount more than your expenses. When you're a gambler, the size of that margin is going to have a huge impact on your quality of life.

But back to the tradeoffs thing. South America can be as cheap as you want or need it to be. You get what you pay for. (I'm sure this is true of other places too, but I don't know them.) You can a decent (but not amazing) apartment in the nicest neighborhoods of big cities for quite reasonable prices. I rented a room for $500/month in one of the best parts of Buenos Aires for many years. I'm sure I could have found something much cheaper in middle-class areas that would still be entirely reasonable. And if you want to keep going down... well, there's really no bottom. And you're gonna find pretty similar situations all over the continent. If you want safety and quality construction, you'll pay for it. And if you don't care about safety or building quality, then you won't pay much.

No idea how prices compare right now between countries so can't help on that front.

I wouldn't recommend anyone to turn pro unless they reasonably expect to earn double their monthly expenses. Otherwise it's only a matter of time before you get wiped out by variance or medical bills or who knows what. When people want to turn pro they don't like to consider the fact that over time they'll need money to buy new clothes, new computers, new phones... and surely you'll want to visit home from time to time. That all has to be budgeted for.

Pretty accurate.

In 2010-2011 I took a year out after doing a degree and played for a living. I was just a college grad so the time was ideal. Then Black Friday hit. That was the end of the boom.

It becomes very stressful and isolating playing it for a living. It's just you and your computer. You start to lose your meaning and you start to feel detached from society.

It's one thing playing for a few hours during peak time after work when games are good and you feel like playing.

It's a whole other thing when you have to put in an 8 hour day, when you don't feel like it, when games aren't great and you have the stress of having to make money to pay the bills.

The variance can be very difficult to deal with mentally. You'll have 50k hand break even stretches and you'll wonder am I good enough to win anymore.

It's not a nice life and I'd be a huge loner myself.

But, if you have savings and a bit of passive income coming in you might as well as go for it or try something new.

If it doesn't work out you can just say that you took a year out and return back to Accounting.

At least you'll have the experience to look back on.

I'm from Ireland and the government sees poker as gambling so they don't tax the winnings. That's a massive benefit if you play for a living here.

Malta is where a huge amount of professional players go. Beautiful weather and cheap accommodation.

Best of luck with it.

Nice. My friend Tony Chan Purchased +20 tables from the Edgewater Casino in 2017 when it closed down. I helped him disassemble the tables and load them up into his truck.
You can look at his website Chanman Poker Tables and check out his photo gallery.

https://www.chanmanpokertables.com/

He is he premier quality custom Poker table supplier in NA. Supplies to lots of casinos now.
Back then he was small and re-surfaced and re-edged all the tables and sold them for a decent profit.
I purchased one of those tables from him.
It has been all uphill for him from there.... Doubled in size.. then doubled again....So much work now that he had to stop taking orders as he was backed up by 6 months with Casino custom orders.

The best part of playing poker for a living is not playing poker. Ie you get to take lots of time off to travel and do fun stuff and not be stuck at the table. Besides that it kinda sucks, but still the hourly is pretty fantastic for sitting around playing a card game, if you’re a good player, or more importantly can find soft games. I certainly would not recommend doing it for a living in your 40’s though! Maybe try it for a year, but I’d bet pretty heavily you’ll be back to the stability of accounting though.

The most important question is, can you beat the game?

If you're a winning player, it'll make things much much easier. Start at a cheap place and grind hard for a couple months, then move a better place and live life with nice pssy so you won't be lonely and just talk to expats day in, day out.

Problem is, making a few K grinding online poker isn't easy. Games at Villa, Parq probably earn you a much larger winrate with less difficulty.

Thanks for the feedback guys. I am enjoying playing poker. Haven't been working and been playing more hours the past few weeks. I am a winning player, but it hasn't been prosperous. I've made around $800 in this time period.

I'm just kind of in a lost period in life and maybe poker as a new career isn't the answer to my problems. I would like to improve my game more, and would be open to dedicate more time to improving my game. However, I'm not sure what the best way to improve right now is.

I am currently doing a few quizzes from a website as well as reading some articles. I have a few weaknesses I'd like to improve on, but not sure about how. Some are:

-I use PokerTracker4, but I'm not sure the best way to review my place and spot and improve leaks. I play MTTs so I'm not sure how to do this. I believe it is easier for cash game players though, but I could be wrong.
-I don't know how to use a solver or ICMIZER for improving my game. I'm not sure how these tool would improve my game either.

Some sites I'm currently contemplating on checking out for training are pokercoaching, upswingpoker and raise your edge. Trying to figure out what is best for just one month of intense study vs a year long membership.

if you don't know how to use a solver, you are a solid 6 months away of 20+ hours/week of study to even begin to consider poker as a career choice IF you have outstanding natural ability.
Get staked, not for the bankroll - but for the accountability and resources of studying like a professional.
In your mid 40s and playing poker for decades I'd imagine you've developed a ton of horrible habits that will be a huge obstacle in making it online for anything over a $10-15 ABI. There are rare exceptions, of course.