Poker as a career- advice needed

[Spencer]

hey guys jus wanting to know what everyone would think a decent bankroll would be to take that risk of trying poker as a living, im asking this because in the past week ive made more money from poker than i would normally get from 2 1/2 months of 9 to 5's, (one big mtt win, 4 final tables, 1 win on the ladder at laddies and another few cashes on the same ladders) im thinking about taking a month off if i continue to get decent results. is it a wise decision or am i just dreaming?

[TightEnd]

Well done on your recent results


but


You're dreaming!



large bankroll to withstand the hard times, a much longer track record of success across many types of MTT/STT/Cash so you know what suits you, the temperament to cope with having to play rather than wanting to play...all necessities


I know nothing of your personal circumstances or savings and don't want to know but the key word you mention is risk!


A month off sounds fun though!

[matt674]

Firstly i would suggest playing for 12 months and seeing if you can sustain continually getting the good results over a period of time.

Getting a couple of good results in a few weeks is not enough to go off to contemplate giving up work.

In 2004 and 2005 i believed my results were good enough playing mtt's on pokerstars to give up work and play full time - however 2006 didnt get off to the best of starts and in the end i decided that i didnt want to put myself under the pressure of having to get results week in week out to pay the bills and put food on the table. The arrival of babymonkeyboy in November made me glad i didnt make that decision and now i'm happy starting to rebuild my bankroll from scratch without any pressure knowing that the bills are still being paid and i dont have to cash regularly.

[Acidmouse]

If you don't have a mortgage, kids to pay for and a nagging wife I would say go for it.

was it u who won the 100k tourney on laddies $25k 1st? I saw he was from up here.

[Spencer]

thanks for the quick responses guys, advice taken on board, it just seems a double edged sword doesnt it, id like to do both properly but with having to get up early for work kinda rules out the late night mtt's, so really only have weekends to play the games i like, im not a cash player so its just the ladders and mtt's for me. think i'll give it a couple of months see if i can get some more results, then maybe take that month off and put in the hours on the tables

[Spencer]

hey acidmouse nah that wasnt me, although i did satellite my way into the 100k and managed to cash 1st time round, i was basically a losing cash and stt game player but since i switched to the ladders and mtt's ive had a load of good results thats why i opened this discussion, btw no wife no mortgage and no kiddies lol

[Acidmouse]

btw no wife no mortgage and no kiddies lol

No brainer for me You only live once, and unless you in fantastic Job you can always go back to it..

*this advice comes with a disclaimer, no comebacks on me*

[TightEnd]

, i was basically a losing cash and stt game player but since i switched to the ladders and mtt's

serious questions


why the big difference? what changed?

[AndrewT]

hey acidmouse nah that wasnt me, although i did satellite my way into the 100k and managed to cash 1st time round, i was basically a losing cash and stt game player but since i switched to the ladders and mtt's ive had a load of good results thats why i opened this discussion, btw no wife no mortgage and no kiddies lol

You also appear to contradict yourself. You say since i switched to the ladders and mtt's ive had a load of good results but earlier on you say you've only won one of each. Two wins isn't 'loads of good results'. Lower cashes usually only pay for that day's entry fees.

If you are a losing cash and STT player then you will need a huge bankroll to survive from playing MTTs. Which you won't have from 2 wins.

As Matt says, come back in a year when you have played at least 1000 MTTs and still show a good profit.

[AndrewT]

, i was basically a losing cash and stt game player but since i switched to the ladders and mtt's

serious questions

why the big difference? what changed?

Runhotluckbox variance.

[kinboshi]

Agree with what's been said above, but if you have no commitments and have a 'disposable' bankroll, have a go for a month or so.  Nothing to lose (other than your bankroll and a few months income from a proper job).

[Spencer]

seriously i have no idea, maybe it was because i was playing at the lower level limits where all the fish were and as i had no bankroll management whenever i got a bad beat it was usually for all my money, but since i listened to the jesus ferguson way ie: using only 5-10% of ur bankroll at a time to enter mtt's and as such, and taking risks earlier on in the rebuy mtt's maybe thats whats changed, because now 9 times out of 10 i go deep in the mtt's, analyzing my game aswell and not being driven by the money at stake also has helped me get rusults, (lol maybe i do have an idea about it then)

[AndrewT]

seriously i have no idea, maybe it was because i was playing at the lower level limits where all the fish were and as i had no bankroll management whenever i got a bad beat it was usually for all my money, but since i listened to the jesus ferguson way ie: using only 5-10% of ur bankroll at a time to enter mtt's and as such, and taking risks earlier on in the rebuy mtt's maybe thats whats changed, because now 9 times out of 10 i go deep in the mtt's, analyzing my game aswell and not being driven by the money at stake also has helped me get rusults, (lol maybe i do have an idea about it then)

The Chris Ferguson plan was to only ever have 5% of your bankroll on the table in a cash game - it's nothing to do with MTTs. Buying into MTTs with 5% of your bankroll will almost certainly lead to busto. I am overall a winning MTT player, but I've had a run of 43 tournaments without a cash in the past. What are you going to do if you hit such a run?

Can I ask what level of MTTs you're playing? Have you worked out how much you are, on average, earning per hour of playing poker?

[matt674]

Can't really knock Mr Ferguson but the concept of "only" using 10% of your total bankroll to buy in to an mtt isn't going to get you very far.

This gives you just 10 shots at one level of tournaments or you will have to be continually dropping levels after every MTT loss.

Its unlikely that you will get a good indication of your level of MTT capability in just 10 tournaments.

[matt674]

bugger that batman and his quick typing fingers!!