Bit of Advice required - Mixed in with some background

[outragous76]

Why would it break your soul to play £20 tournaments?

Sounds like you have the makings of a gambling problem if the buzz of winning a £20 comp already isn't enough.

Concentrate on studies and keep poker as a hobby. Forget BRM because if you're not playing £20 comps you haven't got any.

Just play whatever you want and when the money's gone just stop playing until you can save up enough to play again.

Only as these tourneys are so badly structured end up being crap shooots. I have actively looked for tourneys with good structures. Although playing until money runs out sounds same as what Alex is saying and i like this idea

although i know what you mean - if you perfect shove botting you will crush these games and build a roll

[Killerkilsby]

i suppose, my other concern is i would have to drive 1 hour + to get to a place to play £20 comps and with the current petrol rates not sure if i cant make this pay.

[cambridgealex]

play online imo

[vegaslover]

Why would it break your soul to play £20 tournaments?

Sounds like you have the makings of a gambling problem if the buzz of winning a £20 comp already isn't enough.

Concentrate on studies and keep poker as a hobby. Forget BRM because if you're not playing £20 comps you haven't got any.

Just play whatever you want and when the money's gone just stop playing until you can save up enough to play again.

Only as these tourneys are so badly structured end up being crap shooots. I have actively looked for tourneys with good structures. Although playing until money runs out sounds same as what Alex is saying and i like this idea

although i know what you mean - if you perfect shove botting you will crush these games and build a roll

Very much this^^^^^^
Your oppos in these probably have little knowledge of push/fold strat, this is where your edge becomes huge imo.
If your not that familiar with Push/fold or ICM, the just play a load of very low stake STTs, you'll pick it up in no time

[Killerkilsby]

Thanks for all the advice, feel i am stepping backwards in the game but hopefully for the better think ill continue to play small tourneys online with good structures. And put aside £200 a month for live tourneys as mentioned by Alex for 2 or 4 events.

Try and satellite the £300 every now and then.

[kukushkin88]

The advice from SuuPRlim is excellent. The only thing I would add would be to consider not playing at all during your last year in Uni, spend the money enjoying yourself and use the time you would have spent playing utilising every available resource to learn everything you can about the game. Once you have your degree you´re in a much better spot to decide what role poker will play in your future.

[leethefish]

Dan mate

I think Alex's advice is spot on.

I never have had a poker bankroll unfortunately I know I should but when self employed with 3 kids the roll will be spent my kids wife house holidays etc all come before poker.
If I have a win I book a holiday lol maybe one day I'll do it properly
Which is why Alex's advice sounds the one
Very best of luck mate your a nice guy and I hope you do well

[PizzicatoXev]

What they said...

I really do think the point about concentrating on Uni should be reiterated a few dozen more times...

I have a friend who grinds high stakes SnGo on Stars who just got his degree this year. ..

He did 'ok' in his degree and ended up with a 2:1 and while I don't want to say he cruised through his last year, I am 99% certain he would admit he didn't do as much as he could have done and the major factor contributing towards that was poker. Obviously I am in not much of a position to judge what grade he could have earned had he focused a little more on his degree instead of splitting it with poker but I am sure he could have at least made a 1:2 if not better. He already has a few regrets about this and I am sure that its something that over time will gnaw at him, especially when he eventually goes to a job interview and gets lumped in with all the other mind numbingly boring candidates who scraped through with degrees putting in twice the effort he did...

Its not just the travelling time and time spent playing poker you have to consider in this decision, its also other considerations like mental fatigue and all the associated knock on effects that being a poker player presents itself with (ie late nights, shitty food, conversations that induce your braincells to skydive out of your nostrils with no parachute...).

If your looking at monetary reasons to play poker, heres a couple of reasons why you shouldn't...

Firstly, getting the best possible degree/qualifications is extremely important at your age. Hell it was extremely important at my age, I just wasn't that academic and didn't have the experience/vision to know it. We all know these days, even with the best in the land, degrees do not mean you have a guaranteed job. BUT... try getting a job without one... You need to find your way to the head of the queue somehow and spending time in casinos just isn't gonna cut it.

Secondly, assuming you get to the head of the queue, congratulations! You are on your way in your chosen career! It may not sound like much, but even getting into your career path a year or two earlier than you might otherwise have done is absolutely massive as far as earning potential goes. These days your either a high flyer or your scrubbing the bogs in Maccy D's and you need to have something to show them that you can get shit done. Sharkscope/Hendon Mob screenshots only impress other poker players.

Don't even try to think that you can balance them both because it doesn't work like that. You need time to live, see your friends, shag totally improbable girls and forget all about it the next day. By all means play now and again for shits and giggles but don't set yourself into a grind mode or even committing to play each week because while your poker may suffer from Uni work, your Uni work suffering from poker isn't a risk you should be willing to take.

Could write a helluva lot more, and I may come back to do so after eventually getting some sleep but I think you get the idea...

[kinboshi]

I think that a lot of the players in the £300 at DTD are not 'rolled' for it.

There are some good players who are, but I'd imagine they're the exception rather than the rule. Some are independently wealthy enough to buy in each month and can afford to lose that money. They don't use bankroll management, they just use disposable income.

With your bankroll and revenue stream you obviously aren't able to buy in to the tournament each month. Someone mentioned it earlier, but the simple solution is trying to satellite in. The same goes for the 6-max tournaments that might become a regular thing at DTD.

The cost of the satellites will come from your monthly bankroll allowance, and so you can play them each month and hopefully score a few seats. My advice would be to look for the value in the satellites and play those. One month you might be able to bag a few seats, so you can roll the additional seats to subsequent months. Then all you have to do is win the main event

I don't know what course you're doing (might have missed it if it's been mentioned in the thread), but I'd expect that from the New Year until your final exams you are going to have very limited time for poker. You will have a long time as a graduate, so obviously your degree has to come first. Poker will be around in June, so don't think that you're missing out on opportunities.

Also, think about your missus. You're going to be busy studying and also playing a bit of poker. Make sure you maintain the balance.

[c4ught]

2k is not enough to play £100 comps, not even close really. It's not really enough to play £50 comps, but they are so soft that you could probably get away with it and so long as you didn't run terrible at the start you might be alright. The £100 comps don't happen that often at DTD so maybe when they do, put in £60 and sell 40% to some mates, that way you're playing the comp with the good structure and big prizepool but not risking too much.

I know so many people in your position. What I'd recommend is this.

You have 2k in the poker roll and about 10 months left at uni right? Put £200 aside each month. Every month try and spin that £200 up playing cash or a couple of £100 freezeouts, or 4 £50 ones. Most months you'll bust it obv, but it doesn't matter, you'll just try again next month and the one time you run good, it may set you up to be properly rolled for playing all the time. This way you won't go broke ever, until the end of the year when it doesn't really matter and every month you'll have a shot and it'll be something to look forward to.

A few of my mates are like that, they have jobs, get paid each month, pay bills/general expenses then they'll have 300quid leftover or something and try spin that up. Seems to work ok.

Do this!

play online imo

Dont do this unless you can easily stop playing/enjoy doing your uni work!

[dakky]

I have a friend who grinds high stakes SnGo on Stars who just got his degree this year. ..

He did 'ok' in his degree and ended up with a 2:1 and while I don't want to say he cruised through his last year, I am 99% certain he would admit he didn't do as much as he could have done and the major factor contributing towards that was poker. Obviously I am in not much of a position to judge what grade he could have earned had he focused a little more on his degree instead of splitting it with poker but I am sure he could have at least made a 1:2 if not better

what is a 1:2?

degree grades are:

1st
2:1
2:2
3rd
fail

[PizzicatoXev]

I have a friend who grinds high stakes SnGo on Stars who just got his degree this year. ..

He did 'ok' in his degree and ended up with a 2:1 and while I don't want to say he cruised through his last year, I am 99% certain he would admit he didn't do as much as he could have done and the major factor contributing towards that was poker. Obviously I am in not much of a position to judge what grade he could have earned had he focused a little more on his degree instead of splitting it with poker but I am sure he could have at least made a 1:2 if not better

what is a 1:2?

degree grades are:

1st
2:1
2:2
3rd
fail

Lol shows how academic I am just a bit lol

[Bongo]

Isn't there one between a third and a fail? Some form of general non honours degree or something.

[gatso]

Isn't there one between a third and a fail? Some form of general non honours degree or something.

yep, there's a pass which is a degree without honours, some weird latiny named thing which is a pass with honours but not graded because you were too ill to sit the exam and a double first if you're dead clever and go to a poncy uni

[kinboshi]

A 2:1 can also be known as a sportsman's first. You would/could have got a first class degree, but you also had a life at uni.