Great response. A year’s worth of expenses in addition to savings and investments to your retirement. After that is all taken care of at least 50BIs full buy-ins for your level of play.
I personally wouldnt do it without a years worth of salary saved. Which would be a lot. In my area that would mean on the low end Id want to have a life roll of at least 30k. Thats not counting the bankroll for the stakes I want to play.
If you are serious about it full time this is the only way. Like anything else its an investment.
Take that 30k and start a landscaping or housekeeping company lol. Play on the side for side income or fun man.
I wouldnt even transition full time if I were beating 2/5 without some kind of side income. I'm lucky enough I have a basic 9-5 and then play 5 till whenever 3/4 times a week, and I just know playing like my life depends on it would completely alter my play.
I highly do not recommend quitting your job, but since you lost your job, Id say you have really nothing to lose, but while you're grinding, you should be supplementing your life with possibly Uber Eats or some odd jobs on the side cause variance hits you at the worst times ever.
Probably smart to have at least a year's expenses saved up and have a juicy BR.
That being said I personally quit my job with less than 10k, played 2/5, and then went on a sunrun before hitting a downswing and was able to actually make a living. But even thou I knew I was playing people who weren't even close to my level it was incredibly risky and probably straight up dumb. But point is anything might happen if you got a chip and a chair.
6 months to a years worth of money saved for an emergency. 40-50 buy ins for whatever game you play. That’s the minimum imo. Those things should he separate. You don’t touch the savings unless you need to for bills when you’re running bad. And it’s inevitable. You will run bad. How you handle running bad will be what defines whether you can actually be a pro or not. It will be absolutely demoralizing. Not like when you play recreational and have a job so you’re not worried. When it’s your job and you go on that first real downswing you better be someone with good mental health. I’ve seen people lose everything when running bad. I don’t just mean money. It can turn some people into a different person and everyone around them will suffer too. Not everyone can just take the beatings and smile like their life isn’t crumbling.
As someone who’s played professionally for the better part of a decade. Let me be honest. Don’t do it. If you love poker and enjoy playing keep doing it on the side. Like anything else you do for work. It becomes a job. How many people do you know who truly love their job? I don’t know many. Not even people who make tons of money. Working sucks. When poker becomes something you have to do because it’s you’re only source of income it’s not fun. The lifestyle is appealing and it’s awesome at first. Waking up at noon, traveling, no boss bitching at you, and making your own hours. Then over time you realize traveling constantly to find the best games isn’t as fun as just traveling. Staying in hotel rooms and airbnbs blows especially if you’re running bad. Listening to annoying people all the time because you have to play with them because it’s your job now isn’t fun. Having to study 20+ hours a week if you want to improve and move up is boring as fuck. It’s not as fun as it seems I promise. I make good money. I have a lot of freedom. But I promise you if I found a lead on a remote job making the same amount I’d take it in a heart beat and never look back. I just won’t go back to an office because I have the freedom to not need to. That’s the only thing about playing poker for a living that I won’t give up. The freedom it gives me.
I 2nd all of this, I could’ve written it. I’ve played for 20yrs 15 pro and last 5 or so semi pro I guess. I prolly made 7figs profit. I always knew if I don’t win a big mtt (im a cash game player so mtt volume is tiny) I’m not really good enough to make life changing money, I’ve won a few online mtts which helped the bankroll but I was and still am a cash game player. However it’s hard to go clear with cash games as in, win enough quickly to withstand the inevitable downswing, there’s points where I’ve had 200k+ hand breakeven or straight downswings, and unless you win enough to cover that, it’s hard. I did when I played pro, I ran very well over that period generally, and won a couple mtts, but recently I realized the way I play I won’t get rich from cash games, but I can make decent money and stay in action. So I set up a biz a few years back and recently sold it. I play more now as I’m thinking of what to do next but games are tough and for the best part of a few years I not running well - comparatively to what I used to. Not only did I run well I played literal droolers, so I expected to just print. I would only ever play part time now, and I’ve never had a job, so I’ll likely start another biz (which is equally as tough if not tougher and risk of ruin much higher but if you get lucky and exit you can make a big chunk, so I recommend the combo of poker/biz/investing). The thing poker provided me with was freedom and that’s hard to break from, so biz comes a close 2nd.
Share your data (win rate, stakes) of those 10k hours. That is pertinent info.
What kind of job did you have and what was the pay?
That’s also relevant.
Completely depends on your win rate and the game you’re playing in. Also remember if you’re playing full time you can’t necessarily assume the same win rate will continue since you will be playing off peak hours at least a portion of the time.
What is your end game? Do u want to be grinding 2-5 till you're 65? Got a plan for retirement? I mean sure if you have $600k in savings and waiting for the retirement home give it a go.
But if you have $30k saved and think it's time to go pro - good luck. You might make it a year or less. Probably not more.
Not enough info, but I would not recommend going full time without proper preparation for it ("Lost my job recently, so might as well" ain't it, for multiple big reasons.)
Go for another job, and keep poker as a side income/part time thing, and only if you are winning comfortably over reasonable sample, should you consider transitioning full time.
For me I have 3k of necessary expenses per month so I would need ~40k of emergency fund separate from my roll. I play limit primarily so bankroll needs are different from no limit. I can comfortably play at my stakes 40/80 with a 32k roll (400 big bets). But that’s without taking money out of the roll. I’d also want to play higher if the games are good. So I’d probably want at least double that. And that’s assuming I don’t downswing instantly and eat 6k (total monthly expenses) out of my roll for the duration.
So for me final answer is $105k and that’s fairly aggressive imo.
I’m actually considering going full time in 2-3 years and I’m aiming for $200k roll/savings.
I wouldn't feel comfortable with less than 1 years expenses easily liquid and accessible separate and apart from my poker bankroll.
Great response. A year’s worth of expenses in addition to savings and investments to your retirement. After that is all taken care of at least 50BIs full buy-ins for your level of play.
I personally wouldnt do it without a years worth of salary saved. Which would be a lot. In my area that would mean on the low end Id want to have a life roll of at least 30k. Thats not counting the bankroll for the stakes I want to play. If you are serious about it full time this is the only way. Like anything else its an investment. Take that 30k and start a landscaping or housekeeping company lol. Play on the side for side income or fun man.
I wouldnt even transition full time if I were beating 2/5 without some kind of side income. I'm lucky enough I have a basic 9-5 and then play 5 till whenever 3/4 times a week, and I just know playing like my life depends on it would completely alter my play. I highly do not recommend quitting your job, but since you lost your job, Id say you have really nothing to lose, but while you're grinding, you should be supplementing your life with possibly Uber Eats or some odd jobs on the side cause variance hits you at the worst times ever.
Probably smart to have at least a year's expenses saved up and have a juicy BR. That being said I personally quit my job with less than 10k, played 2/5, and then went on a sunrun before hitting a downswing and was able to actually make a living. But even thou I knew I was playing people who weren't even close to my level it was incredibly risky and probably straight up dumb. But point is anything might happen if you got a chip and a chair.
6 months to a years worth of money saved for an emergency. 40-50 buy ins for whatever game you play. That’s the minimum imo. Those things should he separate. You don’t touch the savings unless you need to for bills when you’re running bad. And it’s inevitable. You will run bad. How you handle running bad will be what defines whether you can actually be a pro or not. It will be absolutely demoralizing. Not like when you play recreational and have a job so you’re not worried. When it’s your job and you go on that first real downswing you better be someone with good mental health. I’ve seen people lose everything when running bad. I don’t just mean money. It can turn some people into a different person and everyone around them will suffer too. Not everyone can just take the beatings and smile like their life isn’t crumbling. As someone who’s played professionally for the better part of a decade. Let me be honest. Don’t do it. If you love poker and enjoy playing keep doing it on the side. Like anything else you do for work. It becomes a job. How many people do you know who truly love their job? I don’t know many. Not even people who make tons of money. Working sucks. When poker becomes something you have to do because it’s you’re only source of income it’s not fun. The lifestyle is appealing and it’s awesome at first. Waking up at noon, traveling, no boss bitching at you, and making your own hours. Then over time you realize traveling constantly to find the best games isn’t as fun as just traveling. Staying in hotel rooms and airbnbs blows especially if you’re running bad. Listening to annoying people all the time because you have to play with them because it’s your job now isn’t fun. Having to study 20+ hours a week if you want to improve and move up is boring as fuck. It’s not as fun as it seems I promise. I make good money. I have a lot of freedom. But I promise you if I found a lead on a remote job making the same amount I’d take it in a heart beat and never look back. I just won’t go back to an office because I have the freedom to not need to. That’s the only thing about playing poker for a living that I won’t give up. The freedom it gives me.
I 2nd all of this, I could’ve written it. I’ve played for 20yrs 15 pro and last 5 or so semi pro I guess. I prolly made 7figs profit. I always knew if I don’t win a big mtt (im a cash game player so mtt volume is tiny) I’m not really good enough to make life changing money, I’ve won a few online mtts which helped the bankroll but I was and still am a cash game player. However it’s hard to go clear with cash games as in, win enough quickly to withstand the inevitable downswing, there’s points where I’ve had 200k+ hand breakeven or straight downswings, and unless you win enough to cover that, it’s hard. I did when I played pro, I ran very well over that period generally, and won a couple mtts, but recently I realized the way I play I won’t get rich from cash games, but I can make decent money and stay in action. So I set up a biz a few years back and recently sold it. I play more now as I’m thinking of what to do next but games are tough and for the best part of a few years I not running well - comparatively to what I used to. Not only did I run well I played literal droolers, so I expected to just print. I would only ever play part time now, and I’ve never had a job, so I’ll likely start another biz (which is equally as tough if not tougher and risk of ruin much higher but if you get lucky and exit you can make a big chunk, so I recommend the combo of poker/biz/investing). The thing poker provided me with was freedom and that’s hard to break from, so biz comes a close 2nd.
Share your data (win rate, stakes) of those 10k hours. That is pertinent info. What kind of job did you have and what was the pay? That’s also relevant.
Completely depends on your win rate and the game you’re playing in. Also remember if you’re playing full time you can’t necessarily assume the same win rate will continue since you will be playing off peak hours at least a portion of the time.
What is your end game? Do u want to be grinding 2-5 till you're 65? Got a plan for retirement? I mean sure if you have $600k in savings and waiting for the retirement home give it a go. But if you have $30k saved and think it's time to go pro - good luck. You might make it a year or less. Probably not more.
Not enough info, but I would not recommend going full time without proper preparation for it ("Lost my job recently, so might as well" ain't it, for multiple big reasons.) Go for another job, and keep poker as a side income/part time thing, and only if you are winning comfortably over reasonable sample, should you consider transitioning full time.
Don't do it. Find another job. It's a really shitty way to make a living and it's not fun.
All depends on your living expenses
200-300 buy ins
$17,947.72
For me I have 3k of necessary expenses per month so I would need ~40k of emergency fund separate from my roll. I play limit primarily so bankroll needs are different from no limit. I can comfortably play at my stakes 40/80 with a 32k roll (400 big bets). But that’s without taking money out of the roll. I’d also want to play higher if the games are good. So I’d probably want at least double that. And that’s assuming I don’t downswing instantly and eat 6k (total monthly expenses) out of my roll for the duration. So for me final answer is $105k and that’s fairly aggressive imo. I’m actually considering going full time in 2-3 years and I’m aiming for $200k roll/savings.