On Tilt sent me an email inquiring about what it really took to play poker for a living. I was happy to answer, it being the holidays and all. And because Dan is withholding my Christmas bonus on the grounds that I don\’t post enough, I thought I\’d share our conversation with the educated readers of Pokerati who probably have given some thought to the same question:
From: Tom Schneider
Sent: Wednesday, December 19, 2007 7:03 PM
To: \’on tilt\’
Subject: RE: it\’s your favorite nuisance…Hey OT,
You are in a similar position that I was many years ago. Good results, but no place to play, and playing too small to make a real living. In order to think that you could make a living playing poker, I think you need to test yourself at limits that would allow you to live the same or better than what you’re used to. In other words, if you make $50,000 per year, that’s about $25 per hour. You are going to need to play at least 10-20 limit or, I would say 5-10 NL. I think many people make the mistaken assumption that winning at 1-2 translates into winning at 5-10 and higher etc. I even find myself sometimes taking 1 month of good results and interpolating 12 good months and wow, I’m rich. I believe that you need to keep detailed records until you have the equivalent of at least 6 months of full time work, i.e. 1,000 hours at the table.
I hope this helps
—–Original Message—–
From: [on tilt]
Sent: Wednesday, December 12, 2007 4:24 PM
To: tom schneider
Subject: it\’s your favorite nuisance…On Tilt…remember me.
I hate to bother you. I really do. But you are the closest thing to an authority with a proven track record that I can ask.
So basically, I\’ve already convinced myself that I could play cards for a living. But i have two things holding me back.
1. Bankroll. poker is essentially a part time job for me, and I partly live off of the money I make playing….so the bankroll is not growing. and between current job and family, I don\’t get out to play cards enough to get ahead.
2. There aren\’t any games big enough around here that make consistantly that would support doing it for a living. oh yeah, I limit almost exclusively when playing cash games at casino\’s or local rooms.
well i think most of that was irrelevant. i made a post on a local forum, and someone suggested that i email you and ask your opinion…so here I am.
i\’ll include a link to the post. i don\’t expect you to post there, but if you have time to take a look, i would love to hear your thoughts.
oh yeah, just a little warning. the core group that post there have all become pretty good friends. don\’t be alarmed by any derogatory banter or hazing you might encounter there.
on tilt
