Bart, you’re pretty honest. It would be better for your short term numbers and subscriber count to tell everyone to “go pro” immediately but instead you’re honest. The reality is the grind is hard, the other things are hard (insurance, housing, credit applications, etc without stable income) and a run of bad luck can just destroy you. If you have a day job, some steady income, not so bad. The poker pros making money by being big names are exactly that - making money by being big names. Most people don’t get paid for sponsorships, paid to be on tv, they just have to put in the work. And it’s a lot of work. I enjoy gardening and I love eating what we grow but I would not want to be a full time farmer. And if I plant something and it dies or gets eaten, I don’t care. If I were a farmer and couldn’t afford to pay rent or fix my car because of one bad crop? Terrible.

@aw7049

8 ай бұрын

I love the farmer example

Bart is 100% spot on. Poker is a great part time gig but a terrible full time gig. Most poker rooms have good games on Friday and Saturday evenings or specifically when the lineups might be good. Achieving a good win rate with low variance as a professional is all about game selection. I think its super easy to find 10 hours a week of great games but super hard to find 30-40 hours of great games. You need the discipline to walk from bad games. A lot of pro players don't have any other options so they end up grinding against other good players. All they are doing is passing chips back and forth while paying rake and tips.

@pmlking

2 жыл бұрын

This is so spot on. No limit holdem isnt “solved” technically but players are competent enough now that win rates are low. Brunson said it himself - “ its to easy to play perfect no limit holdem”

@fanfan7848

2 жыл бұрын

@@pmlking are you sure Brunson said that ?

@TakenGTs

Жыл бұрын

Damn my dreams....

@davidculhane4388

10 ай бұрын

If you are in a line of work to begin with that has bad hours and not great benefits like the service industry, nothing is really changing by going pro except possibly more money and doing what you love. I played as a live pro for a year in Atlantic City several years ago and now I own a restaurant, which isn't as glamorous as you might imagine. I fantasize about going back to playing poker for a living and am currently strongly considering selling my restaurant and going for it while I am still young enough and without serious life responsibilities.

I love these kind of vids but only while I'm running good.

@venikoutsoulianos2467

2 жыл бұрын

I have never relayed to a post more in my life

@ericanderson4201

2 жыл бұрын

Someday you will run worse than you can possibly imagine - leatherass

I hit up the Lodge for the MUG last week. I played one night for 5 hours and won $1,163. I've already quit everything and bought a home in Leander!

@nuklearwinter2892

2 жыл бұрын

lmao that perfectly sums up the caller

Great reply, 2011/12 I gave up work as a single dad and played for a living on line on PKR mainly. 2011 I made $83,000 2012 $127000. It nearly destroyed me, I was putting in 18 hour days, no social life, unable to sleep as I would wake up and turn the computer on. Played while cooking, played in front of the T.V even took the laptop into the bathroom during baths. The money was rolling in, the volume was insane all MTTs no cash, never a buy in under $20 or over $100 No satellites. I let friends down because I was in a MTT when I should have been dressed on my way out. I only stopped for things involving my son, it never interfered with him, sitting out to drive him to a mates, days off for his football or our holidays. Bar that and sleep it was 24/7 I still play as a time killer, still win but no longer love the game. It really did break me for years afterwards, you need to be a very controlled individual and able to move up buy ins to make this a sustainable life style.. gl

Your truthfulness and tact is unmatched in the poker content world, in my opinion. Thank you Bart.

Unless you have a good diet, clear mind, no life distractions, and healthy bankroll, poker is not for you. Those chasing their dream of being a professional poker player with a small bankroll just won’t make it as the swings are brutal and tilt plays a factor if you don’t have a clear and strong mind. Many people punt off thousands of dollars due to lack of self control due to their mental state regarding their personal life. First, settle all your distractions in your life. Even great poker players suffer due to their personal life.

@DeportillegalAliens

3 ай бұрын

And some get drunk to often when. They play

I appreciate the tactfulness you showed to this caller. It's so easy to say "sample size" or rant about how tough the poker lifestyle is, but when someone asks this question it's impossible for them to take that on board. I think your advice is probably the most helpful thing to be said.

I remember when I started playing at my home casino. 1/2 NL and won 17 sessions out of 20 my first couple months and I literally almost quit my job to "play full time" because I felt I couldn't lose. Came back down to earth real quick when I had a huge downswing and lost about 10 or 11 sessions for a total of about 5 grand in the hole. That downswing made me realize to never quit my job and to only play as a hobby. Now a days I play once or twice a month a Saturday and it is so much more enjoyable than doing it everyday like I used to.

@TakenGTs

Жыл бұрын

Damn 💔

@webguy943

3 ай бұрын

Sounds like u just suck at poker tbh.

Fwiw: I started playing regularly in 2004 in Tunica. Though it wasn’t with the goal of playing professionally, I moved to Vegas in 2010. From the end of 2010 until March of 2015, I was playing 40+ hours/week, primarily at the Bellagio (2-5 & 5-10), though I did change scenery occasionally. By 2013, I still put in the time, but I was over it. Without regard to the money - and I did very well - the hit to my quality of life wasn’t sustainable. I’m just now - almost 7 years later - starting to play a little again, and it's just for fun. I'm much older with grown children, but I think I'd have arrived at the same place had I started in my 20’s. Everyone's different, of course. GL to the caller.

@move_i_got_this5659

2 жыл бұрын

Same with me, I use to play 60 hours a week because I wouldn’t leave until I made money. I became burned out, I developed back problems and I quit for ten years. I just started back and I’m doing great but I will not quit my job this time. I need to be grounded in reality to keep my emotions balanced.

“Means to an end” is a great way to look at it. I’m mid 20s with very minimal life expenses so it works for me now, but i won’t be playing 40hr/week for the next 50 years, using poker profits to fuel smart investments or passive income streams is the way🙌

I say go for it. I played 3 years about 60 hours a week. Sitting that much is not healthy though! It got painful. My back began to hurt. My legs hurt. My balls would go numb. The reason that I got out though was I could no longer make as much money as players got to know how I played because they played against me EVERY day. If you have the ability to move around, constantly play different places, and have the will to workout and stay in shape, there's not a more satisfying line of work in the world.

Spot on!!! Totally agree. Plus, ONLY playing poker is SOOOOO unfulfilling.

@The20thHijacker

2 жыл бұрын

Exactly. I played full-time online in 2009 and got fed up in just a couple of months even though the money was ok and the work was less frustrating than the job I had quit. I hated that it was a really pointless pursuit. It’s not like I was making anybody's life better. The casinos live off the losing player not off the winning player. In a way you’re a parasite on the system. I enjoy in-person play more, and there is some opportunity to deliver value there. There are some winning players who are so entertaining to play with, that I didn’t mind losing money to them as a rec. But it’s rare to be able to do that. I think this is why so many pros turn to producing content like Neeme or training like Bart. Much more satisfying.

@digitaldavid5633

2 жыл бұрын

@@The20thHijacker Well said.

Great advice Bart. Hopefully, that dude listens. The grind is real. No matter what your hourly is, hard not to gas out at live grinding eventually. It gets old. One thing I didn't hear mentioned, players start to adjust to your style the more you play. I absolutely think there is a potential for diminishing returns as you put more time in and particularly as you go up in stakes and there are less tables/players.

@counterweightshenanigans2808

2 жыл бұрын

Diminishing returns as players got to know me playing every day is what forced me back into a regular job after 3 years. Tables also dropping to 6 and 7 players with the covid really hurt for my style of play also. I didn't gas out however. I loved it.

Well said Bart. Spoken from the perspective of a real pro grinder

Classic. I remember looking at my spreadsheet thinking, I'm almost at $40/hr. I'm ready to move to Las Vegas! Then the poker gods laid me low. Very discouraging to say the least.

@RaulGroom

2 жыл бұрын

Live players just have no idea how small their samples are. You play for hours and hours and hours, it seems like so many hands. It's not that many hands. You don't know your actual winrate if you play casually. Period.

@kevdawg55

2 жыл бұрын

@@RaulGroom what about 40k hands online?

@RaulGroom

2 жыл бұрын

40k hands is a reasonable sample. Of course there is no guarantee that those results will be replicated in the next 40k hands but you can expect they will usually be roughly similar. But think about how long it would take to accumulate that sample playing 10hr/wk at a live table. That's literally years of play.

@rodylipson5687

2 жыл бұрын

@@RaulGroom Live play is completely different from online play. You're edge should be much bigger if you're a good live player, which reduces the variance.

@RaulGroom

2 жыл бұрын

@@rodylipson5687 true but if you're talking about playing for money it needs to be much bigger, and while the variance is less as a percentage of your bankroll it's still there. There's a big difference between clearing $30/hr, which you can live comfortably on, and clearing $10/hr which you can't. Telling whether your winrate is $30 or $10/hr takes many, many hands

This is my favorite video to date. All key points are spot on.

Bart is dishing out the straight dope about being a poker pro. I've also thought about going pro over the course of playing poker and while it might work for many, it just never seemed to fit for myself for a few reasons. Definitely some ups and downs to consider that Bart covers in this call. It sounded like the caller might have been a little dejected towards the end of the call, but I hope he takes time to reflect on the great feedback Bart provided and makes the best decision for himself. I'd say it's possible (and reasonable) to grind 40 hours a week at poker while keeping the day job, which will give him that short term glimpse at how it might feel to put in those kind of hours.

Great insight Bart! If you have to ask someone if you should go pro and quit your job poker is not for you!

I suspect playing 40hrs per week is way more than twice as hard as playing 20hrs per week, especially psychologically.

@branchtana315

2 жыл бұрын

Absolutely. Plenty of studies have shown that people sustain peak focus and mental engagement for only 3-4 hrs on average. This is very important in something like poker where you don't get paid just for showing up. Obviously some can play 50hrs a week for years with no issue, but a lot of people also find that transition very mentally taxing. Personally I've played for a about 10 years, and realized very early that full time poker would never be in the books for me. Admittedly I've always been a person that gets bored very easily though. I've found that about 4hrs a day is what I can do while maintaining focus and not tilting out of pure boredom. I'm much more susceptible to punt off a stack in hours 7 or 8 than I am in the first 3 or 4 hrs.

@pillcosby6569

2 жыл бұрын

It’s like I’ll go a week playing 40 hours and then I take a week off. I hate the burnout factor he mentions. Very true

@leer.9641

2 жыл бұрын

@@branchtana315 100% spot on. Ritalin is quite handy for poker pros (theoretically, of course).

16 BBs per hour ? This guy is running like God and has lost his perspective. DON'T QUIT your job. Please don't. People who make good money in poker are the celebs. Not the ones who actually play. They barely get by. Do this as a side income. It's ok to have a good job, good career growth and play on the side with full dedication. You can do two things. Having a job will also make you more comfortable while playing. As a pro you might play scared and get screwed, go on tilt easily as well.

Love Bart’s advice here. One other thing that’s worth noting: You might not have a significant other and/or children now, but if you do want those things down the line, poker might not be the best profession, simply because its not typically a 9 to 5, Monday to Friday type industry. The likelihood that you’re going to find sick sick $5/10 & above type games (stakes you’d probably need if you’re looking to make more than $100k a year) that run at 10 am on a Tuesday are few and far between. (They are out there, but only in very select markets.) The best money-making opportunities in poker are generally going to be later in the evenings & on the weekends, which could obviously be an issue if you want to have a family down the line.

@leer.9641

2 жыл бұрын

Bart didn't mention it, but game selection is HUGE when you're playing for profit. Nothing worse than waiting for a seat at the Bellagio, then you get stuck at a table where you know all but one or two players and neither is playing deep, while the table next to you is where you need to be. Greasing the floor is essential, but even that has its limitations.

That was pretty solid advice. The game is still beatable like Bart says. However back in the early 2000's pre internet training. At the very infancy of online play live games were soft as Charmin. Especially here in MI when they had unregulated charity poker. Monster 2/5 games with very little rake. I always looked at poker as a nice supplement of my income back then. Now its vastly different.

No is the answer

Apparently Liv Boeree is a good example of someone who "beat" the game but rarely plays much anymore because her passion is science, astrophysics I think (?) She played in this year's main event and was asked in an interview how she felt about things and said poker was fun again now that "the shackles are off" and asked if she'd be playing more tournaments now she bluntly replied "nope."

@TEAMGETHELP

2 жыл бұрын

Astrophysics my ass, sugar daddy f** that a**.

I quit my job to support myself playing micro stakes and played from about 2005-2008. After a couple months, the fun factor wore off, and it started feeling more like work. If would have been a better decision by far to keep my job and play poker on the side. That way, poker is more of a diversion than your focus, and if you don't win, its not catastrophic. Also, this dude's win rate is "probably" not sustainable. Jobs kind of suck, but steady income is pretty damn good. Work your 40/week, and play poker in your free time. That way its still enjoyable. Not to mention the lack of insurance, 401k, and other benefits many jobs give. Just not worth it for 99% of people.

@kevdawg55

2 жыл бұрын

How do you feel about part time job and part time poker? Say 20-30 hours of each

@Melvinvanharn

2 жыл бұрын

@@kevdawg55 Obviously it depends an a lot of factors. That's probably better for your sanity in the long run. But many jobs don't start offering benefits till full-time. Having a consistent source of income to fall back on during downswings is great though.

Kinda disagree, been playing 200 hours a month since the past decade and still not “burnt out”. I’d say it all depends on how much you love the game that determines if you can do it for life or not. I feel like I’m just starting out and have so much more to learn/get better.

@abcdefg54321x

2 жыл бұрын

What steaks do you play and how much do you make in a year on average?

@CribNotes

2 жыл бұрын

Love for the game is the key factor to becoming a pro. Too many players make the mistake of seeing poker as a potential way to make a living without a boss, a time clock, etc.... But 40 hours of poker a week is only for those who love it like a broke jazz musician loves to play music. Those 40 hours a week will get treacherous when you're running bad or sideways for a month or two. Yikes!!

@trdi

2 жыл бұрын

@@abcdefg54321x Beef, sometimes pork. As for me, all I can say is that the burn out is real.

@malazuth3306

2 жыл бұрын

@@CribNotes If you can't handle 50/55 hours-week in the two first month (latter you can go down to 45) probably you're going to burn out if you take as a job. When you see yourself falling sleep at 3am facing equilab and you don't wanna go to the bed jet, that's the moment.

@jamesp6674

2 жыл бұрын

It starts out great. As soon as I started worrying about only profit, I starter looking at hands different. Not calling my stack with Aa ds in Omaha. Hands and losses hit different when it's a job. The love is the only thing that will get you thru the down swings. Just sucks to worry about your family as you play. Knowing if you lose your bank roll, everyone in the family is in trouble.

I use to be a pro without a job and now I’m a pro with a job. It’s a lot more stressful without a job.

Agree re the burnout at 40 hours a week. I played 40 hours a week for just over 3 months in Vegas in 2018 and 2019 and even in 3 months was starting to burn out. To do it year round would be a serious chal

I once knew a professional poker player who described paying poker for a living as "the toughest easiest job in the world." Truth?

@xt5459

2 жыл бұрын

Nah. I close my eyes and make 500 bb in an hr. Too easy !

To be a professional poker player: 1. If you are outside of US. forget live poker. 2. If you are not able to play many many hours online poker like a nerd, forget online poker. 3. If you are not a gambler, meaning you can't handle the swings or you can't take shots on bigger games by taking the risks, forget poker. 4. Don't waste your time watching live streams of poker like Hustler or Bike or etc. dreaming to be like them one day. Just play yourself. Good luck!

@tribeca5762

2 жыл бұрын

1. If you are outside of US. forget live poker. not true... if you live a country that offers the minimum salary of around 600$ a month, live poker even playing 1/2 live is a dream

I was at pretty much the same spot as the caller around 2012 as far as level/win rate/hours put in etc. Decided to make the jump to full time and it absolutely crushed me. The lifestyle and monetary swings were too much and I started playing like absolute dog shit. I even had a few conversations with the floor about how poker is best as a part time hobby that can turn a profit. Outside of rare exceptions, I would advise to have poker as a casual to part time schedule.

Take your vacation that you have saved up and use that in the off seasons outside of the wsop in Vegas. -Build your roll to have 6 months to 1 year of living expenses. -build your roll to have a 30 k downswing. - build your passive income up and then quit the game.

Caller must be running hot. So funny to hear noobs talk about win rates that are absurd. But good for you caller, enjoy it while it lasts!

@garrisonedwards684

2 жыл бұрын

That winrate is definitely not absurd

@atfti

6 ай бұрын

It's def not absurd. With proper coaching and experience (the latter seems to be lacking as I've been playing for a year and haven't boasted that high of a winrate), it's possible to wipe the floor with fish

@MyranSimonian

5 ай бұрын

​@@atfti16bb hour at 2/5 is absurd no one can sustain that over 2000 plus hours. Even if you just play grave and weekend its probably impossible.

When u say what Bart says about being a full time pro… u 100% been there done tht and yes being a weekend warrior is best way to go! Like what u gonna do mon-Thursday?

The caller doesn’t seem convinced at the end of the call. Bart you are absolutely on point on all aspect of reason why someone should turn into Pro. Bart can you also make a Video on where geographic location in the world that people can be come pro. Euro, Asia, S. America, or which state is preferable to be more of a fit. I thought to bring some content ideas.

If you have that win rate in Vegas, where the poker is toughest, you can easily go to Texas and make easy 6 figures. Playing in S. California for that win rate with huge drops in California where the high cost of living isn't so much of sustainable. I suspect that if you come to Vegas with that win rate, you will end up around 7-10bb/hr, which will be tough for you. Also, your sample size isn't big enough for you to justify yourself that you have pro level skill sets. If I were you, I will listen to Bart and keep my day job. Bart is definitely spot on here. You can keep your job and play 20 hours over the weekend to see how you do over longer samples. There is no rush and competition in NL holdem is much tougher than how it used to be 10 years ago.

@webguy943

3 ай бұрын

U think vegas ppl r tough? Some of the softest passive calling station around.

Bart tells it like it is, it's not a life for everybody, especially people who have good careers. For me, I make triple what I made at my gig job that I haven't done in awhile because I'm grinding it every day now, and if I had a really bad down-swing, I'll just go back to it. I also have a few other income streams, like my Ebay business that I put time into even though my hourly rate is less than at poker, just to be diversified and so that my life isn't so monotonous. I still love playing though, but my diet could be better than eating 2 meals a day of card room food and I probably should buy an exercise bike or something since all I do is sit at a poker table 50 hours a week.

Luck is a bigger factor than most can accept as fact

What kind of hours do you suggest for a supplemental income type player? Hard to get volume.

@jsh0822

2 жыл бұрын

15+ Depending where you live and hours you work may be impossible.

Never really seriously considered being a pro, but I had tossed around the idea over the last 10 years of my life or so. But that burnout he mentions, I can see that as being very real. I sometimes feel burned out after a 4 or 5 hour session playing just once a week. I can't imagine playing 40 hours a week and needing to rely on poker for your income - the feelings of burnout and stress would be immense. I think I may end up hating the game if I take that route, and I don't want to do that. I have a couple businesses I run and while there's inherent risks and roller coaster rides in being a business owner, but it's actually far more stable than the life of a poker pro, and that's saying something. I like the things the way they are now - I have my businesses that provide a fairly steady income, and I'll play 5/10 cash and big tournaments every now and then. If I play well/get lucky, great, but if I lose, certainly not a big deal. If poker were my only income and I went on a downswing, I don't think I would handle it that well.

@webguy943

3 ай бұрын

Played 15 hour sessions a day. Never felt burnt in fact i wanted to keep playing but needed to eat got in the way

I feel like the caller doesn’t get the answer he wanted.

you simply wont know if its for you until you try. i tried it and figured out its not for me. im the type of guy who needs a boss. my work ethic (at least as it relates to grinding poker games) is not high. i had the same issues as bart. if i lost a bunch i was bummed out and didnt want to play. and heaven forbid i won a ton and like paid all my monthly bills in one winning session, then i really didnt have to play much. you just dont know how itll go until you try. its probably and awful idea for like 90% of people who want to try. now, having said that, you are definitely in a prime position to give it a shot. no bills, no family, modest lifestyle. its lined up for you to try it. if you have a job that you dont value that highly, either bc you dont like it or you can easily get another one, id go for it. most likely youll just do it for a while and figure out its not for you and go back to work. good luck and make sure you call back into the show and update us!

i saw tons of young guys clearly playing full time chasing low hanging fruit on the weekend in vegas. they seemed to work in groups and were like a pack of hyenas looking for the weakest prey.

@TEAMGETHELP

2 жыл бұрын

Makes the game ghey.

@greatwhite3676

2 жыл бұрын

They sound like bottom feeders. They pool together their food stamp money. Gambling is about bankroll mgmt and knowing when to book a win. in my humble opinion.

Good advice besides the financial burdens and hurdles the biggest part people wanting to become pro don’t consider is the burnout and the stress that comes with the grind of a 40-60 hour a week poker lifestyle ….all of the sudden the stresses from ur old job will seem like paradise compared to hair pulling daily anxiety of poker…..very quickly that game U once loved can turn your life into this constant existential dread lol

Well said Bart! It's not all rainbows and butterflies

The way i see it? Going pro means spamming tournaments before making life changing money. Then do it again. Do it three more times and you invest half of what you win back into your bankroll, a quarter of that into actual investment vehicle, and the rest to live off. At that point, you can just go back to playing cash games and whatever size game you're staked for because the pressure is survival is eliminated. Get good at tourney play, and play so much that no one would doubt you if you won the WSOP

Great advice , in my opinion.

@abcdefg54321x

2 жыл бұрын

Lol u sound like DGAF in my opinion

@ridingstuffed

2 жыл бұрын

@@abcdefg54321x thats cool. Hope you have a better day

There’s multiple things to consider… number one is the fact that poker can’t go on your resume… number two is you won’t develop skills you would develop within the career field you want to pursue… retirement fund & 401k.. also when applying for a mortgage they want to see income which poker won’t count… also if you are playing poker for a living you will lose the love you once had for the game.. I made this transition and had a 3 year gap on my resume in my 20s and it was a major obstacle when applying for jobs again because poker won’t last forever / the love you once had for poker will die.

@webguy943

3 ай бұрын

Speak for urself kid.

Wise advice

i recently moved up stakes in online tournaments and started with 4k but made 16k last 2 weeks 5 final tables, at what point would someone consider making this their main focus?

@TEAMGETHELP

2 жыл бұрын

100k.

@engineeringpoker6801

2 жыл бұрын

@@TEAMGETHELP 30k next goal then 100.

The game lost all of its enjoyment when I played for a living. If it works for you great but it’s so important to have steady income and balance. Play for fun!

Poker is short term, It’s temporary, It’s sporadic, you Come and go -as so do many others players, some players last several months and some get trapped in the lifestyle and last a year or two. What poker is not; it’s not long term as a low/mid-stakes grinder, it’s not fun, it’s not easy, it’s a terrible lifestyle that effects your emotional and physical well being, and you can’t do it as a career. For some reason most new aspiring pros think that different than everyone else that came before them, or their better, their situation is different, times have changed…and bla, bla..bla…..

@TakenGTs

Жыл бұрын

Damn bro... 💔

So 16,000 hands... HELL NO. What Bart says is exactly what I did. I played for a long time before going pro. Then I did it for a couple years. Didn't like it. But I took the profit and made a business. Love working for me. I play for fun now and extra money.

If someone wants to go pro, go pro. You do you. But the swings of poker as a full-time job sucks, i've done it. Neeme also has a great, early, vlog on this topic.

@TEAMGETHELP

2 жыл бұрын

Which episode?

@MustangScott

2 жыл бұрын

@@TEAMGETHELP kzread.info/dash/bejne/eqyCs7Nxmd2veKw.html

Poker is the Hardest way to make an easy living.

Hard for a pro to get in private games. A rec with same ability might.

@everythingallin4905

2 жыл бұрын

Private games are where it's at.

Yes you should

Easiest games are in Vegas since most people that play are just recreational players. He should move to Vegas. LA games are tough.

I left my accounting job to pursue poker full time so here are my thoughts: 1) Only going through the experience can someone make the determination if this is what he wants to do. It's like asking if you should ask a girl to marry you or if you should apply for a job, at the end of the day this is your life and you need to figure out if poker is one part of your life or the main part of your life. 2) A big difference in mentality being at the casino on your day off and being there with the same 5-6 grinders day in and day out. Makes you think of the people you play with in a totally different light once you are "one of them". It made me feel like an unemployed bum with other unemployed bums. 3) Opportunity cost, how hard will it be to get back into your career path a few years down the line. If you are an accountant or data analyst you will probably have to start at the bottom if you decide to go back in a few years which isn't the end of the world. If you are a doctor or lawyer you can forget ever going back really. So what you are currently doing matters. Also most employees won't ever be a manager or higher up in the corporate world, if your ceiling is a senior analyst then you aren't really losing that much and you can justify giving this a shot. ***Having gone through this I would even recommend getting an "easy" part time job at Starbucks for 15-20hours and keep playing poker for 20-25 hours as you transition. That way you have some income, benefits, + some structure while you transition and you don't have to work 40+ hours at the corporate job. You can determine the hours for both the job and poker so really no excuses. If someone says they are "above" working at a part time job I'd question whether he/she is really willing to do whatever it takes to make poker work or if they see poker as a get out of jail card of their corporate life whereas the main thing is they just want to quit their job and poker is just their way to mentally justify it.***

@justins5225

2 жыл бұрын

Solid logic and rationale Steven. It should be said that someone who would spend 60 hrs a week studying and playing poker successfully could use the same effort and determination to become successful in many arenas

Dude needs to go from data analyst to data scientist. I’m early 30’s making easy six figures in FL, so he probably could 1.5-2x his salary in southern CA (Bay Area is obviously even better).

@davegriffus9493

2 жыл бұрын

“Data analyst” can mean a lot of things. “Data scientist” means that you probably have a degree (maybe even an advanced one).

@nuklearwinter2892

2 жыл бұрын

Yeah I have no clue how this guy is making so little. I’m in austin tx and data science roles make 150k+ easily

I played full time for a few years. One thing Bart didn't mention is how incredibly bored you can get playing this game full time. It is not a fulfilling "career" per se and there were times I sat there asking myself what the hell am I doing wasting my life sitting here at a poker table. It also kind of felt like a parasitic way to justify one's existence. Its not like you're helping your world or community or even your employer a better place by doing this. I loved the idea of leaving the career and playing full time when I did it but couldn't get back into my career soon enough after doing it.

So he’s barely played 150-200 hours at $2/5 which is basically nothing in the long term. That’s maybe 5000-6000 hands!!! I used to play that many hands in a day online and the variance day to day is MASSIVE.

If you need to get advise about if you should go pro then you definitely shouldn't. You can get 40 hours played in a weekend. I've done it more times than I can count.

Interesting. When Bart says he played a stake such that the swings didn't hurt and the volume stayed high, people praise him. When I say it in my videos, people tell me I'm awful at poker and lying.

this is my dream

Bart whats ya problem with Euros?

@CrushlivePoker

2 жыл бұрын

Are you from Brazil?

The only happy poker lives I see are like barts or mine or j little or d negs where they do other things and not JUST play but have side hustles or in my case other primary job related to poker etc

Man please keep your job. It's stability for now and your future. Make sure you save and invest. Buy some real estate..Enjoy other things as well

About 500 hours, 1/3 of it 2/5, so maybe 160 hrs of 2/5. Really, this is only enough hours to fool all but the highly experienced player. Combined with a humans inate ego that WANTS to lean toward believing "Yeah, I got this". I would really love it if this same player would revisit this and give everyone an update. No way of knowing otherwise, but the sound of his voice at the end end when he says "OK thanks", it just reeks of someone who has already 80-90 % made up their mind.

im happy to be a break even player on a good day.

Anyone know what happened with this caller? 😬

Dude live poker is extremely small sample size, I wouldn't take 16 bb/100 as the gospel

Its like trading for a living, same concepts

Sample size.

The transition will be easier if you come from a commision based "keep what you kill" profession rather than a salary position mentally. If you're accustomed to a guaranteed income many folks will melt down when their assets go negative which will inevitably occur at times and further hurt your results if you're not in a good place psychologically. Bring a serious amateur is so much better if you already have a profitable career. Playing poker as the only source of income can turn a fun hobby you make money at into a miserable grind.

I was being silly, but I have played full time. You shouldn't leave your job unless it's in the way of you making money. Take insurance into account, 401k matching, knowing that you go to work and get paid. Poker can be brutal, you think you've experienced the worst downswing of your life, and then it goes on for another 7 months. You question EVERYTHING at that point. It's hard, seriously. When you're playing to pay the rent it's different. I left poker for a more traditional job, and it was the best decision I ever made. I'm now retired, with a pension, and insurance for life for my family. Now I play when I can and make a little extra money from my hobby and I enjoy it. It's not a job anymore, it's fun to play poker again.

@Mase1up

2 жыл бұрын

@@dall1911 I guess, if you want to look at it that way. I promise you though, one day you're going to be done working. At that point, the amount you've saved up will matter. If poker is the thing that will set you up is an individual situation.

It also matters how much money the caller has saved up. Have like 100k

So what I’ve learned over the years is it sounds great from the outside looking in. We all want that opportunity to be our own boss, do what we want when we want but at the same time when you add volume, it definitely changes things over a wide spectrum/sample size. That being said, having that secure back up plan/ job plus benefits and 401k that’s hard to compete with. I’d say play semi pro. Keep the daily/job plus benefits that come with that said job. I played full time for a short term (8 months) and it’s a lot for a person to take on especially for a husband, father of two (at the time) and as a person who wasn’t really rolled for that type of lifestyle. That being said, if you’re single, no children, no wife/husband or other major obligations and your win rate justifies full time play then maybe you can consider it. It also depends on the game opportunities that may be afforded to you via casino games and/or private games accessibility. At times it definitely can be appealing and draw heavy… but definitely be smart about your final decisions monetarily. After all the years I’ve played, as a cash game player, I always recommend keep the day job with benefits, pension and/or 401(k) and play semi-professionally/to supplement the income. It’s a lot more enjoyable when you don’t have to depend on that income. Also why you started playing to begin with. It was fun, keep it that way. I never want Poker to seem like a job, or at least one that you have to drag yourself into. I love the game, I never want to ruin that feeling.

Poor caller. He wanted to hear "just do it"... As well as did I, because I quit my job after 3 years last month to start grinding online poker.

@PATRYAN84

2 жыл бұрын

your insane well good luck

@B0bi_007

2 жыл бұрын

@@PATRYAN84 Thanks! I've saved enough money to live of it a few years even if I make 0 income in poker theoretically. So Imma give poker a year and see two things: if I like it as work and if i can make somewhat decent money. If both is yes, i keep on playing.

@TakenGTs

Жыл бұрын

@@B0bi_007 How did it go?

@jgzbaby777

11 ай бұрын

Hows it going now? Im guessing you are back working a real job 😂

Live 2/5 is a rough grind. I wouldn't recommend it unless your job is utter garbage

excellent advice! - no credit, no job security, no benefits, no retirement, no social responsibility, no social security, unending swings and bad beats - all about the greed of taking advantage of someone else and their chips. Love the game - but it's just that - one part of life.

This comment section is pure gold, should be mandatory reading. Saving this vid for that alone. Thanks for every story from people that tried. The advice about taking a couple weeks to try it out is excellent. Everybody ever can have sick parents outta state they must go help for 2 weeks. Go back and give your job a proper notice if you must change your schedule for family care.🙏🏻 Also a couple hobbies you literally do from working out to hiking is more than important, don't be a poker potatoe. I made that up.

The thing that Bart didn't even touch on that is the biggest reason for someone with any type of career to not go pro is that you become unemployable (within your old career) if you have an extended resume gap. Going pro sounds attractive when you hate your day job, but once you are burned out from poker in year three, it is going to be extremely difficult to transition back to a corporate environment. HR would be extremely wary of someone who has a 2+ year resume gap. Additionally, being out of the corporate rat race for that long would make you unlikely to be able to excel in that setting again even if you were able to land a job somewhere. If you have a corporate career and you're good enough to go pro, make sure poker is a bridge to a specific destination that will be more stable and has higher income potential.

My dreams...

Great advice Bart. I just retired at the ripe old age of 36 and plan to be playing more poker. However, I wouldn't want to go pro or even want to go 2/3rds full time. To me, poker is a means to an end and will always be a fun side hustle. With all the extra time I have now, I can focus on other adventures and enjoy more time with my friends and family.

@carlothechatpro

2 жыл бұрын

@@GummingPlobe thanks man. Combination of serving in the military/working for the government for 18 years. Paid off all my debt too and became financially free.

Idk how anybody can play professionally. It seems like no matter how good I play , how patient , there are times where absolutely nothing works. And in 2/5 it can hurt really fucking bad..

Dream killers....

@TakenGTs

Жыл бұрын

Bro I feel the same way...

nonsense tell the truth Bart:) you can’t go pro for reason. Casino is a business and you can’t make money of someone else business. Gambling commission provides defense only for casino from employees trying to cheat or players. As a casino is private business and based on illusion of gamble and advertising no one can succeed. All the pay outs is based of income casino brings that’s why they will not go broke and everything is controlled outcome with this day technology. The only gamble in casino if they going to let you win based of % they made. You will ask why let anyone win if that true the answer would be no one would come if they didn’t. Casino doesn’t cheat because you can’t cheat if you make the rules and pay taxes of legit business to the government. There is absolutely no laws protecting a player or rules of legit gambling protecting the player from casino. Casino is business made on illusion of gamble and advertising for entertainment and the % of money they pay out of wining is a lot less of what they get.

There is a real straightforward answer. If you have to ask, the answer is no. I gamble full time, and when it came time to do that I just knew.

my guy has a job he can make $40+ an hour in and wants to go pro? LMAO

@bigniels

2 жыл бұрын

Lol. I make about $17 an hour in The Netherlands. Pretty decent salary here.

500 hours is entirely too small of a sample size to make any kind of judgement of whether one is even good enough to be playing for a living. This guy is jumping too far into conclusions way too soon. I would say you'd need at least a few thousand hours to get an idea of where you're really at. I agree with what Bart said. I've personally played on the side for about 5 years now. While I know I could play for a living if I wanted to, I still do not want to. All things considered, playing poker for a living isn't as great as it sounds. I also don't think people really understand how large of a bankroll is required just to even support playing for a living. Poker isn't a guaranteed bi-weekly check like your day job and when those inevitable downswings hit, shit will get real.

The moment you start sleeping with your dog and not someone that you love, you know what is wrong in the picture.

20 hours a week for 6 months lololol!! That's barely 16,000 hands...........the variance over 16,000 hands can be wild, even the worst player ever could profit in that time on a sun run. Genius. No way you can be good enough at poker to go pro after 16,000 hands, and I have no idea what it takes to go pro, but I know that.

Easy go broke

Unless u can read peoples souls don’t even try it)

you wont run good all the time.

First

Gambling is NOT the way to reach prosperity and retirement!!! Get a life. Get a job. Dont sleep with your dog. Play for fun, hobby, etc.

@mikeatgoogle501

2 жыл бұрын

Get a job with Google, Amazon, Facebook, Apple, etc.

Quite honestly 1-2 is harder than 2-5 usually...most 1-2 games are so nitt it makes you just want to go to the top of the casino and jump off!