Moving To A Poor Country To Be An Online Pro

What an interesting thread. Counterbalancing low cost of living with availability of electricity and sufficient internet, as well as the general costs of prevailing poverty and corruption.

My mind immediately jumped to the Caribbean -- beautiful islands, beaches, poverty with patches of wealth. If you have no dependents and own nothing now, free as a bird, it could be a very interesting interlude (until the hurricane season or an earthquake...) I do think that the suggestion that you need some decent money, for a decent place to live with the amenities you need to feel safe and be able to play poker online... right on target. You can't squat in a shack on the beach and play your online poker, that's for sure. Your computer would be stolen the first time you fell asleep, for one thing.

One of the home networks has a series on people looking for houses all over the world. It seems one cannot necessarily buy even a rundown place in Mexico for peanuts. OK, some of the places are incredibly cheap compared to London, New York, San Francisco, but not necessarily cheap compared to (way) upstate NY. I'm certain there are still a lot of places where one can live on $350/wk and not feel utterly broke and desperate. I doubt there is any place where that money will let you live like a king.

It's fun to consider, isn't it?

Necessities for such a move;

Warm enough so that walls aren't necessary, high speed internet and running water (and sewers), cheap food pickable off trees, animals that come to me and skin themselves while cooking themselves.

The cheapest places to live in the world. $500 a month

http://opentravel.com/blogs/the-cheapest-places-to-live-in-the-world-500-a-month/

/endthread

dj11 said:

Necessities for such a move;

Warm enough so that walls aren't necessary, high speed internet and running water (and sewers), cheap food pickable off trees, animals that come to me and skin themselves while cooking themselves.

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LOL, apart from the last bit, you just described South Africa

Poker is about discipline and trying to find short cuts is a lack of discipline.

What you really need is two things a long term winning history. With a large enough base to be statistically significant. Once you have this and this requires a very large sample btw you then need to work out the standard deviation for any period of time, eg for week or 5000 hands or 1000 sit and goes etc.

once you have accurate figures you can work out likely figures and prepare, as the sample gets larger the noted standard deviation should come closer to what it actually is but large the biggest outliers found are likely to be.

You can calculate all this by using complex maths found in college level statistics. However to keep it simple if you have long term winning history with a wage stable enough to support your living standards, and a large reserve in back up (Chris Ferguson recommends 6 months wages or living expenses.) then really your funds should absorb the bad times and allow you a good chance of never going broke. its good to make above your expenses and save up, by increasing your insurance or reserve fund regularly your putting yourself in a very good position. You also need to be sure that you can regularly get the hours in, I quit my job to do this recently and have found that working 8 hours a day in a physical brainless job is not as challenging as having to use your head constantly and do maths. physical exertion is doable for 4 hours straight doing that on a poker table isn't so easy.

you can slack at work occasionally if its not busy, you cannot get away with this on a poker table. In the end I solved my problem by sifting to 5 hour days 7 days a week 2 and a half hours then a 2 hour break in between and back to work. works fine.

I earn over 3 times an hour playing poker then i did in my last job so yeah I kinda like this.

With regard to moving to another country, yeah its alright a mate of mine did this, he got a £100,000 inheritance or there abouts which is like $150,000 he then spent a lot of it not sure how much and then decided to move to Tialand to live cheaply. I guess if you got good money and want to have it easy and are showing a good profit long term with a large reserve why not. However if your planing to live on the breadline its a really bad idea.

Also do the research before moving anywhere, learn about what it would be like living there etc, I would like to move somewhere warm but couldn't stand having to learn a new language. At the moment poker earnings are tax free in the UK which gives me little incentive to move else where.

Personally though I think it is a very bad idea for you to try and go pro heres why,

Professional poker players shouldn't take short cuts but should be disciplined
enough to do the real leg work, moving to a third world country to try and scrape by is a short cut.

people with an addiction can be willing to do anything to keep it, moving to third world country radically altering your life style so you can play poker regularly shrieks of desperation.

I am not saying your not a winning player I can't know that for sure, but I find it hard to believe some considering these steps would stick to strict financial management rules and bank roll management rules, I would guess if the same character holds constant would be unusual for it not to, at some point you would break your rules and risk ruin.

I think anyone who would take such steps is likely to go bankrupt and see there dream end in tears because they didn't have the professional attitude necessary in the first place.

Send your story to MTV and ask if they'll do a reality television show on your experiment.

AceZWylD said:

LOL. I love this post.

I would never move to a country where $1500 is considered "rich". All this means to me is that I am living in a hay hut and feasting on field mice or road kill over a makeshift fire for dinner. I'm good living my modest lifestyle in a location where i'm comfortable and where there are all of the amenities that I could want and need. Gotta have my taco bell, micky d's, and charmin tp. no fig leaves for these butt cheeks!!!

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Your worldly knowledge overwhelms me.

It's pretty cheap where I live.... & is a beautiful area. (one can rent a 500sq. ft. apt. with utilities included for $350/mth,.. houses for as cheap as $500/mth.). I could turn this into a travel brochure but will spare you.

Poker Orifice said:

It's pretty cheap where I live.... & is a beautiful area. (one can rent a 500sq. ft. apt. with utilities included for $350/mth,.. houses for as cheap as $500/mth.). I could turn this into a travel brochure but will spare you.

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WOW!

Time to move to Canada.

For purpose of card playing, seriously thinking of moving but my choice is strickly Amsterdam. If not there then will live in motorhome and travel US.

someone mention africa above and this would be good choice. I have been to tourney in South Africa and poker is very lively there besides food being fantastic.

PattyR said:

speaking of rap...this thread has inspired me to change my profile picture by the end of the night once i find a manly picture of my idol rapper =] be on the lookout

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Is this the picture of your manly rapper?

IcyBlueAce said:

WOW!

Time to move to Canada.

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Ha ha ha.. "Canada". The town/city I live in is of by no means any resemblance of prices across the board, hee hee hee.. please... What do they teach you guys in school down there?

I've also rented apts. that were in excess of $2,000/mth (not where I'm living now obv.).

I'd consider moving to a cheaper area but I don't know of any?
btw.... I've got a river teeming with rainbow ~ 2mins. walk from my door, one of the best skihills in NorthAmerica ~8min. drive up the road, two excellent golf courses, an area that has been called the Mtn.Biking Capital of N.A. (self-proclaimed though, lol), beautiful lakes that warm up to 80+degrees in July, mild climates in the winter months (avg. temp is prob. +2C, maybe +4C... that's around 40degress for you american folks).
Can't beat it! (cheap flight to the big city).. <10mins. to the US border, etc. etc.

oh yah... & local poker tournaments happening a few times/mth., ~$50-$100 buyin, ~100 entrants. Private $1/2 cash games going on nitely in the area... filled with HUGE fish (the kind who wear their pants pulled down so far it looks like they're carrying a load in there.... with their ballcaps on sideways, etc...."I got bottom pr.,... I'm allin!!")

It's gonna be a big decision man.. 1st of .. you have to adjust to their culture..
2nd their language..but if you pick a bilingual country then it's all good

3rd you don't know if the players over there are good or not..

but there are a lot more pros than cons in moving..
hahaha goodluck man.. follow your heart!

Xavier...you are lazy.

There is more to life than online poker

MB

There are some cool countrys were 1.5 K is enough and can live a good living...but depends how u adapt..not everyone can do it

move to thailand mate

can live good from 1000-1500 dollars if not live in the tourist traps
like bangkok,pattaya,changmay,phuket.

i intend to move there myself within 2 to 3 years.
bought a piece of ground and builded an house on it for
just 30K, fully airconditioned and weatherproof.
the same house would have costed 350-400K here in holland
on a mucxh smaller compound than i have now(3 acres)

medical care in thailand is good and an insurance for full
first class coverage cost around $100 a month for a family !

only places to avoid are the north and the north-east(isan) and the
3 southern most provinces.

as for internet connection gas/electrics/water all is aviable, only had
to pay for the last 100 meters from the main points to my house my
self, and have a backup aggragate for emergencies because the rain
season can disrupt the electric.

i got my house in rayong about 100 miles past pattaya on the s-e
coast of thailand.
people are friendly food is good and cheap and most can speak english.

even a decent hotel with airco will cost there under $300 a month and
meals cost around 2-3 dollar.

with 1500 dollars a month you can live great there and its a big capital city
of the state rayong with all facilities needed.

wolfie said:

move to thailand mate

can live good from 1000-1500 dollars if not live in the tourist traps
like bangkok,pattaya,changmay,phuket.

i intend to move there myself within 2 to 3 years.
bought a piece of ground and builded an house on it for
just 30K, fully airconditioned and weatherproof.
the same house would have costed 350-400K here in holland
on a mucxh smaller compound than i have now(3 acres)

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How did you manage that, as as far as I understood it was very difficult for a foreigner to own property in Thailand. I was under the impression that to do this you had to set up a Thai company of which you could own no more than 40% of the shares.

Would you consider moving to a poor country where everything is ridiculously cheap?

At the moment I am making roughly $1500 a month on online poker.
In the UK that doesn't amount to much but if I moved to some countries and earnt that I would be considered rich.

It could be interesting to move somewhere for a year or two

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It's a shame that people who live in the more developed nations of the world take all that infrastructure and such for granted. It's not just about the price tag on things.

It happens a lot here in the United States as well. =( Folks just don't appreciate the benefits of living here. All they do is cry about taxes and government.

I would suggest Bosnia...

You pay for a 4-5 rooms apartment $200 monthly(about 100-120m2)

Everything here is cheap, except electronics.

The only downside is medic but you are close to Croatia and can go there,
like all who can afford to go there.

The average income is $250 monthly, so you can live here very good with $500 monthly and save $1000.
If you have any downswing that's money that backs you up for long time.

You are 3-4 hour away from the coast.

Bosnia is not a third world country and people are friendly
(most of the time).

We still have not all things like UK but it's going to be so one day.

Maybe you visit Bosnia on a vacation and look by yourself...

Ask me if you need any help...

Poker Orifice said:

Ha ha ha.. "Canada". The town/city I live in is of by no means any resemblance of prices across the board, hee hee hee.. please... What do they teach you guys in school down there?

I've also rented apts. that were in excess of $2,000/mth (not where I'm living now obv.).

I'd consider moving to a cheaper area but I don't know of any?
btw.... I've got a river teeming with rainbow ~ 2mins. walk from my door, one of the best skihills in NorthAmerica ~8min. drive up the road, two excellent golf courses, an area that has been called the Mtn.Biking Capital of N.A. (self-proclaimed though, lol), beautiful lakes that warm up to 80+degrees in July, mild climates in the winter months (avg. temp is prob. +2C, maybe +4C... that's around 40degress for you american folks).
Can't beat it! (cheap flight to the big city).. <10mins. to the US border, etc. etc.

oh yah... & local poker tournaments happening a few times/mth., ~$50-$100 buyin, ~100 entrants. Private $1/2 cash games going on nitely in the area... filled with HUGE fish (the kind who wear their pants pulled down so far it looks like they're carrying a load in there.... with their ballcaps on sideways, etc...."I got bottom pr.,... I'm allin!!")

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This sounds great .... seeing that I love to fish, ski, bike, golf and play poker. I'm curious what area this is. Also is it difficult for someone from the US to move to Canada ?

Stu_Ungar said:

How did you manage that, as as far as I understood it was very difficult for a foreigner to own property in Thailand. I was under the impression that to do this you had to set up a Thai company of which you could own no more than 40% of the shares.

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having a thai wife will do most of the yob

but they changed a lot off laws lately also !
a non-native still cannot own ground but can own property.
my thai son bought the ground (my money)and i got a livetime lease on it.
the house is mine but he will inherit it after i die.
also if start a company and employ locals as at least 50% of
your staff (min 4) you can get a permanent visum there.
but need to have $ 10K dollars in the bank at all times .

wolfie said:

having a thai wife will do most of the yob

but they changed a lot off laws lately also !
a non-native still cannot own ground but can own property.
my thai son bought the ground (my money)and i got a livetime lease on it.
the house is mine but he will inherit it after i die.
also if start a company and employ locals as at least 50% of
your staff (min 4) you can get a permanent visum there.
but need to have $ 10K dollars in the bank at all times .

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That's more the jist of what I remembered reading on the subject.

I thought it wasn't as simple as just having the money to do it.

Stu_Ungar said:

That's more the jist of what I remembered reading on the subject.

I thought it wasn't as simple as just having the money to do it.

Click to expand...

they made it a lot more easyer in the last 2 years
and my thai wife knew the way around all the legal problems.
i still cannot get a permanent visum yet.
can get a 11 month visa now although i am retired.
but easy to renew that one, just have to go short abroad
and ask another one(in camboja or singapore)
can get a permanent as soon i am pensioned at 60 year.

LoL this post is funny, but you know here in south America $1500 is not much. Maybe with $4000 you will be ok, but still normal.

It's a great idea as long as your doing it for the right reasons. If you're the adventure type and living abroad is something you want to do anyway and if the obstacles people have listed in this thread (language difference, being away from everything you know, culture shock...) are actually things that attract you, then by all means you should seriously consider it. Otherwise, you should think twice.

Playing poker should be the means to the end of living abroad. Not the contrary.