Poker already pays most of my bills. And now?

AdelsonFagundes · Friday at 8:10 AM

Good morning, bunch, good or not?

I've been thinking about this a lot lately.

When I started playing poker, it was just a hobby. I never imagined that one day he would help pay my bills.

Today, adding freerolls, micros and some tickets I get for promotions, poker already covers about 60% of my expenses . I still have my job, and I'm not thinking of giving it up now, but it's inevitable to think: will one day I be able to live just from poker?

What stops me the most isn't even the technical part. I think it's the mental one. In the bad phases I still find it difficult to maintain trust and follow the plan without wanting to change everything.

I wanted to know how you see that.

Does anyone here live exclusively from poker? Or would you rather keep poker as a second income?

GL on the tables! 🍀♠️

ExMoroccan · Friday at 8:14 AM

to make living in poker you have to play minimum 50 to 100$ buy ins. you must have a really good bankroll prior to that.
making it playing micros or low is almost impossible even if you make top 10 in tourneys everytime

Mwaki · Friday at 8:14 AM

Since start of this year when I started taking poker seriously not recreational it has paid almost all my bills fully but I would want to have at least 4 months expenditure down before fully taking it as the sole source of Income

hardongear · Friday at 8:23 AM

21+ year player so been around a long time lmao. I see poker as a hobby and side hustle that even at smallish stakes(I play mainly online) can earn one a decent a bit of money over time if he's patience. I would never want to do it for a living because then it feel just like a job and then just wouldn't be fun and enjoyable anymore.

Could I have played poker for a living had a chose that path many years ago? Idk likely as being a competitive guy I've always been pretty good at things once I put my mind to them and put in the work to be good. Poker really isn't exactly a healthy lifestyle and is a tough if a guy wants to stay married to a good women. I'm very lucky to have an amazing wife who supports my poker hobby not many will or would.

So for me poker will always be just a hobby and a side hustle that offers extra cash and it helps I love the competition and challenge it offers.

Cheers!!!

Cooking · Friday at 2:24 PM

These days I only play as a hobby, but poker has helped me make some extra money in the past, nothing too significant though. I'm glad poker is already helping you cover a good portion of your bills. Deciding to become a professional player is really tough because, like you said, a bad phase can seriously affect your mental. My advice is to always keep poker as a second source of income until you've saved enough to live for at least a year without needing to make any money. Playing under financial pressure is always much more difficult.

celsosegovia · Saturday at 2:11 AM

Look, I've dreamt about this a lot, but disappointment always knocks on the door wanting to enter. As I have also played Chess for over 40 years, I always had the feeling and gratitude to return to this option because the demand of your mind is more real than in poker, where the unreal often happens during the game
I honestly, as much as I won, at 65 years old I am already disappointed believing the cards they saw at random
.
No matter how exact an attitude we have, there can always be a surprise on the table.

Nameless14 · Saturday at 3:03 AM

That's a great position to be in. Personally, I'd keep poker as a second income unless I had a very large bankroll and a long track record of consistent results. Turning poker into your full-time job adds a lot of pressure, and that can affect your decisions.

For me, having a regular income makes it much easier to handle downswings and enjoy the game without feeling like every session has to pay the bills.

CaioRJ · Saturday at 9:58 AM

I've already tried that, it's not a good idea, playing poker with an empty mind is completely different from playing while thinking about paying bills or buying food, on the day you're in a downswing and realize the money to buy something no longer exists, you'll know true hell. Today I work in the financial market, I trade from home office, so I can play while I carry out my trades, I would never trade my profession for poker, even knowing that I could do it.

AdelsonFagundes · Saturday at 11:01 AM

ExMoroccan said:
Para viver de pôquer, você precisa jogar torneios com buy-ins de no mínimo 50 a 100 dólares. Além disso, é fundamental ter uma banca considerável antes disso.
Jogar em microstakes ou em torneios de nível baixo é quase impossível, mesmo que você fique entre os 10 melhores em todos os torneios.

Concórdia. Today I'm still far from that buy-in level, so it doesn't make sense to think about extending my work. For now I'm focused on building a bank and gaining experience. I think taking a step bigger than the leg would be a mistake.

AdelsonFagundes · Saturday at 11:02 AM

Mwaki said:
Desde o início deste ano, quando comecei a levar o poker a sério e não apenas como recreativo, ele tem pago quase todas as minhas contas. No entanto, gostaria de ter pelo menos o equivalente a quatro meses de despesas antes de considerá-lo minha única fonte de renda.

I think that reservation makes all the difference. Even though poker has already paid most of my bills, I still wouldn't feel at ease without a good margin of safety. Good luck on this journey, I hope it works out for you!

AdelsonFagundes · Saturday at 11:04 AM

hardongear said:
Sou jogador há mais de 21 anos, então estou na ativa há bastante tempo, rsrs. Vejo o poker como um hobby e uma renda extra que, mesmo em limites baixos (jogo principalmente online), pode render um bom dinheiro ao longo do tempo, se você tiver paciência. Eu jamais gostaria de fazer disso minha profissão, porque aí se tornaria apenas um trabalho e deixaria de ser divertido e prazeroso.

Será que eu poderia ter me tornado jogador de pôquer profissional se tivesse escolhido esse caminho anos atrás? Não sei, provavelmente sim. Como sou um cara competitivo, sempre fui muito bom em coisas que me dedico e trabalho duro para melhorar. O pôquer não é exatamente um estilo de vida saudável e é difícil se um homem quiser se manter casado com uma boa mulher. Tenho muita sorte de ter uma esposa incrível que apoia meu hobby de pôquer; poucos fariam isso ou fariam.

Para mim, o pôquer sempre será apenas um hobby e uma renda extra que me proporciona um dinheiro adicional, e eu adoro a competição e o desafio que ele oferece.

Saúde!!!

I really liked your vision. I think that is precisely the point that weighs the most on me. Today I still enjoy studying and playing, but I wonder if this would continue if poker became my only source of income. Pressure changes the game completely. After reading comments like yours, I am increasingly inclined to leave poker as an excellent second income, and not as my main profession.

AdelsonFagundes · Saturday at 11:05 AM

Cooking said:
Hoje em dia, jogo apenas como hobby, mas o pôquer já me ajudou a ganhar um dinheiro extra no passado, embora nada muito significativo. Fico feliz que o pôquer já esteja te ajudando a pagar boa parte das suas contas. Decidir se tornar um jogador profissional é realmente difícil porque, como você disse, uma fase ruim pode afetar seriamente o psicológico. Meu conselho é sempre manter o pôquer como uma segunda fonte de renda até que você tenha economizado o suficiente para viver por pelo menos um ano sem precisar ganhar dinheiro. Jogar sob pressão financeira é sempre muito mais difícil.

I think you summed it up very well. Play knew that the accounts dependent on that session must be an enormous burden. Today poker already helps a lot with my expenses, but I think I will continue to treat it as a second income until I have a lot of financial security.

AdelsonFagundes · Saturday at 11:06 AM

celsosegovia said:
Olha, eu sonhei muito com isso, mas a decepção sempre bate à porta querendo entrar. Como também jogo xadrez há mais de 40 anos, sempre tive vontade e gratidão de voltar a essa opção, porque a exigência mental é mais real do que no pôquer, onde o irreal acontece com frequência durante a partida.
Sinceramente, por mais que eu tenha ganhado, aos 65 anos já estou decepcionado por acreditar que as cartas que eles viram foram escolhidas aleatoriamente.
.
Por mais precisa que seja nossa estratégia, sempre pode haver uma surpresa.

Understanding what you mean. I think that one of the biggest difficulties in poker is precisely accepting the variation, even when we know that it is part of the game. That's what makes the mental side so important. Thank you for sharing your experience.

AdelsonFagundes · Saturday at 11:07 AM

Nameless14 said:
Essa é uma ótima posição para se estar. Pessoalmente, eu manteria o poker como uma segunda fonte de renda, a menos que tivesse uma banca muito grande e um longo histórico de resultados consistentes. Transformar o poker em seu trabalho em tempo integral adiciona muita pressão, e isso pode afetar suas decisões.

Para mim, ter uma renda fixa torna muito mais fácil lidar com as fases ruins e aproveitar o jogo sem sentir que cada sessão precisa ser para pagar as contas.

That's exactly the thought I'm starting to have. The more I read the stories of those who have experienced this, the more I realize that the pressure of relying exclusively on poker can end up taking away precisely the pleasure of playing. I think that a fixed income ends up giving much more peace of mind to make good decisions.

AdelsonFagundes · Saturday at 11:08 AM

CaioRJ said:
Eu já tentei isso, não é uma boa ideia. Jogar pôquer com a mente vazia é completamente diferente de jogar pensando em pagar as contas ou comprar comida. No dia em que você estiver numa fase ruim e perceber que não tem mais dinheiro para comprar nada, você vai conhecer o verdadeiro inferno. Hoje eu trabalho no mercado financeiro, opero de casa, então posso jogar enquanto faço minhas operações. Eu jamais trocaria minha profissão pelo pôquer, mesmo sabendo que poderia.

I think this is one of the most valuable stories for those thinking of making a living from poker. Imagine how difficult it must be to make decisions knowing that the money from the session will pay the bills. Today I am increasingly aware that I prefer to keep my job and leave poker as a second source of income. This way I can play with much more peace of mind and continue to enjoy the game.

pep12343 · Saturday at 11:12 AM

Make sure you have everything in order for a while; raise the price of your tickets to ensure that it's truly profitable, and if you can keep those revenues in the long term, then you can take risks. If things go wrong, make sure you leave your current job on good terms or that you have the option of getting another one.

Navin Sarabjeet · Saturday at 11:15 AM

AdelsonFagundes said:
I think that reservation makes all the difference. Even though poker has already paid most of my bills, I still wouldn't feel at ease without a good margin of safety. Good luck on this journey, I hope it works out for you!

Without being too nosy, but just out of curiosity....
How much are your bills on a monthly basis and in which country?

Sunz of Beaches · Saturday at 11:26 AM

Sounds like the typical brazilian poker lifestyle living in a basement without family and kids and monthly bills less than 1k usd.

ironduke11 · Saturday at 11:32 AM

i think you need to think about having one years bills coveredfirst before you launch

bronwen777 · Saturday at 11:44 AM

I usually work it in paid hours. if i for example make $50 an hr at my job, I would need to at least make the same average over a period of time exceeding 2-3 months to confirm that what I make per hr is sustainable. Lets say you cutrently make $40 an hr playing 3 hrs a day, I'd think that you are able to make $40 an hr playing full time. provided that you've been consistent for some extended period of time. Maybe add a few more hrs a day.. or higher stakes? but I must say that playing higher stakes, come with different level skills. so first try play 100/200 tables and decide from there. Ultimately, you clearly understand banlroll management and so fort, so you will ultimately figure it out and make it work. 👌🏻

hardongear · Saturday at 11:45 AM

AdelsonFagundes said:
I really liked your vision. I think that is precisely the point that weighs the most on me. Today I still enjoy studying and playing, but I wonder if this would continue if poker became my only source of income. Pressure changes the game completely. After reading comments like yours, I am increasingly inclined to leave poker as an excellent second income, and not as my main profession.

Thanks. For me way back when the choice came down also partly to anything could happen and online poker could be here today and gone tomorrow and I had no control over that. Plus I also was already making ok money back then working construction and saw I path where I could eventually own and run my own small business and grow it. Everyone's situation is different. Don't let my situation lead you....if you truly really love playing poker, that lifestyle, currently are winning player and willing to put in the work to stay winning and improve then chase your poker dream. But make sure it's what you really want.

Another thing to consider. I also had the advantage of in Canada all gambling and poker winnings are tax free. If I lived in a country that taxes such winnings....well for me that would make the choice I rather easy no when it comes to making poker my only source of income. If I was going to play poker for a living I'd moving and getting citizenship in country that doesn't tax poker/gambling winnings.

Cheers!!!

GarotoMaroto · Saturday at 12:01 PM

You probably will, if you want it, its your call
Do what suits you better
God bless

AdelsonFagundes · Saturday at 1:39 PM

pep12343 said:
Certifique-se de que tudo esteja em ordem por um tempo; aumente o preço dos seus ingressos para garantir que seja realmente lucrativo e, se conseguir manter essas receitas a longo prazo, aí sim poderá assumir riscos. Se as coisas derem errado, certifique-se de sair do seu emprego atual em bons termos ou de ter a opção de conseguir outro.

I think that's the wisest path. I'm not in a hurry to make that decision. I first want to prove to myself that I can maintain the results for a long period and, above all, preserve my job if one day I decide to try this change.

AdelsonFagundes · Saturday at 1:42 PM

Sunz of Beaches said:
Parece o típico estilo de vida de um jogador de pôquer brasileiro: morando em um porão, sem família nem filhos, e com contas mensais inferiores a mil dólares.

Luckily I don't live in a basement! But you're right about one thing: keeping a controlled cost of living makes a big difference for poker players. But I think you're talking about yourself, do you live in a basement? I'm sorry, you're going to get out of this.

AdelsonFagundes · Saturday at 1:42 PM

GarotoMaroto said:
Provavelmente sim, se você quiser, a decisão é sua.
Faça o que for melhor para você.
Deus abençoe

Thank you! At the end of the day, I think this decision needs to be taken calmly. Today I'm happy to see that poker already helps a lot with my accounts, but I still don't feel like it's a time to rely solely on it. Let's see what the future holds.

Poker already pays most of my bills. And now?

AdelsonFagundes

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ExMoroccan

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Mwaki

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hardongear

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Cooking

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celsosegovia

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CaioRJ

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AdelsonFagundes

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Navin Sarabjeet

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