Can someone live off the live 1/2NL tables, lets find out

Hey everyone, my name is Jon. Ive seen many threads over the last few years about if it is possible to beat the 1/2 live table and make a living. Many people believe the total hands played per hour live is to small to generate the amount of cash flow you would need to live compared to multitabling online. Im 23 years old, I grew up during the poker boom, and have been playing religously since age 13, live, online, and of course in high school we all had 3 diff tourneys lined up after school every single day. So although its only been 10 years, I would have to say I grew up at the perfect time to become a rather sharp poker player. Two years ago i had a good run at the 1/2 tables, and made 8 grand in a few months, i quit my job and thought hey, I could do this for a living. Unfortunately my gf at the time had an etopic pregnancy and did not have insurance for the emergency surgery she needed and i ended up payign the bills none the less, and was left with no bankroll to continue, and no job. I stopped playing until the last 3 months, since i broke up with her and aquired a part time job as a tin knocker (could be fulltime but cards has been treating me good). Every check I recieve I bank and I have been living off my poker earnings. Now im not saying that it is 100% possible, but it has caught my interest and recently i have started to keep track of everytime I go.

This thread will be updated every 2 or 3 days with my current winnings or losings, and added up at the end of the year to see total hours player, total earnings, hourly wage, and win/lose ratio. I am not claiming to know if I can make a living from this, but during the 8 grand run and now continuing into this run, ive been waiting for that downswing everybody talks about, and sure I have had a few small losing streaks, but never nearly enough to make me scared or close to the end of my bankroll, so my honest opinion is I do think it's possible, it is a friggin grind for sure sometimes, but here we will find out for sure.
Two weeks ago i said hey, i better start writing my winnings down for future reference. I am up total about 6 grand (most of which went to bills left over from the apartment, which got stuck to me when me and my gf broke up). Now that everything is paid off and im in the positive, I am going to start this thread from 2 weeks ago when i started keeping track, after I cashed my 128 dollar paycheck.
When I hit my 10 grand bankroll, I will continue to move to the 2/5 live and so on as it improves.

W - November 27th $128-$241
L - November 28th $241-$124
W - November 29th $124-$250
November 30th OFF - 12 Hours
W - December 1st $250-$650
W - December 2nd $650-$900
W - December 3rd $900-$1200
W - December 4th $1200-$1401
December 5th OFF - 22 Hours

Paycheck - $105.00
W - December 6th $1401-$1473 7 hours
W - December 7th $1473-$1700 15 hours

GL to you man. It's a tough grind. If you really can crush 1/2, I suggest you stay there until you are bigger than 10k. Maybe 20k+, then move to 2/5. I generally would like more buy-ins at the 2/5 level.
Most casinos/cardrooms have a 1/3 or 2/3 live game as well. Is that offered where you are at or are you skipping it? If it's offered, I suggest you move to that when you increase your bankroll. The play is generally just as soft as a 1/2 game.

Variance is lower live too. Easier to make laydowns and you get better reads on players rather than playing 20+ tables and doing everything standardly. It's still an issue but it's not as big. GL

gl, subscribed, hope things go well

honestly the first major hurdle has been cleared -- getting from $128 to a more playable $1700 is a huge step

Dang man, i'm trying to conquer 1/2 live myself. The players are so tight, it's unbelievable. Gotta mix up that play, good luck to your sir.

Good luck


Good to see you have a part time job too, that way you arent paying to pay rent which will take the pressure off a lot.

Really hope it works out well for you

Good luck Jon,

I also have subscribed and will be following you. I am planning on doing exactly what you are in the process of, though my situation is quite a bit different, I will be following you avidly!

Mike

3 TIPS FROM 8 FCKING YEARS OF EXPERIENCE 5 WITHOUT A JOB
1. THE RAKE COSTS ALOT EVEN IF IT'S ONLY 4 DOLLARS A HAND WINNING A PETHETIC 5-10 POTS A DAY COSTS U NEARLY A THOUSAND DOLLARS A MONTH, PLAY AS FEW HANDS AND WIN AS FEW POTS AS POSSIBLE.
2. DON'T TIP!!!!!!!!!!!! U ARE GOING TO BE GRINDING A VERY SMALL INCOME DEALERS MAKE PLENTY OF MONEY AND U NOT TIPPING THEM ISN'T GOING TO KILL THEM AND IF IT DOES WHO CARES THERE ARE THOUSANDS OF UNEMPLOYED AMERICANS JUST JONESING TO TAKE THEIR SEAT. even tipping a measly 10$ a day costs u 3 grand a year over the course of 3 years thats 10K u COULD HAVE USED TO MOVE UP IN LIMITS AND INCREASE UR ANNUAL INCOME AND QUALITY OF LIFE INSTEAD U PISSED IT AWAY TIPPING OVERPAID POKER DEALERS.....

Flames for FSP coming up. IMO bad advice not tipping dealers if you want to be a reg at a casino. Being respected at your place of work is always +ev- and after all, isnt this about making money?? You want the floor manager (as well as all casino employees) to like you and if he is friends with the dealer and the dealer thinks you are a tightwad, not to mention a jerk, well, that can be -ev over the long run. Not to mention that is is simply good card room etiquette to tip. But I digress.


Subscribing Jon. And good luck.

Where do you play?

If Im up i tip if im down I dont tip XD cause I cant haha. Subscribing
I dont beleive in luck, so ill just say, have a nice grind

+1!
If you're trying to be a pro... not tipping is so unprofessional. Bad advice. Next time there is a marginal floor decision, good luck having it go in your favor. GL Jon!

^^^^Can't believe yall over looked this.Not tipping is bad they don't make a lot of money a hour.Don't have to go over board nor should you but a $1 tip for $50-$200 pot is common sense imo.

I saw that too JoeBob and was like WTF... Why would u try to win as few pots as possible?! lol

Hey Jon,

Been curious how you've been faring, do you have any updates?

Good luck on playing this and I hope live play treats you well. I prefer live play more too ;]

So are you a pro yet?