How much do you need to make to go pro ?

I was wondering guys , how much should i make a day to go pro or atleast rent my own apartment and buy my own food and clothes and live by myself .I really want to make sure i dont make a mistake of leaving my home and pow, not being able to sustain myself ?

Well, that all depends what your actual expenses are. You need to factor in all those things: rent, utilities, food, clothing, car maintanence/gas, entertainment, etc. Then you need to ask yourself, "Is just scraping by enough, or do I want to pad the wallet after my expenses are taken care of?"

Plus, you need to factor in how much of a minimum bankroll you are going to keep and if you can even afford that in the first place. Now, I'm not the one to be able to tell you accurately what kind of BR you should start with, but I'm sure many others here could give you a run-down on that.

I think the real question is how much do YOU need to earn per week/month minimum?

Well for food i would need 200 to 300 a month maybe, since i would be buying cereals and vegetables . rent i would pay maybe to 300 per month , gasoline would be 200 per month , and clothes at least 1 time a month would be another 100 to 200 . and for entertainments would be another 200 , thats 900 $$$ . 900$ a month , so i would need atleast 6000 to start with , thats not part of my play bankroll and atleast a 20000 dollar bankroll to play higher limits , at 1000 a month that would be like 200 to 300 a month ???

Rent, Food, Pension, Savings, Income Tax / National Insurance, Electricity/Gas/Water/Phone bills, Council Tax, House and Contents, Life Assurance, Car Insurance / Tax, Petrol? I earn a fair wage, but that doesn't cover the above, so there's no way in hell I could cover it with Poker winnings. Please, get a proper job, and play poker in your spare time.

Its not as easy you would think. I have been trying for almost 6 months now to get my BR upto where I need to it give full time poker a go.

You need to make sure you can afford to give it a good go for, say, 6 months. You need to factor in your current outlay (Rob mentioned most of them) and also the cost playing, the swings it will bring and so forth

Its very difficult unless you can get someone to bankroll you, or unless you can win a massive MTT for a few hundred thousand dollars

I am currently looking into sponsorship options, which is another possibility. But again, you will still need to be financially secure and factor in the possibility you may need to get back into work quickly if it fails to take off the way you wish

Please remember you will experience some cold streaks which means no money for weeks at a time. You have to be able to deal with the swings of good and bad luck no matter how skilled you are in poker. Just ask anyone who has tried to go professional.

I'm a poker pro, and make about $2500 a week. And I only play about 20 hours a week. A lot sweeter deal than any other job I could have. However, I still try and make money doing other stuff, since there's always that insecurity about what if I go through a losing streak? I only lose money about 1 out of every 20 sessions though.

2500 a week - do you mind if i ask what stakes you play?

I play $2/$4 no limit tables. I play 3-5 tables at the same time, this hedges the luck factor so my skill takes over. There really are no swings for me, like I said, I only have a losing session about 1 out of 20 times. Each session for me lasts between 2-4 hours. If I play over 4 hours at one time I usually start playing badly.

I see that you play a lot of poker yourself, Chuck. What kind of games do you play? I rarely play tourneys, because I like to play multiple tables at once, and tourneys seem to require too much concentration to play so many at the same time.

Prim , do you think by making 500 a day i would be able to live off poker, i know is esaier said then done but, i think i could do it consistently once i got the bankroll . I would play some medium/high minis from 20 to 50 dollar buy ins . I could sit at the 5/10 limit tables and im some 2/4 NL short handed tables . This is thinking about the future as my current bankroll wouldnt allow me to do it comfortably, but once i get around 50,000 i think i might give it a shot . I would remove 10000 for 6 months living expenses and a 40000 bankroll to play those limits . Right now im not near the numbers, but i like to plan ahead and would like to know ^_^

$500/day sounds like $2,500/week to me.... That's $130,000/year in case you need the math done again.

More than most people make at their day job, that's for sure.

Sexy Ace, I could be wrong, but it seems like you have the wrong idea. Why do you need such a big bankroll to start out? If you're a good poker player, you should easily be able to make the money. I'm up almost $20K this month. I don't think tourneys are the way to go, though, it seems like there's too much luck involved there. Of course, I could be wrong about that too. Let me ask you, are you able to play multiple cash game tables at the same time?

Prim: i'm a pretty novice player; i started playing about 2 years ago and have since built up a $700 bankroll online, but nothing close to 2500 a week *ChuckTs drools
i play every type of poker possible, but mainly NLHE SnGs and MTTs with some small LHE cash games on the side
as for multitabling, i am the most 1 track minded person ever...so it's impossible for me - 2 is the most i can manage

I can do 4 cash limit ring game tables . I could try to multi table the NLHE tables as well . The reason I used Mini's is because im in the money what i consider a high % of the time and thats how i built 1000 dollars this past month

I'm not a Pro by no means but as a Former Business Owner here is a little advice.

Going Pro is like taking on a new start up business, A Smart business owner in all reality should do this: You need atleast a years salary in the bank for a new business owner, 2 years in even better.
This is over an above your BR. This will help you sustain the rough patches when the losing sessions may come around. Now this can't be part of your Bank Roll at all it has to be for your living expenses. You shouldn't touch this at all to add to your BR,for if your bankroll dwindles from what you alotted yourself for that time period, you'll find yourself short in either one or both areas of your monies.

Like I said this is just some advice from a former owner that should have listened to her own advice.
Good Luck and God Bless on this venture!
edit: BTW Robbing Peter to pay Paul every month really sucks. Barely getting by sucks trust me. Patience is definetly a virtue on the Poker tables and your finances, both can save a bunch in the long run!

Prim said:

I see that you play a lot of poker yourself, Chuck. What kind of games do you play? I rarely play tourneys, because I like to play multiple tables at once, and tourneys seem to require too much concentration to play so many at the same time.

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Its something that your missing out on Prim. Small buy-in tourneys especially on the bigger sites generate HUGE return on investment. Ill usually play small N/L ring and have a tourney running in the background, true there is more of a luck element involved but i usually dont concentrate too hard on them until they reach a certain stage, usually 2/3 hours in.

At this stage ill close off my ring games and concentrate totally on the tourney, usually with the goal of hitting the final table. You can make over $1500 on stars for winning a $5 tourney. I still have to win one, but im getting better at playing the later stages all the time, 2nd is my best finish so far, $800 out of a $5 investment.

Judging by you BR id be giving the $1 million games on Stars on Sunday some serious consideration, the ROI is massive if you do happen to hit the final table.

As for turning PRO, I dont really think id have the patience for it, and the returns would have to be massive for me even to contemplate it. As for online i play $25MAX N/L at the moment, but i have a plan of action for moving though the limits after dropping back from 2/4 to the N/L tables. As for live games, well now thats a different story, ive often hit a game with over a grand to play with, and im doing excellent at the moment. Poker pays for my holidays at the moment, I treat it as a bonus, not an income if that makes any sense.

You need to be asking yourself a lot more questions than "How much money do I need to be making?" before even considering going pro.

I'll post in more detail when I'm not a little drunk.

I'm too lazy to read all the replies before mine so excuse if i'm repeating already suggested info.

What you need to answer first is do you really think you can handle being completely reliant on you poker winnings? could you make enough to live off of? what about swings; what if you have a bad month - it's not like playing poker for fun, because this is youre income you're talking about - if you go broke, you really go broke. Then what kind of backup do you have?

If you have had constant success and know %100 you could have a steady income from poker, then maybe consider it - but i think it's a better idea to have a smaller job (that could provide your expenses alone), and play poker on the side as a secondary income - that way you have a backup if you have a bad run.
As for how much you need to make monthly to become pro, it completely depends on the cost of your lifestyle i guess. You need to figure out your monthly expenses and see if you could make that (and then some - you need spending cash right?) with poker winnings.

Are you talking about goin real live pro or internet?

There is a BIG differance between the 2 games.

I mean internet for now, the near by casino only offer huge limits so i wouldnt play them for now ^_^ although i did one time, sat with 300 left with 820 lol

here is my thoiught on going pro. If you have to ask if your ready then your not. I have run 2 businesses and can say this for sure if you have to ask if your ready then no your not. When you feel in your heart that you can do it go for it but not before you are done doubting yourself. When you are ready write some goals down long term and short. Goals and planning is what makes winners from losers.

That's interesting 10-BOB, I may just try the tourneys out. I like the fact that you can play multiple tourneys, and only focus in on them if it is 2/3 done. I think maybe people play worse at tourneys than cash games, betting aggressively with marginal hands because they are worried about the blinds increasing.

here's my 2 cents about going pro, I agree with Quazar but maybe not for the reasons he is saying. I think you just automatically go pro, it isn't really a decision. I'm a pro because the money I made from poker got to be so much more than my day job, and I enjoy the game, so I just decided to quit my job and play poker. So you shouldn't have to wonder about it, if you are making the money then you will be compelled to keep playing. OTOH, if you're not making money consistently yet, then you should keep your day job.

I haven't read every message in this thread, so, if someone has already pointed this out, sorry to repeat it, but there are two things you need to consider:

1. At your current skill level, are you earning money or bleeding it? Keep track of your bankroll over the course of 12 months and see if you're plus or minus. Then play every day for another 12 months and see how your balance is at the end of it. Analyze how you get beaten and by whom. *Then* consider going pro if all the signs are favourable.

2. As a pro, on your 200th straight day of playing for six hours, you might decide you don't want to play today. Well, bzzzt!--sorry, but it's your job, so you *have* to. You have to know whether you're capable of playing, and playing well, when the game is not fun but feels like a drudgery.

BTW, bragging about how much money someone earns as a pro only sets up people for unrealistic expectations, because IMO very few people have the right mentality and makeup to succeed as pros.

For the record, I'm happily amateur and have no plans for turning pro.

The Bleeder