Poker plan - for the folks playing full time

[amatola]

At the moment live in South Africa where online poker is banned - but signed an offer to purchase on our house today - so should be setting up in poker heaven in a few months, the UK. Why heaven? No tax on winnings and so many sites to play on.

I have only been playing for a few months so am still very new to this - but would like to formulate a plan before getting to the UK. At the moment I am having more success on MTT unfortunately, as I think formulating a plan around cash games could be easier.

But anyway...

1) do you set a schedule before the day? If so hours based or tournaments based
2) do you have a set limit on how much you prepared to lose for the day/ week/ month?
3) on good days you operate a trailing stop - or do you stop once you've hit a target. By trailing stop I mean an amount that trails behind your winnings total, which gives you a bit of breathing room, but if you go below that amount you step away from the table.
4) Or after a big win, do you step away for a few hours/ rest of the day?
5) do you schedule days off?
6) lastly I am guessing you have to treat this as a job -and push the entertainment side to the back burner. Does it then become boring?

No need to answer all! And if I am missing important points please let me know.

 

[MattRyder]

I don't play full-time, but do have a couple of ideas.

One would be to schedule some type of review activity - probably daily/per tournament and then again weekly & monthly.

 

[infonazar]

1. I only play when I have the desire and the good mood.
2. I never risk more than 2% of my bankroll.
3. I play no more than 4-5 hours a day.
4. My winnings do not affect my playing time.
5. Sometimes, I plan my game on the weekends.
6. For me, poker is a hobby, which in addition to my pleasure also brings me money.

 

[amatola]

excellent point - I should include some study/review time. Is there a way of recording games and then, while playing "marking" a hand for later review?

 

[Alex70793]

I have such a plan:
There is a daily schedule of tournaments that I play.
Playing with only one entrance, not doing re-entry and re-buys.
If I win a tournament, take the first or second place then I stop playing on this day, not because I won, but because the tournament lasts six hours, there is no time for other tournaments.
Here's a simple plan.

 

[June4Spades]

If I win a tournament, take the first or second place then I stop playing on this day, not because I won, but because the tournament lasts six hours, there is no time for other tournaments.

Clever. I also think, the best advice is to stop playing once concentration goes down. As this is, when you start making stupid mistakes.

 

[YKCaiTLH1314]

At the moment live in South Africa where online poker is banned - but signed an offer to purchase on our house today - so should be setting up in poker heaven in a few months, the UK. Why heaven? No tax on winnings and so many sites to play on.

I have only been playing for a few months so am still very new to this - but would like to formulate a plan before getting to the UK. At the moment I am having more success on MTT unfortunately, as I think formulating a plan around cash games could be easier.

But anyway...

1) do you set a schedule before the day? If so hours based or tournaments based
2) do you have a set limit on how much you prepared to lose for the day/ week/ month?
3) on good days you operate a trailing stop - or do you stop once you've hit a target. By trailing stop I mean an amount that trails behind your winnings total, which gives you a bit of breathing room, but if you go below that amount you step away from the table.
4) Or after a big win, do you step away for a few hours/ rest of the day?
5) do you schedule days off?
6) lastly I am guessing you have to treat this as a job -and push the entertainment side to the back burner. Does it then become boring?

No need to answer all! And if I am missing important points please let me know.

I am playing full time for the pass 11 months after retiring from my regular job.
Let me share with you my experience.

A) You need to find which is your real interest, Live game or Online game.
Which of these you really enjoy playing no matter the result.
As for me, i prefer live game so i treat online as a form of training, learning and study.
I dislike online due to the facts that i have to beat both players and RNG variance, in live game i only need to out play my opponent.

B) You need 100% absolute freedom of your own time which means your family has to support you without taking up any of your time to disrupt your plan.

C) Never have a plan B, once you made up your mind to go full time, don't ever think of going back to get a job if you fail. If you do that i can tell you that you will surely fail. You won;t succeed.

To answer your question;
1) Yes, you need to plan ahead of your next day online tournament. Pick those games you want to play, note it down, set an alarm 1 hour before the game then register.
If you want to do cash game, do it on time basis instead of result based.

2) This depend on how well you manage your bankroll.

3) Self control, learn to manage your tilt, emotion and anger

4) Again, winning is also a form of self discipline, don't get carried away with a winning, you are doing this on a long term based. One big win or big lost doesn't determine your entire career(Unless it's really Hugh win which you might want to take a long break to enjoy real life).

5) Off day is a MUST. Pick a day once a week which has the least tournament to play(Usually Monday or Tuesday). Don't play anything, this is when you spend time with your family. Run your errand, pay the bills or hang out with friends on this day.
Plan a long break(5-7 days) once every 4 or 6 weeks. You need a vacation to look forward to. It is good for you physically and mentally.

6) You will find it very boring at some point, especially if you prefer playing online. But then again, it all depend on your mindset. Which is why i advice you never to have a plan B, you will give up easily.


You might have read lots of Pro player saying it's never easy to be a full time player, they are not faking, it's real. At some point you will start wondering life is meaningless, playing poker day in day out, looking at the screen or going to the casino doing the darn same thing over and over again.
Try it out for 6 months, if you really like it, then set more goals and plan more live tournament to participate. By the time you won 1 title, you will not want to stop playing anymore.
Best wishes to you, hope you will do well.

 

[Lena M]

Hello.
For me, poker is a hobby and I only play when I have free time. I think that first of all the game should bring you pleasure, without any obligations.

 

[pentazepam]

Let me be blunt: It is almost impossible to be a professional poker player online if you are going to live and pay living expenses in the UK.

The only serious option left is LIVE cash games.

You can still use online play to sharpen your skills and train you poker abilities. In combination with solvers, AI-programs, poker tracker analysis and books/videos.

But your main focus should be on putting in the time in LIVE cash if you want to go pro.

You have another great opportunity to earn money if you are able to access all sites that targets the UK market: matched betting on sports betting. Google it and/or PM me for details. Can probably earn 500 pounds or more risk free with just a few hours work every month.

 

[Newzooozooo]

Hi.
I have no plan. I just play for fun. I think poker is either good fun or hard daily work. So I choose entertainment.
Good luck.

 

[madmandown]

For me poker is everything so I take it seriously and hope you guys too take it seriously, I want to see everybody earning.

 

[amatola]

Cheers for the replies - the idea I am playing with will be to give myself £20 per day to enter micro MTT between £0.5 and £2 - will do this for 30 days then reevaluate. Might reserve £5 of that for cash games - something I really need to work on.

Will treat it as a job - will have every day planned and include some review/study time. Sit at a desk and not lounge around (something that comes naturally to me...).

Would be nice if the small cashes pay the entrances, and be able to bank the larger amounts, but as of now, have been struggling to just cash in the micro MTTs. But have found the more I play on a site/ in a particular tournament, the easier it gets. So really want to hit the same type MTT every day on a site and not jump around.