My Plan

So far I have put up the background for this project, along with some basic guidelines for someone considering going pro. In this post I'll be filling you in on my specific plans for the project. As you already know I have cashed out my entire bankroll except the $2000 I will use to "take the plunge". I'll go over the check list I posted earlier step by step so you can see it in action.

Have 6 months living expenses in savings: I really think this is one of the most important factors necessary before going pro. What I do with my extra living expense money is keep it in an ING savings account. This lets me have reasonably fast access to it in case of emergency, while giving me a decent interest rate. Another thing you might want to consider is putting some of your extra bankroll in an account like this. I usually keep 50+ buy ins in my bankroll, but I almost never need that much money to actually be in my account. Keeping a portion of your money in a separate savings account has a lot of benefits. Why should poker sites be making interest from your money instead of you? If you have a 20 buy in down streak this gives you a few days to cool off while you transfer money back online. It also protects you if your account is hacked, if you are not able to recover the money all your eggs aren't in one basket. The online savings accounts are easy to set up, and usually have the best rates. If your money is just sitting around it is definitely –EV.

Have Proven Success: This is a little easier for me in this situation than most. Since I am starting new for this blog I already have proven myself as an online cash game pro. All my personal records and poker tracker databases show that I have been able to sustain a win rate over the last 3 years. Before I went pro originally I had played online poker seriously for over a year, along with the records showing I was a winner.

Drop Down a Level: After playing my first session at $50 NL earlier today I am even more positive a new pro should drop down a level when they first start. The stress level was remarkably lower playing a level I could crush. I took a good deal of bad beats and didn't even feel the slightest bit of tilt. The players were much easier to read than where I normally play, and I had no troubles reading any situations. This gave me great confidence in my game and made me certain I could always make it in the poker world. For a new pro these benefits would be even greater than they are for me. If you can pay the bills playing at lower stakes than you're used to, take a month or two to easy into the profession. The reduced stress this causes will improve your game for the rest of your career.

Create a bankroll management plan: Moving up in stakes has never been a direct product of my bankroll. I move up when I feel confident I can beat the level I will be playing. I've never felt the constant necessity to move up that many players feel. If I can make $100/hr playing $1/$2 NL I see no reason to rush up higher. If I need to work on aspects of my game before jumping up, I'll wait, even if I already have 75 buyins for the next level. This does not mean you should be a bankroll pussy. If you have the talent to beat a higher level, and are adequately bankrolled, then staying at the lower level is costing you money. For those of you that need more specific requirements I'll give you a general guideline for what I do.

I'll be starting with 40 buyins ($2000) for $50NL. This is the minimum you should be starting with, for new pros I would really suggest 50. Since there isn't a huge difference in the play from $50NL to $100NL once I reach 40 buyins there ($4000) I'll make the move. I'll continue playing $100NL unless I drop back to $2500, where I will drop back down to $50NL with 50 buyins. Since the play is much better at $200NL than $100NL I'll wait till I have 50 buyins ($10,000) to move up. If I drop to $5000 I'll move back down to $100NL. As I start to reach higher levels I'll move up at 50 buyins, but move back down to reevaluate if I start that level down 10 buyins. At anytime I feel I'm not playing my best or being out played I will drop down immediately no matter where my bankroll is. That is the most important aspect of bankroll management often overlooked when you just decide you stakes based on how much money you have. Just remember; you can make a reasonable living at any of these stakes. The stupidest thing you can do is risk your livelihood being too stubborn to move down.

Plan your Play: My goal is to play 30-35 hours a week, with a majority of my play at peak hours. This means I will start my first session an hour or so after I wake up (which means around 3 or so). The games won't be that great at this time so I'll just play a two hour session. The next session will start around 8 and either be a four hour session, two two hour sessions(if I feel I need a break), or a 3 hour session if I'm going out later. I'll take one or two days off each week depending on how I feel. If you are playing 7 days a week, even if it's only for 4 hours a day, you can easily become burned out.

Pay your bills with rakeback: I'm going to start off my play at UB. I currently have about $2000 worth of bonus to clear there along with getting rakeback. I rounded my expenses up each month to $1300, so I will have to play enough hands to get that much in rakeback. Playing 6-8 tables for 35 hours each week should give me about $1350 each month in bonuses and rakeback. If I can do that it won't matter how I do at the tables, my bills will be covered.

Set Goals: I'll be doing goal posts every so often, but here are a few I have come up with so far:

This Week: Play 35 hours
This Week: Spend 10 hours studying the game
This Week: Spend at least an hour each day writing articles
This Month: Move up to $100NL
This Month: Play 70,000 hands
This Year: Be playing $5/$10NL

Create/maintain an exercise schedule: I've been on and off with my work outs lately, but will be doing 45 mins of cardio 5 days a week along with lifting 4 days a week.

Have a social life: This hasn't been a problem at all since I've moved to FL. In fact I may have been spending too much time going out drinking. No that I'll be putting in significantly more hours each week, it should even itself out.

Hopefully that cleared up exactly what I'll be doing with this blog. If you have any questions just post a comment here and I'll try to get it answered.