how long do u plan on playing?
 

if poker stays as popular and profitbale as it is now, and doesnt become too illegal, how long do u plan on playing poker for?

i know many kids i talk to say the rest of their lives.
I honestly just feel like I want to get all poker out of the way in my college years, and grab a nice chunk of change out of that, and basically be done with it. I am really just trying to make $ for my future. I would Love to retire early, -maybe just have a small part time or volunteer job that could contribute in some way.

so my answer is about 4 years.

Do you really plan on making enough in the next four years that you would be able to be set with a part time job the rest of your life?

I mean, that's gonna be a hell of a lot of money.

See, while I play for the $ (obviously) I also play because I really enjoy the game.

Up at school, when the majority of my play was online (due to the lack of underground clubs in ohio -- or at least to my lack of knowledge of them, and lack of casinos) when people I knew were gettin together to get a 'poker tournament' goin, I'd always be in if I wasn't doing anything. Often these would be $10 buy ins with 7 ppl. So 60 (50 net) goin to first and money back goin to second. I'd always play though because its fun.

I would like to continue to improve my poker game, and build my bankroll up... something which has been a problem for me (well not so much building my bankroll up, but the fact that I never have had an official bankroll, just the amount of money I have...and that fluctuates when takin into consideration bills etc which come out of my 'bankroll'...) I'd like to have a comfortable bankroll and continue to build it up.

As far as when I'll stop playing. When poker is both unprofitable and not fun anymore -- and I don't see that coming anytime soon if ever

As long as I'm having fun?!

My ADD will undoubtedly kick in one day and I'll move on to another game for some time, but I've been playing poker in one form or another, off and on, since high school and probably always will to some extent.

i give me two or three more weeks - maybe a month

Although poker sometimes is simply not fun and the grind takes over the joy of playing, I don't really see if I could ever stop playing. This is not to say that I will continue to play 20,000+ hands every month from now till my death, but I'm sure that I will play it on a somewhat regular basis because I still do enjoy the game and I'm fairly certain that I will always enjoy it.

<shrug> I've been playing for over 40 years as it is, and I've always considered poker to be part of my retirement plan, and retirement's less than 10 years away.

I enjoy poker. Its a hobby and it is how I relax. I guess I'll play as long as I can physically hold the cards (or the mouse). If somehow the internet ceases to be an option, I'm 45 minutes from Foxwoods and have 2 regular home games (one's been going on every other week for 18 years).

LOL

I may beat you to the cashier however.

I don't think I can answer this question right now... I can see it going either way for me - anything from becoming a full time pro to quitting 100%. Ok, 99%. ;) Most likely though, poker will alays be a part of my life, probably just like it is now... I'd like to play more than I already do, but don't know that I'll ever make the time for it.

Yeah, I just don't know.

This would be much funnier if I hadn't been hearing this over and over for the last.... oh.... year and a half or so.

You just need another big hit (WCOOP, Australia, Bahamas?) to get you going again.

As long as the money is flowing, I'll keep on playing.

And much like TP said, I wish I had more time to play as it is now.

And FYI, even if it is illegal, you'll always need your boys night out, with the $20 dealer's choice buy-ins with the buddies, it's an escape from the everyday.

home game every thursday night is a great night out/in. Online poker i cant honestly say, anything from 1 year to 50.

Ill play live for as long as i am winning money at it.

The one thing is, with technology changing, whats coming next in the poker world?

by 4 years i meant playing Alot of poker.
i will too continue to play for a long time, just not as a primary source of income anymore. most likely.

JD if you continue to make 100K a year for the next 4 years... would you consider ever getting a real job?

If I was making that money what I would do is just play poker then give alot of my time to help out people who need help. Do alot of charity work, be able to help people who need it.

I know if I ever hit the lottery I would give alot of my time to help people. I wish I could now but I cant even take care of myself lol.

ya. i dont think 400k is anywhere near enough to retire on at such an early age.
basically i want to make $ from poker to put it in use for other things. Like my own business or something (too bad i have no ideas). right now the main thing im looking for it to do is make me money in Cd's and stocks.

find a niche internet business you can own and look after, and combine the poker and the company.

I'll have my law degree in 18 months and I'll probably quit playing when I get a job. In the meantime poker's good money. i imagine that i might still play occasionally, but it would have to be high stakes to make it worthwhile (and i'd have to prove to myself that i'm a winner at high stakes).

i really don't enjoy gambling so i don't think i will have any problems with leaving poker. even now i take two or three weeks off at a time.

i just decided i want to be a millionare by the time i leave college.

Good day? Bad day? Huge change of heart...make sure you aren't just on tilt.

I just think its very possible if I continue to improve in: poker, bankroll management, stocks and investing, assuming I define a goal, construct ways to accomplish that goal, and properly apply it.

That's a pretty lofty goal.

GL.

It also seems like kind of a silly one. I mean, if you have a great reason for it, fine. But I'll have a hard time believing it. Why would you do that to yourself now? During college? I cannot think of many more miserable ways to spend college than singlemindedly trying to get rich. Do that later. Learn about yourself right now.

Sound hokey enough? It's still true.

You can have a blast and get rich, but actually going to class as well probably not so much. I would think you can get 2 ot of 3 done with relative ease.

i dont think becoming miserable necessarily goes along with trying to accomplish this goal?

trust me i wont get wrapped up in this. if i do, ill stop.
trust me when i say im not going to be sitting home on weekends to play poker rather than going out with friends. I am completely aware that days i don't play poker are usually more fun and more proactive.
I think its very reasonable to try and squeeze in 2 hours a day, when nothing else is going on, to help fulfill this goal.(also remember this allows me to not have a job).

i agree it at first seems like an Eextremely loft goal, but if u do the math on it I think it is actually more realistic (yet still lofty) than you would originally think. ( then again, maybe im just way too naive???)

i mean, trust me i wouldnt be doing this if i think it was a miserable, boring, or not fun way to spend college. I think it is possible, and I think I can balance it fine along with school (somewhat challenging), and my social life(very easy).

well
 

why does everything have to be a money oriontated goal for you? why cant your goal be like continue playing and improving? You are in a very good spot right now JD, you have a very very big bankroll, can pretty much play any buy in tourney you wish right now and going to college, why stress yourself out in trying to win 40k,80k,90k a million, who cares?

I just say screw all these money goals and just keep the goal of continue playing good poker and having fun.

Improving play is an assumed goal. Of course I'm going to try to continue getting better at all times. I don't think it will stress me out tho, not at all. I really think it will help me with bankroll management and really trying to become a great player. The $1million is really just the very final goal, with tons of smaller goals all in between.

I'm not accusing JD of having only money-oriented goals, but I do think it would be easy to lose perspective with a goal like that.

Just always be aware of what you're doing and what it's doing to you.

ya. thats why i set up little bench marks to measue where i should be at every 4 months or so.
and the reason i think i go with monetary goals alot, is b/c its actually measurable, where a goal of improving really isnt.
basically im trying to look for a more secure way to make $ without as much variance, and discipline myself and practice good BR management.

Actually, I think everyone on this forum should have a solid money-making goal in poker. I don't think saying "I'm just gonna improve" is good enough. I think it's loserspeak. As a matter of fact, I think a great idea for a new thread would be for everyone to state said goal, list three reasons why they're going to hit it and then three plans of action to hit it.
JD voiced his earlier this year; he was going to bank $100,000 by the end of this year. How did he do it? Beats me, but I'll guarantee one thing: his eyes never wavered from that goal. He set it, developed a plan of action to meet it, and carried it out. If he misses just one of the ingredients, he doesn't reach it. Remember, he started from play money around this time last year. So if he can do it, why can't anyone else who puts in the time? (I'm not saying make $100,000, but at least make a nice ROI through hard work.)

People,

You do need to keep in mind that it is possible, and highly likely at some point in your "career" that you'll be playing good, even great poker, and still lose. Hell, you can play perfect poker and still lose over a substantial amount of hands.

That's why I don't make monetary goals.

- Play X amount of hands this week/month.
- Don't play when distracted.
- Stop playing if I am stuck in a "bad session" and lose control of my emotions.

If you can identify certain areas where you've "leaked" make a goal to identify them while playing and focus on improving there.

For example, I STILL leak on the river in my LHE games. Someone will be calling me down and the most disastrous card can fall on the river. A lot of times, I'll just make a bet out of anger, got popped, and then call when I should be check/calling.

I'm making a deliberate effort to focus on improving this.

Very good post, and I agree with all points. I'll just add also that monetary goals may allow a person to bcome lackadaisical and start to make excuses for his/her play because he/she hit that one monetary goal.

Point taken, and respected. And correct me if I'm wrong, but I think the whole idea here is making money is a byproduct of playing good poker over a long period of time.
But that said, how is setting a monetary goal (and working the right way at it) any different than a golfer saying, "I'm going to fix the flaws in my stroke and cut my handicap by five strokes this summer?" All the golfer's doing here is setting a tangible, measurable goal that he can reach for. Now, if he goes about it the right way, practices the right way, he'll do it and he'll reap the rewards of a more consistent game. He'll still have his off days, and weeks, even, but his game will succeed in the end. But if he gets lazy and goes about it the wrong way, his game will be erratic. He may have a few rounds where he shoots well and does lower his handicap, but overall, his game will suffer, and he'll carry around a bogus number. And when he plays in tournaments and starts dishing out strokes to legit higher handicappers, he'll be exposed for the fraud he is.
That's why I don't think setting a monetary goal is such a bad thing. I completely understand your point, Boobie, and agree with much of it. But I think it has more to do with the person than the goal itself. I think setting the goal is one thing, but the way a person approaches it speaks a lot about his/her character. Do you grind it out, learn the game and persevere, or do you take shortcuts, roll the dice and hope to hit it big?
Better yet, Boobie, what made you want to succeed at poker, and what steps did you take to achieve that success? Same question goes for anybody else on the forum who wants to answer it.

The fact that you put a "-" and then a space before starting your text did not go unnoticed. It makes your post quite sexy, IMO.

Your golf example doesn't really correlate well to poker. Chance plays a big role in poker while golf it really does not.

<blushing>

It's all about formatting.

queers.

homophobe

You know, I did this over the past summer. And, well, it's not the same because, as it has been pointed out many many times before...you can play great poker over any amount of time and still be a losing poker player.

The amount of variance between poker and golf is any magnitude greater. If you practice and get better at golf, the bad bounce your ball takes on some random drive will not affect you as much. However, no matter how much you practice poker, it will never be able to overcome the dream flop when you get stuck with the underset.

You can't take a 3-iron and punch back out in to the fairway if you flop the second best fullhouse.

There's too much chance involved. There's too much opportunity to be a bad poker player and win while also the possiblity of being a good poker player and losing.