Can a chicken go pro?

chicknMelt

 A question to everyone - what would you need to turn pro?

my thoughts are

-6 months salary as a buffer

-be able to earn more from poker than your job ( so that you are able to grow your BR as well a pay your bills)

-a passion for the game

-a sufficient bankroll to easily handle the varience of the games your playing - eg, 200BI+ for MTTs etc.

For those of you that have asked, I havent given up my job, but its an ambition of mine to live off poker, which I have been trialing for a few months with some success. I realised that I would probably have to put in some more volume and be able to win consistently on other sites since the volume isn't that great on sky during off peak times... hence my diary.

I have already considered alot of peoples concerns with going pro - inconsistency of income, stress trying to grind a living, falling out of love with the game once its your job.

inconsistency of income: my plan was to pay myself a set amount a month, and if I won more in the month the rest goes first to replenishing the buffer (if I havent earnt enough to pay myself a full salary in previous months), then 50% of the rest into the BR, and the rest split between savings and investments.

stress trying to grind a living: like I say, I have been treating the last few months as a trial. it has been stressful " can I make it as a pro/ can't I make it as a pro" and at many points during the last few months I've thought it would be both easy, and impossible lol. Buuut, I'm probably one of the most laid back people going, so stress shouldnt effect me too much.

falling out of love with the game: yeah I can see how this happens to some people, and there have been times when I really didnt fancy playing during the last few months. normally that feeling is replaced with eagerness to play within a day or 2. certainly no more than a week.

on the plus side, going pro would give me more time to spend with my family, and more time to learn/play... oh and I can lie in when I want!

I dont plan on making any rash decisions in the next month or 2 - so dont worry about me jumping ship just yet... but it would be interesting to get peoples feedback, especially from those that are already pro... Tommy, Lambert, Scotty etc... when did you turn pro? what did evidence did you have? how much of a roll did you have? have there been any close calls? do you regret going pro?

...Ive also noticed that alot of the top pro's go pro because it's the only logical next step - after winning the WSOP main event for example... so maybe I'm still too small to be thinking about being pro and should wait until (if it ever happens) I get a big score that will pretty much set me up for years before I think about it (£100k+)

Lambert180

Do you play cash at all? Maybe it's just cos I'm mainly a cash player but I think playing MTTs for a living would be reaalllly hard. As you say, it's just less consistent. A month's worth of MEs (assuming you don't sat in) is gonna be like £1k+ and that's only 30 MTTs... you could easily go 100 MTTs without getting 1 good cash so £3k+ just in MEs.

Definitely think you'd need to play loads on other sites cos you just can't get even close to the volume needed for MTTs purely from Sky. Even though he doesn't play for a living (as far as I know), would be a good idea to get MattBates to post up about this cos he never plays cash, just MTTs, and I remember him posting a reply to someone about volume and hourly rates in comparison to your ROI... i.e. finding the sweet spot in terms of number of tables where your hourly rate is maxed out.

I remember speaking to Dan Carter at the SPT Grand Final who grinds MTTs for a living, I think mostly on stars and FTP, and he was saying how he mostly plays daytime schedules these days. He said he misses out on the $109s at night but because they're so much tougher and ROIs are lower, his actual winrate in terms of $$$ is probably just as good in a daytime $30 freezeout cos weak players are much happier to just flick in $30 than they are $109. Went a bit off topic there. Sigh my posts always get so long so I'll stop now!

chicknMelt

In Response to Re: Can a chicken turn pro?:

Do you play cash at all? Maybe it's just cos I'm mainly a cash player but I think playing MTTs for a living would be reaalllly hard. As you say, it's just less consistent. A month's worth of MEs (assuming you don't sat in) is gonna be like £1k+ and that's only 30 MTTs... you could easily go 100 MTTs without getting 1 good cash so £3k+ just in MEs. Definitely think you'd need to play loads on other sites cos you just can't get even close to the volume needed for MTTs purely from Sky. Even though he doesn't play for a living (as far as I know), would be a good idea to get MattBates to post up about this cos he never plays cash, just MTTs, and I remember him posting a reply to someone about volume and hourly rates in comparison to your ROI... i.e. finding the sweet spot in terms of number of tables where your hourly rate is maxed out. I remember speaking to Dan Carter at the SPT Grand Final who grinds MTTs for a living, I think mostly on stars and FTP, and he was saying how he mostly plays daytime schedules these days. He said he misses out on the $109s at night but because they're so much tougher and ROIs are lower, his actual winrate in terms of $$$ is probably just as good in a daytime $30 freezeout cos weak players are much happier to just flick in $30 than they are $109. Went a bit off topic there. Sigh my posts always get so long so I'll stop now!
Posted by Lambert180

live cash only as a general rule... online I'm too impatient and since there are no rules in my head about play with certain stack sizes etc etc i tend to spew my money in online cash.  I have been dabbling in HU cash though but struggle to get any action on sky anymore for the levels I want to play (NL50). Its not like I've even won alot at NL50, I guess I'm too nitty for the bumhunters or something. you can occasionally see me on one of the 6max tables too for 15 mins or until i have donked off a BI or 2.

well, Im not sure MTTs are so different to cash when you play on sky - most of the tourneys are BHs, or rebuy/deepstacks, with small fields... so varience isnt too much of a killer. for example, my worst downswing so far is aroun 80 BIs...not too dissimilar to your worst downswing (im assuming the downswing you have just come out of was your worst!). on other sites tho, for sure MTTs are tough with varience. I cant even begin to fathom how many BI's I would need to play MTTs on stars for example. hence the SNGs i have been trying over there.

chicknMelt

BTW... i saw your warning about your "long post" on your thread...think I might have to start adding some warnings to mine lol

pryce6

Just don't quit your job, keep poker as something you love that provides some extra income. 

Can you imagine when variance actually catches up with you and you've walked away from a guaranteed income? It will hurt so much more.

ACEGOONER

In Response to Re: Can a chicken turn pro?:

 A question to everyone - what would you need to turn pro? my thoughts are -6 months salary as a buffer -be able to earn more from poker than your job ( so that you are able to grow your BR as well a pay your bills) -a passion for the game -a sufficient bankroll to easily handle the varience of the games your playing - eg, 200BI+ for MTTs etc. For those of you that have asked, I havent given up my job, but its an ambition of mine to live off poker, which I have been trialing for a few months with some success. I realised that I would probably have to put in some more volume and be able to win consistently on other sites since the volume isn't that great on sky during off peak times... hence my diary. I have already considered alot of peoples concerns with going pro - inconsistency of income, stress trying to grind a living, falling out of love with the game once its your job. inconsistency of income: my plan was to pay myself a set amount a month, and if I won more in the month the rest goes first to replenishing the buffer (if I havent earnt enough to pay myself a full salary in previous months), then 50% of the rest into the BR, and the rest split between savings and investments. stress trying to grind a living: like I say, I have been treating the last few months as a trial. it has been stressful " can I make it as a pro/ can't I make it as a pro" and at many points during the last few months I've thought it would be both easy, and impossible lol. Buuut, I'm probably one of the most laid back people going, so stress shouldnt effect me too much. falling out of love with the game: yeah I can see how this happens to some people, and there have been times when I really didnt fancy playing during the last few months. normally that feeling is replaced with eagerness to play within a day or 2. certainly no more than a week. on the plus side, going pro would give me more time to spend with my family, and more time to learn/play... oh and I can lie in when I want! I dont plan on making any rash decisions in the next month or 2 - so dont worry about me jumping ship just yet... but it would be interesting to get peoples feedback, especially from those that are already pro... Tommy, Lambert, Scotty etc... when did you turn pro? what did evidence did you have? how much of a roll did you have? have there been any close calls? do you regret going pro? ...Ive also noticed that alot of the top pro's go pro because it's the only logical next step - after winning the WSOP main event for example... so maybe I'm still too small to be thinking about being pro and should wait until (if it ever happens) I get a big score that will pretty much set me up for years before I think about it (£100k+)
Posted by chicknMelt

I would add to your list where you want to be in 5 years time, in life as well as in poker. If you are going to be the next big poker phenominen, then you will earn enough not to worry about things like buying houses/cars, getting married, bringing up children etc etc. 

But if you are like most poker grinders and earn a living wage, but not much more then all those things should come into you're considerations before you ditch your career. It also depends where you live, in London you would have to be winning much more than some parts of the North just to survive! Getting a mortgage when your profession is "poker pro" is nearly impossible as far as I am aware. 

Good luck though, your MTT results are very impressive. 

chicknMelt

In Response to Re: Can a chicken turn pro?:

Just don't quit your job, keep poker as something you love that provides some extra income.  Can you imagine when variance actually catches up with you and you've walked away from a guaranteed income? It will hurt so much more.
Posted by pryce6

the only reason I am considering it is because I really do think that given the extra time and effort I could put into it my earning potential is far greater than if I stayed in my job... and I have ways of dealing with the varience. the 6 month buffer system, so in theory, I shouldnt notice any downswings financially until I havent won anything for 6 months. its possible obviously, but if that started to happen, by the time it got to month 4 or 5 I should be able to find another job again before the money ran out. This yr (not just from Sky) I have earnt more than i get paid playing just part time(if you can call what I do part time), so you can see the temptation? 

also, coaching could provide a more regular income, and it something I have experience in (although not from poker). It would be something I'm interested in doing in the future.

chicknMelt

In Response to Re: Can a chicken turn pro?:

In Response to Re: Can a chicken turn pro? : I would add to your list where you want to be in 5 years time, in life as well as in poker. If you are going to be the next big poker phenominen, then you will earn enough not to worry about things like buying houses/cars, getting married, bringing up children etc etc.  But if you are like most poker grinders and earn a living wage, but not much more then all those things should come into you're considerations before you ditch your career. It also depends where you live, in London you would have to be winning much more than some parts of the North just to survive! Getting a mortgage when your profession is "poker pro" is nearly impossible as far as I am aware.  Good luck though, your MTT results are very impressive. 
Posted by ACEGOONER

thanks for the thoughts ACE... where I want to be and where I aqctually am are likely to be far apart... but aiming high means you should at least achieve a medium right??

already have a mortgage...they cant take it back can they lol?!

ACEGOONER

In Response to Re: Can a chicken turn pro?:

In Response to Re: Can a chicken turn pro? : thanks for the thoughts ACE... where I want to be and where I aqctually am are likely to be far apart... but aiming high means you should at least achieve a medium right?? already have a mortgage...they cant take it back can they lol?!
Posted by chicknMelt

If you have a mortgage you need to factor it into your considerations with budgeting etc. 

I don't want to derail the purpose of the thread but if you are on a fixed rate and want to remortgage at the end of the fixed rate period, you will struggle to get another fixed rate once you disclose your new profession. It may even cause issues with your existing lender. Most lenders dont care how good you are at poker. If you are on a variable rate, remember there is only one way interest rates can go thats up. 

Feel free to drop me a PM if you want me to go into more detail. Of course win enough to pay your mortgage off in a few years and you got it cracked from a housing perspective! 

chicknMelt

In Response to Re: Can a chicken turn pro?:

In Response to Re: Can a chicken turn pro? : If you have a mortgage you need to factor it into your considerations with budgeting etc.  I don't want to derail the purpose of the thread but if you are on a fixed rate and want to remortgage at the end of the fixed rate period, you will struggle to get another fixed rate once you disclose your new profession. It may even cause issues with your existing lender. Most lenders dont care how good you are at poker. If you are on a variable rate, remember there is only one way interest rates can go thats up.  Feel free to drop me a PM if you want me to go into more detail. Of course win enough to pay your mortgage off in a few years and you got it cracked from a housing perspective! 
Posted by ACEGOONER

very soon my mortgage will be a variable mortgage with no initial rate... so I wont ever have to remortgage if I dont want to. Interest rates can only really go up, but I'm hoping they stay stable for a year or 2 unitl I have found my feet at least.

Not really derailing the thread - its relevant to becoming a pro

The thinig I have been most concerned about is if my creent lender would do anything if I was to change my profession to poker player.  ...of course I can always do some IT stuff on the side and say that is my profession... but does any of it really atter once you have the mortgage? surely the bank only cares if they arent getting their money any more?

ACEGOONER

In Response to Re: Can a chicken turn pro?:

In Response to Re: Can a chicken turn pro? : very soon my mortgage will be a variable mortgage with no initial rate... so I wont ever have to remortgage if I dont want to. Interest rates can only really go up, but I'm hoping they stay stable for a year or 2 unitl I have found my feet at least. Not really derailing the thread - its relevant to becoming a pro The thinig I have been most concerned about is if my creent lender would do anything if I was to change my profession to poker player.  ...of course I can always do some IT stuff on the side and say that is my profession... but does any of it really atter once you have the mortgage? surely the bank only cares if they arent getting their money any more?
Posted by chicknMelt

This is only an indication as I dont know who your lender is, but I dont think they would be very comfortable with your new profession. I would guess that a mortgage underwriter would see you as a professional gambler and therefore very high risk. 

Your income from poker coaching/IT freelancing would have to be documented, this may be something that they could use once you have an earnings track record. I would also have thought that if you are disclosing this income it would be taxable. 

Speak with a mortgage broker about this. Just having a mortgage shows how complex things can become when you decide poker is going to be your occupation.  

Lambert180

I may be wrong and it's obviously worth checking but I'm pretty sure that you don't even need to update your lender as to a change of occupation once you already have the mortgage up and running. As long as you keep up the payments, I don't think it matters.

ACEGOONER

In Response to Re: Can a chicken turn pro?:

I may be wrong and it's obviously worth checking but I'm pretty sure that you don't even need to update your lender as to a change of occupation once you already have the mortgage up and running. As long as you keep up the payments, I don't think it matters.
Posted by Lambert180

If you are moving onto another reduced rate with the same lender of course you do, they want to know all your details as if you where applying for a new mortgage.

In chickenmelts case he is on a variable rate so whilst he doesnt have to disclose anything, if rates shoot up suddenly then a remortgage will become very difficult, either with his existing lender or a new one. 

Remember banks are very tight with their money these days, they look for reasons not to lend first and foremost. 

Lambert180

In Response to Re: Can a chicken turn pro?:

In Response to Re: Can a chicken turn pro? : If you are moving onto another reduced rate with the same lender of course you do, they want to know all your details as if you where applying for a new mortgage. In chickenmelts case he is on a variable rate so whilst he doesnt have to disclose anything, if rates shoot up suddenly then a remortgage will become very difficult, either with his existing lender or a new one.  Remember banks are very tight with their money these days, they look for reasons not to lend first and foremost. 
Posted by ACEGOONER

Well yeah of course, any kind of change is essentially a new agreement and so they'd look into everything again. But if you remain on the same deal then as you say, you don't need to update them.

TPTP123

The only problems that will occur with your mortgage are if you start to fall behind on payments and even then they wont start asking you about your profession, however they will ask the root cause for missing the payments. 

Your biggest problem will be remortgaging if you ever want to move house or get a further advance. As no one will underwrite anything with your profession being soo sketchy UNLESS you can prove continous income and long term regular lodgements and are prepared to go to one of the smaller lenders. 

Also FWIW, if your a full time poker player with 1 house and a mortgage over 50% LTV you should really be making fixed overpayments on a regular basis imo for a rainy day.... and also at the end of the year you need to specifically request that they do not dissolve your overpayments so that you still have that buffer.   

Good luck by the way!!! Great start to the thread

ACEGOONER

In Response to Re: Can a chicken turn pro?:

The only problems that will occur with your mortgage are if you start to fall behind on payments and even then they wont start asking you about your profession, however they will ask the root cause for missing the payments.  Your biggest problem will be remortgaging if you ever want to move house or get a further advance. As no one will underwrite anything with your profession being soo sketchy UNLESS you can prove continous income and long term regular lodgements and are prepared to go to one of the smaller lenders.  Also FWIW, if your a full time poker player with 1 house and a mortgage over 50% LTV you should really be making fixed overpayments on a regular basis imo for a rainy day.... and also at the end of the year you need to specifically request that they do not dissolve your overpayments so that you still have that buffer.    Good luck by the way!!! Great start to the thread
Posted by TPTP123

I think if you get into arrears, they will want to know about your circumstances ie why you cant afford the mortgage. But hopefully this wont be an issue for chickenmelt and the suggestion to overpay the mortgage is a prudent one. 

Gl with whatever you chose to do and as I said becoming a poker pro is about more than just making a profit at the tables.

bromley04

Hi mate

Meant to post sooner but not had chance.

Played you on the tables quite a bit and I echo people's comments on here that you have the game to succeed as a pro in MTT's.  Was actually talking to StayorGo about it at the Grand Final strangely enough so good luck to you.

I know a thing or two about property too so tread very carefully with your mortgage and changing 'profession'.  If they find out then it will be very relevant.  Again the offer of a PM is there if you nned.

Best of luck!

MP33

I know you said in a previous post that you,d been trialling it for a few months but you can,t really know as you,d be playing during different times off the day. I would also think about how much i liked my job and the future prospects - ie promotions, pay rises etc

I know someone who pulled a 3 month sicky to give poker a go. He ended up going back to work but it was a job where he could get away with it and still works there today. 

Personally i,d carry on working until you,ve got more saved up and if your still doing as well as you are over x amount of months or a year, then give it a go and maybe have a word with your employer to see if theres a chance of going back if it didn,t work out

Sometimes you have to take a risk to fullfill a dream though so GL with it over next few months. Will be interesting to see what you decide to do

Paul

LnarinOO

id probally jus hope for a big bink early on if your just playing MTT's- it must be horrible grinding hours and hours with unsociable working hours - i mean it not like you can jus sit out and leave once you start your daily grinds.. 

probally need a bigger cusion then 6months - i know players that have had longer runs without a big enough score 'to get them out the whole' 

if you have something to fall back on then its defo not the end of the world-if you can then go for it imo, otherwise your forever regret not trying 

chicknMelt

Monday 11th Nov

ok, so SNGs didnt go well at all tonight, I played 4 $15 ones and 2 $7 ones…cashed in 0! didn't play badly, maybe a bit more focus would have earned 1 or possibly 2 cashes, but in reality I didn't run well enough to make a profit or anything close to it.  BR = 272..55. 

think I will try to stick at $7 SNGs from now on for 15 BIs then drop back down to $3.5 if I need to. The standard seems to be quite a bit worse and way less regs. tonight it seemed like 5/6 players were regs and I don't think I have the game to profit in the $15 ones yet. save them for the weekend maybe, when there are more recs

-----

main BH started badly! got called down by just 2 overs twice (not even A high), which obv hits on the turn or river.  I thought they were good bluff cards because they shouldn't have been in the villains range much. oops. down to 800 chips after 10 mins. can't help but think I'm trying to force it too much in the main recently.

Out within 20 mins. some fishy play from others that worked and some fishy play from me that didn't - that on top of losing my first 3 all ins (2 of which I was dominating, the other racing), the losses at SNGs, and accidentally raising UTG and then thinking I was in the BB (there was no SB) and calling a shove with a dodgy ace put me on MASSIVE MONKEY TILT (i don't know what monkey is meant to mean here, but it makes it sound worse, so i'm going with it)  i WILL do better in the big BH…or the speed BH….best to keep my options open

probably a big win, or big loss tonight the way I'm playing, most likely the latter.

• 9:20 - I'm still in the big BH… I therefore declare it a success!
• 9:50.. down to 1k chips, oops :-S
• 9:52 - won a 3 way AI (only me AI pre) with A high after a villain bet all 3 streets…with a worse A high
• 10:05 - up to 8.5k, i forgot how nice it was to flop a set AND get paid!
• 10:15 - back down to 3.5k after i shoved with a nut flush draw and got called by 2pair, which held. 
• 10:17 - out. shoved over a donk lead on a dry board v an agro player with A high. of course, he had top pair and that was it. i was in a horrible seat to be fair, sandwiched between 2 super agro players who didn't seem to have any other button than raise… I was always going to be out quickly or end up with a biig stack, but I could have picked better spots.

not happy with how I'm played tonight…been all over the place, not thinking much about sticking my chips in at all really - too many needless risks. All I can do is try and make the most of whats left...

• 11:35 right…I need a 1st or 2nd in the £11 turbo, and a big cash in the £22 timed to make a profit tonight…cos thats all I'm still in.
• 11:41…3/8 in the turbo (6 paid) and looking at a decent cash in the timed!
• 11:43 erm, i just won an AI with J2 vs AA in the timed…sorry who ever that was!
• 11:45: cashed for £87 in the timed, 4/7 in the turbo
• 11:49: 3/6 going into final table.. 2nd place will put me even for the day, and 1st will give me an £80ish profit…its crazy that i even have a chance of profiting tonight!
• 12:07 out in 4th after my shove from the button for 9bb got called by 63s from the sb. for half of his stack. then hit a 3. £50 down for the night

highlight of tonight was a 4th place in a £20 bh, for £100ish, and the turbo, timed. lowlights…everything else - bubbled the ukpc final seat, donked of commanding chip stacks in the £2k bh and the 22:15 £20 bh, played badly in the main and speed bh again. sigh. 

value of tourneys entered: £350

cashes: £300ish

about £300 in the hole still this month atm. main aim for my next session - think!. Gonna try and watch the rest of that first button v blind video now... then up for work. whoop de doo.

chicknMelt

thanks for all the mortgage advice everyone - I already suspected that remortgaging would be difficult... which is why I have put myself in a situation that I dont mind keeping for the next 5 yrs minimum... providing interest rates dont become alot higher in that time!

MP33/ Lnarin - I agree, I wont be giving up work before I'm very comfortable with my financial situation. which I'm not really atm, but in a few months, who knows. One of the reasons I like playing on SKY so much is because the varience is alot lower than most other sites, what with most the tourneys being bounty hunters, or a deep/rebuy format and with small fields. So I'm hoping the losing streaks wont be too long!

ACEGOONER

In Response to Re: Can a chicken turn pro?:

thanks for all the mortgage advice everyone - I already suspected that remortgaging would be difficult... which is why I have put myself in a situation that I dont mind keeping for the next 5 yrs minimum... providing interest rates dont become alot higher in that time! MP33/ Lnarin - I agree, I wont be giving up work before I'm very comfortable with my financial situation. which I'm not really atm, but in a few months, who knows. One of the reasons I like playing on SKY so much is because the varience is alot lower than most other sites, what with most the tourneys being bounty hunters, or a deep/rebuy format and with small fields. So I'm hoping the losing streaks wont be too long!
Posted by chicknMelt

Thinking about what you said, you mentioned that you are coming to the end of a deal which I guess means that you can look to remortgage. If thats the case, have you thought about locking into a long term fix before you decide to quit your job.

That way you can be sure what your outgoings will be for the the mortgage if you decide to take the plunge. My concern about riding the variable rate is as I mentioned if the Bank of England start to increase interest rates you could end up on a much higher rate, if at this stage you are a poker pro then you wont have any remortgage options.  

Whilst mortgages arent my specialist area, if you want some advice drop me a PM and I will point you in the right direction. Its good to plan before you make such a major commitment, a lot of poker players just turn a blind eye to this sort of thing. 

a00rock

Hi CM a good read so far and a number of dilemma's you face going forward from a life changing aspect. I am no expert on life but do have a few more years under my belt than most who post on here so take heed or ignore my advice up to you.

You are 27 I assume you are married or have a partner with at least 1 child as you talk about spending more time with your family earlier. If I am right this is not just your decision your wife/partner must support any change going forward.

You have a good job good IT pro's are always in demand so if the pokerin did go belly up it should not be the end of the world as you should find other employment just try to keep up to date with any major changes in the profession.

MP33 gave some good advice earlier in the thread about asking your employer if you could take some time off a type of sabbatical for maybe up to 6 months some good employers who value your work may agree to this with a few strings.  In my previous roll as a full time trade union officer I have actually negotiated such release for an individual not to play poker tho and it was with a 'good employer' so it is doable.

Gl with which ever way you go I can see the temptations but never ignore the pit falls.

Run good  m8...  Ray

chicknMelt

In Response to Re: Can a chicken turn pro?:

Hi CM a good read so far and a number of dilemma's you face going forward from a life changing aspect. I am no expert on life but do have a few more years under my belt than most who post on here so take heed or ignore my advice up to you. You are 27 I assume you are married or have a partner with at least 1 child as you talk about spending more time with your family earlier. If I am right this is not just your decision your wife/partner must support any change going forward. You have a good job good IT pro's are always in demand so if the pokerin did go belly up it should not be the end of the world as you should find other employment just try to keep up to date with any major changes in the profession. MP33 gave some good advice earlier in the thread about asking your employer if you could take some time off a type of sabbatical for maybe up to 6 months some good employers who value your work may agree to this with a few strings.  In my previous roll as a full time trade union officer I have actually negotiated such release for an individual not to play poker tho and it was with a 'good employer' so it is doable. Gl with which ever way you go I can see the temptations but never ignore the pit falls. Run good  m8...  Ray
Posted by a00rock

Thanks Ray and Ace - all good advice. There are certainly some dilemas for sure, mortgages being the tricky one. on the mortgage front, I think I'm going to go with the variable and try to overpay as much as possible (fixed wont allow me to do this cos they are way more expensive), and just hope that the interest rates dont rise too much.

Just so you know - I am married, with a child on the way... just to complicate things further! so yeah, only going to be giving up work if I'm really comfortable with being able to support them. my other half will be working, probably part time too, so its not all on me financially. I'm also very lucky that my whole family are very supportive and are basically leaving it up to me... my parents think I should give it a shot and my wife seems strangly relaxed about it all. 

---edit--- 

forgot to say, the reason I'm remortgaging is because I'm moving house - closer to family (both sets of parents) because of the baby, but its also 1hr away from my work!

---------

I think the sabatical is a really good idea, and it also might be possible to go part time - guess I need to approach my boss about it!

ACEGOONER

In Response to Re: Can a chicken turn pro?:

In Response to Re: Can a chicken turn pro? : Thanks Ray and Ace - all good advice. There are certainly some dilemas for sure, mortgages being the tricky one. on the mortgage front, I think I'm going to go with the variable and try to overpay as much as possible (fixed wont allow me to do this cos they are way more expensive), and just hope that the interest rates dont rise too much. Just so you know - I am married, with a child on the way... just to complicate things further! so yeah, only going to be giving up work if I'm really comfortable with being able to support them. my other half will be working, probably part time too, so its not all on me financially. I'm also very lucky that my whole family are very supportive and are basically leaving it up to me... my parents think I should give it a shot and my wife seems strangly relaxed about it all.  ---edit---  forgot to say, the reason I'm remortgaging is because I'm moving house - closer to family (both sets of parents) because of the baby, but its also 1hr away from my work! --------- I think the sabatical is a really good idea, and it also might be possible to go part time - guess I need to approach my boss about it!
Posted by chicknMelt

Dont dismiss fixed rates, I am not sure what your current rate is but you can get 5 year fixes under 3% now. 

+1 to the sabbatical, it gives you options just in case you change your mind. 

With regards to the coaching, I may be in touch ! glgl

BigHawk89

Alrite chicken.

Interesting diary.

Dont play too many MTTs on here but come across you a few times and can tell youre a very good player.

With regards to your job, cant you just cut down your hours and go part time?

chicknMelt

In Response to Re: Can a chicken turn pro?:

In Response to Re: Can a chicken turn pro? : Dont dismiss fixed rates, I am not sure what your current rate is but you can get 5 year fixes under 3% now.  +1 to the sabbatical, it gives you options just in case you change your mind.  With regards to the coaching, I may be in touch ! glgl
Posted by ACEGOONER

must have missed that... my deposit is about 25% and I'll be paying 2.25% variable as it stands. the problem with alot of the fixed ones is that after the 5 yrs the rate increases significantly for all the ones I have looked at...and I may not be able to remortgage in 5 yrs! 

SUPERSNEDD

In Response to Re: Can a chicken turn pro?:

Monday 11th Nov ok, so SNGs didnt go well at all tonight, I played 4 $15 ones and 2 $7 ones…cashed in 0! didn't play badly, maybe a bit more focus would have earned 1 or possibly 2 cashes, but in reality I didn't run well enough to make a profit or anything close to it.  BR = 272..55.  think I will try to stick at $7 SNGs from now on for 15 BIs then drop back down to $3.5 if I need to. The standard seems to be quite a bit worse and way less regs. tonight it seemed like 5/6 players were regs and I don't think I have the game to profit in the $15 ones yet. save them for the weekend maybe, when there are more recs ----- main BH started badly! got called down by just 2 overs twice (not even A high), which obv hits on the turn or river.  I thought they were good bluff cards because they shouldn't have been in the villains range much. oops. down to 800 chips after 10 mins. can't help but think I'm trying to force it too much in the main recently. Out within 20 mins. some fishy play from others that worked and some fishy play from me that didn't - that on top of losing my first 3 all ins (2 of which I was dominating, the other racing), the losses at SNGs, and accidentally raising UTG and then thinking I was in the BB (there was no SB) and calling a shove with a dodgy ace put me on MASSIVE MONKEY TILT (i don't know what monkey is meant to mean here, but it makes it sound worse, so i'm going with it)  i WILL do better in the big BH…or the speed BH….best to keep my options open probably a big win, or big loss tonight the way I'm playing, most likely the latter. 9:20 - I'm still in the big BH… I therefore declare it a success! 9:50.. down to 1k chips, oops :-S 9:52 - won a 3 way AI (only me AI pre) with A high after a villain bet all 3 streets…with a worse A high 10:05 - up to 8.5k, i forgot how nice it was to flop a set AND get paid! 10:15 - back down to 3.5k after i shoved with a nut flush draw and got called by 2pair, which held.  10:17 - out. shoved over a donk lead on a dry board v an agro player with A high. of course, he had top pair and that was it. i was in a horrible seat to be fair, sandwiched between 2 super agro players who didn't seem to have any other button than raise… I was always going to be out quickly or end up with a biig stack, but I could have picked better spots. not happy with how I'm played tonight…been all over the place, not thinking much about sticking my chips in at all really - too many needless risks. All I can do is try and make the most of whats left... 11:35 right…I need a 1st or 2nd in the £11 turbo, and a big cash in the £22 timed to make a profit tonight…cos thats all I'm still in. 11:41…3/8 in the turbo (6 paid) and looking at a decent cash in the timed! 11:43 erm, i just won an AI with J2 vs AA in the timed…sorry who ever that was! 11:45: cashed for £87 in the timed, 4/7 in the turbo 11:49: 3/6 going into final table.. 2nd place will put me even for the day, and 1st will give me an £80ish profit…its crazy that i even have a chance of profiting tonight! 12:07 out in 4th after my shove from the button for 9bb got called by 63s from the sb. for half of his stack. then hit a 3. £50 down for the night highlight of tonight was a 4th place in a £20 bh, for £100ish, and the turbo, timed. lowlights…everything else - bubbled the ukpc final seat, donked of commanding chip stacks in the £2k bh and the 22:15 £20 bh, played badly in the main and speed bh again. sigh.  value of tourneys entered: £350 cashes: £300ish about £300 in the hole still this month atm. main aim for my next session - think!. Gonna try and watch the rest of that first button v blind video now... then up for work. whoop de doo.
Posted by chicknMelt

LOL - I was wondering whether you were going to include that hand

11.43 when you shoved with J2 against my AA was me................and you rivered a J high straight

GL with your progress just try and not steal my blinds, I might have AA (not that it would matter - LOL)

chicknMelt

In Response to Re: Can a chicken turn pro?:

In Response to Re: Can a chicken turn pro? : LOL - I was wondering whether you were going to include that hand 11.43 when you shoved with J2 against my AA was me................and you rivered a J high straight GL with your progress just try and not steal my blinds, I might have AA (not that it would matter - LOL)
Posted by SUPERSNEDD

Lol, sorry... I try to include all the interesting bits whether good or bad. Not sure what happened there... Must have been a misclick- I would never steal blinds light. Never.  

 

Zeextenr

Hey,  interesting read,  tho I have to say the technicalities and stats make me go dizzy which is probably why I do ok for a bit then lose for a lot!  must learn more!   must try and remember more! 

Gl and keep posting!