Since I'm still a bit too hung over to start hitting the tables, I decided that I'll crunch some numbers and try to formulate a sort of plan as far as how my poker career should progress. So far, in about 22K hands of 3-6, my winrate is just over 2 big bets an hour, per table...but in the interest of not being too overly-optimistic, I'm gonna base all this on maintaining a 1.5bb/hour rate.
EDIT: I have attatched a shortened version of what follows at the very end of the post, so feel free to skip ahead! I must apologetically note that this post is not really intended to be a "good read", it's actually just a written account of what happens when I have a calculator and a lot of time on my hands.
Right! So, if I can average a 30-hour week from now on, playing 3 tables at a time, that should give me an average weekly gain of 810. 500 of that will be my salary, leaving a 310 addition to the bankroll. My bankroll right now...is...ahem...not as high as it should be for someone who plays for a living
I've always been a bit loathe to mention it, because I know everyone's gonna yell at me and call me mean names like "irresponsible dumbass" or "reckless fuck-tard"...but, what the hell, I've been called worse by my mother.
My bankroll at the start of this week was $1730. Heh heh...so while I'm sort of teetering on the brink of danger, I think a couple good weeks will put me right back in my comfort zone. ANYWAY, back to the point, I want a $5000 bankroll before I move up to 5-10, so with adding 310 a week, that'll take about 11 weeks. Therefore, I think July 1st is a reasonable enough date to set as the official start of my move up to 5-10. If it happens sooner, great! If not, that means I'm either not booking enough hours, or not playing as well as I'd like to think I'm able.
Right, so let's assume that, even though 5-10 is tougher, I'll have magically become better by the time I start playing that level, and I can still maintain a 1.5bb/hour winrate. Bit of a stretch? I don't know. But anyway, that'd boost my weekly gain to $1350, and I'd also boost my salary to $750, thus leaving 600 extra in the bank-roll every week. I'd like a bankroll of a solid 12,000 before moving up to 10-20, which would take...ummmmmm....another 11.6666666666666666666666 weeks. We'll round up and just say another 3 months, and thus I'd be starting up the 10-20 level at the beginning of October.
NOW, to further stretch the boundaries of realism, we're gonna pretend that when I move up to 10-20, I'll have once again been visited by some sort of magical genie that allows me to elevate my play such that I can still pound out a 1.5bb win-rate at the 10-20 games! Oh, come on, stranger shit has happened...I hope...If I managed that, I could expect to pull in $2700 in a 30 hour week, at which point I'd cream my pants and up my salary to 1500, leaving an extra 1200 in the bankroll every week. To move up to the 15-30 level, I'd want a bankroll of 20,000, i.e. 666.66666666666666666666 big bets. I have a thing for sixes...which, coincidentally, would take 6.666666666 weeks! HAH HAH! Long story short is as follows: if I (a) average 30 hours per week, and (b) manage to work hard enough on my game so as to be able to beat higher limits for 1.5BB and hour, I should be playing 15-30 by the start of next year, which would just SO fucking ROCK!
What does all this prove? Absolutely nothing. It's a lot easier to "assume" a 1.5BB/hour winrate at higher levels than it is to actually put in the effort and focus required to make it happen. But at the same time, it's certainly not impossible. The goal-dates I've listed in this lengthy rant may certainly be optimistic, and probably also assume I'm a better player than I really am...but if nothing else, they give me something to shoot for, and perhaps the incentive to become good enough to make them happen. The truth, of course, is that if I can only manage 1.5bb/hour at the 3-6 tables, I'm sure as hell not gonna be able to manage the same at the 10-20 or 15-30 level! Right, I grant you that. Which is why it's time to give myself a good kick in the ass, hit the books, and become the player I'd like to be.
No, there really wasn't a "point" to this post per se, other than the aforementioned motivational purpose. Let's face it; I'm a money-driven player. The prospect of someday playing in games where a single blind-steal adds up to what I'd currently call "a profitable day" can't help but entice me. Playing 15-30 at the start of next year may very well be a pipe-dream, but if it is, than that's a reflection on me, and an indication that I'm not doing as well as I could.
AND NOW, THE SHORTENED VERSION! Blah, blah, blah, blah, embarassingly small bankroll, blah, BLAH BLAH, blah, pipe-dream, blah, blah, blah, ridiculous reference to magical genie, BLAH, blibbidy blah-blah, overly-optimistic assumption, blah...blah. BLAH BLAHDY-BLAHDY-BLAH! BLAH BLAH! Blah, blah? Blah blah, per se, Blah! blah.
-TW