Hello WGW and Happy New Year!!! As many of you know I’m an aspiring semi-pro (aspiring to be full-time) poker player. I have had very good success over my poker career but still have not cut the umbilical cord from my ‘day-job’.
It occurred to me recently that my day job as a sales and marketing consultant involves a lot of planning. I plan with members of my team, we plan with our retail network, we collectively monitor and measure the plan and we reflect on our progress and tweak our game plan as needed to achieve our goal (‘x’ % sales increase).
While this may seem like business 101 it is a great model to apply to your gambling endeavors (poker, ponies, or sports). In fact it is easier to implement a plan for success with a gambling goal since it is typically a solitary challenge (no need to communicate with members of a team, except for the wife/girlfriend of course).
Simply put, here is my plan (a three year plan) to achieve a level of success and financial security which will allow me to ‘cut’ the umbilical cord and kiss my day job good bye.
Goal: To play poker fulltime on a schedule of my own making (i.e. become a true poker entrepreneur and to do so without sacrificing family time).
Step One: Average One bet per hour over at least 3000 hours (I achieved this in the past)
Step Two: DO NOT MAKE withdrawals from poker fund (unless it is a loss at the table, no more tapping the slush fund for a pool or Disney World tickets). This is my biggest challenge!!! I win but spend my winnings thereby forcing me to play lower limits or risk going broke at higher limits. No more treading water!!
Step Three: Only move up in limits when I have 300x’s the new limit big bet (e.g. Do not move to 80/160 until you have $48,000 or 300 x 160)
If I average 20 hours per week under these parameters I will hit my goal (100K playing bankroll and one years worth of expenses in bank) in three years. If I hit my goal I will cut the cord.
I will diligently monitor my progress and encourage all of you to look at your gambling goal(s) and craft a detailed plan to achieve them!!
Until next time - best of luck at the tables and Happy New Year.
Cheers,
RounderJack