JohnnieH;390638 wroteYou are romanticizing it. Most of the grinders I see are bitter, angry people especially during the downswings. They are stuck inside at a poker table every Thursday, Friday, and Saturday day and night trying to maximize their profits. Not a great way to have a life.
Also, most grinders I see don't exclusively use poker for their income. They are always betting on sports and horses too. Some play slots and Blackjack, but those are the real degens.
Like pkerfce said, it's a hard way to make an easy living.
This is one thing that has discouraged me in the past...Seeing all the degenerates that I'm surrounded by. I want to be in the top 2% and crush the game and not be in the other 98%. I know myself and I know that I wont be a "degenerate" or a bitter and angry person.
I don't ever play any table games so that won't be an issue. I've attempted to play 1/2 every single day before and know how tedious and soul crushing it can be. I realized that almost every player when they're at their best can play some amazing poker, but the key is when you're not playing your best how are you handling it?
I know that if I develop my mental game and learn to be consistant night in and night out everything will work itself out. I've experienced the crushing down swings before as well as experienced the insane heaters, one thing that really is getting to me as I get older is a more realistic expectation of what I'll be able to achieve and realizing that playing within a proper bankroll is the only way to succeed.
Right now I'm working a normal 9-5 job which is just okay...but I always think back fondly to the times where I was trying(keyword) to grind 1/2 for a living and thinking how much freedom I had. Of course there were alot of bad times, and downswings I felt like absolute shit. But I didn't play with a proper roll and never really tried the full time thing the "proper" way.
Frankly the only reason that I stopped playing now is that I just don't have time to play these days because of my boring job and I'm just dreaming of a day where I can play again consistantly.
One thing that I told myself is that if I were to ever play full time it would only be if I could make 6 figures from it otherwise it wouldn't be worth it. That's why I'm asking this question...Looks like I will have to play a mix of 2/5 and 5/10 if I ever want to have a chance to achieve this goal.
If I ever do I will make sure to start a thread to keep you guys updated on my progress...my successes or failures...But it's something that I have to attempt once or else I'll always wonder.