This is how I get there?

This is a follow up to my Where do you want to be in 5 years blog. In that blog, I answered where I wanted to be in 5 years, but wasn't able to answer the question about how to get there. This post will hopefully be a gameplan for getting there.

So, how do I plan on living this free, hippy-style lifestyle that I lust so much after? I see 2 possible answers at this point in time: 1.) Winning the lottery and 2.) Poker. Since I don't play the lottery, I'm stuck with poker.

I've always won at poker. Reading my blogs, it might not seem like it, but I'm not one to brag a whole bunch in the blogs, because it's a sure fire way to piss off the poker gods and then cometh the hellfire, brimstone, and a huge downswing. However, I have always won at poker. Even before I started practicing bankroll management, I was a winner.

My problem is that 1.) I don't play enough and 2.) I have cashed out my bankroll a few times leaving myself with nothing left to build from. Now, that I'm at the end of the rope with the job, I'm going a different route. The bankroll is the bankroll come hell or high water. Nothing touches the bankroll unless it's to pay off a debt. I'm sick of being stuck in the donkey limits, making single digit per hour win rates.

I don't consider myself a world class player or anything, but I do consider myself much better than a lot of my opponents, even the better ones. I have worked on my game very hard the past 3-4 years. In fact, I bet I've put just as many hours into studying the game as I have actually playing it. Well, maybe not, but I have spent many an hour studying my game, others' games, and reading up on the game. Not to mention hands I've talked over with my poker playing friends.

I'm not sure if I'm good enough to make poker my sole source of income. That's why still don't plan to do that. However, what's stopping me from making poker my primary source of income? I could put in 25-30 hours a week without breaking a sweat. I would also have other sources of passive income as well.

Again, this is all hypothetical and definitely not my first "I wanna go pro" post. But let's say that I'm working up to this point. What would I need to do?

First thing's first is establish a bankroll. I'm working on that aspect right now and it's coming along slowly but surely. I'm spending less time in front of the TV and more time raising and folding. This has helped my bankroll so much. At what point do the tables give me a decent hourly rate? With the cost of living here in WV, I could definitely play $200NL full time and make enough to live. However, that's not what I want. I want to LIVE. Not as in MTV Cribs and Rolls Royces and shit. I'm talking about not struggling to get by. Being able to travel without having to "save up" for it. Stuff like that. So I figure getting into the mid limits is necessary. And that will require somewhere between $30K-50K in bankroll (for me to feel satisfield). Ok, so I'm 1/50th of the way there.

Next thing is to establish the rainy day money in case things go bad. I would need to have at least 1 year's expenses saved up in case I didn't make a dime at poker. I'd have a few months to figure out it ain't for me. I'd rather have $100K saved up just to be safe. So, we're talking about $130,000 and then thinking about it. Now I'm about 1/130th of the way there.

So, as you can see, I have these aspirations, but they are far from being reality. But it gives me a goal. Something to look forward too. If I can hit that $50K mark (which I'd really like to do by year end), then I can start seeing a light at the end of the tunnel.

$130K might seem like a lofty number when your bankroll is 1/130th of that, but it's not a matter of "if", but "when" as long as I keep grinding and learning like I have been lately. I am working on my game constantly, trying to take it to the next level. Once you get to that next level, and then move up in limits, you start getting there exponentially faster. It's a tough road ahead, but one I'm willing to take at this point.

At the rate I'm going, I will die a young and unhappy man. Things need to change. I keep bettering myself in life, but don't get any happier. This might not even make me happier, but I guarantee you one thing. If I ever quit my job to play poker and it doesn't work out, I'd never come back. It would at least be the kick in the tail I need to pursue my dreams....whatever they may be at the time.