Quote Originally Posted by DaNutsInYoEye
I often wonder how much of the talk of downswings, variance, sustainability and generally what is reasonable is actually the voice of reason or if in reality it stems more from the speaker's dissatisfaction with their own results.
I'm happy with my results. It took me longer than I hoped to get at this level, and I could do a lot better with more time, but it is what it is. I think too many people see poker as a get rich scheme and aren't dedicated enough to put in the time, learn their game and play within their BR. It's a fact - including the rake most players lose. Most people starting out online are going to lose because of lack of skill. Others will lose because they don't follow BR guidlines or they tilt too much or whatever. I've seen countless post from big names here at FTR about going broke for reasons other than lack of skill. I just think for most(not every) person it makes sense to start slowly. It will lead to varying results based on lots of factors...time, skill, discipline. I think 10K would be a better goal once the first 1-2K or more has been made.

Maybe it depends on the person, but I think for me and probably most others it is adviseable to start cautiously, see what you're good at, move up as your BR allows and not be too worried about having to make 10K the first year. All in good time. I don't know how many made 10K in their first year, but I'd say it's a relatively small percent so I'm trying to be realistic.

I think we're mostly saying the same thing just from two different angles.