Playing professionally

I'm planning on playing poker professionally over the summer (starting June) this year. By professionaly I mean 7 hours a day, 5/6 days a week. Firstly though I have some decisions to make about the type of game I wan't to play;

A bit of background: I currently play 400NL full ring at a site called Fortune poker. I would class the standard of play here as being loose and fishy compared to places like party or stars. I haven't played enough Party or Stars to really know though. My latest stats are 15,000 hands of 100NL FR at Fortune for 10ptBB/100 and 16,000 hands of 200NL FR at Fortune for 8ptBB/100. I've only played about 5000 hands of 400NL but I figure I can beat it for maybe 5-6ptBB/100 long term. There is no 600NL or higher at Fortune due to a lack of players.

That fine I hear you say but the problem I have is that I can only play 250 hands per hour at Fortune FR. The tables are slow and there is a limit of 5 tables per player. There is only 5max SH tables and they suck. I just cant play 5max, it is a whole different experience to 6max IMO. You spend half your time playing 3max at these tables and playing 3max is not something I want to do 7 hours a day.

So I figure I could go play 6max 400NL at somewhere like stars. With a bit of practice I think I could manage 6 6max tables at once.

Also at a place like Stars I would have the option of moving to 600NL about halfway through the summer if I saw fit. I'll be starting with a bankroll of $12,000. Gamling earnings are untaxable in Ireland. I'm still covered by my parents health insurance etc. because I'm a 21yo full time student. I have 13 weeks off over the summer.

Here's some rough figures:

Fortune 400NL Full Ring:
6ptBB/100 x 250 hands/hr = 120 $/hour

Stars 6max 400NL (assuming I can beat it for 4ptBB/100):
4ptBB/100 x 480 hands/hr = 154 $/hour

If anyone has any thoughts at this point please elabourate?

Now I have some questions:
1) Are there better places to 6 table 6max than Stars or Party?
2) Can I get Rakeback there?
3) How difficult is long term 6 tabling 6max?
4) Is eight tabling possible?
5) Is an estimate of 4ptBB/100 reasonabe at 400NL 6max?
6) Is an estimate of 4ptBB/100 reasonabe at 600NL 6max?
7) Is 6ptBB/100 long term reasonable at Fortune?

Also if anyone has any other comments about playing full time I'd love to hear them.

Note that I posted this in Holdem Strategies and SH NL because I feel it applies to both and it's really important for me that I get some information on this.

ty all.

Originally Posted by Irisheyes

Now I have some questions:
1) Are there better places to 6 table 6max than Stars or Party?
2) Can I get Rakeback there?
3) How difficult is long term 6 tabling 6max?
4) Is eight tabling possible?
5) Is an estimate of 4ptBB/100 reasonabe at 400NL 6max?
6) Is an estimate of 4ptBB/100 reasonabe at 600NL 6max?
7) Is 6ptBB/100 long term reasonable at Fortune?

1. party has the softest ring games
2. yes, pm me
3. depends how good you are?? iont know
4. yes, i think im posting a screenshot of me 9 tabling 6 max tonight in my blog
5. yes, more than that is possible
6. yes, more than that is possible
7. dont see why not

I've played NL200 a lot on stars, and also gotten in about 11k hands at NL400, both FR and 6-max. At NL400 I'm a very marginal winner, but the game is very, VERY beatable. Still lots of donkeys, but it's not the ocean that NL200 is.

I've never seen you play but IMO beating the stars 6-max game for 4ptbb/100 over the long-run would be very impressive. I'm not saying it can't be done because it most certainly can, but if you are just moving up (and moving over to a tougher site), I think it's unlikely.

1) The vast majority of my hands have been on stars, so I probably wouldn't be able to give good advice on this. I love the site though.

2) You can get rakeback at party. Not stars. Stars has FPP's though which are underrated IMO.

3) 6-tabling 6max shouldn't be very difficult. I usually play about 4-tables of FR and 4-tables of 6-max. Sometimes 5/3, but I like to keep a good mix. The party games move faster then the stars game though, and this is something important to note.

4) I 8-table the stars games quite easily.

5) yes, if you're good

6) see 5

7) see 5

I would suggest 4-tabling the 400nl games on Party and slowly move to 6 tables as you become more comfortable. I haven't really played cash on stars, so I don't know how soft their ring games are (I assume very soft due to their immense amount of advertising), but the Party games are always good and multitabling is a cinch. Rakeback is more than possible on party if you know who to talk to, pm me if you have trouble getting a rakeback deal on PP, I know a few people who you can talk to.

1. No.
2. Yes.
3. Not very, although 2+ hour sessions can get exhausting, I don't reccomend 6 tabling for 6 hours straight. Take many breaks.
4. Assuming under one monitor yes, but there would be a bit of overlap. With two monitors you could 12 table if you really wanted.
5. Yes if you're good.
6. A little harder than 400nl I assume, but I would think it's very doable.
7. Never played there so I couldn't tell you.

irish-

i would encourage you to set a few small goals for yourself. 13 weeks can fly by pretty quick so you want to have some checkpoints along the way. i should point out that in general i am not motivated by goal orientation, but for poker, it makes it a lot easier. it takes away a lot of the pressure involved in relying on poker for income. for example, say you need to make $5000 this summer for basic living expenses, but would like to make $15000. here is how i'd look at it:

$5k/12 weeks = $~415 week/ 5 days = $~85 day.

$15k/12 weeks = $1250 week/ 5 days = $250 day.

so instead of constantly telling yourself 'i need to make $15k' you get to tell yourself to win just over a half buyin for your level each day to make your preferred goal, and a measley 20BB to be able to eat and drink. also, you can have that lower 'needs' daily goal as a stopping point. like if you're running good and up a couple hundred but then take a bad hit, maybe it's time to stop for the day if you're above your 'needs' goal for the day. just don't forget that you'll be playing every day and sometimes you just need a break or to quit when you're not playing well. the same games w/ the same players will be there tomorrow, i promise.

finally, when i am able to get in a full 8 hour day at the tables, i seldom do it all in one stretch. i like to play in the mid afternoons, then take a nap, workout, get some dinner and then hit the tables again later in the evening. it stretches out the 'workday' for sure, but it helps me stay focused and in the game to break it up.