Thursday, October 06, 2005

Dilemma and Crossroads

I'm at somewhat of a major crossroads here today. Over dinner, my wife and I discussed my poker playing, and she is fully in support of me. However, she asked me what my goals were from playing.

I didn't have an answer.

I realized that I have well over $2000 in my PokerStars account doing NOTHING for me. The next step up for me in LHE is playing 10/20, and that's a HUGE step from 5/10. It's a bankroll-doubling step. At my current risk tolerance (starting bankroll of 200BB or 20 buy-ins), that would require me to have >$4000 in the account. At what point do I start taking this money, these winnings out? I've already taken some winnings out to pay for her bracelet, but what is poker really doing for me right now?

So here's my dilemma. Do I just keep playing, trying to make enough money to move up another limit to try and make more money to move up another limit to 15/30, then 30/60, then 100/200?

Or do I start taking profits from what has been a profitable game for me to right now? Do I take profits out and invest them? Spend them? What do I do from here?

This would involve me essentially becoming (by it's definition), a small-time semi-pro poker player. As I'm sure many of you know, I have a very lucrative career that pays me great money. I truthfully have enough money to stake myself in fairly high-limit games. I could easily take $2000 out of the bank and head to AC tonight and play 20/40 or 30/60. I wouldn't miss the money. But, iIs that what I really want? Or do I just want to keep poker as a profitable hobby and be happy where I am right now?

I'm not sure of the answer. I'd like to hear people's take on this. I don't have any plans to quit my job to play pro poker any time soon. I'm not by my nature a "gambler," in the sense that I also have no intention to plop down $10k to buy into the main event at the WSOP (not that I wouldn't play if I win a seat). I enjoy playing poker. Is becoming a semi-pro risking making this into a "job" or is it just creating a way to make money from my enjoyable hobby?

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