Following on from my Supernova calculations you may have guessed that going pro is being given some serious consideration!
A couple of years ago Helen and I made a lifestyle > career decision and moved from London to the Isle of Man.
I gave up a very well paid job in London but Helen is self employed and works from home which made the transition nice and smooth.
I do have a job over here now, but it is brain numbingly dull, with zero prospects and I would not be sacrificing anything career wise to give poker a shot.
I have calculated that $4,000 per month would effectively be ‘break even’ compared to my salary once tax, travel etc has been taken into consideration and poker income is tax free for us which makes a real difference.
I have a bankroll of $40,000 ready and waiting in a separate poker account, plenty more in savings and we could easily survive for 18 months or so with no money at all coming in. Everything points to a resignation right?
Well in normal circumstances it would but Helen is pregnant with our first baby, due 30th September and she is currently on maternity leave (not getting paid) and if I resigned now we would have zero guaranteed income for when baby first enters the world. Whilst we are both 100% convinced going pro is the way forward, waiting just a few more months is probably the most sensible thing.
Whether being sensible is +EV or –EV is another discussion entirely.......
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2 comments:
Well, first of all, congratulations! Your life will never be the same again after having a child, whether or not you go pro. No way can I provide really meaningful advice as you need to balance out way too many things on your own, but I'll share the benefit of been there/done that with kids.
While they are great, and I love love love being a dad, you will be a lot more stressed especially over the first few months. Nothing bad, and not to scare/discourage you, but the fact is you will find it an awesome responsibility to have a little life totally dependent on you.
Financially, it sounds to me like you have enough socked away that I wouldn't worry tremendously about that aspect of the decision...but more do you want the unknown of a career change at the same time as a life/family change? I have no idea. Hopefully you know some other poker players with kids and can bounce stuff off them.
The flip side is that if I thought I could make more money playing poker than a traditional career and I didn't care at all for my job, going pro would be cool from the point that you will have more time at home with the family (double edged sword, grinding wise!), and also since your sleep pattern will be completely up in the air for the first 6-8 months most likely, you wouldn't have to worry about sticking to a regimented schedule as much with poker as with an office job.
Either way, I'm sure you'll approach it thoughtfully and come up with the best decision for your family. Once again, congrats Steve!
Thanks Marc, appreciate it.
Spending more time with my family is one of the main reasons I want to go pro.
I'm not looking to make millions so hopefully that will make my decision easier :)
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