Texas poker dealer… let’s spin from $0 to piles

Finally decided to get back in the action and I’m off to a super solid start. I’m playing well, hopefully the run good continues!

I will be as well...

Sup dudes. Had lots of swings since last post. Few mtt scores for 3k-10k, but crashed and burned a handful of times as well. The original plan lacked discipline, so I’m going to rewrite the “plan”, how ever I want community input on structuring the plan.

Current situation: sitting on about 4k debt and currently busto but still have income.

**New plan (subject to change based on community input): deal cards 12 hours per day earning roughly $50/h. Today is day one so it’ll take me approximately 7 days to pay of the debt. Moving forward from that, I don’t think I want to exercise a short stacking strategy like I stated in the op. Houston plo is primarily deepstack and uncapped. What do you guys think I should do as far as a solid BRM plan? 100bb buy ins regardless of avg stack sizes? How many buy ins should I have in my BR before shooting at 1/3/6? Based on my poker tracker, I’m avg about $100/hr between 1/3 - 1/3/6 plo and 15/30 FL Big O (400 hour sample, not quite enough hours for accuracy, but I’m beating the games consistently).

LMK what you guys think, ty for input.

The goal is to build a comfy bankroll in order to stop dealing and play full time. My dream life is to be able to travel the tourney circuit a week or so out of each month and grind PLO at home.

How did you amass this 4k debt despite being successful in poker and tournaments? Think this is important information for anyone rating your plan.

I don't think many people should be relying on solely poker for income. It's stressful, unsocial, and the often times people come out the other end with no money, and years of potential career growth wasted.

I think you should save up an emergency fund worth 3-6 months expenses, putting some away for poker at the same time. Use your dealing job to observe population tendencies, think critically about every hand that you deal and what you'd do. Then, when you've got a roll built up, reduce dealing hours (make sure you still afford expenses) and build it up in your free-time as a hobby.

You don't have to be a pro to get something out of poker. I've held a full-time job my entire poker career.

I play plo and deal poker as a hobby. Just a dealing question for you...

You say you'll deal 12 hrs per day to pay of the debt in 7 days but I'm wondering if you work multiple jobs or if the room just lets you deal that long without forcing you out. I deal at the Wynn in vegas and our schedules are super flexible and we can choose our own schedule for the most part but only in terms of working less hours/days, never more.

I degened off in MTTs during Wsop and online. Credit card debt. I agree that a separate life roll is necessary. I plan to keep the job until the poker bankroll and life roll is sufficiently padded. Also, I have a lot of flexibility with the dealing job, I can get taken off the schedule and put back on with ease, so no risk of not being able to go back if **** hits the fan. I don’t want to stay at the job indefinitely because I want the freedom of being able to go out of town for tourney circuits.

The room I deal at is the most relaxed on the planet. Can give up shifts to other dealers with ease the day of if you want, pick up when ever, stay pretty much as long as you want. Pretty much the nuts as far as flexibility and consistency

Respectfully you sound like a solid poker player with a lot of life leaks. Additionally, Jack of all trades and master of none is tough. I’d focus on cash or MTT and not max grind both. Not to say you can’t dabble but you need to all in one. Go get em.

I know OP but not saying this based on his skills. Joe, I would grind cash games and then take some tourney shots only when big series are in town (next one is Chsmpions in Oct). Maybe play satellites to try and get cheaper entry into those. PLO at Legends is printing money so grind that and build your roll.

legend poker room represent

no offense OP but in my 17 years career as a pro, i have seen ONE only one dealer make the switch and be successfull but he was young and hungry.

i wish you the best but if in terms of hourly playing poker doesnt pay as much as dealing, you should stick to dealing and build a life for yourself.

i have played for 4 months non stop at legend and i know the dealers and even the floors make good money with tips, its a decent salary.