May is coming to an end, and my career as a poker pro might end along with it. May started out with a bad run/bad play at 3/6 and 5/10, and looked to be my first losing month since I started keeping a spreadsheet back in September (and possibly ever, I don't really remember). Though I still had a healthy bankroll of 30-35k-ish I decided to drop down to 2/4 and grind out 100k hands. I've managed to turn it around and replenish my losses, and then some, running goot at 400NL for 25k hands. Then yesterday I got to my first final table ever and took down the 6th place in the Sunday Warmup on PokerStars for 14.5k, turning this into my biggest winning month yet (thank you Lee Jones! ).

I'm going to stay at 400NL and grind out the other 75k hands. The money is good and the experience and confidence is needed. I said I was going to record and comment every session this month, but my computer ran so slow at times that it tilted me so I stopped. In honour of Slumpy I'm gonna record a session this week and upload it somewhere (why haven't you given me a user/pw for ftp yet, Xianti? ). I believe I've gotten better at thinking things through and taking my time with decisions, and am currently trying to open up my game and to get better at hand reading. I think I lose alot of money in medium sized pots, by both laying down and calling in bad spots, and by value betting too seldom.

One experiment that I did this week was to cut down to 4 tables, drop down to 200NL, and play a much more aggressive game. I was shooting for 28/24-ish but ended up at 30/28! Compared to my usual nittag (Holy shit I just invented a new word! One cyllable , pressure on the 'i'. (c) 2007 HalvSame) style of 19/15.5 it was pretty insane. And it was really, really fun. Most important lesson learned: when they don't have respect for you they don't fold anything, so don't three-barrel air but do felt TPGK if you get the chance. I was also able to get (what I usually think is) thin value in a lot of spots, and against certain opponents who weren't willing to adjust I just stole and stole and stole. I'm going to be doing this experiment more often, incorporating bits and pieces into my main style. Ultimately I want to be able to switch between gears as the session progresses.

I'm going to start my second read of Theory of Poker this week, I first read it last summer and am probably ready to take in some more of the wealth of info that is in it. I'm also going to read more strategy posts, Massimo's teachings thread is one that comes to mind. I always say this, but I'm going to get better at reviewing sessions in PT and posting hands for discussion/advice.

Okay, here's the part I was thinking of when I made the post title. I'm not sure if I'm going to try and play this game for a living yet. Though I think I could make enough money on 400NL, I don't know if the mental pressure is worth it for me. Poker is so great when you're winning, but I don't think I've ever felt so empty as I did when I lost 20k in two weeks. I wasn't feeling sad or angry, just empty. I'm also worried about the lifestyle I've had so far this year, basically I have only been out of the house when I've been drinking with my buddies. I live with a couple of my buddies, and we have other friends over all the time, so it's not like I'm some degenerate just sitting in front of my computer all day. But I haven't really been getting out and meeting new people lately.

In a month I'll be moving to Oslo (the capitol of Norway), and I don't know that many people where I'm going. Having a job to go to gives me a nice secondary social network that I'm afraid of losing by being a poker pro. Of course there are other ways to meet new people and find new stuff to do, but then again I'm kinda shy . I'm also getting some pressure from my family, especially my mother. And of course there's the security of having a steady income. As a programmer I expect to be making 55-70k a year, minus taxes. Also, I want to buy an apartment, and with the housing prices in Oslo I'm going to have to spend around 250-300k. This of course means that I'm gonna have to get a loan, and as you can imagine it won't be easy to convince the bank that I'll be able to pay them back with poker winnings. This means that I'm looking at 12-15k a year in rent that I would have to make up for at the tables. I also happen to love programming, so it's not like I'm getting some shitty job because I have to. Still, I don't know if I will enjoy going to work at 7am every morning to sit and program all day, lol.

One more factor that makes me consider getting a job is the fact that the tax situation for poker players in Norway is very shady and weird due to the fact that live poker is banned. The rule of thumb is that you pay taxes on every single pot/tournament win of more than 10k NOK/~1600$, and if I'm not mistaken the tax is 28%. There's no deduction for losses, so it would probably be smart to stay at 400NL when the pots hardly ever get big enough that they would be taxable. However, if your poker play could be said to be a business you pay taxes on total winnings for the year. I don't know the % in that case, but it's going to be 28% at the lowest and potentially much higher. Whether or not your poker playing is a business is decided on an individual basis. I've mailed the norwegian equivalent of the IRS to get some answers in this regard.

For now I'm going to start looking at available jobs but keep playing poker until I've moved to Oslo and while awaiting the response from the "IRS". Will I still be trying to be a poker pro this time next month? Who knows.

Thanx for reading this loooooong post, comment in the comment thread please .