Kamrann's Poker Experiment:
Introduction

I began playing poker around three and a half years ago, and have gradually – and sometimes not so gradually - progressed to larger stakes, taking me from online play money games to playing in the 5 Diamond series of tournaments at the Bellagio last December, including the $15000 WPT event. However, despite having played in some fairly big games, having put in a lot of hours both online and live, and having made fairly consistent profits over the long term, I've never considered myself to be playing professionally. Even during the last year in which I haven't worked, and have traveled to a number of tournaments in Europe and the USA, I was really just living and playing with winnings from the previous year when I had been working, and as such was happy to play above my bankroll, not needing to win my rent each month, and not minding that the chances were I would soon have to start work again.

Well, that time came recently, and I lasted 10 whole days in my new job. It seems that the freedom which professional players often talk about with such pride is something that isn't really appreciated until you have it and lose it. It wasn't until I started working that I realized how much I'd become used to doing things when I wanted, and that ultimately is why I find myself back in the world of poker so quickly. So, as you may by now have guessed, I've decided to have a last ditch attempt at avoiding work by playing for a living. Due to the circumstances and my usual lack of planning, I have a measly bankroll of $2000 which I have to somehow spin up whilst paying my expenses and leaving enough to keep playing with, ideally also moving up in limits as I go. If the bankroll goes, the experiment is over – there is very little chance I will be able to add anything more to it from other sources. Since I have such a small amount to work with, the plan is to start by putting in a lot of hours playing small stakes games in an effort to minimize variance. I'll be playing mostly online but also some live games at my local cardroom. And, in this article series, I'll be reporting on my progress as it happens: every win, loss, withdrawal, and the state of my bankroll.

As well as posting the most recent figures, I'll also discuss any interesting situations that come up, be they hands I play or anything else related to playing for a living. I will attempt to include strategy tips or advice whenever it ties in to something which happens, though of course I am no poker authority. Ideally I want this to be a two way process rather than a standard series of articles, so please, whenever anyone has something to say regarding any part of what I do and what I write, make a post on the forum. Ask me questions, comment on my play, give me your advice. I'll be playing on PartyPoker, Pokerstars, UltimateBet and Ladbrokes under my forum name, kamrann, so feel free to look me up online too.

Finally, I realize that following my progress initially as I tackle $10 SNGs and the like may not be exactly riveting, but hopefully with a little luck I'll be able to quickly move back up to the games I used to play and beyond, and things will get a little interesting. Regardless, I'm sure there will be many aspects of playing for a living worth discussing that are irrespective of the stakes, so hopefully we can all learn something from this experiment however it ends.

Wish me luck. I'll be needing plenty of it.

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