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No reason not to make a deal with your mom. Just make sure that both of you:
1) realize risks involved (risk of ruin, depending on BR size, your skill level compared to the rest of field - which you can't really estimate until you actually start playing $25 stakes, your tilt control, etc.).
2) agree how you will pay her back if you go broke. Don't just take this money from her, treat it like a loan.

Thankfully she realizes the risks and is completely okay with any result. Payment plans are dependent upon my results, but have been worked out,

A few things:

1) Make poker friends here. Get in on a secret HQ group, PM people, post a ton in the forums, etc. Outside of playing hands, this should be priority #1.

I was involved with a Skype group, but I honestly didn't get a ton out of it because my internet is very laggy with calls and Teamviewer. I am trying to post more on here and a little on 2+2.

2) 25k hands is, unfortunately, a fairly small sample size in PLO. It is encouraging, but not conclusive. /wet blanket

My total sample is ~50k. BB/100= 8.02 and All In Equity Adjusted BB/100= 14.93. That's not including rakeback.

3) I would get a job/ask mom for help/whatever you can to play at least PLO50. With 33%rb+bonii/rake races/etc you can at least break even though a rough patch. I'd say $2500 at a bare minimum for PLO50.

Am trying to get a job, however I don't know if my mom can swing enough to roll me for PLO50. I am also awaiting the death of my rich great Aunt Gertrude. (JK)

4) All of the above being said, don't worry a ton about the money. Try to take care of it, but don't rush. Keep getting better and getting hands in, then when you get yourself to plo 25/50 you'll be ready for it, and you'll do great.

Thanks for the advice. I am trying to playing 6 hrs/day, 6 days a week so I will definitely get a lot of hands in!

Not at 25PLO.

Honestly I dont think one can go pro playing PLO until they are at least playing 100PLO. The rake is high, swings are intense and its definitely not a proven source of income due to the rake. Just check variance winrate graph calculators and give yourself a winrate above the rake and see how many thousands of hands you could breakeven for even being a marginal winner above rake.

Dont mean to be the killjoy here but 25PLO is basically gambling due to the rake!

FWIW I would take option 3. Even though you and I probably hate the sound of getting a job playing 25PLO is nothing like playing 25NL.

Since you are young and I did the same thing at 19, quitting and playing poker might not be terrible. You could run good and everything could work out well for you, but realise that there is a somewhat high chance you could not make decent money, go broke and never want to play again. Not to mention youll get family thinking you are a gambling degenerate when infact you arent.

I'll keep that in consideration. I am not quitting school though if that's what you thought, so it's not like I'll be living off of this money. I'm not even withdrawing any of it. It's all going to my BR.

Totally agree with the last post. This has always been the issue with plo, in order to be able to beat 25plo with a good post rake winrate it would require a skillset that would let you beat 100plo. So it's really hard to actually be in a situation where playing 25plo or lower makes any sense.

So if you were in my situation, what would you do? If micro PLO is not profitable how would you suggest trying to eventually play PLO100+? Would you play as training and get money elsewhere?

Also, if it's not profitable, how am I turning a profit? I'm even running 1,689bb below EV in my "All Hands" graph.

Here's my advice:

1) Don't borrow money from mom to move up stakes in poker. Save the "mom credit line" for life's true emergencies.

2) Realize you DO have leaks and holes in your play. Everybody does. The hard part is we are all usually oblivious to them until we or somebody else finds them via hand database analysis. Learn to hunt for leaks or hire this service from a competent person.

3) Most important = just accept that the best course of action is to be patient; accept that the best way to advance long term is to focus on learning and getting better as you slowly move up the stakes via self funding from poker profits actually earned from play and rakeback.

Most of us want to make a great living from poker NOW, but unless you have the many, many real, solid skills and bankroll it requires to survive variance, your chances are not good at all. There are a lot of risk to overcome and pitfalls to avoid to be a long time winner at poker to the extent you can earn a good living over several decades like you can at many other careers for a college grad. View poker as a side job until it actually makes you huge bucks for a significant period of time. Focus on your career until then. Play the odds in this way.

From my own experience, I've wasted years trying to "push it" past what I was really capable of. It just waste time and money and results in little real progress skill wise compared to what could be gained from buckling down and doing the grunt work of working hard at improving every aspect of your game systematically. There is a LOT to be said for playing -- and earning -- your way up thru the limits by playing your best and growing as a player over time. This means not figuring on counting on poker for a living for a long time. Especially at something with as much variance as PLO.

I know this advice will rub many the wrong way. I know this is not what you probably want to hear. And I do love poker and hope to get really good one day. But I've come to grips with the fact that it's going to take a long, long time with a lot of grunt work and study. That take time. No reason to burn through a borrowed bankroll while doing it, either. Develop a patient, learner mindset and focus on becoming the best player you can be; not how to get to being a full time poker pro the fastest. Whatever you "achieve" short of at least several hundred thousand hands could just be variance anyway. Think about that before making poker your career.

Your best bet is to stay in school, focus on a good job/career/life **WHILE KEEPING POKER IN IT'S PLACE IN YOUR LIFE WHILE YOU SLOWLY AND STEADILY GET BETTER AT POKER**.

One more thought:

Read up on verneer's climb through the micro stakes at both FR and 6max nlhe over the last few years. His journeys are chronicled in threads at twoplustwo. In 2011 he turned $200 into $10,000 in about three and a half months at FR NLHE. Try to do the same at PLO. If you can't.....no need to borrow from mom; you would likely just lose it playing higher than you do now. If you can....no need to borrow from mom; you've earned your bankroll (and hopefully the skills to keep and grow it).

Hope this helps,

Louis

So if you were in my situation, what would you do? If micro PLO is not profitable how would you suggest trying to eventually play PLO100+? Would you play as training and get money elsewhere?

Also, if it's not profitable, how am I turning a profit? I'm even running 1,689bb below EV in my "All Hands" graph.

Get really good rakeback. Find the site with the lowest effective rake and play there, there's absolutely no reason to play plo at the worst raked sites when you are playing the low stakes. Consider playing mtts or some other form of poker to build your roll without the raketrap effects that are present in micro plo. If you want to get to higher stakes plo I'd recommend playing micro plo for the learning experience but grind your roll up with a different game.

Haven't posted in this thread in a while.

Quick questions. I have been looking through my DB and messing around with some filters to best approximate how well I've been playing. Some of the filters I used are BB Contributed ones. I took a look at 3 key filters: Pots Where Hero Contributed 50+bb, 2-50bb, and 0.5-50bb. Two of these look great, one doesn't. I was wondering if taking out the blinds I folded is a better approximation of how I'm playing. Also, if not, do I need to change my blinds strategy? Total hand sample at PLO is ~90k.

Here are the graphs:

50+ http://farm9.staticflickr.com/8313/7974315468_4b6002c302_h.jpg

2-50 http://farm9.staticflickr.com/8460/7974316055_82acf5ec0c_h.jpg

0.5-50 http://farm9.staticflickr.com/8458/7974316135_bbe656c912_h.jpg

Anybody?

One more try...

Get really good rakeback. Find the site with the lowest effective rake and play there,

I am playing 10nl around 5-10 hours a week and can play on any site. Where can I find out what the lowest effective rake is? I have been trying to find good rakeback deals but the rake you pay on many sites is more than 50% what I pay on Pokerstars making it pointless. Especially with Stars having great software, traffic, reliability etc

http://www.pokertableratings.com/poker-rake-analysis/no-limit-hold'em

http://www.pokertableratings.com/poker-rake-analysis/no-limit-hold'em

Legend, cheers.

Quick questions. I have been looking through my DB and messing around with some filters to best approximate how well I've been playing. Some of the filters I used are BB Contributed ones. I took a look at 3 key filters: Pots Where Hero Contributed 50+bb, 2-50bb, and 0.5-50bb. Two of these look great, one doesn't. I was wondering if taking out the blinds I folded is a better approximation of how I'm playing. Also, if not, do I need to change my blinds strategy? Total hand sample at PLO is ~90k.

Here are the graphs:

50+ http://farm9.staticflickr.com/8313/7974315468_4b6002c302_h.jpg

2-50 http://farm9.staticflickr.com/8460/7974316055_82acf5ec0c_h.jpg

0.5-50 http://farm9.staticflickr.com/8458/7974316135_bbe656c912_h.jpg

I don't think there is much you can get from those graphs. Of course you will loose a lot in the tiny pots, where you just fold your blinds over and over.

Haven't posted in this thread in a while.

So what's your plan anyway? Are you going through with a staking deal? Trying to build roll with different game?