kewljason said:
From reading this threat, I've notice there seems to be a negative opinion of us grinders. 5 years ago, I became unemployed from my $13/hour job with about 5 grand to my name and have supported myself in "flashes" 25K-40K range ever since, while slowly building my BR so that this year I may break that barrier, and can continue rising towards the 6 figure range. I've had fun, made about the same money I was making and haven't been robbed at gunpoint as I was 3 times during the last year of my job. What's wrong with that?? I'm proud to be a grinder!
You say you are proud to be a grinder, well thats good. If you say that even 10 years from now I'll say you are a fool. When you take on the idea of playing BJ full time with very little money, it means one thing to me, you are not pulling your full weight in life. I may be wrong but you sound as if you're young and when you started this dream so to speak, you may not have been paying your own way in life soley on your income. Maybe you were, or are still living with your parents, and haven't really experienced the full brunt of the expenses it takes for a life beyond just existing. I will tell you this, never, never ever, will a $5000 bankroll cut it for fulltime BJ play while being able to support yourself. But being able to build on it while getting help is fine, and if you are getting to the point where the money is better and your bankroll is much bigger then kudos to you. But in my opinion being what is considered to be a full time pro means supporting yourself and not living off others due to lack of money.
All this means is, you're going in the right direction. Aspire to be more and at least try to achieve it. In any job, if you cannot make any measurable improvements in your salary or quality of life over a few years time, its a good idea to move on to a better plan. If anyone dedicates their full time to playing BJ, and still keeps the recreational attitude of all I need to do is practice and go count cards in the casino, they will most likely fail, or fall into the life of a grinder. I do more than just make enough to live on playing this game. Just eeking out an existence would not be satisfying to me. There are too many people that are unfortunate in this country that have no choice in the matter at the moment. But given the opportunity I'm sure they would jump at the chance to make a better way in life. In my opinion so should anybody, including professional BJ players.