Need some advice...

I am going to try and give you guys the short version of what is going on with me.

I have decided that going to school for 2 years and dropping out was a stupid decision. At the time it seemed right because I didn't really know what I wanted to do when I graduated high school. I had a job lined up with my Dad, and I was content at the time working with him. But as time passed, I felt I was in a rut. I knew this wasn't my calling (as did my Dad) and I needed a new gig. So at the age of 26, I am back in college, studying to be a teacher.

I completely quit my old job and took a part-time job at an animal shelter (another passion of mine), while I am in school.

Well, that all seemed well and good for my girlfriend and I, until she just recently lost her job. She was going to have to carry most of the weight while I was in school, but now that she has lost her job, things have taken a turn for the worst.

Considering all this, I must now rely on poker for some of our income. I am only getting 20 hours a week at the animal shelter, which isn't going to cut it for her and I both.

Here is my goal and I wanted to run it by you guys to see what you think.

My bankroll now sits at $2,368.50. Since I have made the transition to ring play, I have logged in over 30,000 hands at $0.25, $0.50 and $1 and have an average BB/100 of 5.01.

We have enough money saved up to last for a couple months. And my 20 hours a week of work will help as well. My goal is to get my bankroll up to $5,000 over the next two months and steadily play 100NL at Stars, and withdraw in $1,000 increments at that point.

Obviously this is not what I wanted to do with my bankroll. But considering that I am going to have to rely on poker for some of our income, is 50 buy-ins enough? I am already starting to feel the pressure when I play now, and I don't care what anyone says, if you rely on poker for an important source of your income, you better be rolled. 20-30 buy-ins won't cut it, IMO. Especially if you quad table like I do.

Anyway, any advice I could get on my situation would be greatly appreciated. Hopefully my girlfriend will land a job here shortly, making all this moot. But I feel that I need to prepare myself if she doesn't.

If you havent already....Casino whoring is a good way to make some fast cash...you can turn $100 into $1000's with a minimal amount of work and very fast period of time.....

Its been paying my bills lately...

I'll second that. After building a decent roll with some signup bonuses, you can do monthly bonuses with a total EV of around 150$ and play 200NL.

Poker bonus whoring is also probably a good idea.

If you are playing for a living 50 buyins is a good level to have your BR at. Casino whoring is a good idea, but I dont think you should be using that money to pad your BR, that should just be taken out and put in your savings account. You dont really want to move up too fast and then drop a few buyins getting adjusted or find out you arent ready for a certain level.

My suggestion would be to do some casino whoring and make sure that you are always playing for a bonus. Stop playing at stars, the games are tougher there and there arent any bonuses or rakeback. Go to bonuswhores.com and look through all the sites and pick 10 good bonuses [ones that are $100 or bigger and clear fast] and then work your way through those. By playing at different sites you will benefit by playing in softer games and also by getting bonuses.

As I said before, I would not put the bonuses back in your BR. Keep track of them and withdraw them [along with part of your winnings] to your savings account when you need to pay the bills. Id keep bonus whoring until you get to $400nl [and with the 50 buyins requirement and withdrawing, thatll take awhile]. If and when you get there, set up a couple accounts with rakeback at your favorite sites and stick to those.

In the mean time, buy some books, get PT+PAHUD if you dont already have it, and start posting hands. If your livelihood depends on this, you need to really dedicate yourself to the game.

If I were you Id cash out the bankroll and use it to buy food while I (and the gf) looked for a proper part time job. Once you get a job you can put a little in for poker again and build up from there. A $2.5k bankroll isnt enough for me to try to live off and 30K hands isnt nearly enough for me to be confident enough to try and make poker a job.

If you manage to get up to $5000 and are confident enough in your game to go for it then good luck to you. I just personally wouldnt want to go semi-pro when I am both under-rolled and under-experienced. Even if you are usually a good enough player you might not be able to cope with the extra pressure of actually needing the money.

Goodluck to you if you try this. Youre a braver man than I