Considerations for Those Wanting to Turn Professional

After 2003, many people have tried their hand at becoming a professional poker player. Almost any person that has taken up playing poker with any seriousness has entertained thoughts in their head about turning professional. Here are a few things to consider before turning professional.

First, how is one classified as a professional poker player? In the strictest sense of the word, a professional poker player is a poker player whose sole source of income is playing poker. There are many “professional poker players” out there today that truly are not professionals. Howard Lederer, Chris Ferguson, Cathy Liebert, and even Doyle Brunson really cannot be truly considered professional poker players due to the fact that they make a lot of money with their businesses. Granted, many of them started only playing poker, but they diversified.

When you are a true professional poker player, your primary income comes from your results at the table. When you are on a downswing, this can adversely take a bite out of the money that you use to pay your bills. Downswings in poker can last for weeks and even months at a time.

Next, what levels are you comfortable at playing? After you determine this, figure out what your average hourly or daily rate is based on a typical 40 hour week. Is it enough to pay your bills? If you are a $10 – $20 player and average one big bet an hour, will that be enough to pay your bills? Also, what type of lifestyle can you maintain with your poker playing. Some players start playing professionally and discover that they have to sacrifice things in their life because their hourly rate will not be able to support their prior lifestyle.

Also, what are your options for playing professionally? If you live near a casino area, then that is great. Otherwise, what are your plans? Do you plan to play online or are you planning to move to an area to play? If you are planning to move, you need to factor in the cost of living in your new area when figuring out what your monthly expenses will be.

Next, professional poker is a job. You have to approach playing poker like a job. In order to be successful, you cannot take a lot of time off. While it may all seem like fun and games, after a while, playing every day can become a grind.

How much of a living bankroll do you have? It is recommended that when you turn professional that you have enough money to pay for six months of living expenses. This is in addition to the money in your poker bankroll. This helps with the swings you will experience in poker.

Playing professional poker is not for everyone. Only about one to two percent of poker players that turn professional become and stays successful. That is a very low percentage. While not impossible, professional poker is a hard life. You need to evaluate your game and determine if you really ready for the next level. If not, continue what you are doing. If you decide to turn pro, keep some of the tips in mind as you get started, and good luck to you at the tables.

Many players play other casino games such as Roulette, Blackjack and Video Poker too. It’s even harder becoming a professional in these games but there are websites determined to help you in this area as well, one of them is Video Poker Source.

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