Loading...Playing Poker for a Living
By PokerListings.com
Most people have no idea what it takes to play poker for a living.Before deciding to choose this path, let me warn you of the disadvantages first. Poker has many benefits, but it also has many negative consequences that come with playing long hours.
This guide will allow you to make the right decision by learning from someone who actually plays for a living.
Poker for a Living
The first thing you need to play any game for a living is patience. Playing every day, all day, can get extremely tiring.
Staring at a computer screen for hours on end can literally drive you insane. In addition, your fortunes online are prone to wild swings. You will occasionally sit down at a table and not get any cards for hours.
Be prepared to take the worst beats of your life along with huge runs that will make your bankroll soar.
Playing for a living requires extreme mental discipline and a steady game plan. It's a good idea to record how many hours you play each day and what your total profit for the day is.
Do this for a month or two before you make the switch to becoming a full-time player. This will allow you to analyze your play and find out how much you make on average.
Drawbacks of Playing Poker for a Living
1. No set income: Some months you'll actually experience a loss in total earnings. You must be able to cope with this and still have the confidence you need to win. You'll encounter some horrible runs along the way so be prepared.
2. Exhaustion: You'll constantly be tired if you're playing all day. If you're playing really high limits, you may not have to play all day to make a living. The fact is that most of us will need to grind it out all day to pay rent and bills and buy food.
3. Reduced family time: Since you must make your money playing poker, you'll tend to spend less time with your family. When a good poker player encounters a bad run, he or she will grind it out until they prevail.
This may call for some extremely long hours of play. Be prepared to play poker at any time. On losing months you'll need to spend even more time on the computer or at the casino.
Advantages of Playing Poker for a Living
There are many advantages that help balance out playing poker for a living. I love that you get to choose your own hours to work on any day you wish.
You can take off as many days as you want and never be hassled to wake up at 8 a.m. - or, god forbid, earlier. You'll also be playing one of the most intriguing games in the world for money. Who could ask for more? It's a great lifestyle if you're a winning player.
The fact is, most people can't handle the swings that are unavoidable in full-time play. Every time you sit at the table you must change your personality and play with ice water in your veins.
When you take a bad beat, you can't let it affect you. You must deal with the swings on a regular basis. You must also be a dedicated soul who will play even when the cards aren't going your way. You must be a very disciplined and winning poker player to play for a living.
I hope this article hasn't discouraged you if you have dreams of playing professionally. If you believe you can do it, you'll buy every book and read everything you can get your hands on to become a winning player.
See you at the tables.
Comment(s) on this article
maddog flanagan Mar 1, 2008
hi
Ive been playing for a few years with some success,i have played in lots of ept s etc.i would probably be breaking even live over all. But on line have never done well at all.I play every day (night) but i wont consider myself a pro but i think i should because my mind set would be different and i would probably win more often. Hense why im reading this artical thanks for your opinion.
WES Slater Mar 6, 2008
I will play hrs at a time,daily I am always top 20 to 40% of a tourn til the last 3 tables. from 3000 to 12000 people
Any helpful thoughts !
Sincerely
Wannabe )~
tsilmanav Mar 8, 2008
If someone does decide to make poker a living, and plays at casino’s vice online. Is it a better strategy to play more tournaments or cash games? In the long run what has the most advantages?
Roger MacIntyre Mar 7, 2009
I would like to just add that an easier safer way to play without such dramatic swings is to play CAP/NL Holdem. This protects you from the huge bad beats and from donkey hell. I have also found that proper bankroll management can change your play at the tables. By constantly setting teeny tiny wee wee little goals and succeeding at those goals you can also watch as you bankroll increases.
GivaDogaBone Mar 10, 2009
I've been playing low no limit online poker for about 3 years now. I also played some live games in casinos and local pubs. I played poker after my regular 8am-5pm office job where I derived my regular income and try to play on weekends and holidays.
My experience for the past 3 years is very difficult and most of the time I have to reload by bankroll. Just lately I just find out that I started to hit some good winnings that I'm almost near to positive win on my entire bankroll for 3 years.
I tried to check my previous bankroll busting games for the past three years. What I found is shocking, I still played the same style but I shifted to one dimenisonal poker player!!!
What I mean for "one dimenisonal poker player" is I only pick one limit game (ie .05/.10 cents game) and I stick with it until I'm having positive winnings then move on to a higher limit. I also stop playing tournaments and cash games in random. I found that I bust my bankroll by playing different type of tournaments and ring games on those periods. Lately, I only play ring games/cash games that I decided to play regularly and I stop playing tournaments which gives a very positive results on my bankroll. I also found that my style of play is giving more positive value on playing short handed than a full ring game.
This aproach works for me and it might not work with you.
Find your unique style and I'll see you online!!!
get real Mar 16, 2009
Lets see...unless your 20ish and living with ma and pop lets start with housing. rent/buy, good luck on that mortgage approval. health insurance. raise a family? huh right. sitting in a poker room spending time with people who want your money is no way to go through life. get a job, get laid and stop wasting your time
Kol Mar 29, 2009
This guy...Sorry my friend but some of us can't stand leading a life of monotony and mediocrity. I know that an office job day in and day out to make some company president richer while he sits on his ass and plays golf with his buds all day may make you a happy person, but that's just not the case for some of us.
As for getting a job... who said this isn't a job? Playing poker professionally is the hardest easy way to make a living. Also, unless your 16 or some Ex-college frat boy that misses running train on the hussie blondes at your 2nd rate community college then you would know that "getting laid" is simply overrated.
Moving on to the health insurance, mortgage approval, and finding a place to live, these are tough for all hardworking Americans not just poker players. As for wasting time? You're the one who just read an article about playing poker for a living just to troll the comments and make a complete arrogant ass of yourself so look who's calling the kettle black my friends.
For the rest of you, keep plugging on and enjoying the thrill ride of making a living in poker and don't let anyone tell you that this isn't an honorable and respectable living to make.
lee_loo May 4, 2009
lol,thats very funny!
.. May 12, 2009
It really does take infinite discpline and patience to get $ instead of losing $.
Beware of mood swings and magic thoughts.
Poker has nothing to do with luck.
.. May 12, 2009
Btw i went from 1k to 22k under 48 hours..8 hours of playing in those 2 days MAXIMUM didn't even count.
Bad beats gosh always,i made profit by playing against donkeys,waiting for the right cards and choosing against who i ''play''.Patience,discipline,fuck the mood swings just wait for the right moment.Made the profit in under 50 minutes the reste of the time was bad cards,risky ones and risky players waiting for me to crack or take a shot of luck.
john May 28, 2009
A saying says that it's best to not make your hobbies into your job. If you like to drive, becoming a taxi or truck driver will take all the fun out of it. Immature kids that like computer games dream about having a job as a games tester or programmer, but don't realise that that would make them lose their love for playing games.
And people underestimate how varied a job can be, you have your co-workers, you do various things all the time. Playing poker online all day is like working at a factory where you sit in the same spot, never see anyone else and have to pull a lever every 10 seconds.
Playing poker or blackjack is the same. Something which is nice as a hobby will become boring if you have to play it 12 hours a day every day. Unless you rent an office and go there to play, your partner, kids etc. will assume they can disturbe you any moment if you're just sitting at home behind the PC playing.
Bat beats and losing shouldn't be a problem for the pro player. Any decent player knows that you make money from the large number. Say you play in a certain style that makes you win 52% of each game. If you play 1000 games you are making money. But there is still the 48% of the ones you lose, and if you get 20 of those in a row it can be distracting.
Other people and other sites sometime mention downswings that last for days, weeks or even months, and that you can do nothing about it except sitting it out until you start winning again. Personally I think this is wrong. A downswing of a few hours or a day is possible. But if you lose consistently for a month it means your strategy is too rigid, the other players have adapted their game to play successfully against a typical tight/aggressive home player who thinks he's a pro. Then after a while new poor players come in or the good players move off to higher limit and you start winning again after a month of losses and you think "nice, my downswing is over" and chalk it up to randomness and bad luck.
Ashurbanipal May 29, 2009
I wouldn't try to do this shit for a living... I'd rather do it as a side hustle... Its like drugs. You don't make a living off that shit, you just use it to make a little extra $
jose Jun 14, 2009
Look, jonh just left a comment that you should listen to, since john seems to really know what he is talking about in regards to online poker playing.
My take on this is that I am an accountant and only work for 3 1/2 months out of the year, a tax accountant and the rest of the year play poker. Trying to play poker for the past 14 years I have been able to make a profit in 8 out of the last 14 years and what I mean about a profit is that I was able to pay for all my expenses, living mortgage, travel, food etc with just the poker profits.
Of the those 6 losing years, 4 came while mixing real casino with internet poker, I am heavy on math and odds and online poker will not give you the proper odds, I tried in 5 different online sites and until I started going full time to a real casino, I started making a living. As your accountant and based on my experience, started playing poker in the US Army, I would tell you young man, if you want to make a living playing poker, move to a city that has real poker casinos and get a job to pay for your bills and play the rest of your time poker. You should discover if you can make a living after a few months, get a part-time job such as bartending, I did it in college and made enough money in three night to pay for my living expenses and car payment, also this lady who now plays poker for a living started working as a waitress and the rest of the time she played poker. If you have your basics paid for, rent, food, utilities, then you can concentrate in playing poker on your time off and then you can test the theory as to wheather you can be a pro or not. thanks
jose Jun 14, 2009
Before I forget, since will traveling to a casino and do not surf the web when I will be playing in the casinos, do not, do not try online poker for a living or buying those expensive online software or even spyware, those do not work, tried it for 4 years. In my 14 years of playing I have not met a person who makes his/her living playing online, well I did met someone in a casino but he makes his money selling some online poker book about making a living playing poker online. Online poker is for fun, not to make a living, plus you cannot train online because when you go into a real casino and play real poker with real persons you will not do well and will lose 7 out of 10 times.
Get a book free to read from the local library by Dennis Purdy, the illustraded guide to texas hold'em, read it, read it and read it until you know the book inside out. This book will better prepare you for real poker and trying to make a living or becoming a pro, I am all for you to follow your dreams, but it in real poker where you have a shot, a real shot. Online poker does not adhere to real odds so stop playing online poker and go out and live your dream, hope you the best of luck.
P.S. when in a real casino, be nice, listen and make friends with the older real poker players and they will teach you the rest of what you need to know, if you come across as a punk kid who knows it all and a big mouth you will not be let inside the inner circles of the real pros
zyg0tic Jun 16, 2009
But I know a lot of people who make a living 100% from playing online poker.
And none of them have read that book.
joe Jun 20, 2009
Lliving the dream of becoming rich by taking from others is no way to live.
Go to school, work hard and you be much happier, especially if you are married, gambling is not for a married person what kind of an example are you going to give to your kids.
If the weather channel tells you that there is a 90% chance of rain, you will take your raincoat, well there is 95% you will not make it in poker, so get a real life, not a life sitting in front of the computer all day long.
I was addicted to poker and lost everything, house, money , everything including wife and kids, so do not let it happen to you.
If after spending 4 to 9 hours in front of a computer you feel miserable, then get the hint and do something productive.
Gambling is a sin and a addiction.
Jacob Jul 8, 2009
I've been playing online poker for a living for four years now, and this is what I have to say about it.
I am, and always have been, a loner. I don't have many friends, because I don't want many. I don't deal with relationships, because I'm happier by myself. I don't care if gambling is a sin, because I don't acknowledge sin, and if you want to play poker instead of working a regular job, go for it.
I used to work construction and went to college part time. I got into debt pretty bad, and decided to put an entire paycheck ($700.00) into online poker. I had always liked to play online, and decided to gamble in an attempt to pay my debts.
Over the course of 6 months, I turned that 700 into 14,000, payed my bills, boosted what was left back to 10k, then quit my job to play full time.
I play with a bankroll of 10,000, never using more than 10% at any one table, and every two weeks i scrape off the profit over the 10k and cash it out.
I make roughly $65,000 a year doing this.
It may not be for everyone, but I don't mind sitting in front of my computer for 5 hours a day, 5 days a week (my system). It beats sweating my dirty life away laying bricks and concrete, and it beats working under some jackass fathead in a tie.
I'm currently working on becoming an author, and will eventually up my stakes to bring in even more money.
If you want to play, and you have the discipline, go for it.
GivaDogaBone Jul 8, 2009
Ok, you got your dream job and you are now earning more money than you are loosing.
How about the "Taxation" side of it?
Which country is implementing taxation on poker earnings (Online and/or Live) and do you know their taxation rules?
What if you are playing online, are those tax laws of this country applicaticable to international players?
Sean Lind Jul 9, 2009
Hey GivaDog,
Taxes and poker, always a fun topic. It's actually not a bad idea for an article. I think I'll write up a full one on just this.
The very short answer is that the tax laws on poker are governed by your country. Since I'm canadian, I only know the canadian laws well.
In canada, all gambling winnings are non-taxable. This is until it becomes your sole (or primary) source of income.
Once you officially declare yourself a professional poker player, you're now subject to all the same taxation laws as every other citizen. It's up to you to keep as detailed records as you can on wins and losses to be able to prove that what you submit as your yearly income is what it actually was.
As for the states, all gambling is taxable, regardless of if you're playing online, out of the country, locally. The IRS want their piece, and they don't care about the details.
It might be a while, but I'll get an article up eventually about this. Hopefully this helps in the meantime.
PS. Don't take anyone's advice to heart unless they're qualified in that field. "Someone told me I could do this" doesn't hold up as an argument when being audited.
kei Aug 2, 2009
Online poker is not something you should do professionally..ITS NOT REAL POKER! POKER IS MEANT TO BE PLAYED LIVE....It online poker should be a compliment to live poker...
Jacob Aug 11, 2009
As far as taxes go, since I play full time, and I am a US citizen, I usually set aside around 10-15% of my winnings to pay my taxes, and I deduct my losses (you can do this, you just can't claim more from your losses than your winnings, as far as deductions go).
10-15% usually does the trick, and allows me a bit of wiggle room, just in case.
z3r0 Aug 31, 2009
Then why are the same people playing at tournaments. Some college students that wanted to pay there college bills and kept it as a career. If you say thats good luck then I'll tell you I won't depreciate myself to another mans luck. Even they will say that it is part luck part SKILL. The problem here is a matter of choice and risk you are willing to take. I don't make a living off of poker but I would sure love to. I think you should stop listening to those who complain about why they can't and listen to those who actually make a living that are brutally honest about the truth. Like everthing else and everybody else those learning pains are horrible especially with the older you get. Heart and dedication is what you need. No pain no gain?
Chris in Utah Nov 5, 2009
"I hope to help with the journey that playing poker for a living can be respectable. My objective is to let the world know that an ordinary guy with a family can be a poker pro and not be considered a degenerate."
—Joe Hachem
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