From one Pro to another......

As an online pro specifically right now I was wondering to all the pros/semi pros out there..... What do you do when you say that your job is playing poker and somebody says POKER ISNT A JOB!!!!! Ill tell you what I do I book my winnings very seriously and I calculate my pay to what the pay of an average fulltime job would be as far as per hour would go. Im making about 23 bucks an hour and i think of when im sitting at the felt as im sitting at a desk or anythign i go to work and get money. Anyone else with or against me?

In most cases i just ignore them. But is they wish to seriously discuss the issue. I request that they define job and then compare thier work and mine. I do this in terms of hours spent, income and benefits.

I have two completely unrelated thoughts on your post.

First, whenever someone responds like that, they are as much curious/fascinated as anything else. You don't have to defend what you do, just explain it to them. You don't have to prove anything to them and they can choose to not believe you. Whatever you do, don't take their disbelief personally.

As far as my second thought is concerned, I am making no assumptions here. I'm just stating a fact.

If you tell people that playing poker is your job, you have to treat it as a real job. By that I mean that you need to make sure that you are doing everything that a self-employed person does with regard to state and federal income and unemployment taxes, as well as social security. If you don't, this can come back and bite you in one of three ways.

First, you need to be aware that there is a reward paid for people who turn in tax evaders. I believe the payment is three times the penalty the IRS would assess you. If it's public knowledge that you make a living playing poker online, anyone out to get you can make a pretty penny turning you in.

Second, if you do cross paths with the IRS, they will want to know how you are supporting yourself.

The third way is that there are times when you will need to provide proof of income or an employment history. This is hard enough for self-employed people who have documentation and tax forms. I know that from experience. It would be nearly impossible for you to do that without them. (BTW, in these situations I would be really careful to avoid telling them what you really do if you don't have to. Calling yourself a professional gambler would be enough to kill all kinds of deals.)

Again, I'm not making assumptions here. If you are addressing all these things, great! If not, you may need to reconsider how public you want to be about your chosen profession.

Good luck!!!

I think its true that most people are more curious than anything. In vegas no many bat an eye when I say it, but when I visit family in the midwest (mo to be exact) I get that alot. If I actually care to hold a conversation with these people then I'll explain a little bit, if not, then just shrugg and move on.

As for the IRS, you should know that casinos now hold a percentage when you win over a certain amount in a tourney. Of course this doesn't allow for the wins in cash games, but I like to think of it kind of like being a server, what they don't know won't really hurt them

Ha yea thats all too true. I think youd have a crazy hard time getting any sort of loan or morgage or even a credit card for that matter. But if your good enough @ it that its supporting you, i guess you don tneed all that right?

As Sexton once said Poker is the hardest way to make easy money, i respect the pros for what they do, it is NOT easy at all, and it isnt something just anyone can do

How many years you been doin this? Pretty good average...

Curious why you would choose to reveal to others at the table that you play for a living?

Turned 18 a little while ago and became official then. And to your question of why I would tell players i play for a living. Its a difficult thing to explain but if someone knows theyre playing against a pro believe it or not they play differently. When i first played heads up with Erick Lindgren i was scared to death. Im not saying im erick lindgren dont get me wrong but all im saying is it makes a difference if that makes sense

lol i just like the different reactions different people have lol. But i mean it is a stressfull job but my fiancee is very helpful with it because shes takes care of our kid and leaves me alone hahaha. no im kidding but seriously its not like i sit on the computer all day but basically all i do is playin the guaranteeds on full tilt and sometimes on pokerstars but usually only in the WCOOP tourneys.

+

=/=

truth

As long as you can provide a living for yourself and its legal, I really wouldn't worry about what people say. It is a risky business, but if you know what you are doing and work at it, can be lucrative. I personally don't have the money to back myself, so its more recreation for me.

just say thank you -mainly those are the weekend players with real jobs(9-5) and there money is green too some people wont get the hustle gl

I think this thread is one huge level!

Well, I looked on OPR again and it seems like they haven't put up all of the MTT results up yet, so...I'll give him the benefit of a doubt for now. I still call BS but won't make any assumptions until OPR is squared away.

And OMG, sick ROI% for breaking even. Plz, teach me.

i really wanted to call bs as well, but i have been hasty in the past, so i will refrain for now.

Um...there are a lot of young pros out there...

Well I have two jobs. One of them being poker and I make $-20.00 an/hour

Well i would certainly like to think of playing a game such as poker as job.
But as good or bad as you may be at it or how much you make at it, think of how it makes you look as a person......"I play games for my career."

Just my opinion........

Found several definitions on dictionary.com. Here's the one that seems to fit the best:

professional definition | Dictionary.com a person who earns a living in a sport or other occupation frequently engaged in by amateurs

I guess anyone who meets that criteria can call himself/herself a "professional".

sorry havent been able to defend myself against the BS callers because of the 7posttt rule lol. but anyways my post earlier about just getting started was on full tilt because i tried to do what ferguson did and do the freeroll bank account thing and it actually works alot better than most people think. requires alot of patience tho. but anyways thanks for all the support guys.

Ok, defend yourself then.

Show me:
-Recent MTT win
-$23/hour graph. Unless you were saying you make $23/hour at your day job.
-Any big MTT win. I checked OPR for both Kingsup23 and the names you have in your profile and none of them are impressive at all.

So.....proof, please.

FWIW, when my ROI surpasses -30% I'm turning pro too.

My SS ROI is 14%.

I'll never turn pro at this rate.
/tear

I have no interest in turning pro. I'd be content making $500/day as an amateur.

just play freerolls, inf. ROI% ftw

I only play Big stakes on Absolute poker. Witness23 is the name but on fulltilt i usually just do heads up and mtt

OK...so witness23 is your Absolute SN. What are your Full Tilt and PokerStars SN's?

I want to look you up on OPR and make sure I have the right person.
Like I said, I looked up Kingsup23 and the other names on your profile and I saw nothing remotely close to a pro-status MTT player. And how many SN's do you have?

you really shouldnt say stuff you cant back up. by the way im the king of england. pleased to meet you

his pokerdb for Absolute.

overall winnings $111.21 outta 38 played with 1 win. Biggest cash 64.15 biggest buy in 100.00.

Now im no pro but that doesnt sound pro to me.