Question for the people playing for a living

Hey All,

Sitting here watching the final two for the WSOP you here all the time how this guy is a pro and that guy is a pro. Well not to sound too obvious but anyone making a living playing poker they are calling a pro.

Here is my question or shall I say questions...

How does one become a pro? Do most pro players go and play tournaments only or stick to open games? And if open games what limit tables to most play? 1/2 no limit? 10/20 limit?

And most of all how much money should you have saved that you plan to use as a poker bankroll before starting a career in poker?

I am not asking because I want to do this just trying to see what all is involved for people who play for a living? When I go to Atlantic City for some poker so many people seem to play for a living these days. How did they get started?

Thanks for your time

It all depends on the person. Some players are exclusively cash game pros, some people are exclusively tournament pros, it is like the difference between football and rugby, similar but different. There are also the players that dabble in both. As far as the stakes, once again, just depends. There are successful players at every level and in many cases, they would call themselves a pro at that level(Granted there are MANY that call themselves pros that are about as far from it as can be). You don't have to be specifically at any limit, it's more that you are making what you need to live comfortably(many people's definition of comfort can be at either end of the spectrum by the way.) So a professional anything is someone that is making their living off playing, whether they only need $20k a year in profits or $5mil a year in profits is what differs one professional to another.

Thanks for the info. But how does one decide a good bankroll to start. I will use myself as an example. Again not even close to good enough to play for a living just very curious. I make about 60k per year. When I play poker I always play 1/2 no limit. What would a good starting bankroll be for me if I was good enough to play for a living?

This link should answer your questions. Although AH above said it well.

http://www.cardschat.com/going-poker-pro.php

Also, it doesn't really take that much longer to write to/too than it does to put a 2, four/for instead of 4, and you instead of u. It also doesn't take long for those abbreviations to irritate the crap out of people when a post is littered with them.

hahaha lmao, just what I was thinking

^^^^^this

I dont mind the 2 and 4 substitutes, guess its text-speak, but I love the spelling of the word emotionally, I might start using that one.

Google Chrome has inbroswer spell cheking. Maybe you shuld considder investing in it.

^^^^ classic!!!

(or should I say klasik....)

you should not quit your 60k job to play poker for a living

It all depends.
I know people who play for their living who dont even make 2k/month. And I know people who make 50k/year from poker who would never go pro.
If you have a good job, a settled life with family and so on you would probably want to make at least 75k/year and have 200 buyins BR and have 75k secured in the bank as emergency.
Oh in case I didnt make any compulsary misspelling, which I am sure I did, I sincerely apppollluguice.

lol at last sentence. and yep, spelling was all gud.

The going pro link was interesting and even if I could answer all the questions, the last one would get me

HOW MUCH DO I LOVE TO PLAY POKER

I love playing it but, the few times I decided to multiboard and go for money, it became such a job, keeping up with screens its like a non stop eye scanning at the monitor. Just no fun. Plus I love to playing ring game for at the most 2 hours. I love playing MTT's but not more than 3 a day if any of them go over 2 hours. FOr instance today, I played the league it took hr and 1/2 and tonight I have a CC game and another game and I wil be spent.

I love reading about poker but lately more on the history of poker since all this BF stuff, I feel like im in a place of history, I got to miss all the years of big money making since I only started playing poker in 2010 but Ive gotten to see first hand, some shady stuff. BUt I find the whole stories fascinating

Other thing that kill me, I play live and love it but after an MTT or a few hours of cash game, MY HEAD feels like a knife is going through it, I think its all the flourscent lights and the constant looking down at cards and stuff

If I ever get enough money, I might try to play in the WSOP Main event or one of the smaller ones but overall, while I have great intrest in the game and really find it fascinating all the different strategies people use in their game. Id think Id be ready to go after people if I had to this allday everyday to make a living

You need to put in a LOT more time at the tables before you should ever consider playing something like a WSOP or WPT event. Not even considering money, but just your paragraph prior. If sitting at a table for a few hours drives you nuts, you're just throwing your money away. In a WSOP event, you will be playing upwards of 10 hours a day, so if you can't stand 2 hours, you will kill yourself at 10, and that would definitely affect your play.

I didnt mean like next year, I was just saying, Id like to give it a try later on in life maybe, My first goal is to take home a trophy for taking down a live MTT so baby steps. BUT DAMN that lights split my head open, and I might have to try some lightly tinted glasses maybe that will help

In the US you become a pro the moment you submit your income taxes and claim Gambler as your occupation. Which opens up a whole fresh can of worms, and red flags, etc., etc.

Keep them Tourney entry receipts.....

Oh I am not. I play at the Borgata about twice a month. Was just asking what someone making my kind of money needs to get started. Trying to understand how so many people I meet playing 1/2 no limit are doing it for a career.

Just ask them. They will answer as poker players will do...... With deception.....

What they mean is that they don't HAVE a career at the moment, or don't want to tell you what they really do.

Many of them are probably in massive debt. I am sure there are definitely some of them that can make it, but most of them at 1/2 could never crank out enough for a living.

Grinding 1/2 for a living cannot possibly be an enjoyable lifestyle

Just seems to me to be a growing career field. that more and more people are trying.

that's arguable. i'd agree with you that this was the case like 4 years ago, but now more and more young people are realizing that grinding live is
a) not that enjoyable
b) not as profitable as they thought
c) not as rewarding as they thought

FYP

It isn't a growing career field, you do however see many people going into the casinos that weren't before because they are thinking that they can get lucky and hit it big and not have to go out and get a real job(nothing new). I can't tell you how many times I have heard in the last 2 or 3 years that someone is going to the casino, but they don't have a job... Struggling everywhere in life in the recession, but they will risk a significant(even $50-100 to some of them) portion of their life-roll(notice that this is different than a bankroll) because they think they will miraculously be able to hit Quads and stack someone, spin 00 at roulette, get 3 BARs, whatever at the casino. What happens to those people probably 9 out of 10 times? They leave with less than they came in with and that money they lost may seem like pennies you to and I, but to them, it was a meal, or a bill, or something needed that is no longer going to be available, which is why they try to hit the casino again tomorrow...

nice fix!

I play poker for living......Not for the money part of it but for the fun part of it !!!
Fun is important for my living !!!

I saw someone post about 3 things they find out about grinding, You know what I found out, the poker high last about 30 minutes and really no one cares. I have never taken down anything big but even when I get final table deep. Its like you feel good but then its gone and especially if the next game you do the same thing and end up busting out early. DOnt get me wrong, just the feeling of getting deep in a game is an awesome feeling, but as Im finding out, its not an everyday thing

Thinking of having to grind and grind to make my LIFE ROLL, nah and it wouldnt be fun. I have to agree with spiderman, I do this for fun, the more I learn about this game, the more I realize this aint an overnight deal.

BUT (HINT HINT HINT) I WOULD LIKE THE OPTION TO PLAY ONLINE POKER IN THE USA WHEN I WANT.