Do you think you can be professional and lead a life playing poker?

I have the potential to do it a lot of people think they are good at this game but I AM good at this and I think I have the discipline to do it Im training myself to, and Im more than strong enough to face the downswings and the bad sessions. what makes me a pro? the skill, the dedication to face the adversity and to keep studying new spots to have a edge over my opponents in so many different spots. I already built a bankroll and overextended to reach much higher stakes and did not move down when I had to and it went wrong 25BIs are not enough lesson learned. the sun will rise and I will try again...

Hello.
I believe that every player who has a strong enough desire can become a professional poker player. To do this, you need to clearly define the goal, create a plan, and work hard every day. Only your patience and discipline will help you achieve your goal.

Lots of learning, training, time, patience and discipline. Whoever really wants it can do it. Don't give up.

For now at least this is not an option for me. I like to travel and i like to play poker but following reasons make full time play no go for me for now:

1. I am nowhere near the level needed to earn enough money from poker so that it can be my main source of income.
2. I really like to be with my friends and have also other hobbies which share time and money with poker.
3. I like to have stable job which do not depend on variance as my main source of income and play poker in my free time for fun.

As people say - never say never but for now at least i prefer to have the joy of poker as hobby. Will see in future.

Poker for living

Who plays poker for living?

I have the skills to play buuuuut , my mind set is so weak , i cant be a pro right now , before i can make my mind strong

I used to have the patience for this game. Now, I hate playing anything over 3 hours, so I would not make a good professional poker player

Very hard to win every month to be a good profesional player

I could be a poker pro.. and an also-ran

If I had a sponsor, to take the pressure off, I think I could be a poker pro.

Just like every race horse is a pro racing at the track, it doesn't mean it is a winner, consistently in the money.
From my poker experiences, I would be a pro, trying, but being an also-ran, out of the money, the majority of the time. Wins are hard to come by, a lot of very good players to get through.

I don’t think I can be a professional. I started playing poker 8 years ago and if I were a good player I would already be a pro

Definitely not something I would be able to do. Besides needing to be a great player you need a huge bankroll and lots of time. If you’re going to win any big tournaments you need to have several hours to play. I guess you could play cash games but you can lose a ton there in one hand so would need an even bigger bankroll cushion.

Most players that play professionally have other streams of income like twitch streams, coaching and sponsorships.

At this point (for sometime actually), it is a nice hobby that I enjoy playing for relaxation with a competitive spirit. Having to play and perform to make a living changes everything about the game.

Rather keep it as an enjoyable entertainment and not a job.

Maybe possibly...... But the time/years and effort and dedication it truly would take is more than I am willing. I just enjoy and want to keep feeling that I am improving as I see more games and hands over time - learning from the patterns I see and my mistakes.

I (like most players) fantasize I could, but deep down I am not 100% sure.

This said, I think more people could be professional than exist right now. Like many things in life it comes down to opportunity and good fortune. If for instance you have a deep run in a serious tournament and bag a large purse then you can bank roll yourself for a while, comfortably and with some confidence. Presuming you are smart and disciplined you can take advantage of the situation.

I say this because in many cases when you listen to pros talk about their career invariably they will mention an early significant 'score' which put them on an upwards trajectory. The same thing sort of applies to those who break into the high roller circuit. Whether backed or not, playing for a sustained period on that circuit comes down to initial success right out of the gate. Again, I have heard a few players say perhaps many more players have the ability/game to play at that level. But, they faced bad luck and bust outs at the first few attempts then shied away from the losses (financial and emotional).

In short, if more people could magic up a comfortable bankroll and take time to settle into the profession I believe we would witness more pros.

Hi

I really want to become a professional poker and participate in tournaments, earning a lot of money. But I'm still a beginner and I have yet to come.

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Would be nice to only play poker. You could live anywhere in the world!

yes i play poker 13 years almost evriday i hope that enough to be pro.

Yes i do, otherwise i wouldn't spend my time on this game.

You need to have a lot of discipline, patience and will. But i think its possible, and not that hard.

If I have the time to myself to get into the right head space then sure, I could do it by building a bankroll over a year but, there's too many distractions to do it whilst still trying to make ends meet to support my family. When I do get the time to myself I've crushed the micros and final tabled a few tournaments but it's getting the time and space to be disciplined and really read other peoples games whilst not making silly calls.

no

No, at one point it had crossed my mind, but then I realized that I don't have the talent to make it so.
I keep playing because I like it, I have fun, it is an entertainment for my spare time

I played 1 year grinding the 1/2 NL at the casino along with a minor magic the gathering shop on ebay. I would play over 40 hours a week. I did do well.. I won around 22k that year.... So not much lol but I would say 1/4 times I went though I was not on point. I would be impatient or looking at it like a job, Only playing cards and not people.

I eventually got burnt out.. After a very small downswing I had to stop and got a real job... Poker actually became extremely boring to me for a couple years after that.

I would not recommend it if you love the game... Grind it on the side and be happy with your wins... Taking it to the next level seems to lose the purpose of playing in the first place.