Beginner,Intermdiate, Advanced or Pro

I was curious about How does one know if they are out of beginner and into intemediate, advanced , or pro playing style ?
Is there a way of knowing where a player lies in this area of no bounderies from one area to the next ?

For this there ROI or ABI , this can easily identify who you fish or pro...

Beginner is obvious youre playing freerolls or the super micros, intermediate youre beating the micros or low stakes. Advanced you are playing mid levels and doing ok but cant catch a break at high limits. Pro is when you make a living out of it i would say.

You never really know how you compare to the top professional players, but you definitely reach a point where some players are so much worse than you that beating them is very easy. The number of these players does seem to increase over time. As far as advanced play goes, I would say you are an advanced player (for your game) when you understand how most of your opponents play the game and can successfully exploit it.

I guess if your making a living playing poker you would be considered advanced or semi pro I would think. I say looking into your banking account would also establish this

Well this is my 2 cents worth, beginner, your just playing play money, freerolls,and pretty much just playing any face cards,intermediate,your getting better at which hands you will play,advanced,you know what hands to play ,you know about things like position,odds,reading how other players play their hands, bluffing and when to do it ,but you finally learn that you don't know squat about poker so you read up on a few books writin by pros, then things start coming together,then you can guess what it takes to become a pro,then you figure I'll just stick with the freerolls at CC!!!

You know you're a pro when you're playing a high stakes cash game and you bluff another pro all the way up to the river and he/she folds to your air or semi bluff.






... on a consistent basis. lol

Sil3ntness said:

You know you're a pro when you're playing a high stakes cash game and you bluff another pro all the way up to the river and he/she folds to your air or semi bluff.






... on a consistent basis. lol

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This seems the complete opposite of what the vast majority of pro grinders are.

Beginner - Someone just playing for fun and learning playing in general the smallest stakes available online and including free rolls trying to build up a bank roll.

intermediate - Someone who knows the basics of poker, can play a solid style which can beat the micros/low buy-ins.

Advanced - Someone who is capable of adapting to peoples ranging, thinking on a decent level of what other player thinks. Usually plays medium stakes but can also play lower or higher. Will usually beat the game for a decent clip where if they put in enough volume and extra work, could make it as a pro if they desired.

Pro - Someone who literally plays for a living. This doesn't mean every pro is good though and certainly doesn't mean they are ballers. The majority of pros actually aren't the Phil Iveys by a long mile. I mean..there are plenty of pros who play at low stakes earning enough to pay their rent/bills etc and earn maybe the amount you would earn in a normal basic job. Pros earning range massively.

It really comes down to your definition of what a pro is. I consider a pro simply someone playing who can support themselves. some people see pros as people who play the highest stakes and highest buy-in tournaments but this really isn't the case for most grinders out there. Most might earn less than $100k per year, not exactly baller status but certainly better than most jobs pay etc. There are even pros who play tons of micro games, earning as little as $20k per year but they are still pros, just a completely different scale and this doesn't even mean to say they are better than say your intermediate or advanced players.

PokerBen said:

This seems the complete opposite of what the vast majority of pro grinders are.

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I just saw it today while watching some of Phil Ivey's old high stake cash games. He bluffed so many hands and won it was ridiculous!

*EDIT* But you got a point, Phil Ivey isn't just any professional. LOL

Sil3ntness said:

I just saw it today while watching some of Phil Ivey's old high stake cash games. He bluffed so many hands and won it was ridiculous!

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This is a common mistake newer poker players make when watching high stakes poker especially and they assume bluffing is a massive part of the game. Whilst it's important in some parts, for the most part especially given al newer players play at the lowest limits bluffing isn't needed and just spew because everyone looks at their hand alone. This is a big problem and reasons why a lot of newer players struggle, they try to emulate what they see on TV and it's just disaster for the stakes they play.

You have to remember when poker is aired on TV it's edited for good TV, they only show all the big hands and all the big bluffs. They don't show you the 100 hands previous that was just fold/fold and just lots of small pots because it would make very boring TV for most of the viewers.

PokerBen said:

This is a common mistake newer poker players make when watching high stakes poker especially and they assume bluffing is a massive part of the game. Whilst it's important in some parts, for the most part especially given al newer players play at the lowest limits bluffing isn't needed and just spew because everyone looks at their hand alone. This is a big problem and reasons why a lot of newer players struggle, they try to emulate what they see on TV and it's just disaster for the stakes they play.

You have to remember when poker is aired on TV it's edited for good TV, they only show all the big hands and all the big bluffs. They don't show you the 100 hands previous that was just fold/fold and just lots of small pots because it would make very boring TV for most of the viewers.

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You are 100% right. I was joking around with the being a pro based off your bluffing skills post. I should probably edit it before new members actually believe it.
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For beginners: learn to play tight/solid ABC poker with good hands before you start playing 27 off suit and bluffing like a pro.

lol oh right, I actually believed it!

a pro would have record data showing his winnings, basically a master at his own skill .. They know the ins and outs, who to play, when to play, how to play. They are successful at what they do. Just like any athlete in a game, really is no difference from someone who plays sport and someone who plays cards.