What is the difference between a professional poker player and an amateur?

I think that the difference in the level of the game, the professional plays stronger than the Amateur and earns more money in less time than the Amateur, copes with the variance with minimal tilt, unlike the Amateur.

Decision making, unpredictability, consistency. Professionals commit far less errors than amateurs.

Professionals don't play Freerolls.

A professional understands the many nuances of the game. An amateur things there is a formula, strategy, or luck that allows you to win.

I think a professional certainly has a huge amount of knowledge that minimizes the percentage of luck. The player is an Amateur, playing more for luck than operating with some of their deep knowledge.

Originally Posted by NUTSSS888

What is the difference between a professional and an amateur poker player?

The amateur player plays in his spare time and sees poker as a hobby he plays it to entertain himself more than anything for fun, although he would not feel bad if he wins a little extra money but he does not care if he loses a little because he does it for fun.

the professional player lives off the game and his income depends 100% on poker and takes it more seriously, the professional poker player has to study his game more in depth and try to improve it he has to invest a lot of time in study and practice.

You see poker as your job has to try to minimize your losses and maximize your winnings, you have to have a lot of discipline in your bankroll.

A professional understands a lot about the game, an amateur doesn't

Come on for me a poker pro and that player who lives off poker and has his profession in poker and in the miserable amateurs we are the ones who play for the hobby for the fun and for the false illusion of thinking that we will win against the professionals who study the game almost every day

A professional has much more study of the game, its probabilities, analyzes its sttack, its position and that of its rivals, knows about reading and mental game, the amateur only does it for hobbies or entertainment.

The difference is that he has money in his account earned and the amateur does not

I think the main difference is volume and time spend studying.
Amateur can be a really good player, but plays only when has time.
For professional it is a line of work.

A professional player takes the game more seriously.

I guess I won't say anything new by stating that it is experience. Experience, knowledge base and analysis of previous mistakes.

His bench, his game, his reading of his opponents, more playing time, helps you read them. Then also anyone can lose, the cards do not always help to win or lose 1 tournament

The professional have the skills to adapt to any situation, but the amateur just play one standart of game, I think this is the more difference

I think that a professional studies himself, studies others, takes each game very seriously. But it is also true that no one started out as a professional, that is why they need experience, and for that, they need to play thousands of hands and it takes years to become professionals.

The difference is in the littoral definition of the two words.
Professional plays poker becaude it's their job. That's all the word means, in any field.

An amateur does something "for the love" of that thing.

Now, the likelihood of someone who does something professionally being better or more avcomplished at that thing than an amateur is higher, but it is not at all a certainty. There are terrible professionals in all jobs, and there are amazingly talented amateur musicians, artists, athletes, and even poker players. (And lots of former professional players who are now broke or on make up.)

Professional poker players are a little bit better in the technical side of the game and a lot better in the mental side of the game.

I think the first scenario that changes is the time dedicated by the professional to play and study!
I'm a recreational player, I study often to improve my game and be profitable, but I'm far from being able to devote the same time as a professional!
And as a professional, this player certainly plays a lot more than me in terms of volume, practices more, which will make him comfortable with spots I'm not used to.

On the other hand, whenever I play for fun, without any pressure/obligation to win (no matter what the objective) the professional depends on winning to make his salary...

Most important difference is the way amateur and pro player treat the game. Amateurs treat it as either fun hobby, gambling or part time job. Professional players treat it like full time job investing all their efforts and resources to constantly learn new things and improve their game as this is what gives them their money to pay the bills. As a result of these in the long term pro players always win more and top the charts compared to recreational players.

Persistance and a lot of study hours.

This question is not for this forum, there are no professional players ))

Pros don't tilt much and don't bluff much.

Better actions. better sizings, better ingredients, better pizza.

The professional spends hours studying while the amateur does it for pleasure or laziness.

A professional tries to always level up his game, an amateur only plays for fun

amateur's does not care about stats.

My personal opinion, is when poker is your main source of income. This is wrong too because you have billionaire entrepreneurs playing in world cup tournaments, so the short answer, I don't know.

Experience while making decision.... And thats include taking account more information before a move in the tale

the amateur plays for fun, the professional for profit. And so there is no difference, except for the difference in knowledge.

I think the difference is in the intention of each player. The professional plays to work. The amateur plays for recreation only.

There are a few ways to interpret it

Professional vs amateur as a technical definition is whether you make a significant part of your income from it.

Professional vs amateur as a time invested relative to other pursuits - full time poker player, vs as doing so recreationally.

Professional vs amateur in approach to the game and results. Some amateurs have knowledge and skill that exceeds that of many people who make their living from poker, but the amateur has other interests they are pursuing as a career and only engage in poker for entertainment or to subsidize their income.

Professional plays for money.
Amateur plays for enjoyment or whatever.

Amateur players don't track their progress or their opponents and don't study the game to improve

Professionals devote a lot of time to theory, training in tracking and GTO software. They are on a different level of understanding of this game. An amateur plays just to play

Simply put, the professional poker player is better at everything. Experience, Bankroll management, knowledge and use of statistics while playing. Most importantly, regular analysis of sessions!

Professional player plays to earn money, amateur plays simply for pleasure. But sometimes amateur can have more good luck than professional.

In my opinion, the main difference between pro poker players and amateurs is their discipline at the table. For example, playing less hands or knowing when it is the right time to fold regardless of what your impulses are telling you.

The big difference between a professional player and a novice player are the results, they are also the levels, the professional player always usually plays expensive tournaments and high tables, the novice simply plays cheap things, itself, itself the difference is the results and the balance.

I think the pros have several times the bankroll of the amateurs and have more time to play.

that the professional has all the experience of the game the most complex knowledge of all situations ... on the other hand, the amateur is the opposite !!!

The difference is that professionals can access paid elite tournaments, they have more experiences, amateurs do not have the money or the shooting and that can affect making important decisions that make them win or lose tournaments.

Unlike a professional who operates with ranges, an amateur thinks only about specific hands (his own and the opponent's) in each situation. However, poker is a game with incomplete information and it is almost impossible to narrow the opponent's range to one hand or combination.

The amateur repeats his mistakes.
Erroneous actions and incorrect judgments that are constantly repeated never bring good results at a distance. Simplifying the game, reducing it to only a few parameters, an amateur plays in the negative, while maintaining the confidence that he is simply unlucky. Often he tries to achieve something based only on his guesses, ignoring the facts.

But professionals always remember that they can make mistakes. Therefore, they try to constantly find and remove errors from their game.

Take for example Messi against, let's say, your friend's football team.
Messi thinks, breathes, trains, acts football. Your friend like to watch games, play once in every blue moon and his dedication to the game is a mere hobby

dedicate hours to study and play

You know you are a professional when you make more at poker than your daytime job.
You know you are a professional if you have a sponsor that pays for every tournament you enter.

an amateur plays slow and the professional of course faster

A professional knows how to handle every situation and an amateur does not.

Um, that's a very good question. Reading most of the answers. I don't think it's anything special. The amateur can also surprise the professional player! And the pro can make the same mistake
.. Watching poker tournament broadcasts on TV is even more so than I think... Of course, that's just my opinion. ��