- Poker

Playing Poker for a Living

Making a living from poker seems like a career utopia: Work your own hours, take your own vacations, make bundles of money. But the dream is far different than reality, however, that’s not to say playing poker for a living isn’t doable or exciting…but it is difficult.

There are a few considerations to take into before embarking on your career as a poker player.

  1. Do you have a wife and or children?
  1. Do you have a job that pays well?
  1. Do you have dependents?
  1. Can you handle the pressure of maybe losing money in a month?
  1. Can you deal with the psychological factors that creep up in poker, like tilt?

Bankroll

If you’re single, young, living with your parents and have relatively few expenses, then there is little risk in trying poker for a living. However, if you have people that depend on you for financial support, the difficulty in starting a career in poker is multiplied by 20. You must ensure that you have enough money to cover expected and unexpected expenses for 1 year if you have a family, or anyone depending on you. This means that this is money that is not part of your bankroll. My general rule for bankroll is 50 times buy in. Which means, if you’re playing $100 NL, you need to have $5 K to start out. This allows you have to have downturns, but not worry about the stress of running out of money.

Are you actually good?

Be truthful to yourself: Do you win at the current limits you play at right now? If not, then don’t even consider moving to full time right now. Read poker books, play more and practice getting your win rate up. If you can beat the current limits, can you make a living at them? Or do you need to move up another limit? If you need to move up, take into account that the next limit is going to be more difficult, thus cutting into your win rate. This is why it is recommended by experts to do some practice online first before trying the actual game. This will help you formulate strategies that you can use in the game. You can visit websites like https://amanpkv.net.

Can you deal with losing?

It doesn’t matter how good you are, you will lose. Sometimes you’ll have a losing month, meaning no paycheck. Can you handle that? For a lot of people, this would create a lot of stress, and therefore the reason you need to have a year’s worth of expenses in your bank before you begin. If you’re the type of person who gets hot and bothered with losing, don’t try a career in poker. It won’t end well for you.

Do you go on tilt often?

Going on tilt means you play recklessly after something unfortunate happens to you. If you can’t get up from the table after losing with a three of a kind, and instead try to win all your losses back, then your poker career will be short lived. It’s vital to quit playing when you think you’re on tilt. This is one of, if not the most important point to consider before playing poker. This can drop your bankroll from $5 K to $1 K in the blink of an eye. You must not go on tilt. Or get up from the table if you do.

Telling friends and family

Ok, let’s face it…poker isn’t a mainstream career in today’s society. Telling your friends and family of your plans may provoke faces of panic. They may think you’re a gambling addict, have no path in life, think it’s a low-life career, etc. This will probably be the hardest decision in making that leap to a career in poker. It’s hard to succeed in something if you don’t think the people that love you will support you. But then again, sometimes that’s all the more reason to do it.

Playing poker for a living is indeed viable, but it’s not near as easy as it’s made out to be. There is a great risk that you will fail, but sometimes the pros outweigh the cons.