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montie

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Is being a professional poker player fun?

I ask myself whether I should become one. I do believe I have the right attitude, skills, patience, etc. to be a winner at the game. I also like the game but I don't like the idea of isolating myself from the outside world by sitting at a computer or at a table in underground rooms where there are no windows. I don't want to be cut from the outside world and people, and I fear this is what it takes to become a player who makes his living playing poker.

Can the life of a pro poker player be more fun than what I imagine it would be?

Posted 571 day ago

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Answers (8)

ger2000 		You are WAY ahead of yourself. You said, "I do believe I have the right attitude, skills, patience, etc. to be a winner at the game." This tells me that you're not yet a winning player! Almost everyone thinks they have what you think you have. Very few actually do have it!

Aside from the isolation and all the other bad things you mentioned, you also have to first go through possibly years of turmoil in figuring out how to be a winning player to begin with!

If you start playing poker and you find that you can make a profit month after month after month, THEN start thinking about whether or not you can possibly even make a living doing this. By that time, it will be clear the kind of work you'll have to do to make a decent living. You'll be able to make your own decision as to whether or not this will be "fun".

Do yourself a HUGE favor - don't quit your day job just yet. If you don't have a day job, GET ONE before you start investing in your poker career!

Posted 571 day ago

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cameron 		Of course it can.

But everything big starts at the bottom and you have to climb, it doesn't matter your talent etc and if you are good enough. How much you want it is all that matters.

Once you ARE a pro player and if you were to win big tournaments with big money of course then you could have some fun along with being good at the game and having the enjoyment of the game allowing you to play at better venues with better players which would be most fun.

Unfortunately the only way to get there IS to sit at a computer all day or smaller places.

No-one can instantly expect to be at the top of whatever sport without working for it.

Posted 571 day ago

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jamsey 		The life of a poker play is what you make it out to be. It does involve sitting at a computer, unless you go play at a casino or somewhere else. But really, a career in poker can go many ways. As long as you are making money... I don't think fun will be too far away.

Posted 571 day ago

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jonbrown 		I suppose if a person develops into a successful poker player then making a living that way can be fun. Sadly there isn't a procedure where you study for so many years, pass a test, get a license and then you are a professional poker player and can make a living at it. Poker doesn't work that way. Nobody in that line of work is guaranteed any sort of compensation for their work.

If I were you I'd rethink the idea because you have a lot of negatives listed about being a pro poker player and very few positives listed.

Posted 571 day ago

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jonbrown 		Playing poker full time can be tiresome, boring, repetitive, and frustrating. There are certainly times of excitement and exhilaration when you make a big score, but most of the time when you win it's not very exciting (because you're supposed to win) and losing is frustrating, since you usually lose due to a bad beat or bad luck.

Sitting at a computer all day can suck at times, although there are plenty of jobs out there where you're sitting at a computer doing repetitive tasks. The difference between those kinds of jobs and playing poker is that you must be mentally acute at all times, whereas at other jobs you can often just phone it in.

That's not to say there aren't benefits as well. Being able to 'work' whenever you feel like it (more or less) is awesome. One week you may be riding a wave of good luck or good play and be at the tables for 80 hours. The next week, you may feel like slacking off or are a bit disinterested for one reason or another and only play for 20 hours.

As far as personal relationships, that depends on you. Many people certainly make many of their friends through work relationships, but that doesn't mean you're going to be an anti-social hermit just because you work by yourself.

Whether or not professional poker is the life for you is not for me to say. My suggestion to you is to go on with your life as if you're NOT going to play poker for a living. The last thing you want to do is dedicate your life to poker just to find out you aren't good enough. I don't know how old you are, but finish school, go to college and get a 'real' job. Play poker on nights and weekends as much as you can. If you have what it takes to go pro, you'll be making money and building a bankroll. If you can't go to a full day of work, then come home and play poker for 4-6 hours and win, then you're probably not ready to be a pro. If you're making money consistently at a level that you can live off of and are happy with it, then you can make some decisions.

Feel free to email me questions if there's something specific you want to know.

Posted 571 day ago

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jonbrown 		Its sure to be fun once you are on top and are earning tons of cash, but like with anything you have to work for it, building your bankroll and reputation, working up to tournaments, and high stake cash games.. and you just don't automatically get there.. there has to be countless days in front of your computer and poker tables.. its part of getting there..

Posted 571 day ago

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ger2000 		There are different ways to be a poker pro. If you'd rather not sit alone at a computer all day, you can play at casinos instead. As a live player, you won't be isolated, you'll meet all kinds of people every day from all over and you'll see some of the same people. At some tables there will be lots of socializing and joking around. There are a lot of memorable characters, not too many dull people play poker. And then the game itself is usually fun (at least for me it's still not old). If you find cash games boring, you can be a tournament player instead, which might be more of a thrill.

Of course there are also frustrating aspects to poker (people often say you gotta be sick in the head, or plain nuts, to like poker), but it shouldn't bother you if you have the right mentality. It's not a game for the faint of heart, don't become a pro if you can't get rid of tilting tendencies.

It ought to be better than the vast majority of real jobs. There's no stress. Logging on or going to the casino and playing is more fun than going to work and working. When you get home or log off, that's it, your day is done, there's nothing to do at home for work. Your schedule is flexible and you're your own boss.
The biggest perk: you ought to have lots more free time. You can spend your healthy years actually living your life and doing the things YOU want, instead of wasting it on work, doing things you're only doing because you have to. Other people have to wait until they're old before they can start living their life. 65 is the age of retirement, which was set for a reason: it was set when that was the average age a man died! They say your brain is most intelligent at age 22. After that it starts declining, so by the time you retire, you're dumber AND your body sucks. I say start living now!

Posted 571 day ago

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fullhouse 		If you enjoy poker it can be fun.

Posted 571 day ago

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