Playing Poker For A Living Tips
Learn the rules, positions and poker hands ranking. Naturally, this is the first step you want to take. 3 Tips for Playing Video Poker for a Living. You think you're ready to play video poker for money? Well, you can always use a little advice, right? Here are some tips to help you get started. Tip - Start off with an ample bankroll. Like a business, video poker needs capital. You want a bankroll that's at about 3-5 times the royal.
When you first heard about the idea of playing poker professionally, maybe it was presented to you in great terms – huge money, flexible working hours, no boss, the opportunity to take a holiday at any time, etc. Although poker can really be a fantastic job, it’s not something that ought to be idealized. There many things to consider if you’re thinking about playing poker professionally. Like virtually every occupation, it has its pluses and minuses. In this article, we examine a number of pros and cons of making a living as a poker player.
Pro: Higher profit ceiling
In most 9-5 jobs, earnings grow slowly and people often need years of education before they can apply for positions to earn their first dollar. Although poker is not a get-rich-quick scheme, it gives you the opportunity to constantly and quickly develop, enter higher stakes games regularly, and earn more money than in the most fixed-salary jobs. In other words, a poker player has the potential to be properly rewarded from the very beginning of his/her career in line with skill, effort, and a quality of work.
“I Spent five years in college to work 3 weeks and quit. Now I play poker.” – @JasonKoonpic.twitter.com/unc1n17AlF
— Bay 101 Casino (@Bay101Casino) June 26, 2015
Con: Instability of earnings
Usually, the higher profit ceiling is associated with less stability. After all, how often do you hear from your non-poker playing friends that they sometimes come to work and lose money? Unfortunately, professional poker is a bit of a rollercoaster. In the long run, the results will surely come to those who work hard enough, but if you cannot deal with the mindset associated with the variance in short periods of time, you will surely not succeed. If you learn how to accept swings, this disadvantage of playing poker professionally will not matter to you.
Pro: Flexible schedule
Waking up when you want, playing when you want – poker gives you a lot of freedom. What’s more – have you ever thought about what would happen if you came to your boss and said “I’ve decided to leave for a month to the Caribbean and I’m flying out tomorrow”? Even if you run your own business and you are yourself a boss, usually stopping work for a month will have a negative impact on its functioning. In poker, you can take long vacations, but just remember that they shouldn’t be too long, otherwise your opponents will improve enough to surpass you.
Con: Usually less self-discipline
At 9-5 jobs, you usually get fixed money, regardless of whether you have been more or less productive in a given month. On the other hand, unfortunately, the poker community knows many cases of players who have lost themselves in the flexibility, freedom that this game gives them, and burned the money by spending too much on “baller lifestyles.”
What’s more, working whatever hours you want is only partially true because the games are usually the most profitable in evenings and on weekends. However, it all depends on when recreational players from your local poker room are playing. The pros who are best at game selection will be the ones making the most profit; sometimes that requires sacrifices in terms of what schedule you need to keep.
Unless you’re strong, brave & decisive you’ll never know success. So challenge yourself often, do it, and so build self-discipline #poker
— Paul Phua Poker (@paulphuapoker) February 8, 2017
Pro: The possibility of living almost anywhere on Earth
Poker gives people the opportunity to travel, which is especially attractive to players in their 20s and 30s who do not have a family or other commitments that keep them attached to their home countries. If you’re a sun-chaser and need endless summers, you can just hop over to a different spot on the globe and keep on grinding the game you love, whether from your laptop or at the closest brick and mortar poker room. Just a word to the wise – it can be tempting to try out all the weird casino games you’ll find in gambling houses around the world. Best to stick to poker if you really want to call yourself a professional.
Con: Poker is a grey area in many countries
If in your home country poker falls into a legally questionable grey area, or you have serious commitments, like children attending school for example, the life of a professional poker may not be for you. If you find yourself in a situation like this, it would be advisable to have a very good plan B, like another source of income, or to just play poker part-time. Especially if poker isn’t fully legal, the last thing you want to be doing is frequenting shady underground poker games or playing on online poker sites illegally where your future could be seriously jeopardized.
Pro: Doing what you enjoy
There are plenty of successful professional poker players who earn enormous amounts of money, but they claim that the game bores them. On the other hand, for the overwhelming majority of poker players, the opportunity to earn money on something that is just entertainment for millions of people is incredibly attractive. There’s a reason it’s called “chasing the dream” – an appropriate moniker for many people who wish they could play a game that they love professionally as a means of making a living.
Con: Low social status
It doesn’t really matter what other people think of your chosen profession, and you certainly don’t have to apologize for earning money by doing something you love. With that said, it may not be easy to explain what you do to your parents or your partner. Unfortunately, poker is seen by many as pure gambling and it seems that that perception and stereotype will not change too quickly. Furthermore, if poker in your country falls into a gray area, lying to random people about what you do for a living can quickly become quite difficult and very tiring.
Pro: Poker will always be there
Many people are worried about the future of poker but the game has an over 100-year-old history and it is not likely to suddenly wind up “dead”. Even with the skill of online poker players constantly rising, there will always be winning players, and as a professional player you would have to make sure that you work hard enough to be included in that group.
I am very concerned about this picture and the future of online poker. Without a sturdy handrail several online wizards may be in serious danger pads, sort it out! pic.twitter.com/ES1Btmev54
— MoreTBC (@more_TBC) October 15, 2018
Con: It’s tough to predict the future of online poker
This drawback is the main argument many people have against choosing a career in online poker these days. Beyond a constantly improving skill level of the overall player pool around the world, many are even afraid that online poker will be destroyed in a few years by artificial intelligence. The truth is that even if such a bleak scenario eventually comes to pass, live poker will always have plenty of profitable spots, and there are plenty of opportunities to earn on your poker knowledge besides playing online.
Conclusion
As has hopefully been made clear, there are plenty of pros and cons to consider if you’ve got a dilemma as to whether to pursue a career as a poker professional. Sure, the drawbacks can be dealt with, and the advantages are certainly worthwhile, but it doesn’t mean that making it as a professional poker play is easy. Fairy dust will not fall from the sky to magically make you a poker millionaire.
If the professional poker lifestyle appeals to you, just be aware of the potential pitfalls and adjust your expectations and outlook accordingly. And, of course, be prepared to put in a ton of study time away from the tables to ensure you can be a successful professional and weather the variance that is sure to come your way.
Playing Poker For A Living Tips 4
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The last card has been dealt. I stare at the final board. I have the best hand possible. My opponent goes all in! I call and win the huge pot! This is an experience I have had many times, and so have all professional poker players. The problem is this does not happen every time I sit down and play.
Do you want to make money in the long run and not rely on luck? Do you want to sustain a career playing cash games? If you answered yes, then chances are you want to be a professional poker player. The key is to treat it like a career and act like a professional. I have included 4 major tips to help keep your eye on the prize and win the most money possible over the long haul.
PUT THE WORK IN
This cannot be faked. The days of showing up to the table and just waiting for a huge hand to double up with are long behind us. Of course, this can happen, but remember, I am focusing on winning over a long period of time. An easy way to start is by tracking your sessions…
I like to keep a detailed spreadsheet on Microsoft Excel that includes all of the important facts: the date, time of day, how long I played for, which casino I played at, what game I played, how much I won or lost and any specific notes I want to keep. Those notes can be general about the session or about specific hands. Remember to include all of the details of the hand. “My pocket eights lost to his Ace-King when we were all in pre flop.” That is not enough information for me to later review that hand. “He raised to $20 from early position, and when it folded to me I re-raised to $65. Having more chips than me, he went all in and I called for my remaining $700.” A note like that would give me an opportunity to fairly go over the hand at a later time.
If you do not like tracking everything on a computer, do not worry. You are in luck! Apps like Poker Mate and Poker Income can keep all those important details at the tip of your fingers on your mobile device. I included a direct link to where you can download the free or paid versions of these awesome poker session/income trackers.
Putting the work in goes far beyond tracking my sessions. I must be diligent in the way I approach the game. When I am not at the table playing, I like to watch videos of other professionals discussing strategies or specific hands. Listening to a highly skilled player talk about a hand is a great tool to help advance the way I think about a hand. Check out this link, and you will see what I am talking about.
Find a comfortable routine that works for you. In all walks of life, working hard is the best way to get ahead of your competition and be the best at your job. Playing poker and grinding out cash games is certainly no different.
BE HONEST WITH YOURSELF
The example above when all the money went in before the flop with pocket eights vs. Ace-King helps explain another point. When I am reviewing a hand, it should serve one purpose: Recognize mistakes and take what information I can so I will improve for next time. Being a professional includes not blaming my losses on others’ poor play.
I do not review hands to tell myself I played perfectly and was just unlucky. That does not serve a purpose. Be responsible for the decisions you make, and be willing to consider other options if they make more sense. When I’m in that scenario next time, I can conclude that calling an all-in for $700 with a pair of eights when I only had $65 invested was probably a little bit too aggressive on my part, to say the least. Saying, “I knew he had Ace-King and I was ahead. That’s so unfair I lost when I knew what he had” unfortunately does not win you the money nor does it help you get better. Be aware that he probably had Ace-King or a bigger pair than eights anyway, and proceed more cautiously next time calling a large all in bet at the live tables.
You need to be willing to make changes to get better. Telling myself, I am only losing because everyone else is playing so badly is NOT BEING HONEST WITH MYSELF. I need to take the necessary steps so I am fully prepared for any situation that may come up during a hand. Discussion about hands really helps.
Try and find a circle of friends that play professionally. When I discuss poker, I enjoy discussing it with players who are better than me. I am not there to tell them my bad beat stories about how unlucky I got in my last tournament. I am there to listen with open ears, to ask questions and to be exposed to new concepts. I am there to learn and get better.
Being true to myself cannot be stressed enough. It is easy to whine about a bad beat, wondering why I was so unlucky. Being a professional means eliminating that way of thinking from my brain. Focus on what can be controlled. How I play and how I react is what really matters in the long run.
GAME SELECTION
As you get better and start playing in games with higher limits and higher buy-ins, game selection will become very important. This is the time to check your ego at the door. I am here for one reason, and that reason is to make money. Of course, I want to enjoy my time and meet new people. However, the bottom line is to walk out with more money than I came in with.
Game selection is about choices. This goes further than just picking which table to sit at once I get to the casino. Game selection includes which day I play, what time of day I play and which casino I go to. Chances are that a poker game will have more action and be livelier on a Saturday night at the Bellagio then at Red Rock Casino on a Wednesday afternoon. This is not to say I cannot find a good game during the day and during the week. Nevertheless, recognizing where I have the ability to earn the most money is important when planning out a schedule.
It is hard to imagine maintaining a long career playing cash games without planning a schedule. Everyone can do this their own way. I like to sit down on Sunday nights and write down on a calendar which days I am going to play with an approximate time slot. I do not need to pick the casino and game days ahead of time. I rely on the Bravo Poker App for that.
This app is a MUST for a cash game player. Before I decide where I want to play, this app allows me to click on each poker room and see a live look at their cash game screen. I can see how many tables (of each game) are running and the wait list for each game! Call the room and add your name to the list. It is that easy!
Now that I have decided where I am going to play, the work is still not done. Showing off and trying to act like a big shot is not why I am there; It’s to win money. I will look around at the available games and decide which open seat provides me with the best opportunity to win.
Sitting directly to the right of a very good and aggressive player is something to avoid. They will put a lot of pressure on you and constantly put you in uncomfortable situations. If you see players that have a lot of chips and are playing aggressively, try and sit to the left of them. Positional advantage is a complex poker term, but do not feel overwhelmed. All it really means is having the ability to make decisions AFTER you see the crazy player make his bets or raises.
Beating cash games in poker is a job. Like any other job, I want to give myself the best opportunity to be successful—in this case, to win money. To win money at poker, I need to understand the whole pie. Practicing proper game selection is a big slice.
BANKROLL MANAGEMENT
This is not the sexiest thing to talk about, but if you want to make a living playing cash games, you need to understand the ebbs and flows that the game brings. Poker is not like other jobs with steady paychecks. If I make eight thousand dollars in one month, chances are I did not make exactly two thousand each week. You need to understand and be prepared for the times that you don’t make money.
Setting aside my poker bankroll is important, especially during the early stages of a career as a cash game professional. I want to make sure I can always pay my bills, have food and take care of my personal responsibilities. If that means dropping down in stakes or skipping a big tournament I wanted to play in, then so be it. Playing cash games for a living means being a professional. As a professional, you need to be responsible and aware of the ups and downs that will continually happen.
Making rules for how much money I need to have in order to play certain games is not an exact science. It really comes down to personal factors. When I was in college and single, I was not as conservative as I am now. If it did not work out, I was young enough to start again. Fast forward to now: a thirty year old engaged, car owning, bill-paying version of myself. I have no choice but to be more conservative! The point is that no matter what point in life I am at, I must know my boundaries.
I want to feel comfortable when I am playing cash games. I never want to feel like if I have a bad day, my entire bankroll will be tragically affected. This is not to say I do not get upset when I have losing days, but I am content with losing the amount I risk before I sit down.
Knowing I have at least forty buy-ins as a bankroll is a nice rule of thumb. It ensures me that I can overcome a bad couple of days or a rough stretch. I can regroup and rebound without having to borrow money or not pay my bills. To further explain that, if I want to play in a cash game and buy in for $1,000, I should have $40,000 available to my poker bankroll.
Poker For A Living
CONCLUSION
Playing Poker For A Living Tips Free
Beating the cash games and being a winner year after year is a test of survival. It does not require me to be good at just one thing. Realize that it takes maturity and patience to overcome all the curve balls that will be thrown your way. A professional athlete has to take care of his or her body to be prepared for events. A CEO of a toy company needs to make sure all of his or her employees are on the same page and working together to produce the end product. As a professional cash game poker player, I need to be aware that it is not just about sitting at the table and trying to make a hand. The more I can understand and appreciate the hard work and sacrifice it takes to be great, the more successful I will be.