Do you think you can be professional and lead a life playing poker?
Helvec said:
:top:
Time will tell.
For a long time last night, thought I was going to bink the Storm and finally get the breakthrough win which is so elusive, to so many.
Finished ITM, 3,102 / 37,xxx
Was short and shoved on the flop with JhJd on a 455 board (with two clubs), A8c made the call and hit Ah on the river.. </3
I was freerolling via a Twitch $11 MTT ticket (strangely given to me by the Pokerstars channel moderator for full attendance & valuable/fun contributions [ 😉 ]) 😱
Not being a pro makes it difficult to describe what it takes to be a pro. I'll leave that to the pros.
What I imagine it takes; hard work, self-discipline, dedication, committment and more blood, sweat and tears than most people would understand.
How about you Helvec, do you think you have what it takes? 😉
Tracid said:
well, there are four big things you need to consider.
Life Style, Mindset, Poker Skill and 4th mystery thing.
Life Style: You can't play only a poker. You need to find a time for things like exercices, meeting friends, health diet, rest etc. It's important to have a life balance.
Mindset: it's impossible to be a great poker player if you tilt all the time. You need to work on that too. Meditation, Visualizations, Affirmations, Warm ups! even leaving your poker ego. So many things.
Poker Skill: learning poker has to be your consistent process. People don't realize how this game is hard. You need to put a lot of effort to make your decisions as much +ev as you can. Playing a lot, analyze a lot, work on your strategy, gameplans, exploiting people, even money management is a poker skill.
Mystery thing: you have to enjoy it. You can't play poker professionally if you don't have a passion for it. You can't improve your skills in every area if you don't like it. Because playing is not everything. You need to realize that you want to be a poker pro because you are really passionate to this game.
and I can clearly say that if you win a lot in one tournament don't decide to be a pro after that win. Because reality can be really brutal for you.
i feel that because ive made final tables several times over the last few weeks... only being that I've only been playing for two months.. its definitely possible..
unfortunately I haven't been able to take that final first place yet.
unfortunately I haven't been able to take that final first place yet.
discipline and study
I don't know if I could be a professional, I would love to but I should start right now and I can't leave everything. what makes you professional is to commit to study hard, you have to dedicate all your time to poker, you have to love poker and live poker, not just anyone can think so
I don't know if I could be a professional, I would love to but I should start right now and I can't leave everything. what makes you professional is to commit to study hard, you have to dedicate all your time to poker, you have to love poker and live poker, not just anyone can think so
I in particular believe that poker is not a sport and therefore I cannot classify anyone as a professional in the field. I do believe that there are certain strategies that could help a player to be more successful, but in the end it all comes down to who is luckier
Everyone has the ability to be a professional poker player if they are willing to put in the work. I don't think it's different from anything else. The people who are doing it for a living put in long hours of study as well as play. These are the things we don't see behind the scenes. Yes, some people can get lucky here and there and win tournaments for large sums, but the people who are consistently doing it put in the WORK. Even so, they still go broke at times. Poker is a very volatile game and I'm sure as with most things only 3-5% of active poker players make the huge money. I say all that to say it's going to take big goals and big dreams, but if it's what you want to do then be willing to GO ALL IN!
carlosnuno said:
I'm not sure why something would need to be classified as a 'sport' in order for the person to be considered a professional?
I know of many professional poker players. They earn a living from the game.
It has nothing to do with who is luckier.... but I really shouldn't be informing you of this... it'd be much better for me to have you believe you just got 'unlucky'.
Read the post above this one ^
I want to play professionally. I have spent years playing poker as a recreational player and have learnt alot about the game by myself from sheer volume of play. In the past year I have spent countless hours almost all my free time reading books, watching streamers who play and teach for a living and have registered for a training course to hone my abilities. The secret and I think the first step is to aim for a cash when you play mtt's because if you cash you get your money back and if you play 10 tourneys and min cash in 9 and make a deep run in 1 you make your money for the day. And playing as little as a $3.30 you can cash for 50 to 250 dollars which is a pretty average days work and then you brake even on the other 9 tourneys. Instead of always going for the big win playing conservatively. That is the trick of it the way I see it. I have started to finally see some consistency and more common cashes when I play. So hoping over the next year I can beat my bankroll challenge and start to accumulate enough money and cash with enough consistency to quit my job.
Be a pro and live a normal life, if you have a sponsor..
If someone is dedicated they can grow into being a pro.
The important factor is if you have a sponsor, for when the cards do not come and you go on a losing streak.
If not a monetary sponsor, having a partner who is supportive of your dream helps. Somebody has to help bring in the steady paycheck, help the kids with homework.
It is also feasible to become a semi-pro, who plays a fair amount of poker, and makes more than they lose. Being a semi-pro is a more likely scenario than the all-or nothing full time poker pro.
If someone is dedicated they can grow into being a pro.
The important factor is if you have a sponsor, for when the cards do not come and you go on a losing streak.
If not a monetary sponsor, having a partner who is supportive of your dream helps. Somebody has to help bring in the steady paycheck, help the kids with homework.
It is also feasible to become a semi-pro, who plays a fair amount of poker, and makes more than they lose. Being a semi-pro is a more likely scenario than the all-or nothing full time poker pro.
carlosnuno said:
I wonder if any of the professional poker players share your view? fwiw, it's not just my interpretation of the game.
So if I'm interpreting correctly what you are saying... then it really just matters who is luckier? Is that correct? If so, then doesn't it seem rather odd that there are some players who put in 100's (if not 1,000's) of hours 'studying' so that they can become 'better' (not so that they can become 'luckier'). Would all the money that some profesional players spend on their coaches just be a waste of money? Would it be just as well spent on a fortune teller perhaps?
I'm just trying to decipher what your thinking about it is. Trust me... I'm not unhappy if this is how you think about the game (my father thinks the same way... which I find kind of odd considering he is a math kind of guy... but he's not a games guy... whereas my mother she was a poker enthusiast going back 70yrs. She taught me how to play and she LOVED playing. Her favorite part of the game was trying to outplay/ outsmart other players (she loved to bluff!).
Everything can work out, the main thing is to be able to play well and understand the game
and in order to make fewer mistakes, for a good game you need a normal bankroll to participate in good tournaments or play good expensive cash games and everything can work out and you can win more, the main thing is to be able and correctly distribute the time for the game so that it is comfortable in the game and after your game for other things! I don’t have such an opportunity to play expensive tournaments or cash games now, I need to play a bankroll to go to good tournaments and try to win more, so maybe I can win somewhere and get good profit in a bankroll
and in order to make fewer mistakes, for a good game you need a normal bankroll to participate in good tournaments or play good expensive cash games and everything can work out and you can win more, the main thing is to be able and correctly distribute the time for the game so that it is comfortable in the game and after your game for other things! I don’t have such an opportunity to play expensive tournaments or cash games now, I need to play a bankroll to go to good tournaments and try to win more, so maybe I can win somewhere and get good profit in a bankroll