Gambling saw a huge increase in the last three decades, mostly due to the internet and the popularity of online casinos and international poker tournaments. Many people really want to make a name for themselves in poker and here’s a list of things you should take into consideration if you’re thinking about being a pro poker player yourself.
Learn the rules by heart
Studying and learning the game of poker is a crucial move if you want to reach the pro level. When you think you know it all and there’s nothing left to study, think again and then learn and research some more. Just like all things in life, learning about poker never stops and believing otherwise will only leave you behind. You have to keep up to date with all articles available online, enter a training group or even hire a coach. Anything extra you do for your career will eventually bring a lot of benefits.
Make a name for yourself
This may sound like a cliché, however, a lot of people manage to get one lucky win in a tournament and immediately jump to conclusions that this activity can easily be a means to make a living. But the reality is very different and many poker players found it out the hard way. To prove to yourself and others that you are indeed a good poker player, you need to have consistency. This means winning a high number of tournaments and prizes. If you can’t do that, quitting your day job for a pro poker career is a really bad idea.
Set realistic goals
Once you’ve proven to yourself that you can win at poker and this type of earning a living can work, figure out how many tournaments you will need to enter and (hopefully) win in order to be able to do exclusively this. There’s a huge difference between playing in a tournament or two in your spare time or after work and living solely out of playing poker. That’s why you need to set some very realistic goals for yourself and if you can’t keep up with that, perhaps you should go back to the drawing board. The image of professional players that wake up at noon, play a few tournaments or pokies online free, win a couple thousand dollars, and then go back to living a dreamy life is widely promoted but not very accurate. Only a small percentage of poker players turn out like that and you need a lot of luck and training to do so.
Try a trial run first
Even if all the previous points are already checked in your preparations to become a pro poker player, you should still consider a trial run so you can see exactly how things go. Keep a backup plan at all times, like take a two-week vacation and join as many tournaments as possible. See how it goes and if worse comes to worst, you will still be paid at the end of the month. You may be surprised by how hard it is to keep yourself motivated to play poker a lot.
There are a lot of reasons why a pro poker career is a good idea and an equal number of reasons that would advise against it. In the end, it’s all about the mindset and what you really want to do with your life that matters. Checking these steps should help you decide though.
