So you want to go pro huh? Sign up for a few poker accounts, play a few hands, retire to Aruba?

Well, it's not quite that easy.

I've been supporting myself by playing poker for two or three years now. I've had part time jobs in that time, I've taken time off to live up a mountain, but mostly, I've been clicking Fold, Raise, Call (in that order of frequency).

You don't need 20K though. My poker bankroll typically hovers at around 3K (until I hit a 100BB downswing like this week :mad:). That's 300BB for the largest limit I typically play.

I would NOT recommend going pro unless:

1) You are very sure you are already a winning player.
2) You will enjoy having very little contact with people.
3) You can deal with nasty downswings and bad beats and still play good poker.
4) You are very sure you are already a winning player.
5) You can handle sitting in front a screen (or in a club, but really, who plays live anymore ;) ) for several hours making the same decisions over and over again and knowing that your payoff will be fairly random in the short term whether or not you get it right.
6) There is no number 6.
7) You are very sure you are already a winning player.
8) You have the discipline to stick to games you can beat and play ABC poker (and that doesn't stand for Always Be Calling)


I've made a lot of being sure you're a winning player, haven't I? Well, if you're going pro, you don't have time to learn. Get pokertracker (www.pokertracker.com) if you haven't already, play 10-20K hands at 1/2 on Party (yes 10,000 - 20,000 hands), if you're showing a good win-rate (definitely above 1BB/100hands, probably 2 or 3 since it's a fish tank) then you can be fairly confident you're a winning player and can start to move up.

Unless your job totally sucks (and I mean sucks so badly that you have to restrain yourself from physically assaulting your boss / the customers) I would stick it out, and treat poker as a serious part time job. Study Mon - Wed, and play thur - sun evenings between about 6or7 and 10or11 (assuming you're in North America).

"But that means I can't go out with my friends."
"Well yes, welcome to one of the downsides of poker playing - you're working while others want to play"

Playing poker for a living is NOWHERE near as glamorous and fun as people make it out to be. For every 20 year old kid (listen to me, I'm 25 :) ) making 6 figures (and I know a few) there are a dozen people who are left with no money, no job, no college degree (more aimed at the people who dropout to play poker than those who have already dropped out - stay in school kids).

Sorry if I sounded harsh, just trying to be realistic.

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