# Poker as a career. Anyone done it here?



## Inveniet (Aug 21, 2009)

I find myself on the path of becoming a poker pro.
How much I or anyone else earn is not the point of this thread.

What I want to know is what kind of poker you play.

What kind of milestones you met on the way.

What you focused on, perspectives or learnings, that seperate you from the rest of the field.

Whatever else you find relevant to mention about it. :wink:


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## tanstaafl28 (Sep 10, 2012)

hornet said:


> I find myself on the path of becoming a poker pro.
> How much I or anyone else earn is not the point of this thread.
> 
> What I want to know is what kind of poker you play.
> ...


I live in Vegas, so I know quite a few poker pros. Hold'em has been getting all the attention over the last decade. I find it cool that it's more about psychology than it is gambling.


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## Children Of The Bad Revolution (Oct 8, 2013)

It's a cool hobby; great game but a career? Wouldn't that be very difficult?


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## tanstaafl28 (Sep 10, 2012)

isingthebodyelectric said:


> It's a cool hobby; great game but a career? Wouldn't that be very difficult?


I currently know about 8 people who are full-time professional poker players. They make six figures a year easily.


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## Children Of The Bad Revolution (Oct 8, 2013)

tanstaafl28 said:


> I currently know about 8 people who are full-time professional poker players. They make six figures a year easily.


Any women?


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## Vic (Dec 4, 2010)

I read something on that recently. Sharks make a pretty good living.


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## tanstaafl28 (Sep 10, 2012)

isingthebodyelectric said:


> Any women?


Two of them are women, yes.


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## Fievel (Jul 9, 2013)

Couldn't resist.


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## Inveniet (Aug 21, 2009)

isingthebodyelectric said:


> It's a cool hobby; great game but a career? Wouldn't that be very difficult?


I dunno...
Some people have quantum physics and other back breaking themes as a career.
All they have to do is drag themself trough some 6-7ish years of mindnumbing study.
Not only that, but the environment is decidedly Si slanted.
With crappy teachers that have extremely unreasonable high demands.

I was fortunate enought to drop math when I was 17.
There was this simplyfied math path that I could take.
Later I took the same math at this special school with superteachers that specialized in filling
gaps in peoples grades or subjects.
The math was* really really hard*, and to make matters worse,
I realized that this was just to qualify,* just to fucking qualify to start any university course with math*.
In comparison the math you need to get to do poker is a breeze.
So I dunno how difficult it really is in a relative sense, when you consider the alternative careers.:wink:


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## gooseNmixes (Oct 8, 2014)

Im a full time professional poker player. Have been playing since I was 18 (currently 22). Majority of my play is online (tournaments & sit n go's), its a hard way to make an easy living.

Poker as a career has been a lot more standard, and accepted these days, but its a hard industry to get into atm. There will however, always be people who have a misunderstanding of poker & poker players and just consider us degenerate gamblers. Which is fine lol.


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## coredev (Oct 28, 2014)

poker seems like more like a hobby to me than a career.


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## EchoEnola (Oct 28, 2014)

My step-brother has been quite successful as a poker dealer/pit boss. Does that count?


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## Franco (Oct 29, 2014)

No. Well kind of. I make money playing but I wouldn't do it as my main job. I need to do something more hands on. I couldn't sit at a table playing cards ALL day.


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## Redifining Cool (Aug 22, 2014)

gooseNmixes said:


> Im a full time professional poker player. Have been playing since I was 18 (currently 22). Majority of my play is online (tournaments & sit n go's), its a hard way to make an easy living.
> 
> Poker as a career has been a lot more standard, and accepted these days, but its a hard industry to get into atm. T*here will however, always be people who have a misunderstanding of poker & poker players and just consider us degenerate gamblers.* Which is fine lol.


For the bolded reason it becomes harder to get a real job if you've spent a few years playing poker as it is an automatic disqualifier for many employers. 

You should just try it as a hobby first. Odds are either 1) You won't be good enough 2) You will hate doing it full time


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## Roland Khan (May 10, 2009)

3) You will really enjoy playing a game you love for a living and will be good enough to make a decent living off of

Find a place with a bunch of rubes looking to give their money away, and go take it from them


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## Inveniet (Aug 21, 2009)

Lol this thread is still ongoing.
I've laid off poker as I just couldn't become good enough fast enough.
And I stopped seeing the point in the endless grinding.


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## gooseNmixes (Oct 8, 2014)

Redifining Cool said:


> For the bolded reason it becomes harder to get a real job if you've spent a few years playing poker as it is an automatic disqualifier for many employers.
> 
> You should just try it as a hobby first. Odds are either 1) You won't be good enough 2) You will hate doing it full time


For starts I personally wouldn't recommend anyone to pursue poker for a living, especially in these days for many reasons. Poker turns out to be a hobby for most that pursue it, it is without a doubt one of the most mentally stressful jobs. In saying that there is so much value in poker at the moment, even with skill edges getting smaller. There is a lot of short term variance in poker, but long term good pro's can be making 100-150K a year no problem, and the better players significantly more than that.

Not sure how to respond when you say "it becomes harder to get a real job", considering poker is still a real job for many. 
Poker has created many of the richest people around, including many young millionaires at even the age of 18 for those who have the mind and talent for learning the game. Its funny you bring up the employment comment, without me going on a rant about my own opinion about it right now (as im currently playing), but here is a good thread brought up recently that is relevant and a good read for the most part. 

Should I tell potential employers I was a professional poker player? - Poker News - News, Views and Gossip



Roland787 said:


> 3) *You will really enjoy playing a game you love for a living and will be good enough to make a decent living off of*
> 
> Find a place with a bunch of rubes looking to give their money away, and go take it from them


+1 to the bolded part. Poker allows people a lot of freedom, I am able to travel around often, as many poker players are, the money is just insane if you have the talent, and its a game that you really have to love in order to make it you're job. A lot of poker players have the skill for the game, but mentally just can't handle the variance and stress that comes along with it so end up parting ways with it as a job. Most poker players are able to retire out of poker, those who pursue other stuff usually have a plan, knowledge and money allowing them to pursue whatever else they want after poker.


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## xisnotx (Mar 20, 2014)

the first time i ever made money, it was off of poker online. i sold my full tilt playchips (i had like 25,000,000 if i remember) for like $150. i was 17.

as a career, it'd take lots of discipline.

there's the mechanical (boring) way to play poker (txholdem, nl). and yes you can make a lot of money. maybe not online unless you get above a certain level...which requires a bit of money to start...(there's no sense in playing .05/.10 or below poker...it's too much of a crapfest...), but if you're playing 1/2 you can make a living off of it. and in real life, people don't know what they're doing when they play. it's not hard to get someones "gambling money" when they don't know what they're doing. really, in real life it's about letting people make their own mistakes and just punishing them for it...

but it takes discipline. 
and i lack discipline. 

i'm ok with chasing when i shouldn't. 

and i'm ok with bullying a person when i shouldn't...

i'm the guy that chooses one person and just makes them hate me...raising their blinds, stealing, bluffing, showing up with the nuts...

always in a hand...58off...no problem, let's put in an over-pot bet...

i'm a game destroyer..

because that's fun for me..and i just want to have fun. 

but eventually i always lose it all.

because i don't like playing the boring way. 

lol it's a fun hobby.

overall, i'm in the green though so i'm happy 

i haven't played a real hand in years...


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