Becoming a Pro Poker Player in 6 Steps
If you’re a skilled poker player you’ve no doubt dreamt of packing it all in and going pro. However, it’s important to remember that there is more to being a professional poker player than just being able to play well. If you’re looking to fail, quit your job tomorrow and start playing day and night, but if you want to succeed follow our 6 steps to becoming a pro and make your dream a reality.
- Study Every Aspect of the Game
Studying the game itself is a crucial step in becoming a professional poker player. Once you’ve done your research and think you know all there is to know about the game, you need to do more! Just like you studied to be a success in your current profession, you need to study to become a success as a pro poker player. Never stop learning, as standing still in this game means you’re likely to be left behind.
- Prove You’re a Winner Over Time
You need to put in the hours and prove that you’re a winning poker player before quitting your job. You may find yourself coming 1st in a big poker tournament, winning the equivalent of 3 months wages, and start thinking that it’s an easy way to make a living, but you’d be dead wrong. Professional poker players have hundreds of thousands of poker hands under their belt and you need to do the same.
- Keep Your Expectations Realistic
Once you’ve established that you’re a winning poker player over time, it will be time to ascertain how many hands or tournament you’ll need to play – and win – at Lucky Nugget Casino Canada in order to sustain your current lifestyle. You have to aim to match or better your current salary. Working a day job means the benefit of being paid while on vacation or when you’re sick, but you will not have this luxury as a pro poker player. You will have to put in many hundreds of hours in the beginning, so don’t expect to double or triple your salary at first.
- Do a Pro Poker Trial Run
Even if you’ve successfully completed steps 1-3, it’s important that you at least do a trial run at being a pro poker player before quitting your fulltime job. Ask for a week’s vacation from your current job and spend 5 of those 7 days only playing poker. This will give you a better understanding of how work this profession requires and you’ll still be getting paid even if you have a bad week at the tables!
- Build a Proper Bankroll
You have to have a big bankroll and all your other finances in order to become a pro poker player. Most poker pros have at least 6 months’ worth of living expenses tucked away, separate from their bankroll, just in case things don’t go well. You shouldn’t, under any circumstances, need to take money from your bankroll in order to cover day-to-day expenses and bills.
- Behave Like a Pro Poker Player
The best poker players in the world are extremely disciplined and approach their pro poker status as they would any other job – with absolute professionalism. Would you go to work in your sweatpants with unwashed hair and sit down with your feet on the desk? No? Well then don’t do that as a professional poker player. This is your job and you have to approach it with a professional attitude in order to be successful.