Be the next Bruce Willis, become rich trading futures, or become a professional poker star – pick your dream.

Going Pro

If you have ever made more money playing poker in a single session than during a whole day of work, then the idea of going professionnal probably came to your mind, a brief instant if only.

Here are some thoughts before you give the finger to your boss and burn all bridges behind you.

Where You Are: Worries of Life

If you are like most people, you have your own share of problems, of various nature: personnal, professional, financial, health…

The more oppressing these problems become, the more inclined you are to consider dumping it all and start over something else. People are sometimes under such a pressure that they are ready to believe in every opportunity they come across, so as to urgently relieve the stress. That’s why people in despair are said to be in a weaker psychological state and are prone to be manipulated, eg. by sects.

Problems are not always that overwhelming; some people are just bored with their current life. Even though they have reached a good situation overall, there may be “something missing”.

Therefore, many people, of all situation, are looking for a different life. If they play a lot of poker, the game being addictive, playing full time would, from their point of view, serve both purposes: indulging his appetite for the game, and changing one’s life.

Where To Go: The Fantasy World

Illusion is the first of all pleasures – Oscar Wilde

The poker table is a small, isolated world where one can find many positive aspects he doesn’t get in real life. This goes from recognition and self-esteem to being your own boss (Cf. the Why Do You Play article).

In fact, everything is done so that this world be as mesmerizing as possible. Gambling is an industry, and it is the interest of every actor in this field that you enjoy as much as possible the experience. This is their job. The more you play, the more they earn. This goes for your broker as well: the more trades you make, the more he earns. Small wonder they entice you to go pro.

Going “pro” is becoming a part of the big show. Your main job becomes to earn a living by being available to play with the recreational players, profitably of course. If you play live, you will probably have to create a nice atmosphere too, so that the occasional players enjoy their time and come back to play with you. If you play online, this generally won’t be necessary though, since finding weaker players is less of a concern.

The point is, between being a spectator and an actor of the show, there is a huge difference. Firstly, nobody wants you there. Each time you sit at a table with some pro or semi-pro playing, you steal a percentage of his winnings. Secondly, many things you liked about poker as a recreational player, just get in the way as a pro. Making money should be your only objective.

Thirdly, you are in for an emotional rollercoaster. Your bankroll is going to have many ups and downs, and the big downs may come when you want them the least. You may get unlucky, you may face stronger than usual opposition, your game may deteriorate, well, you are bound to have some very rough times. If you thought you could do away with stress, reconsider the question!

This is the other side of the looking glass, and it is much less fun than what the others see on the front side.

How To Get There: The Big Jump

With the pressure of one’s current life and the lure of a better life in the professional poker world, the temptation is great to get there as fast as possible.

While every serious businessman would carefully plan his futures objectives, and all the more so if they involve great risks, the person chasing his dreams does not plan anything serious, since he does not want to find even more evidence that all chances are against him, and he does not want to wait longer to take his shot.

He thinks: Let’s get asap in position to show what I’m worth, and even if I don’t do great the first days, I’ll make it eventually - I have studied the game a lot, and I’m not dumber than anyone else. People try to talk me out of it because they never had the courage to take risks themselves. I’m going to show them!

What To Overcome: The Reality Toll

While the points in the thinking above may (or may not) be right, this unfortunately doest not make him any more likely to be successful:

• He may have spent a lot of time studying poker, this is no guarantee to become a winning player. Many other qualities are required;
• You can be very smart but a mediocre professional poker player, or a mediocre salesman, or surgeon. Each job requires its own set of skills, and you cannot have them all;
• People and friends trying to discourage you does not mean that they are right, but you cannot justify every foolish idea of yours on this basis.

In fact, there are many reasons why you would not make it:

• You are technically not good enough to play profitably at stakes high enough to earn a living. If all you beat so far was low stakes poker, then you are anywhere near as much experienced as you may think.
• You don’t have the patience or stamina. Playing hours on end can be exhausting, and if your game then deteriorates, your daily profit won’t be high enough to live on.
• The pressure of playing for a living turns out to be too strong. Until you have proven to be successful, you are constantly on the edge, and this is very tough for the nerves.
• Inadequate bankroll. You may play winning poker, if your bankroll is not big enough for the stakes you play, you always run the risk of going broke - and the risk can be extremely high actually. Many players went broke because of this.
• You are a Tournament Player. Earning his life with tournaments is exceedingly difficult. Every pro is necessarily a good ring game player - unless he sort of won at the lottery and does not need to win to pay the rent.

Another way of looking at the question would be: many have tried, people like you, or younger, older, as much motivated, with more experience, some were pretty smart, but most of them failed. This means that if you don’t do something better than them, you are likely to fail too. What can you do better? Why are you not going to fail where they failed?

Remember that there is nobody to fool here but you.

Once You Are There: How Is The Dream Looking Now?

Even you manage to earn a living and cover your expenses, things may be quite different from what you expected when you started out. Maybe you find it pretty boring now. Maybe you don’t like living almost by the day. Or maybe your previous life was better eventually.

The underlying question is: is it worth it?

Naturally this is a question you should ask yourself before “jumping”, so to speak - but sometimes you have to experience a situation in order to trully appreciate what it is like. In any case, you know what you give up, and you have a rough idea of what you may get.

Ruining years of hard work on a whim cannot be right. Quitting a good job to play cards is probably as dumb as it sounds. Dropping out of college is certainly quite dumb too. Doing anything that is likely to negatively impact your whole life because you are addicted to a game is flying in the face of reason.

However, if you don’t have much to lose, perhaps because you haven’t achieved much yet, then this can be a risk you could take. Even if the life of a professional poker player is tough, it may be better than some of the jobs you would have had to take. What you have to lose, though, is your bankroll, and it probably means a lot to you. If it’s too short, you are a favorite to lose it, and if it is big, losing it all would really hurt.

Career?

Being able to earn a living for some time is one thing, but doing it successfully for several years is another one.

If you don’t grow tired of playing cards, maybe the pressure or the lack of long-term plans will become a serious matter of concern. You have different goals in life at 19 and at 30.

From a poker perspective, earning a living may become harder and harder if the poker fad somewhat dies out. There is a lot of easy money in poker as of this writing, but if the purely recreational players stop bringing their cash to poker tables, the average level will suddenly increase, and you will have to play against a much stronger opposition.

Of course, you don’t have to play poker for a living for you whole life; but if you didn’t think about it when you started out, you may bitterly regret it. Finding a job without diploma or with an awkward hole in your résumé is no easy task. Arguing that you have been a professional gambler is probably not going to help your cause.

This is the kind of things you should plan before jumping head first in any risky business.

Giving It Up

It is important to be able to decide when it is time to give it up, either because you failed and you want to cut your loss, or your life actually became worse than it was. The easier it is to get back on your feet, the more justified you are to take a shot. Burning all bridges behind you is a recipe for disasters.

If you don’t know neither what not to do nor when to quit, you are in for a world of hurt.

Your Business Plan

If you are an accountant, and all at once you want to start a career as a basketball player, you will have to show tangible facts to prove that you are not a joke. It goes for poker too, except that you are your own examiner.

Imagine that someone is asking you for funds in order to start a business; what would you want to base your decision on? How can you tell a solid plan from an unrealistic dream? Would you want some guarantees? Would you lend him money if he were in your situation?

You are free to trust his word and his enthusiasm, at your own risks - or you can ask for more solid guarantees. This is your money, after all.

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