Becoming a professional poker player is something that a lot of people dream of. Thousands of people already make a living by playing poker professional, so why shouldn’t you? Playing cards for a living may seem like an incredible thing, but like most things, it has its ups and downs.
The most obvious thing that comes to mind is how much you’d love to just be able to play cards for a living. It’s something you love to do, and everyone wants to have a job they love.
You don’t have to sit and think about the pros and cons for yourself. Below we have provided a list of the pros and cons of playing cards professional.
3 Major Perks
- You Love To Play Cards
This is why everyone wants to be a professional card player. It’s what you do once a week in your leisure time. It’s likely one of the most enjoyable experiences of your week. Who wouldn’t want to be a professional Texas Hold’em or Ohama Hi/lo player?
Many professionals claim to only do it for the money, but they started out just like you, loving the game.
Many card players honestly aren’t in it for the money; they are in it because they love the strategy behind the game. They enjoy earning their money by using their wit at the card table.
- Freedom From The 9-5
You will no longer be confined to your boss’s hours. You will have the freedom to work whenever, where ever, and as much as you want. However, sometimes are worse than others. You will be forced to play when less skilled players are typically players, whether it be online or in a casino. You don’t want to sit down during prime hours and be sitting with four other professionals.
- Potential
Being a professional card player is all about knowing your limitation and exceeding them. Some players never make it off the small money tables, only settling for profits in the form of pocket change. You need to steady build a bank roll and keep moving up. If you reach your potential you will be playing on tables where the blinds are over a hundred dollars alone. You may even lose the chance to play online, because the real high-stakes are often only seen in casinos.
Negatives To Becoming a Professional Card Player
- The Unknowns
When you are a professional poker player, you will never be certain how much you will make. This is easily the biggest drawback to being a professional card player. There are very few jobs where you come back from work and have less money in your bank account. However, don’t expect to make money every time you sit down at the table.
This is why managing your bank roll is so important. Typically, you only want to play at a game if you have 10x the buy-in in your available funds. In other words, only be prepared to lose 10% of your bank-roll in any given session. This is sound advice that needs to be adhered to.
- Difficulty Knowing How Good You Are Doing
This ties in with bank roll management. You need to understand your win-rate extremely quickly. You need to keep track of how many hands you win when you call to the end. You will need to know how many of your big blinds you typically win. All of this is important to knowing whether you are going to be successful in the long run. If you don’t like statistics then professional card playing is not for you.
- Getting Together The Initial Investment
You need enough finances to withstand a few big loses before even considering becoming a professional card player. Depending on what your favorite game is, you’ll want to have a bigger bank roll. Limit Hold’em is a good starting point. Once you move onto no limit games or games with more variance you will want at least 60 buy-ins. For example, if the buy-in is 1000 dollars, you’ll want to have a 60,000 dollar bankroll.
Conclusion
Take all these things into consideration before you make an attempt at professional card playing. The last thing you need is to go broke 2 weeks after quitting your job and losing your savings. Don’t make this decision in haste. Examine your living situation and take into consideration how much funds you have before hitting the tables.
