How to Play Poker Videos

How does one become a "Professional" Poker player?

So sorry Mispiki (or whatever). You are right I am not a good poker player, I am an excellent poker player. Jealous much? Thanks Pokercoach, I have been to your website. Wow! People have no faith in themselves at all, I hope y'all don't have children! "Oh, you're smart little guy, but stick with your McDonald's job, I think your setting your sights to high to be a doctor". I didn't ask for your opinion, I asked how one become a professional player. If you all want to sit around and live a mundane life, be my guest. I on the other hand may have millions to blow on my dream and I plan to NOT take it to the grave with me. Have fun playing on the internet, I am packing my bags for Vegas baby!

Public Comments

1. play for cash and turn a profit on a regular basis. typically that means earn about 30 grand a year. but you are not a good player.
2. Hi, I play poker for a living. To become professional poker player it take a lot of discipline, Time, and knowing how to manage your bankroll. I can answer this question to 10 persons with 10 differents answers! Their is a lot things you have to consider and analyse before deciding to play for a living. Why asking, you want to play poker for a living? If so and if you need help and specific advice, feel free to contact me on my site. Take care
3. I've watched the World Series of Poker many times with other guys that liked poker until I got interested in it. They always said that it cost $10,000 to get into that tournament but that's against everyone else who has paid also. From my understanding you get narrowed down a table at a time, maybe starting with 10 or so people at a table. You have to have a lot of skill and luck to learn all the tricks in poker, when to bet and when to fold, and how to read other players. The professional players are the ones that are good at all of this. They've started from the bottom and worked their way up winning lots of tournaments. They make a career out of winning. But you've got to have the money to start out.
4. There are one of two ways: be lucky or be rich. Some folks out there, like Brunson, actually did the grind and played cash games until they got a big enough of a stake so that they could go to Binion's and start winning million dollar tournaments. The idea of playing in the WSOP to become a pro is a bit of a fantasy, especially today. You're going up against nearly 10k players, for a 10k entry fee. You're laying 10,000 on 10,000 to 1 odds? Why not bet 10,000 if you're gonna get hit in the head with a meteorite in your lifetime? The odds are about the same. Brunson and a lot of the "pros" won their bracelets in the day when there were only about 100 people in the tourney, before ESPN made it a big game. If you don't believe me, check some old tournaments and look at the number of players. It was amazing to see the big tourney balloon to 1,000 people, let alone 10k. Many of your younger "pros" will not admit to it, but they already had money to burn, played a lot of high profile and high entry tourneys and got lucky once. They'll claim 2 mil in winnings but will never admit how much they've lost on the road there. If you read their bios, they've been spending years in PhD programs, Duke, UCLA, etc...trust fund babies. Some guys are forever in debt to people, like that loud-mouthed idiot, uh...Matusow I think is his name. Wondered why he cried at a tourney? He owed... Your best bet is to move to Vegas, Reno, or Atlantic City. Work as a dealer and live the game. Dealers make decent money and you spend a lot of time learning the craft. Some people would get sick of so much poker...if you can work as a dealer and play, then you love it enough to be a pro. When you get off work, you can go fleece the tourists for cash and make a decent stake until you become the pro. Some casinos will let you play as a house player to keep the action moving and the tables full...this allows you the opportunity to learn a lot about tells, reads, and the psychology of different players. You wanna be a pro and don't have a lot of money? Be a dealer...good job and good fun. Good luck, dude.
5. Well, to be a pro Poker player, I've read one of the the pros articles on tips from the Pros (you can find the archive on http://www.theultimatepokerguide.com ) and they said you should have enough cash on hand for your bankroll, AND 6 months of bills and insurance.
6. You may not like my answer, but I'd keep the day job. First off you need money to play pro, that's a fact, unless your willing to gamble what little you have and stay small. As stories go, mine ain't all glam, guess I'm in the mood to shed some light! You consider yourself an excellent player? great! So do I, but I stay where I can swim, (word to the wise) even with the $ rolling in, and yes plenty of money to be made! It comes with a price, you need to dedicate 110% percent of your time , otherwise let's just say, they'll know you've been out awhile, and you won't be able to re-coupe, to say the least. Unless of course you have $ you don't touch, to ALWAYS cover and bail your a-- out, when need be. Most people don't or if they have it, they use it! That's usualy how it goes... I don't know your finances? But that should be one of the deciding factors, in the quest for Pro status. And what I mentioned before about time. Relationships, usually never weather the storm, unless your on a winning streak. Another small factor to weigh in, the NO distracion rule! All in all, if you still think you have what it takes, get your a-s to Vegas or Ac., if your not there already. You need to live the life, at the best spots in the world. Anywhere else you'll be wasting your time! All though I sound bitter, best times of my life. I could of been one of the greats, now I'm an f----- , spokesperson at too young of an age. But, I have my life back again! That's a win for me!
7. A professional poker player is defined as someone who uses poker as their sole source of income. They don't have to be famous, you don't have to have seen them on TV, you don't even need to know their name. But if they are capable of supporting themselves entirely on playing poker, then they are a pro. The sad reality is that no matter how good a player you are, there are dozens of players who on any given day will still kick your a55. Chris Moneymaker won $2.5m at the world series and started the trend for amateur players trying to try their luck at the game. Yet despite owning a world championship bracelet, I have only heard of him winning one other major tournament since, and it's been three years. Of course with various sponsorship deals and personal appearance fees, he probably makes a very comfortable income from poker, so he is still considered a pro. Honestly I think that becoming a pro is a bad idea for most people. Unless you are totally obsessed with the game, don't need money, and just want to do it all the time, I think it is a mistake for most. You are going to have to spend several hours a day playing the game (which may make you enjoy it less). If you want to play tournaments you will need thousands of dollars to pay for all the buy ins, and you may spend weeks of your life playing in tournaments and still never make a penny from them. You are going to have no health benefits or 401K like you would in a real job. All insurance you take is going to be higher because 'professional gambler' just doesn't sound like a stable career. That lack of stability will also scare the hell out of mortgage lenders, car loan companies, and other financial institutions. This will make it hard to do even the basic things that a fully employed person can do. For most people the smart thing to do is to get a job that they are good at. Play poker online and live somewhere near a card room where they can play regularly. Enter tournaments and try and win them from time to time. Eventually if you are that good that you can make a serious viable income from poker and you can afford to cover things like insurance and retirement funds. If you have outstanding (OUTSTANDING!) money management skills, and you have the discipline to really play well even when you hit a losing streak, then maybe you have what it takes. But for every player that tries I doubt one in a hundred make it. I love poker, and think I am good at it. I know I have a lot to learn, but then even Doyle Brunson said in a recent interview he learns something new every day he plays. But I don't think I would ever quit my day job to play poker. Maybe if I win a massive tournament one day and become a millionaire, I would consider playing poker professionally as a retirement hobby (ie I don't really need the money). But hey, that's just me. We are all different. If you think you can do it and have thoroughly weighed the significant number of negatives, then go for it. Good luck.
8. I'm a casino Manager, ah yawn. Professional poker player don't give up your day job.
9. Guys like Chris Moneymaker, Greg Raymer, and Joe Hachem became pros by winning the WSOP, but this is not going to be an effective strategy for most players. In fact, tournament play in general is probably not a great way to become a pro. Cash games are the way to go, but don't get over your head on the limits, and look into games other than holdem. $3/6 Omaha 8 can be a fairly profitable venture if you're willing to play 40-60 hours a week online.