Copyright 2005 Full
Tilt Poker
July 25, 2005
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Poker Lesson: So
You Wanna Go Pro
Author: Rafe Furst
At the final table of this year's World Series of
Poker, the media consensus was that there was only one pro at
the table: Mike Matusow. We've since learned that this year's
champ, Joseph Hachem, gave up a 13-year chiropractic career three
years ago to play poker
for a living. The other seven players at the final table won over
a million dollars each. It's a safe bet that a few of them now
consider themselves poker
professionals. What does that mean?
Three Myths About Playing Poker Professionally
Myth #1: Either I'm a Pro or I'm Not
Consider the following players. Which ones are pros
and which are amateurs?
Adam
Adam plays the tournament trail full-time. He's
up thousands one month, and broke the next. He's always borrowing
money from fellow poker
players. He has no life outside the poker world and constantly
thinks, "I wish I had some skills and experience that would
allow me to get a normal job."
Betty
By day, Betty's an accountant making $50K a year.
She plays poker in
her spare time. Some years she earns $20K playing poker, other
years she earns $100K. She rarely has a losing year.
Charlie
Charlie picked up the game a year ago, entered his
first tournament - the prestigious "WPT London" - and
won it with flair and showmanship. He netted $500K and got a ton
of TV coverage. He blew through $350K in the next 11 months playing
every big event with no cash finishes. He's still got a bankroll,
thanks to some juicy endorsement contracts from an online site
and a beer company that guarantee him $1 Million a year for the
next three years. All he has to do is continue to play in every
major tournament and endorse their products.
Debbie
Debbie has a bankroll of $500K, She makes (or loses)
anywhere from -$50K to +$200K per year playing a very erratic
schedule. That schedule is structured around the good games, whether
they're offline, online or on the tourney trail. She travels to
far-off lands whenever she feels like it, and has plans to settle
down and start a family. Someday. But not now.
Eddie
Eddie only plays
online, He clocks in, plays exactly eight hours a day, five
days a week, at four simultaneous tables no higher than $5-$10
limit hold 'em. He earns a surprisingly consistent $100/hr, takes
the family on vacation twice a year, plays tennis, and attends
opera on the weekends.
Myth #2: I Would be so Much Happier if I Could Just
Play Poker Full Time
TRUE: It's fun playing an hour or two each day.
BUT: It might not be so fun playing all the time
to the exclusion of other interests, family and friends.
TRUE: It's low-stress and entertaining, playing
as a hobby.
BUT: It might be very stressful if you have to grind
it out to pay the bills every month.
TRUE: Those big tourney winners on TV live like
rock stars.
BUT: What about the other 99% of the players you
don't see, all of whom are competing for your dream.
Myth #3: I Don't Need a Big Bankroll to be a Pro
Check the long list of Former World Champions who
have gone a full year without making the final table of a major
event. As of this writing, it takes roughly $500K to enter all
the major tournaments in a year.
Ask your favorite pro how many times he or she has
gone bust in their career, or how many times they have been hit
up for a sizable cash loan from one of their good friends.
Poker
is a great game; it's tons of fun, and it has never been as potentially
profitable as it is today. But try to keep it in perspective.
Poker doesn't have to consume your life. You can
make a good chunk of change playing poker, and you can do it without
giving up all the good things you have going in your life.
Financially, mentally and socially, you are better
off making poker fit into your life rather than the other way
around.
Getting back to the players in the introduction,
it's clear that Eddie is a pro. And it's equally clear (to me
anyway) that Adam is definitely not, even though he thinks he
is, and so does the general public. Adam is a dime a dozen in
the poker world. You've even seen him and his ilk on TV a number
of times. As for the other three, I don't know whether I'd call
them pros or not, but I sure wouldn't mind being in their shoes.
"Professional" is just a word. Being a
professional poker player
is not the same thing as being a successful poker player.
Bottom line: You don't need to be a professional
to be a poker champion.
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