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[Closed] Turning Pro

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For those of you who are thinking of turning pro there are several factors to take into consideration. The most important of these is bankroll.
A player should make sure they have at least a years living expenses set aside even if poker doesnt go as they hoped right away.
Besides that, other then obvious factors like results and just being good enough, it is important that you have the right mentality, an even temperament along with good life management ie its no good trying to grind out various poker tourneys day in day out if you dont have something outside of it like football or any physical activity.

Conversly, a starting loss of ones bankroll cannot let your attitude or mentality change as this is likely to affect your game and you will soon leak chips.
Not knowing where or when you will be making money on a daily basis is hard for most people to wrap there heads around, so it is extremly importantant to be able to continue playing aggressively and not let the pressure affect how you play.
Its very easy for one to think they are playing great poker when they get the run of the cards and take in pots.
However you have to keep analysing your hand histories and looking for leaks as the game is constantly changing.
If you get complacent in online poker you will find your opposition quickly overtaking you.

Game selection.
If your the 6th best player in the world and your playing the best 5 players in the world in a 6 handed game, you will be the big loser.
Know your image. If you have been the most active player at the table you need to realise that people are ready to play back at you, so you need to adjust your range accordingly.
In contrast, when you are hitting result after result you shouldnt get over confident and should continue to evaluate your game and work on your weaknesses.
please people feel free to query me on the above or even if you have something to add yourself i will act accordingly


15 replies
Shevtshenko
Joined: 06.12.2009

A player should make sure they have at least a years living expenses set aside even if poker doesnt go as they hoped right away.

If you need to start from zero propably a year is mandatory. If you start from beating a midstakes game, you'll be fine with a lot less.


yes that is also true shevtshenko but ones range of tournaments or leaugues buy in can vary greatly along with rb or fo so conversly it would be necessary for those thinking of entering the larger or more well know tournies


NeilSimpson
Joined: 14.06.2010

it is my long term plan to turn pro......recently ive been playing nl50 on full tilt with good degrees of success. my biggest enemy is myself at times and ive greatly improved on sticking to BR management and not tilting which has most certainly helped. although the same thing seems to keep happening.........il grind for a week...(2-3 hours/night),win 10-15 stacks, just running normally....then il have 1 day where i get my money in pre flop with aces 7 or 8 times and lose to kk qq etc constantly it just wipes out all the good work ive done before.....ive worked on trying to continue to play solid agressive poker and then i build my way back up but its hard when it keeps happening! in regards to turning pro....what sort of things do people have behind them before they quit work and go pro?i.e living expenses for X months? and could someone give me an idea of what kinda of money per month they are making at what stakes of cash games so i have an idea of what stakes i need to be aiming for to make a good living?thaks guys.


Wriggers
Joined: 21.07.2009

I believe there are a few pros on here that just grind NL100 and NL200 a lot and make a good living out of it, but unless you're a serious grinder i'd have thought NL400 is the minimum :)


sufix645
Joined: 20.09.2009

I know one guy who plays in NL25-NL50 and makes 50-80$ a day in a rake. even if you play in those limits in BE, there is some countries were you can make enough for living. thats just very much depends how much you make in your work. But thats for sure - you need some savings so you dont go broke in next few months.


Yes neil. It sounds like you have had those horrific bad beats, but you have to remember there will be more.
Now, on the balance of probabilities and percentages, if you continue to stick to your own game and control your temperament, it sounds to me that you could certainly hold your own as a pro.
It is also worth noting, many players claim they have all received bad beats but, the most likely reason for this is the fact that online card rooms deal more hands per hour.
Since online players get to see more hands, their likelihood of seeing more bad beats or randomly
large pots is similarly increased.
Just keep the faith neil!!!


NeilSimpson
Joined: 14.06.2010

thanks guys...ive managed to control my temprement alot better it must be said....i live in the UK which means i have to win more money to make a living because of the exchange rate :( i think its about 1.6 US to 1 GBP so that sucks a bit.....id be happy with something like 2000gbp/month....so just over 3000 US id be aiming for...(without trying to set a monetary goal). i made about this playing NL100 not so long ago but i had to grind the bejesus out of it! because of certain things i actually have no money in my account at the minute...had to withdraw to pay for a few things...il hopefully get something like $1000 back on soon and start off at NL50 and just try to work it up...while saving my wages so i can quit work and give the dream a go at some point next year ....only one way to find out if i can do it....and thats dive in and try it!


Akwed
Joined: 04.06.2009

3k $ enough to live in UK?


Wriggers
Joined: 21.07.2009

Definately enough I would say, I'm a skint student, so I have to live off around £800 per month, with half of that being spent on rent.


NeilSimpson
Joined: 14.06.2010

yeah id say so...2000 odd gbp would be enough for me....if your paying 500 at the most for rent or mortgage on a decent place running a car and feeding yourself....still leave enough for a right few parties!!and the odd trip to the promised land of Vegas!


Kruppe
Joined: 20.02.2008

wtf is this thread?

Originally posted by Shevtshenko

If you need to start from zero propably a year is mandatory.

and wtf do you mean, start from zero????????????? do you mean you just decide 'i'm going to be a poker pro' without actually beating high enough limits etc?

this is some bizarre shit

Originally posted by NeilSimpson
and could someone give me an idea of what kinda of money per month they are making at what stakes of cash games so i have an idea of what stakes i need to be aiming for to make a good living?thaks guys.

lol you need to find out how much you can make at various stakes, how much other players make isn't going to help you, seeing as they're not you


NeilSimpson
Joined: 14.06.2010

just asking for a general idea of what full time players are making....i cant know this because i dont play full time...really any need for the sarcy lol at the beginning of that?usually a sign of someone trying to be arrogant when making a comment....not interested


Yoghi
Joined: 10.09.2007

Some people make 2 million per year and some people make 20k per year but most are somewhere inbetween.


Originally posted by Kruppe
wtf is this thread?

Agreed... WTF IS THIS THREAD?


Shevtshenko
Joined: 06.12.2009

Originally posted by Kruppe
wtf is this thread?

Originally posted by Shevtshenko

If you need to start from zero propably a year is mandatory.

and wtf do you mean, start from zero????????????? do you mean you just decide 'i'm going to be a poker pro' without actually beating high enough limits etc?

this is some bizarre shit

If you'd care enough to actually bother reading the first post, you knew what this thread is about. My point was that a year's savings is pretty much exaggerating since if you're already beating ssnl there's absolutely no reason to have year's living expenses saved.

So there's some bizarre bullshit for you.