When NOT to become a professional poker player
What mistakes do fledgling poker pros make before embarking on a career in the game?
There was a very unfortunate story last month of a player who won $60,000 in a Micro Millions tournament, immediately quit his job and then discovered the bank would not pay him his winnings.
My sympathies are with that player, but it was a harsh reminder that becoming a professional poker player is a big decision, one which should not be entered into on a whim.
In the ten years I’ve been working in poker, unfortunately I have seen too many stories like this of players making the leap to professional when they probably shouldn’t. While I never went pro myself, I did take a somewhat risky leap from a management job in finance to a freelance job writing about the game. So while I don’t personally know what it’s like to have poker as a sole income, I do resonate with people taking unorthodox career paths.
Lots of people are so desperate to become professional players, they quit their jobs too soon. Please don't hand in your resignation for any of these reasons:
Because you’ve had a big win
If you don’t realise why this is important just from the headline, you certainly should not go professional. Short-term results, even the good ones, are absolutely no indicator of actual ability.
Though it is clear how poker and the lottery differ from a skill perspective, it is still worth noting that a big percentage of lottery winners go broke after winning. The reason is simply because they did not acquire the skills to keep that money, which people with a more traditional path to riches would learn along the way.
If you made a million at cash games exercising good bankroll management, it’s likely you could keep onto that money because you learned the skills to do so and you respect it. If you make seven-figures in a $5 Spin & Go, the same cannot be said.
When you don’t have the bankroll
Another one which should go without saying, yet many people don’t heed this advice. To go professional you really need to have both a sizeable playing bankroll and separate money put aside for living expenses. I’ve heard people say somewhere in the region of three to six months of expenses on top of your playing roll.
If one bad month at the tables could put your life roll in the red, you are nowhere near ready to make this a career. Not only is it very dangerous, but the sheer pressure of it all will be too much for you to deal with mentally and your performance would suffer.
Because you hate your job
Everyone has dreamt about doing the classic ‘Jerry Maguire’ scene and resigning very publically from their job. They want to ‘stick it to the man’ and quit in a blaze of glory.
Leaving any job because you hate it is not in itself a good idea. Let me tell you from experience as bad as a bad job is, being unemployed is so much worse. Poker, therefore, seems like a much better alternative to both.
However, the game is so cruel, and most players are not prepared for the pressure that comes with being a pro. No matter how stressful your job is, no safety net and going on a losing streak would be the absolute worst.
Because you hate the 9-5
You may not hate the job itself, but getting up early in the morning and working long hours might be the problem. When you have one of those jobs where you live for the weekend, Monday mornings are the worst.
The flexibility of poker is one of its biggest appeals for sure. But choosing a career in poker simply because you make your own hours is not a reason to ditch your career. You have to enjoy the work too.
Also there are a great number of downsides you probably haven’t thought about with the freelance lifestyle (Which I have experienced for almost a decade). It can be very lonely at times. Most of your friends still work normal jobs so it’s not like you can hang with them at 11AM on a Thursday. You also have to be incredibly self motivated.
Don’t get me wrong, I love this working lifestyle, but there are a lot of things I miss about a more structured working environment.
Because you love poker so much
So we have said that you should not jump into poker unless you are sure its for you. So if you have a big love of the game, you should go for it? No.
‘Follow your passion’ is clichéd and misguided advice. There has to be an economically viable reason behind it too. So naturally you have to also be good at the game.
The other big thing to consider is that poker might only be fun now because it’s a hobby. You might actually stop enjoying it when it becomes a job. Especially during times where it is a difficult job.
My friend and mental game expert Jared Tendler has said several times that most players go on their worst downswing (From a mental game perspective) immediately after turning pro. The added pressure of relying on poker to pay the bills makes a consistent losing streak so much harder to deal with. Previously you could withstand downswings because of your love for the game coupled with the safety net of your job. Without it, poker can be a very lonely place.
When to go professional
The reality is that the only reason you should give up a job to play poker is because your prospects playing poker significantly outweigh those at your job.
So first of all, that means you should be earning significantly more at poker, per hour, than you do at your job. It should go without saying, this should be based on a large sample of hands and not from one great month where you ran like god.
However, earn rate is not the only prospect you should consider. What about your future prospects? The job you are currently in may suck right now, but you might be on a path towards much more interesting fulfilling and lucrative work. If your current job is at McDonalds, then the chances are poker might make sense. If you are an intern at Google or a medical student, then the future a few years down the line might be much more rewarding in every way.
This also requires you to take a very honest look at your potential as a player. You might be crushing $100NL, but can you see yourself one day beating up the $25/$50 games? Or could you still beat the games if they got much tougher? This is a tough one to ask, and probably needs the unbiased opinion of players you know who currently beat those levels.
It’s not all or nothing
It’s remarkable, also, how many people think the jump into a new career has to be an all or nothing leap. Before you decide to pursue the game professionally, why not try and reduce your hours at work by a day a week to play poker? Or take 3-6 months unpaid leave? In this day and age, there tends to be some sort of flexibility that an employer can offer you in this regard without having to burn your bridges. This is a good way to both see if you can beat the game with extra financial pressure and also show you if the lifestyle truly is for you.
The happiest people I know in the game are not the professional players, but the people who treat poker like a very serious hobby. They treat poker as a second side income and still work very hard on their game. But they also have the safety net of their job in the bad times, which allows them to maintain their enthusiasm and passion for poker.
I’m not saying don’t turn professional. There are some incredibly talented players in the PokerStrategy community who genuinely should. Especially if they are young, with no responsibilities. Poker is a tremendous opportunity to have fun, make money and see the world.
The problems come if you view poker as an escape from something, when it should actually be the most logical career choice after exhausting all the other options.
Are you a professional poker player? What factors did you consider before you turned pro? What would you advise others to think about before they do? Let us know in the comments.
