All of your arguments assume that the person in question isn't viewing poker as a professional player. You wouldn't have a party and not go to work, neither would a pro player go to a party during a peak hour for his profession, etc,etc. I'm not saying that anyone can or would want to do it, I'm just saying that a person with the correct mentality CAN do it.Â
You're correct -- a person with the skills, poker and non-poker and right personal makeup CAN make it.
I took the meaning of your orginal post that it would be "easy" to make 65,000 if you were an average disciplined player. Â So the only difference between you and the field is that you're disciplined. Â
It'snot very hard for an average discliplined online player tomake 60k a year playing full time, Â that's not a great living, but it'smuch easier than making the NHL.
If you define full-time as 35-40h a week and you can average 1bb/table/h then playing as few as 3 tables of 5 10 limit you are making well over 60k USD a year...not that difficult to beat that limit for that amount and the fields at this time are definitely not tough at low limits. Â Obviously such a player would require many character traits of a winning poker player. Â As for the future, within a couple years its probable that the online fields will get tougher, I can't speak for that. Â Not a lifestyle many would want, but it's very doable.
My arguments point out that you can't extrapolate 1bb/table/h into 60-65k per year and that it ain't easy to be a pro. Â It is possible AND lots of folks are doing it. Â I wouldn't recommend it for someone who's young for all the reasons Aces mentioned as well as mine. Â But, sometimes it's just an itch that has to be scratched and it is the right thing to do. Â And that's why I recommended some reading and carefull thinking. Â Another reason is that it's extremely hard to go back to a "normal" way of life once you've made the leap.
Â
Is a really great read for anyone thinking of playing poker professionally. Â I mean, it's a good book regardless, but it's some very good advice for people pondering gambling for a living.
The pressure to produce results must be tremendous. Â And there is the danger that you will start to view EVERYTHING in terms of BB/hr. Â Like: "Well, I COULD go out to see a movie, but that would cost me 3BB's or so for the time I'd be spending not playing."
This is probably the worst part about playing full time. Â People often talk about playing professionally as a 9 to 5 job, but no one I know that makes a living playing really treats it like that. Â The variance and the instability suck, but there are a lot of ways to deal with that; what made playing professionally difficult for me was the way it made poker the absolute focus of my life. Â
Playing as a pro you have to be prepared to devout large amounts of time to the game, often to the point where you are unable to have a real life outside the game. Â If you have a bad month, and the rent is due then you sure as hell don't want to waste time at the movies or going to see some band or having dinner with friends or whatever, you want to be out earning. Â
One of things that can make playing professionally a lot easier is to play semi-pro for at least a year and half before you play full time. Â Once you think you're ready to play FT, take a big chunk of your roll and invest it in an income fund. Â Although this will necessitate dropping down a few levels when you start, it will mean that you have steady source of non-poker income to deal with the basics no matter how you're running. Â You can get a small but sufficient income from an initial investment of as little as $75K.
Comments
You're correct -- a person with the skills, poker and non-poker and right personal makeup CAN make it.
I took the meaning of your orginal post that it would be "easy" to make 65,000 if you were an average disciplined player. Â So the only difference between you and the field is that you're disciplined. Â
And then you still say it's very "doable".
My arguments point out that you can't extrapolate 1bb/table/h into 60-65k per year and that it ain't easy to be a pro. Â It is possible AND lots of folks are doing it. Â I wouldn't recommend it for someone who's young for all the reasons Aces mentioned as well as mine. Â But, sometimes it's just an itch that has to be scratched and it is the right thing to do. Â And that's why I recommended some reading and carefull thinking. Â Another reason is that it's extremely hard to go back to a "normal" way of life once you've made the leap.
Cheers
Magi
Is a really great read for anyone thinking of playing poker professionally. Â I mean, it's a good book regardless, but it's some very good advice for people pondering gambling for a living.
This is probably the worst part about playing full time. Â People often talk about playing professionally as a 9 to 5 job, but no one I know that makes a living playing really treats it like that. Â The variance and the instability suck, but there are a lot of ways to deal with that; what made playing professionally difficult for me was the way it made poker the absolute focus of my life. Â
Playing as a pro you have to be prepared to devout large amounts of time to the game, often to the point where you are unable to have a real life outside the game. Â If you have a bad month, and the rent is due then you sure as hell don't want to waste time at the movies or going to see some band or having dinner with friends or whatever, you want to be out earning. Â
One of things that can make playing professionally a lot easier is to play semi-pro for at least a year and half before you play full time. Â Once you think you're ready to play FT, take a big chunk of your roll and invest it in an income fund. Â Although this will necessitate dropping down a few levels when you start, it will mean that you have steady source of non-poker income to deal with the basics no matter how you're running. Â You can get a small but sufficient income from an initial investment of as little as $75K.