Why people who 'go pro' are the worst pro candidates...

[henrikrh]

I think you'd be hard pressed not to have noticed teh constant stream of "should I go pro?" threads. People notice that they can make $xx/hr and that is more than their current job, so they think it must be a better option. Your day job doesn't have risk, you can't have a bad run at the office and lose 90 BB. For a gain of $5/hr it's not worth it.

However, these new posters that want to go pro right away and live some poker fantasy that really doesn't exist don't care much. The people who want to go pro most arn't risk-concious enough to be good players.

If you start a post in which you tell people you want to go pro AND ask for playing advice you just might be total moron.

If you haven't encountered the following scenarios...

1) A royal flush
2) A 120 BB downswing
3) Having your boat busted by river quads

...then you havn't played nearly enough hands to even consider going pro.

If you think a plus to being a pro poker player is that you can tell your friends and they'll be jealous then you just might be a moron.

Don't post about going pro, just read other peoples posts, the advice is already there.

Take my advice with a huge grain of salt... I'm far from pro myself, and don't plan to get there ever.

/end rant

[LIRob23]

[Webster]

I've had 4 Royals, 3 200BB down swings and a boat busted by quads MANY times - I'M READY!!!!

[henrikrh]

[ QUOTE ]
What you write is true. Not sure what your hoping to gain by posting this? I hope for your sake that the picture of that dorky loser in the avatar isn't you.

-LIRob

[/ QUOTE ]

Nah, it's not, I didn't know how to set and avatar and posted asking how, Dynasty set that one up for me, he claims he googled it, but I reckon it's him.

[henrikrh]

[ QUOTE ]
I've had 4 Royals, 3 200BB down swings and a boat busted by quads MANY times - I'M READY!!!!

[/ QUOTE ]

Your sarcasm belies the quality of your thought, it is true that even someone who does indeed pass theses bare minimums before considering becoming a pro they might still not be ready.

[Scorpion]

I have played many thousands of hands and never had a Royal. I have flopped quads and lost to runner runner quads though.

[krishanleong]

[ QUOTE ]

2) A 120 BB downswing

[/ QUOTE ]

This is painfully inadequate.

Krishan

[danzasmack]

[ QUOTE ]
[ QUOTE ]

2) A 1200 BB downswing

[/ QUOTE ]

This is painful.

Krishan

[/ QUOTE ]

My first ever FYP

[LImitPlayer]

Do I sense jealousy and resentment in your post?

A "man I wish I could do it but don't have the nerve to try"
kinda attitude?

[twolf]

[ QUOTE ]
However, these new posters that want to go pro right away and live some poker fantasy that really doesn't exist don't care much.

[/ QUOTE ]

Umm, yeah that was me. In the summer of 2003 I saw the WSOP and said "I can do this". I had a shitty job and wanted to try...

I played play money on Pacific for a couple months. I then picked up my first book in Oct. '03 and started playing on stars at $1/$2 limit. I lost around $800 by January.

I then played for money at Pacific. Started playing 3/6 with a roll of $300. Built it to $1k and left my job in February.

Played pro for 7 months making over $40k. I was a 23 year old that went from the inner city that in 2002 made $12k from my job(but enough to support me and my now wife) to making $40k in 7 months so it was quite a hoot. We spent alot of money and gave up playing pro when we busted because of spending to much of our BR, went back to same shitty job. Some really shitty event in life forced me and wife back into playing in Feb. of this year with only $1k again but a better understanding of the game and BR management.

So far we are surviving making more than I made at my previous job. So yeah "I see x amount of $$$ that is greater than my jobs x amount of $$$" so I play poker. I play $25 and $50 NL right now.

So to say that one should never think of doing it is bad. You'll never know if you don't try. But I am on the opposite side of the fence from you. I often wonder why people lose when they try to win and why winning at poker comes so easily/natuarally to me.

[PTjvs]

[ QUOTE ]
1) A royal flush
2) A 120 BB downswing
3) Having your boat busted by river quads

I have done all of these in the last 4 days.

Was the first time Ive ever lost set over set that turned into quads I think. I certainly don't recall having ever been on the receiving end of that before, although I do remember dishing it out twice, once runner runner style (in about 150k hands online).


[/ QUOTE ]

[BusterStacks]

wow, a 120bb downswing eh? lol dude, you have a lot to learn.

[nolanfan34]

[ QUOTE ]
If you start a post in which you tell people you want to go pro AND ask for playing advice you just might be total moron.

[/ QUOTE ]

People are harping on the 120 BB thing, but I think this is a good point.

I'd even say if you use the phrase "going pro" at all, you're probably not going to make a living trying to do it.

[bicyclekick]

Going pro rules.

I do think playing a lot non-pro for about a year is the way to go though. You'll have experianced a lot of [censored] and you're hourly should be high enough that it's not a worry.

[SoftcoreRevolt]

This isn't fair, my lack of a Royal Flush is screwing me again!

[Predator314]

Royal Flush? Pfft.. had one yesterday, flopped it.

120BB downswing? Pfft... had that yesterday too! I had a 250+BB downswing in January this year.

Boat busted by river quads? It's happened more than once. Just didn't happen yesterday. Although it wouldn't have surprised me.

In all seriousness. I think the average 18-24 year old cannot handle being a pro poker player. I think it takes more discipline than working for the man. I've read blogs and journals about the average 18 year old playing $3/6 for a living because they can make more than minimum wage. Frankly, I'd rather do real work.

The pros that interest me are the ones that have to support families, pay a mortgage, have bills. Those are the real pros.

[jstewsmole]

[ QUOTE ]
This isn't fair, my lack of a Royal Flush is screwing me again!

[/ QUOTE ]

Yeah but at least theres less inbreeding /images/graemlins/cool.gif

[Sponger15SB]

[ QUOTE ]
If you haven't encountered the following scenarios...

1) A royal flush
2) A 120 BB downswing
3) Having your boat busted by river quads

...then you havn't played nearly enough hands to even consider going pro.

[/ QUOTE ]

Yeah, lets make it so you have to have some ridiculously stupid qualifier in order to pro.

Your post is weak and pointless.

[PokerBob]

[ QUOTE ]
Going pro rules.



[/ QUOTE ]

[Justin A]

I had been playing poker for a living for six months before getting my first royal. I've had my boats busted by quads, but never on the river(edit: that I can remember). I think your requirements need fixing.

[krishanleong]

[ QUOTE ]

120BB downswing? Pfft... had that yesterday too! I had a 250+BB downswing in January this year.

[/ QUOTE ]

I love it when full ring players talk about downswings. /images/graemlins/smile.gif

Krishan

[poker-penguin]

[ QUOTE ]

I'd even say if you use the phrase "going pro" at all, you're probably not going to make a living trying to do it.

[/ QUOTE ]

Yep. Anyone who cares if they are officially a pro or not probably won't make it. Anyone who cares if we think he is officially a pro or not definately won't make it.

[baronzeus]

[ QUOTE ]

1) A royal flush
2) A 120 BB downswing
3) Having your boat busted by river quads


[/ QUOTE ]


I have had all these things happen multiple times, and I make more money than my work at a high-level company, but I'm nowhere near good enough to go pro. Maybe in like 5 years.

[lozen]

Yeah with an attitude like yours you are correct. You could apply that to many walks of life. Whats wrong with chasing a dream? Worse comes to worse you go back to work. If you love your job I agree with you but if you hate it....

1 royal and Quads busted my Full boat once I typed in NH and moved on /images/graemlins/smile.gif

[Non_Comformist]

[ QUOTE ]
[ QUOTE ]
If you haven't encountered the following scenarios...

1) A royal flush
2) A 120 BB downswing
3) Having your boat busted by river quads

...then you havn't played nearly enough hands to even consider going pro.

[/ QUOTE ]

Yeah, lets make it so you have to have some ridiculously stupid qualifier in order to pro.

Your post is weak and pointless.

[/ QUOTE ]

I hate it when I agree with you

[Non_Comformist]

[ QUOTE ]
Going pro rules.

I do think playing a lot non-pro for about a year is the way to go though. You'll have experianced a lot of [censored] and you're hourly should be high enough that it's not a worry.

[/ QUOTE ]

I agree with this. I went after 6months and I wish I had waited another 6 as things would have been much easier and less stressful in the first year.

however as mentioned overall playing poker for a living is truly awesome for reasons that have nothing to do with poker.

[henrikrh]

[ QUOTE ]
[ QUOTE ]
If you haven't encountered the following scenarios...

1) A royal flush
2) A 120 BB downswing
3) Having your boat busted by river quads

...then you havn't played nearly enough hands to even consider going pro.

[/ QUOTE ]

Yeah, lets make it so you have to have some ridiculously stupid qualifier in order to pro.

Your post is weak and pointless.

[/ QUOTE ]

You moron, the post isn't a guidline for going pro, it's a rant at just how early idiots think they can go pro. You read but you don't comprehend.

And to everyone going on about the 120BB being too low a figure, it's low because it's showing just how ealry some people are taking their shot and quiting their jobs. There have been posts by people who have NEVER had a downswing, because they've gone on one rush and assume they are simply some misunderstood poker prodigy.

[Guthrie]

[ QUOTE ]
If you haven't encountered the following scenarios...

1) A royal flush
2) A 120 BB downswing
3) Having your boat busted by river quads

[/ QUOTE ]
All in the last ten days. Time to go pro! Unfortunately, PT says I'm only making 75 cents an hour, so I guess I'll keep working at it a little longer.

[henrikrh]

[ QUOTE ]
[ QUOTE ]
If you haven't encountered the following scenarios...

1) A royal flush
2) A 120 BB downswing
3) Having your boat busted by river quads

[/ QUOTE ]
All in the last ten days. Time to go pro! Unfortunately, PT says I'm only making 75 cents an hour, so I guess I'll keep working at it a little longer.

[/ QUOTE ]

Stop assuming that the reverse is true!

If you chop a man's leg off he will be sad, but if you give him an extra disembodied leg it will not necessarily make him happy.

That was a pretty strange example, but I couldn't think of anything else.

[LImitPlayer]

<font class="small">Code:</font><hr /><pre> You moron, the post isn't a guidline for going pro, it's a rant at just how early idiots think they can go pro. You read but you don't comprehend. </pre><hr />

Well even tho this reply isn't aimed at me, I understood your point perfectly.

Thats why I made this comment

[ QUOTE ]
Do I sense jealousy and resentment in your post?

A "man I wish I could do it but don't have the nerve to try"
kinda attitude?


[/ QUOTE ]

[ QUOTE ]
I've had 4 Royals, 3 200BB down swings and a boat busted by quads MANY times - I'M READY!!!!

[/ QUOTE ]

lmao, i'm with ya buddy. GO PRO!!!

[Your Mom]

[ QUOTE ]
I often wonder why people lose when they try to win and why winning at poker comes so easily/natuarally to me.

[/ QUOTE ]

HAHA!

[KKbluff]

Your avator makes me want to shoot myself...

[magiluke]

[ QUOTE ]
Your day job doesn't have risk, you can't have a bad run at the office and lose 90 BB.

[/ QUOTE ]

Not everyone's job lacks risk. I, for instance, am paid on commission. If I do well, I can make lots and lots of money. If I do poorly, well, let's try not to bring that up.

I book demonstrations over the phone; a salesman performs the demo, and sells the product.

Anyway, every week I have to gamble with my stats. My primary pay comes off a chart indexed by my revenue/demo. Early in the week, I have to estimate how much revenue I'll make, and book more or less demos based on that. If I'm off, I can be screwed. Last week for instance, my revenue was pretty low. The three demos I booked caused me to lose $200 (due to a different pay scale).

From that point, I had to hope for more sales to go through during the week, which they didn't. By the end of the week (after calling out once and leaving early once to avoid lowering the percentage even more), I didn't get any more sales, and lost $350 in total because of it.

I guess this just turned into an 'I don't like my job' rant, but the point is that not everyone has a guarenteed paycheck. I still agree with your post, however.

[RLilley]

I'm one of those dreamers who hopes to someday be able to "go pro" as they say. However, I'm content with just making a profit for the next few years or so. I'm just glad I know my skill level isn't high enough to just quit my job and play some cards. :P

[henrikrh]

[ QUOTE ]
<font class="small">Code:</font><hr /><pre> You moron, the post isn't a guidline for going pro, it's a rant at just how early idiots think they can go pro. You read but you don't comprehend. </pre><hr />

Well even tho this reply isn't aimed at me, I understood your point perfectly.

Thats why I made this comment

[ QUOTE ]
Do I sense jealousy and resentment in your post?

A "man I wish I could do it but don't have the nerve to try"
kinda attitude?


[/ QUOTE ]

[/ QUOTE ]

Sorry I didn't reply to your post, reposting it I figure you must want a reponse. I havn't been playing online for very long myself, and I currently don't live near any juicy live games. My bankroll is insufficient to go pro and I also want to finish my college education before such pipe dreams even begin to see the light at the end of the tunnel. In fact, I shouldn't say I want to finish my college education, since I still look forward to starting it.

So, no, there is no jealousy in my post, I am not angry because I have failed to go pro nor am I too scared to try. I guess the way I spoke about desk jobs and such made you assume that I was in the same position as the people I was reffering to, and if that were true my post could easily be misconstrude as having a sense of jealousy.

Get back to me in 10 years and maybe I'll have tried by then.

So you're not a pro, yet you're giving advice about if someone is ready or not? No offense, but who would take your advice?

[Justin A]

[ QUOTE ]
[ QUOTE ]
<font class="small">Code:</font><hr /><pre> You moron, the post isn't a guidline for going pro, it's a rant at just how early idiots think they can go pro. You read but you don't comprehend. </pre><hr />

Well even tho this reply isn't aimed at me, I understood your point perfectly.

Thats why I made this comment

[ QUOTE ]
Do I sense jealousy and resentment in your post?

A "man I wish I could do it but don't have the nerve to try"
kinda attitude?


[/ QUOTE ]

[/ QUOTE ]

Sorry I didn't reply to your post, reposting it I figure you must want a reponse. I havn't been playing online for very long myself, and I currently don't live near any juicy live games. My bankroll is insufficient to go pro and I also want to finish my college education before such pipe dreams even begin to see the light at the end of the tunnel. In fact, I shouldn't say I want to finish my college education, since I still look forward to starting it.

So, no, there is no jealousy in my post, I am not angry because I have failed to go pro nor am I too scared to try. I guess the way I spoke about desk jobs and such made you assume that I was in the same position as the people I was reffering to, and if that were true my post could easily be misconstrude as having a sense of jealousy.

Get back to me in 10 years and maybe I'll have tried by then.

[/ QUOTE ]

It's now becoming obvious that you are in no position to give others advice when you have so little experience yourself.

[nervous]

[ QUOTE ]
In all seriousness. I think the average 18-24 year old cannot handle being a pro poker player. I think it takes more discipline than working for the man. I've read blogs and journals about the average 18 year old playing $3/6 for a living because they can make more than minimum wage. Frankly, I'd rather do real work.

[/ QUOTE ]

Please, I hope you are exaggerating. I don't know what you mean by going pro, but I quit my job ($6.50/hr, I got a raise when minimum wage went up, woo) back when I was at 1/2. If anyone that is 16+ and is looking for an alternative to a job that could be .5/1 and multitable, should. I think that 4 tabling .5/1 would be better than doing some form of real work for an around minimum wage pay.

I wouldn't call myself pro, but if that's what you mean by quitting your shitty teenage job to play poker, then yes I'd rather take the "variance-heavy" $12/hour at .5/1 than go to work.

Anyone who is decent at 3/6 should be able to multitable it for $50+/hr.

[nervous]

[ QUOTE ]
I have encountered the following scenarios...

1) A royal flush
2) A 120 BB downswing
3) Having your boat busted by river quads

Am I ready to go pro?


[/ QUOTE ]

FYP

[AncientPC]

People who play as sole income (I don't like the term "going pro") won't be asking others if they should do it or not, they'll just do it.

People who post useless threads asking if they should go pro are just looking for support to do something they need to decide for themselves anyway.

[newfant]

The ideal situation for an online poker player is to have a dayjob and then to play poker after work for a few hours each evening. This way the player has two sources of income and pressure on the old bankroll is greatly decreased. Plus, most of the fish are online in the evening, so having a dayjob doesn't cut into the best poker-playing hours.

Most of the people that quit their jobs are in either low-paying jobs or in jobs they don't like. For these people, it might make sense to quit their jobs because if it doesn't work out, they can just get another crappy job. No big deal really.

I think too much is made out of people "going pro," because inevitably these people are in relatively low-paying jobs that they don't like. Plus, many of them are at the beginning of their careers so taking a few months off to play poker full-time will likely not hurt them in the long run.

[Recliner]

Um... if you come home from work just to play poker when are you going to have free time?

Quote:
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------


2) A 120 BB downswing


--------------------------------------------------------------------------------



This is painfully inadequate.

[timprov]

[ QUOTE ]

1) A royal flush
2) A 120 BB downswing
3) Having your boat busted by river quads


[/ QUOTE ]

Well [censored]. There goes my hope of someday becoming a triple draw/razz pro.

[Zetack]

[ QUOTE ]
[ QUOTE ]

1) A royal flush
2) A 120 BB downswing
3) Having your boat busted by river quads


[/ QUOTE ]

Well [censored]. There goes my hope of someday becoming a triple draw/razz pro.

[/ QUOTE ]

Hmm, even without those requirments, I'm relatively certain that your quest was doomed from the beginning.

[Moonsugar]

I love your picture, can we date?

[Pylos]

http://img4.imageshack.us/img4/1840/arguing5fh.jpg