Re: Going broke playing poker for a living, avoidable?
A lot of the early champions were hustlers first, and Poker players second. They bet on lots of stuff, golf, backgammon, propositions. Gamblers can expect to go broke. Also, many of the old school players had chaotic personal lives, so it was often convenient to appear broke. They might owe $1 million and be owed $1 million, without clear written accounts for any of it. It's hard to even define "broke" for someone like that.
I think the key is whether you have the discipline to drop down in stakes and play more Poker when your bankroll gets thin. That gives you weaker competition, and more hands per dollar to reduce standard deviation. But it's hard work and can be tough on the ego as well.
Personally, I would consider that the definition of a pro. An amateur, however good, funds Poker out of discretionary income. If he loses, he stops playing for a while to build up his bankroll. A pro, who is living off the income, has to play more after a loss.
The guy who plays more at the same stakes, or increases stakes, after a loss, will certainly go broke.
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