Going pro Article

[Justin A]

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i love it. The whole point of this post was that it is irresponsible to promote the idea that 50k is no big deal multi tabling 3-6.
here is what i know and what the publishers of this site know. that people will continually look for the "Holy Grail", of how win at poker because of the nature of the game and the swings. It doesnt matter how much"Discipline",
game-theory, statistical knowledge, etc etc you have.
95% of you dont have the mental ability to cope with the downside of this game.PERIOD! Do you buy every poker book that comes out, just so you dont miss something new as far as strategy is concerned? Are you constantly in search of the"Correct starting hands for various game types? Are you searching for that optimal strategy out of the blinds?
if so, you are not even close to being ready for a pro career at poker. Do you feel that in order to win a poker tourney, you cant do it without HOH volume 1 and 2 ?
Folks, its not that these are bad books, it's just that, that isnt what you ultimately need to handle this game.
Many of the top pros have major gambling problems, substance abuse problems, etc etc. But its this disregard for money that actually helps them succeed at the poker table.
if on the internet a 200-300 bb swing is common place, then a negative swing of 1200 big bets is very possible.
but when this happens, the player to whom this happens will be out of the game well before it gets to that point.
its just the nature of being human. many of the ring pros who have made it had enough money before they started.
So, if you still want to go pro or are playing for a living now and you are winning, please keep in mind that it wont always be this way. if you are considering this, make sure you have plenty of money, because even if you have the ability to return to a job, it will be difficult becuse you will keep telling yourself, "just one more try". also get a mentor, .. someone who is actually doing it to help. good l;uck to you all, you will need it

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Excellent points. I agree with you that most of these online gamblers who have experienced some success for a few months or a year or so think that they will always be so succesfull and it's just not true. They are spending all their time online and a few of them are putting away 12-15k profit (after all living expenses) BUT they are not building any skills that will help them succeed in the real world. That profit they have can go very, very quick with the kinds of multitable hands some of them play. Most of them will also burn out in a few short years and even the ones with 30-45k in the bank then will see how fast this can be depleted with no other source of income.

If they try and take their profits and go pro in the B&M they will realize very quickly how unprepared they really are. Oh, there's no doubt that a few will have success but the vast majority will fail miserably - just like every other person who has gone pro over the years.

Meanwhile, those of us who play in B&M but are not doing it full-time as pros have real jobs where we can advance our careers, have real interactions with people, put away money in 401k's or have pension funds, etc. In short we have real lives and we get to enjoy our poker.

I also agree with you that the majority of poker pro's are cumplusive gamblers and many of the most well known names have had huge money swings - even more so in the past 2 years when the tournament money has become so huge.

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Why do you feel the need to demean those who have taken a different life path than you? It seems to me the type that would be rooting for others to fail is very jealous. And yes I know you didn't say you're rooting for anyone to fail, but lets be honest, it's very obvious that it's what you're hoping.