Why I don't want to turn pro

[Justin A]

[ QUOTE ]
You have stated an intelligent position extremely well. Poker sucks as a career, but it's a great second job.

Regards,
Al

[/ QUOTE ]

This statement is highly dependent on the person. You can't possibly say this is true for everyone.

[wontons]

To be or not to be a true poker player? Isn't that the questions? A player such as scotty nyguen states he would rather like poker as a career than anything else in the world. I agree with him based on my personality traits and my love of the game. However, Poker requires a large bankroll and is definitely not a sure bet. You need $2,000 to fix your car to pay medical bills thats coming from your bankroll now you might not have enough to handle the downswings. Also people ALWAYS look at the finacial aspect of downswings...what about mental exhaustion. I recently was a 98% favorite going into the river after the turn...bet this pot hardcore whole way down...guy was rich and drew out on me with his 2 outer...this was a $1,600.00 pot. Although I was surely pissed about the money...bought in for 4 beans ran it up to 840 before hand...i was much more emotionally drained after the hand. Very next hand I flop nut straight only to be turned by a guy who made a full boat. After those 2 hands I had to take a walk. Being a Pro player I would have to take the day off and be down $900. This would make it harder to get back emotionally than finacial is my point. Anyone agree...disagree?

[tytygoodnuts]

[ QUOTE ]
To be or not to be a true poker player? Isn't that the questions? A player such as scotty nyguen states he would rather like poker as a career than anything else in the world. I agree with him based on my personality traits and my love of the game. However, Poker requires a large bankroll and is definitely not a sure bet. You need $2,000 to fix your car to pay medical bills thats coming from your bankroll now you might not have enough to handle the downswings. Also people ALWAYS look at the finacial aspect of downswings...what about mental exhaustion. I recently was a 98% favorite going into the river after the turn...bet this pot hardcore whole way down...guy was rich and drew out on me with his 2 outer...this was a $1,600.00 pot. Although I was surely pissed about the money...bought in for 4 beans ran it up to 840 before hand...i was much more emotionally drained after the hand. Very next hand I flop nut straight only to be turned by a guy who made a full boat. After those 2 hands I had to take a walk. Being a Pro player I would have to take the day off and be down $900. This would make it harder to get back emotionally than finacial is my point. Anyone agree...disagree?

[/ QUOTE ]

Yeah I hear you big time. I just came off an awful session. I lost about 75 big bets. The emotional stress is very tough to handle.


One thing I am wondering about- As a proffessional poker player what do you do if you have some sort of accident and damage your brain and are no longer able to play? This is a very scary senerio, but it has to be taken into account if you want to go pro.

[tytygoodnuts]

The mental toughness a pro needs just blows me away. Everyone says that when you are in a downswing just keep playing your best, but it is much easier said than done. I am sure a pro will be playing with the appropriate bankroll, but they are probably playing at a high limit. When you are a heavy favorite to win a hand and take a bad beat and see all that money slip through your fingers it must be tough to handle when you figure that you potentially could have been paying the bills for a month with that pot. [img]/images/graemlins/tongue.gif[/img]

[KidPokerX]

I agree, but I would also agree that many professional poker players love poker ... still. A hobby can be a long-term, well suited career for many people. I say do what makes you happy, and keep doing it. 20 years down the line, if something new makes you happy, so be it. Changing career paths is perfectly normal in all professions and should not be shamed on, even with poker.
I am glad that you have found your spot in society, but at first I assumed you were simply bragging about this to a forum full of poker players. You did not show any sign of understanding that many of us have found our niche as well - even if it's not as glamorous as a researcher of physcis (although one could argue that poker is a science just as physics, and that a poker player is a researcher of science).
I do not mean to ignite any debate, in fact I really am not looking for a response. I just hope you realize that many of us are happy, and will continue to be happy, doing something that many consider just a meaningless hobby.
Keep it real.

-KidPokerX

[Triumph36]

I think the pros who love the game are playing at the highest levels. I think there's a big difference between 4 tabling 10/20 at Party Poker and playing live against guys you've been trying to outwit for years. How many professional baseball players would say they love the life if they could hit .550 in some obscure minor league, but only made 50 grand a year and no one came to see them play?

[KidPokerX]

are you trying to argue that to love the game you must be a glamorous player? I don't think this is the case. Many people in many different walks of life love their career - even though nobody ever reads about them or comes around to see them work. To think like this would be self-centered, and I really doubt anyone could win for a long time with a thought process like this.
Nobody comes around to see me, yet I persist. And I enjoy it.

[Demana]

[ QUOTE ]
Before you decide to keep your job, make sure you have at least 6 months living expenses saved up PLUS a much larger bankroll than you would need working recreationally. Come up with a system to pay yourself every week or two weeks.

How many years have you worked? You may not have worked enough to be confident in your $$/40hrs. If you need to ask other people if you're ready to keep your job, you probably aren't. Good luck.

[/ QUOTE ]

One of the funniest responses I have read in a long time [img]/images/graemlins/smile.gif[/img]

[sublime]

One of the funniest responses I have read in a long time

whats so funny about it?

[riffraff]

it's advice usually given if one were going to QUIT his job to play poker instead of keep it.