You are a winning poker player. You have made a good amount of money for a period of time and you look at the professionals who live the dream lifestyle and ask yourself why you still go to your 9 till 5 job when you make more money from playing poker. Your boss is on your back and you want the easy life. After all, you are making enough money so it's a no brainer! Or is it? It is certainly a compelling argument and I would hazard a guess that there is not a poker player in the world who has not dreamed of doing nothing but play poker instead of working. Let us discuss the pros and cons of living life as a professional poker player. This might be the most important article you ever read.
The Good Bits
You get your freedom and certainly do not underestimate this. If you are a young player and are coming straight out of education and have discovered a knack of winning cards then I would advise every player to take a job for one year and then you will fully be able to appreciate what you have. You can get up when you want, play when you want and do not answer to anyone but yourself. This can also be some of the worst things about being self-employed though. If you have the discipline, financial money management, and of course the poker skills this may be a viable option for you to bring in your money from exclusively playing poker. Getting a few solid years of cash game profits behind you may buy you a property outright you could not have dreamed of during normal employment. Even if you eventually move back into work, playing poker may give you opportunities you otherwise would not have had access to.
During periods of good profits life will feel great. You will get to play the game you love, and you are winning and have money to play with. Can life get better?
The Not So Good Bits
Every player hits a downswing after a period of playing where every card is the one you hope not to see and you are outdrawn by the poker sites so much you are tempted to enter the "it's all rigged" discussions on the poker websites. As fun as it is to have your freedom, you will have to put in the long hours to grind out your profit. You also need to win! If you lose this may feel like a dagger to the heart as you have no other money coming in. Losing will hurt a lot more when this is your actual wealth you are hurting. Poker should always remain aside from your feelings towards life and this is extremely difficult to maintain a healthy attitude when winning and losing affects your life so acutely. It is very easy to lose perspective.
Any holiday you take will be unpaid, and you will not get the benefit of a pension, sick pay or any other perk that comes with most reasonably paid employments. There is also the satisfaction aspect of poker. When you win, you are actually beating other players out of money and not contributing anything to society. This may not bother some people; however others may feel a sense of void not being involved in a company or positively contributing to the world. Poker is all about you, and it can get lonely. If you think being stuck on your computer screen all day may be a problem for you, imagine how this will feel after six months of doing it? Every poker player I know who plays online for a living says it is completely unglamorous and boring. You may be able to dress it up by travelling to tournaments, but ultimately you are playing a risky game with many good players. Due to the Internet, credit crunch and training sites there have never been more good players than right now, so the risk of playing for a living has never been greater.
Some Sound Advice
It is totally your decision whether or not to use poker as your sole source of income. If you do decide to take a shot, make sure you save hard and look after your winnings. If you lose then make sure you start searching for alternative ways to earn money before you go completely broke. Aim to build some security in what is a very insecure profession. You will need to arrange the relevant accounting if your winnings are taxable depending on your country of residence. I highly recommend carrying on with some sort of course or education to give yourself options should you become bored with the grind of playing poker for a living. As the poker pros say, leave yourself outs. For those to whom playing poker for a living works out great, enjoy the very real benefits of it, but always be careful as complacency is punished hard when it comes to gambling. Never stop being a winning poker player in every sense of the word.
It's good advice.
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http://www.itsawinner.co.uk is the online home of Mal Clarke, and one of the best online poker blogs on the Internet with poker room reviews, hand analysis and links to the best poker videos.
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