Can poker be a career? Should poker be your career?
For many amateur poker players, turning pro is the dream.
Imagine the thrill of ditching your day job in pursuit of the glitz and glamour of success as a professional poker player.
It's a common dream, but is it possible to do, and is it really preferable to the day job?
Big questions to ask yourself
The first question really is "why do you want to make poker your career?"
What is poker giving you that your day job isn't. If you have been playing for a long time and finding you are making more from poker than your day job, then it's understandable that you might want to consider trading your work in.
If you're just sick of your job and would rather be playing cards, that's not likely to be the best reason.
But there is a lot more to consider than just which is bringing in more cash.
If you turn your hobby into your job, will you still enjoy it?
Have you got the strength of character and deep enough pockets to deal with the swings and downturns that come to every poker player?
And most importantly, can you cope with the pressure of having to win to feed yourself and your family?
Poker players who have a separate income from the game have a huge advantage over professionals because they can afford to make mistakes, and bad decisions, and it won't impact their lives beyond how they perform at the poker table.
A poker pro has to win. They can't afford not to. It brings a lot of potential pressure and frustration.
Don't underestimate the advantages of being an amateur at this game.
Do the numbers add up? - can poker be your career?
If you have been honest with yourself about the above questions, and turning pro still appeals, make sure you do your maths.
You need to make a certain amount of money every month to cover your bills, monthly allowances, and poker expenses.
Once you work out how much money that is, you can then work out how many big blinds or tournaments you would need to cash in over a month.
If you have been tracking your results accurately and meticulously, then you should know what your win rate is, and you will be able to calculate fairly accurately (for cash poker anyway) how much poker you need to play to make this amount of money each month.
If the amount of hours is significantly more than you currently play, you need to consider that you might not be able to play to the standard you have before without tiredness and burnout becoming a factor.
And you will feel added pressure to win when the money is feeding yourself or your family.
But if you work out the numbers and find that it still appeals, and is still realistic, then perhaps going pro is something for you to seriously consider.
A hard way to make an easy living - should poker be your career?
One other big consideration once you have worked out whether you can go pro, is whether you should.
A lot of people love poker right up until the point that they are obligated to play all the time.
Many of us love poker for the freedom and enjoyment of being able to play when you want without there being pressure beyond protecting your bankroll and the competition.
If you turn professional, poker can very quickly start to feel like a job. Because from that day onwards, it is your job.
If you're playing online, you're clicking buttons like it's data entry.
And with live poker it can be hard to get the volume of hands in without turning night into day.
For a very small number of players, turning pro can become the route to a glamorous lifestyle, but for many it's a grind to just make ends meet and can take the fun out of the game.
If you do decide to take the plunge, we wish you the best of luck.
Further reading: if you're considering turning pro, we recommend reading Alex Fitzgerald's excellent book Exploitative Play in Live Poker* which has multiple chapters which offer advice to aspiring professionals.