I am THE James

“Why don’t you turn pro?”  That is a question I am asked a lot from my friends when I tell them about some of my poker accomplishments.  They listen to my reasoning and some agree with me and others tell me I should turn pro anyway.  I have other friends that are thinking about going pro and they ask me my opinion about their chances.  When I talk to someone about their chances about going pro, I am straightforward with them about the lifestyle, both good and bad.  Then I proceed to ask them a few questions.  Below are some questions that you should sit and ask yourself if you are thinking about turning pro.  First, let’s start with some simple ones:

1. Do you have enough money to live on for 6 months to a year if you don’t make a dime at poker?  Rent, car payment, food, entertainment, and general living expenses all included.

     2.  Is your lifestyle conducive to being a pro poker player?  Do you have family and friends that will support your decision?  Will your significant other be fine with the ups and downs of poker?

     3.  Do you have the discipline to play poker day in and day out like a job and take it as serious as any job?  This means putting in a set schedule and / or a certain amount of hours a week.

     4. Can you see yourself doing this 10 years down the road?

These were all very simple questions, and you have probably seen these written about in a dozen magazines or online articles.  The first five questions deal with the basics of being a professional poker player.  You need to have a good support structure, backup money, a conducive lifestyle, and a lot of discipline.  However, they are not all that’s needed.  Now, let’s look at some other, more serious, questions:

1. How can you handle losing for 2 months in a row?  Can you ego, or psyche handle consistent losses day in and day out over a long period of time.  Can you handle entire years where you finish with a net loss? 

2. Can you tell if you’re being cheated at a card table?  How about online? 
   
   
3. Do you have the ability to tell your friend no that comes to you broke?
   
   
4.  You have $5000 left in your bankroll that you have bought into a PL Omaha game with.  After the flop you have 20 outs left.  Can you put the remainder of your bankroll on a DRAW??
   
   
5. Do you have the street savvy to keep yourself safe in groups with suspicious characters or in unsavory situations?

Were you able to say yes to all 5 of the second set of questions?  If you were not, then you need to reevaluate turning pro.  Playing poker professionally isn’t all glitz and glamour.  There are major swings, both up and down.  Bankroll management, game selection, etc can help alleviate some of these problems, but the reality is that over time, you will have variance.  Annie Duke mentioned in her book that her brother went 2 months where he lost EVERY DAY.  Can you do that and still play your best poker, or even afford to play poker anymore without going seriously in debt?  I know I can’t.           

We all remember the movie Rounders and the scene where they showed Erik Seidel losing the 1988 World Series Main Event to Johnny Chan.  What a lot of people don’t know is that after that 2^nd place finish, Erik did not place in a major tournament for over 2 years.  Can you imagine going for 2 years and not placing in a tournament?  If you become a professional, that could become a reality.  Would you be able to handle that?

Are you able to spot cheaters at a card table?  How about signal passers?  Can you spot teams or figure out those that may be playing together.  How about online cheating?  Do you know enough to be able to spot anything suspicious?  If you were in a casino and were being followed or watched by people that looked suspicious, could you keep yourself safe?  Can you defend yourself if you were attacked by someone you just busted at the tables?  These are all legitimate questions that deserve consideration.

I am not trying to dissuade anyone from turning pro.  If you feel you are good enough and have the proper preparation and want to give it a go, then that’s your right.  What I am suggesting is that you think through what your about to get into.  Professional poker is a very tough life.  Very few people truly succeed and even those that wind up succeeding a lot of times had a very tough road to hoe to get there.  Take the time to think things through and adequately plan.  Proper planning will help increase your chances of success. 

Tags: bankroll, Omaha, Poker - General, professional, turning pro

This entry was posted on Sunday, March 30th, 2008 at 3:33 am and is filed under Poker - General. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.