«I want to become a poker pro, what should I do?» – Reddit user asks

Answers from Reddit users

Here are the answers from reddit users

Intelligent_Mode1766:

I’m not a pro, most of us aren’t based on the memes that get posted here.. but I know enough to say the disparity between a recreational player and a pro is massive and not what it used to be.

I would find a couple of buddies that are interested in studying and improving together so you can all work off eachother.

By saying “the blinds and Antes eat my chips away” makes me think that 1. You are not being aggressive enough at the right times and 2. You are nowhere near a level where you can take your skills to a pro level.

Let’s say you do a ton of studying and improve massively. You will likely find that Poker is incredibly boring and uninspiring as a fulltime gig.

You can read posts of successful pros who massively regret not focusing their efforts on careers that allow them to grow, families/social activities, and love interests.

TLDR: Don’t try to go pro. Find something you love other than poker and look for career opportunities there. You can study poker to become a winning recreational player and enjoy the many benefits of only playing 2-10 hours/week or month.

Best of luck!

AllenKll:

Bankroll management. without it, you’re cooked

Loose-Industry9151:

The vast majority of us will aspire to have poker as a good hobby and not a job. The majority earn more flipping burgers than playing cards. If you want to try to become the top 1%, it’s a long road. Basically the cliff notes is that you will know when you can go pro cause you’re leaving money on the table being at your regular job than on the felt. Until you get to that level, don’t even think about it. It is also much more reasonable that you work and grind a very good retirement l, where your daily expenses are all taken care of with extra, and then convert into a break even player for the remainder of your life.

RegardedBlaster:

Don’t be a pro, the poker grind life sucks.

WerhmatsWormhat:

You need to get some paid content if you’re gonna make a run at this, but realistically, you’re years and years of study away from becoming a pro, and even that’s very unlikely to happen. I’m not trying to discourage you, but I think it’s higihly likely taht your expectations around what it will take to become a pro are inaccurate.

TheBeesSteeze:

Whenever I see posts about this. I just picture spending the rest of my life in a Vegas poker room at 2 am on a Friday where everyone looks miserable. Having my salary be so variable it is often negative. All dependent on finding people to extract money from.

There are so many more fulfilling, exciting careers. Get a degree if you don’t already have one and poker can be a great hobby. 

Cupcake_Weak:

Folding pre and not going pro is your best bet.

Fluid_Charity1980:

I make more money playing poker than I do at my job. Have for several years now.

And personally I think that’s the way to do it. I don’t want to quit my job. I might retire early but that’s about it.

I know a couple pros personally and they both are often burned out and don’t even want to be playing. I don’t ever feel that way. Because I work 40 hours a week at a real job.

The one pro I know that’s a good friend has been doing it for close to 10 years now. And he’s just about done I think. He’s basically miserable all the time and constantly trying to change things in his life and find other things to do. Trying to change his schedule and work out more or do different things to keep from being burnt out. But it never works and he’s back to being miserable every month.

I just know soon I won’t be seeing him anymore. He’s gonna find something else to do and make poker part time. He has to. Because doing this for a living is just miserable and it almost never works out.

All the “top” pros of poker aren’t just poker players anymore. They are the content creators, sponsors, or have other shit going on. There are very few people that only do poker and stick with it and it’s all they ever do. It’s just a miserable life.

So to answer your question. You should focus on a different career first. Have that and do that. Then if you’re profitable at poker then do it part time on the side. And save save save. Then maybe you can retire young and then play “full time” with a big retirement account backing you.

One-Mess-7292:

Most people, who turn pro, do so because they make more money playing poker than they do at their normal jobs. Focus on everything: preflop, hand selection, c-betting, etc. So many things you can work on.

autostart17:

Access to capital from sources other than poker.

Plus_Butterscotch148:

Imo, work on making defaults in your thinking. It gets pretty brain dead playing many hours, so having a system you can rely on is important. Also bankroll management.

Grouchy-Tomorrow3429:

I think we all agree, you should not even consider becoming a pro. I play 5/10 profitably and can easily beat a 1/2 game and I agree with most of the people here that it’s better to have a job and play poker on the side.

The poker grind sucks.

You’ll make $25,000 this year while your friends get promoted and make 100k

Business_savy:

Sounds like your a novice so you’ll have to study, play and repeat. or just get really lucky all the time but at that point just go play the lottery

No_Button_9112:

If you want to make income playing poker pro you should play cash games.

If you want to pursue tournaments, do it as a side quest and make sure your bankroll can handle the inevitable variance.

** making £100 – £200 a day playing live 1/2 and 2/5 really isn’t very particularly difficult

moonbeammaker:

Many of the top 1% in talent poker pros end up going bust. IMO a young person with the talent of Phill Hellmuth or Daniel Negreanu would be ill advised to pursue poker as a career due to the high variance, lack of fish since the poker boom, and analytics which leveled the playing field.

I would focus on game selection (finding fishy games you can beat) and having a fallback career in case poker does not work out.

pdxsean:

Poker is an individual endeavor that requires self-motivation and self-education. No offense, but if you’re not able to look at the dozens of potential resources available with a simple google search and compare them and decide which is best for you, then you’re really going to struggle with the fundamental qualities of being a successful player.

So that’s where I’d start. Figure out how to answer your questions without someone doing the work for you, because that is absolutely going to be essential if you want to be successful as an amateur part-time player, let alone a pro. Nobody knows what you need more than you, nobody knows how you learn more than you, nobody knows where your shortcomings are more than you. Random internet strangers are probably the least reliable source of advice for your goal.

Turingstester:

Making sure you have good transportation to deliver your pizzas.

HandiCAPEable:

There’s always the truck

MacTasstic:

Stick to the basics. Do not overcomplicate, you will evolve with time and volume. Start by YouTubing fundamental videos like starting ranges, short stack tourney poker vs deep stack tourney poker, positioning, or simply watching winning players livestream.

Over fold. Please. Over fold. Low stakes tip, most recs are NOT willing to play for stacks. (High stakes or seasoned players understand fold frequencies and all-in bluffs can be more apparent)

Got KJo in UTG+1 facing UTG open? Just fold. So many spots that are on the line, usually mean it’s a fold. Huge one when playing with other recreational players.

Begin to develop a ‘shark’ mentality. Do not make hazy decisions when on the fence. Most players (especially low stakes) are losing players and will make a ton of mistakes, bet huge when you have it, overfold when it’s questionable.

Don’t fall in love with the ‘gamble’ of poker. It is a beautiful game because of it; but a pro is the one who capitalizes. In relation to this, appreciate the fish at the table or in the room. Keep the vibe light at tables, the best poker games are when the fish can laugh it off after a stack off and rebuy (max).

Lastly, MINDSET. You will learn the fundamentals, have it all locked down and studied, but the human brain is flawed and we are filled with emotions. Please control this. A good rule is setting a time limit, and leaving at the time limit win or lose (unless game is very good, ((cash))). Take breaks after certain BB losses. Remember, as a pro this is a life game; you may not be up today- but what about in 3 years?

TLDR; stick to basics, lock in a winners mindset, and keep fish happy

Thread starter responded

After reading all the responses, I realized that I’m gonna be the best Poker Professional by not listening to any of you. Haha 😂 I’ll see you at WSOP.

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