Casinoportalen.com went behind the scenes
and gained insight into the life of professional poker players.
Focus on online poker games and on the - by the media - glamorized
life of professional poker players has increased within recent
years. We at Casinoportalen.com are often asked for advice by
curious poker players toying with the dream of starting a career
as professional. Often it is hard to give satisfactory answers,
as many have already made up their mind and only seek confirmation.
It is one thing to play poker as a hobby, but quite another
to quit your work and start as professional in the great world
of poker – whether on- or offline by the physical table.
There are particular advantages of play poker online and overall
of being a professional player. Being your own boss appeals
to many. Your working hours are entirely up to you and you
can go on holiday whenever you want and in off-peak, cheap
periods. Sitting quietly and peacefully in your own home while
working at your own pace is a wonderful alternative to getting
up early every day to meet for work and deadlines. In addition,
it requires no dress code, so if you want to, there is nothing
wrong with playing in your morning gown. Furthermore, it is
completely up to you, where you want to play making the whole
world your possible workplace.
The Internet is the new poker table
Casinoportalen.com has spoken to Jacob, who left his job in a
large company last year to dedicate himself to the game.
We asked him about the life as a professional player and
about how he started.
“
I toyed with the thought about actually betting on a life as
professional poker player for many years. It wasn’t because
I had much experience at the time. It all started with poker
for fun with friend in the weekend betting only peanuts. We
enjoyed it a lot and back then it was just as much for sociality
reasons. But as the Internet opened the possibility to play
poker, when it suited me, the net became my preferred table.
To be a full-time poker play is off course not always fun.
When you play 10 hours a week, it can be a relaxing hobby.
But when you play 40 hours or more a week in front of your
computer, you chance your attitude towards the game. Not that
I am tired of playing poker – not at all! The truth is
that you begin to see the game as work, when you use so much
time to play. But I guess that is the way with most things?”,
he asks, while at the same time appearing quite serene. Casinoportalen.com
asks whether he has any good advice to players, who have the
courage to make the transition?
“
My advice to others who consider starting as a professional
poker player is: consider whether you can manage to sit in
front of your computer or at poker tables all over the world
for many years ahead. It would be a shame to find you that
it isn’t you in a few years. It would be stupid to
have skipped a promising career to pursue a dream that in
reality would have been better suited to remain a hobby.”
The name of the game
“
I think it is important to gradually building yourself up to
become professional. Test yourself as a player. Find out your
weaknesses and evaluate, whether they are something you can
work on and improve. And it is always good to find equals with
whom you can share your interest and experiences. The net is
full of places where you can learn a lot and forums you can
participate in. I used those a lot to begin with.
The main disadvantage of playing full time is holidays. Even
though it is nice to be able to choose freely, there is no
such thing as vacation pay or sick pay. Working in my previous
job I knew my monthly income, when and how long my holidays
were. Should you choose to become a professional poker player,
I recommend that you plan holidays, as you would have in an
ordinary job. That way, you can take the vacation and enjoy
the time without thinking about the fact that you are paying
the holiday yourself. But at the same time, I want to say that
it is very satisfactory to provide for oneself. To be your
own boss.
Another important aspect is to remember to pay tax of your
winnings. Unless you live abroad you must remember to record
all your winning on your tax return. I wasn’t aware of
that, when I started!”, says Jacob with a smile.
Dividing the sheep from the goats
We thank Jacob for taking the time and ask him whether he has
other experiences that he would like to share with new player?
I want to remind them that poker is not a game won on luck.
Even though you - off course - count on winning large sums
as a professional poker player you must play it safe knowing
that your income can vary a lot one month to the next. Even
the best of players can play for hours and hours and loose
great sums, and this is where the sheep are divided from the
goats. As a professional poker player you must be able to handle
such periods. Both mentally and economically. Even though you – hopefully
- don’t loose a lot, you have to deal with loosing being
part of the game. That’s the name of the game!”
See you at the poker tables!
“Jacob” is not the character’s real name.
Casinoportalen.com knows the real name.
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