Poker as Job. Treating Real Money Poker as Your Job

Some people get lucky enough to play poker as their main source of income. However it’s important to remember that whilst you are doing so, you need to treat poker as job and set about doing so accordingly. Throughout this article we will be looking at aspects that will aid in keeping you on track with your profession.

Schedule

Playing poker as job requires a lot of dedication and determination. Setting a schedule of when to play is crucial to maintain your progress in the game and also help with getting in the volume of hands that is required of you as a professional poker player.

The beauty of being self employed as it were is that you can set a schedule that suits you, whilst also giving you the flexibility and freedom that you won’t get in a ‘regular’ 9-5 job.

It may change from week to week depending on what commitments you have. Look to play a set number of hands per week and work out how many hours you need to complete this. Some days may require you to play longer sessions than others, but as long as you have planned appropriately to do so, then completing your goals will become a lot easier.

Self discipline

A lot of players lack the motivation to put the volume and the hours in learning and honing their poker skills. These players will, overtime, fail!

You simply have to have the determination and willingness to be fully divulged in poker to succeed. If you find yourself slipping then ultimately your results will too, resulting in you making little or no money.

It’s all too easy to sit back and be content with doing the minimum to get by. Ultimately you are your own boss and there’s no one but you who can motivate yourself to put the hours in to improve and progress.

Poker as Job Lifestyle

Spending long hours at the computer can have some major drawbacks and the one thing that is often hit hardest is your lifestyle. It’s important to stay active away from the table whether that is going to the gym, playing sports or just getting away from it all and spending time with friends and family.

You only need to look at the top pros to get a look at how active they are when they aren’t grinding away at the tables. Some, if not all will take part in at least one of the above factors and they will see this as being their release away from the game.

The flexibility of being your own boss allows you to make time to take part in these essential activities, so do so!

Bankroll management

If you’re at the point of turning Pro or weighing up the options it’s obvious that you will know about bankroll management. However, it goes to a whole new level when it comes to being your main source of income.

Where previously you might of gone from a 30 buy in rule (or whatever strategy you were adopting) it’s now important to realize that you’ll need a much larger bankroll due to the fact that you will start to be skimming money off the top of your bankroll.

It’s a good idea to try and get at least 6 months living expenses behind you before taking the plunge into full time online poker. This will give you a cushion to get used to the points we have already spoken about in this article and also used to the idea that this is now your job.

The pressure put on you to make money is often the downfall for a lot of people starting out as Pro, whereas before they knew that their money was coming from another source, all of a sudden all your money is now coming from poker and its money you simply HAVE to make.

Key Points

• Realize how lucky you are to be your own boss. A lot of people will never get to this point in their life and always have to answer to the ‘man’

• Set a schedule and stick to it

• Maintain an active and healthy lifestyle away from poker

• Set yourself strict bankroll management rules

• Enjoy being your own boss!

Great poker rooms to play poker as job: Full Tilt Poker, PokerStars.

PokerStars
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