When should I become a professional poker player?

Question

How much do you think is a good income for me to be making as a pro poker player? I pull in about a grand a month but that is part time with school and stuff... what would u say is a good amount i am also 18 years old.

Answer 1

Go through school first. If you are good enough to go pro, Poker will still be there after school and school will provide you plenty of time to play poker as well. Clonie Gowen who is a fairly borderline pro makes a good point here http://www.theultimatepokerguide.com/article.php/full-tilt-tips-82-balancing-poker-life by saying not to go pro until you can pay 6 months worth of bills in advance.

IMO on top of that you should probably be able to afford your own health insurance on top of that. Even if you are under your parents insurance now, make sure you COULD afford your own if you had to, because if you did quit school there is a high likelyhood your parents plan might drop you from that plan as many require those over the age of 18 on a plan to be full time students.

So really it depends on how much you make and where you live. In Norway you could afford to make less, in the American South you could get away with maybe 30K a year, in the American North East you'd need a lot more.

Answer 2

Lots of good advice already (and a bit of what you didn't want to hear), but wanted to add in a perspective that's a bit different. I was in a similar boat as you 2-3 years ago. I had just gotten to college, and nothing even came close to holding my attention like poker had for the last 5+ years. I thirsted for poker knowledge, and every other subject seemed 'uninteresting'. So I made it through my first year of college with little direction, a minimum wage job that I wasn't too fond of, and went home to a place that now functioned well without me for the summer. Luckily for me, I had managed to final table the Midnight Madness tournament on Full Tilt a couple of times freshman year and had a fairly nice BR saved up. (Always was good keeping my BR separate from everything else). I live in Michigan where there are 18+ legal charity poker rooms EVERYWHERE. (Which just means the room has to split the income with a rotating charity). Michigan also has many Casinos that are 18+. So that summer I played, and played, and played, and played, and played keeping great notes along the way. The end of the summer came and I realized how tired I was. I was up a fair bit, but it was the hardest money I had ever earned. I learned I had a knack for tournaments, and that I knew myself better then at the start of the summer. Mentally it was almost a relief when I went back to school. Poker can be draining, did you know? I decided to use the money I made to lighten those college loans, and I pursued a teaching degree in math and psychology; a fitting major for a poker player I figured. I'm going to school full time, usually playing 3 live poker tournaments a week, and playing lots online. Is poker still the most interesting thing I have ever done? HELL YES! But I'm a year away from graduating with a degree, 2 additional years of poker playing experience, and different look on life. I turn 21 this July... needless to say I'm as excited as you are for that day. Not sure if my (long) story helps at all! But thought you might like to know that you are not the only one with that kind of dream. If you ever want to talk poker, let me know!

Answer 3

Pro poker is a hard way to make an easy living.

First, start a diary listing EVERY time you play, and how much you win or lose. It's a good way to give you the true picture of how much you're winning, and if you do turn pro, you will need it for tax purposes.

Second, ask yourself "Am I really good enough that I can depend on my poker winnings to pay the rent?" and "Will I make more playing poker than I would at a traditional job?"

Third, would you still be enjoying the game if you had to play 10 hours a day, EVERY day? Or would it get old, quick?

Answer 4

Your bankroll would be a major factor because if poker is your sole source of income it must be large enough to withstand the ups and downs inherent in the game of poker. Depending on the game you play and the stakes you play at a good rule of thumb is 200-400 big bets. For example, if you play $1/$2 limit Hold'em then your bank roll should be at least $400. If you play no limit your should be at the higher end of the spectrum.

Sit down and figure out how much you need to earn to comfortably live on, double that figure and once you are consistently earning that amount you can quit your day job.

Answer 5

I'd say be content with what you are doing now until you are 21. There are no American tournaments that will let you play until you are 18. So the only way to make money on tournaments would be to travel to Europe or other parts of the world. As for cash games, most casinos won't let you in either. Since they passed that new law messing with online gambling it is unclear just how hard it will be to pull money out of your poker account in future. Even Neteller said they will comply with US law once it is set in stone (within the next 230 days).

So the future of online poker in America is still uncertain, thanks to Bush and that idiot Frist. So you can't rely on that and you are also too young to be a pro in real life games. Sadly America still likes to stop people from maturing and taking on responsibility too young, which is BS.

So if I were you I would go to college, keep practicing and see how it goes. Then you can go pro in your early 20s if you are good enough. If you are not, you still have that degree to fall back on.

Answer 6

Depends on what you play for and who you play with. When I use to play to try to make money I was making about $5000 per month playing in casino higher stakes games and medium-high stakes private games. The problem was when you were not having a good month you can loose 20k-50k before things go back upwards. If you have a bankroll that can withstand something like that then go for it. I and many used the rule of 10. Always have 10 times what you want to make per month in reserves for when you might go on a "Tilt Spree".

Answer 7

Definitely don't give up school if you can make it work and still win consistently. Finish your education, it can never be a burden, while not having your degree might be one day.

Once you're ready to become a pro, I suggest you start by reading this series of articles about realism and income streams: http://www.church-of-texas-holdem.com/online-poker-cheat.html

It's worked for me for years. So you have something to aim for. But DON'T QUIT SCHOOL YET! :)

Answer 8

I would think to be considered a pro you would need to pick up a sponsor because hey if somebody picks up your tab you must be good and also making a final table on tv wouldnt hurt.Its very hard to make a living on just playing online cash games with so many fish with money to burn and alot of bad beats to be takin.So my advice play some high stakes tourneys online atleast $300 plus see how you fair.One more thing to make a living you would need to play atleast 5 to 10 dollar stakes in cash games minimum to keep your bankroll up and living expenses seperate.

Answer 9

when you can go to Vegas and win an actual poker tournament...then you become a pro player...Until then, stay in school