Inside The Poker Industry Lifestyle
The poker industry is pretty profitable. Success requires a combination of hard work, sacrifice, and commitment. The freedom and possibility to set your own schedule as a professional poker player comes only to those who possess great mastery of themselves and above-average intelligence.
In the life of a poker player, the most important and possibly the hardest part of being successful is living a healthy lifestyle. The cardinal sin in poker – even worse than getting bad cards and calculating incorrect odds – is becoming emotionally invested.
Poker Isn’t Just a Card Game – It’s a Lifestyle
Poker isn’t just a game. For serious players, it’s a lifestyle. And the lifestyle of professional poker players is dedicated to continuous learning and self-improvement. Besides the flashy poker lifestyle popularity, pretty girls, and booze, poker is also about hard work, skill, and years of dedication.
Poker is a hard way to make an easy living!
When we say a “successful poker player,” that doesn’t necessarily mean a good poker player. A successful player is often rewarded not only with money but also with attitude – some call it arrogance.
The more successfully you “sell” yourself to the people that are in the market to sponsor you, the better your poker player’s lifestyle will be.
To be a good poker player, it takes knowledge, a great number of technical skills, financial acumen, practice, and emotional stability!
In poker, every player develops his own way of playing. By experimenting and mixing poker strategies, players can outplay their opponents.
A good player is able to understand his opponent’s tells; he can read facial expressions, body language, patterns, and emotions.
To become a pro and live a poker pro lifestyle, you should play as much as possible, take part in events and tournaments, and don’t be afraid to lose.
Making a Living off Poker – The Good, the Bad, the Ugly
The size of the professional poker industry is indeed measured by billions of dollars, counting the money that people bet or win. But when we hear the term “professional poker player,” many things come to mind – not just money. We think of flexible working hours, no boss, the opportunity to go on vacation anytime, etc.
Although poker can make an ideal job, it is not something to be idealized. There are many things to consider – the instability, loss of money, and much more.
Higher Profit Ceiling vs. the Instability of Earnings
“How can you play poker for a living? It’s all just luck, right?”
Playing poker is not a get-rich-quick scheme. It is an opportunity to develop skill, to enter high stakes, and earn more money than a fixed salary job.
We have often been presented with the professional poker player lifestyle on television. We see millionaires who win all the time and drive around in their Bentleys. But those few players who have made it big have probably played in thousands of tournaments.
It’s a psychological, mathematical, and emotional skill reign, in short-term slices of good fortune. The steady incline of profit demonstrates that, ultimately, hard work and talent are rewarded.
Another thing to consider that is closely connected to careers in the poker industry is the more popular the players are, the more people are going to invest in them.
On the other hand, going too deep can put you into deep psychological trenches. If not properly bankrolled and handled, a bad run on the table can cost you losing a week’s wages in two minutes. That is tough to take, especially if you have a family.
A professional poker player salary is a bit of a roller coaster ride because sometimes the high-profit ceiling is tightly associated with low stability.
Those who continuously work hard will definitely see improvement in their account, but if you don’t learn how to accept and deal with the mood and money swings, playing poker for a living will leave you at a great disadvantage, and you are doomed to fail.
Flexible Schedule / Mastering Self-Discipline
“To endure it and prevail is great good fortune.”
Earning about $50,000 a year would probably be great for many working people. However, card players get tired of that and are eager to experience freedom and be able to go where they want, when they want. So they take trips and travel to events. In that aspect, poker gives a lot of freedom.
Traveling the world is fun. You can take long vacations, but it gets expensive very quick due to all of the other high stakes poker lifestyle demands.
Ancient philosophers had some good advice that modern-day poker players tend to use as a toolkit. They focused on self-control, overcoming any kind of adversity, and being aware of impulses, failure, and the world besides the table.
Aces cracked for the tenth time in a night?
What do you do?
Smash up your computer or exercise self-control and concentrate on playing well?
Remote Work
Card players love the freedom and the intellectual challenge that poker gives them, but the truth is that they are constantly aware of its heavy psychological toll.
Although a poker career doesn’t mean one workplace, and you can play almost anywhere on earth, it can take a toll on your mental and physical health if you spend most of your time on your own playing poker online in a small room, staring at your computer. This is often what is entailed when living an online poker lifestyle.
Many poker players can recall perfectly which hands they played several years ago, but cannot remember a specific thing that happened last week.
Just a word to the wise!
Bear in mind that gambling is prohibited by law in many countries, so playing in an illegal area can cost you a professional license.
Doing What You Love vs. Stereotypes
Poker is an extremely attractive form of entertainment for millions of people because it gives them the opportunity to earn money and experience the overwhelming joy of winning.
But there are people who say that the game itself is boring, and according to poker industry stats, it is not an insignificant number of players that are left in ruin after losing one too many times.
The risk of low social status and degradation is also an option when choosing poker as a profession. It is seen by many as gambling at its purest form, and people have faced many stereotypes that don’t tend to change quickly.
The Certainty of the Game vs. The Uncertainty of the Online Era
Although many people are worried about the future of poker, this game with a history spanning 100 years isn’t going anywhere anytime soon.
The real danger is somehow on the other side of the “wire” – in the video poker industry. There are real unknowns in the future of this profession, which makes it a tough choice for those who want to embark on this journey.
As you can conclude, the poker lifestyle can be a hard way to make a living. It comes with the possibility to travel and play around the world, but it can possibly mean being distanced from your loved ones. Poker isn’t just about winning money. It is also about living an unpredictable lifestyle.
FAQ
We have prepared for you an easy-to-follow and concise set of the most commonly googled questions, like “how much is the poker industry worth?” or how do you become a “professional poker player?”
How big is the poker industry?
Since the expansion of online poker in the mid ‘90s when casinos moved online, the poker industry gross revenue has been measured through a large number of millionaires and billionaires, and the poker market is constantly increasing and wildly spreading. Online poker report shows that poker is the third-largest segment of online gaming.
But due to the nature of the niche and the privacy of the players’ personal information, it’s hardly possible to estimate more or less certain information on the wealth volume of players or the wealth of the industry.
Is poker still profitable in 2020?
Yes, poker industry statistics show that the game is still very profitable in 2020, but it is not as easy to make big poker money nowadays as it was in the past.
Many “big fish” have either gone broke or quit playing poker. Also, many people have simply learned to play better and set the bar much higher than before, meaning that more intelligence, work, and practice is needed.
Why is poker illegal in the US?
The online poker industry is not illegal in the United States as a whole. On August 21, 2012, a federal court in New York ruled that online poker is not considered gambling and has put the game under federal law, primarily because of the need for skill, not just chance.
The Department of Justice wrote a memorandum that clarified the legal status of internet-based wagering, but a small number of states still classify it as illegal, like Washington State. Nevertheless, even there the anti-poker laws aren’t forced against players.
Are poker sites rigged?
Poker sites are not rigged. Because of poker’s popularity and industry, some accuse sites of being rigged, but these are mainly players who cheat.
Can you make a living playing poker?
Yes, you can make a living playing poker. Although the game involves a lot of luck in the short run, skilled and intelligent moves are what form a high-quality player.
However, online poker industry statistics don’t seem to recommend becoming a professional player. If you feel like that is your calling in life, so be it. But be sure to try it out for a month or so before committing to it.
Is poker bad for your health?
It hasn’t been proved that poker itself has negative effects on health. It is on the player to control the impact of the game because most people tend to find something and become obsessed in an unhealthy manner.
If one loves to gamble and play poker, he or she will find a way to find many positive effects and reap tangible benefits. If you want to make it in the poker industry, you must take several steps. First, gamble for the excitement, then for the interaction that improves the experience, and lastly for the moral standard of the game.