Dream Job – Earning Your Daily Bread from Online Poker
If you spend most of your work day daydreaming behind a desk of getting home to play a few rounds of online poker, how would you feel to know it is possible to cut out that boring day job interference and play poker full time, while paying your bills? It is possible; many people support themselves and their families by heading to off to a hard days work at the online poker table. Going from poker amateur to full time poker player who brings home the bacon through their card playing is not for everyone, though. Making a living from poker requires skill, commitment, and patience.
Before you consider making a living at online poker, be realistic with yourself about your abilities. How well do you really know the game? Can you play all varieties of poker? Can you play well enough to play multiple games at once? Many full time poker players are playing up to four hands at any given moment. Do you have the ability to know when to walk away from a hand? Poker professionals only play an average of 50% of the hands that they are dealt; do you have the self control to make responsible and calculated decisions about the financial risks involved in poker and not get caught up in the excitement/emotion of the moment and blow the bank?
If you think you have the knowledge and the self-control needed to play effectively, then it is time to be realistic with yourself about the realities of life as a full time online poker player. Most poker pros will tell you this is not a get rich quick scheme. Your commitment to poker will have to take up more of your time than a normal, 9 to 5 kind of job to make the kind of money needed to support yourself, and even with a lengthy time commitment, the rewards of playing poker for a living are more about personal satisfaction than personal wealth. The financial rewards of playing poker are also up and down. Sometimes, youll be riding high and cashing in left and right. Other times, you wont be able to catch a break. Youll need to be careful during the good times to put aside some money to see you through the bad. You should also be sure you are emotionally prepared to go to work every day and lose over and over and over again without giving up.
If youre ready to deal with all of this, then the only thing you need to get started is a bank roll and a computer. The size of your initial investment doesnt have to be huge, but remember that the more money you have to play with, the more money you can win. If you start out with a small bank roll, make sure to reinvest some of the winnings into your career until you have a comfortable balance to work with. When youre just getting started, playing lots of small stakes games, instead of a few high stakes one, is the best way to go to protect your investment and keep the cash flow manageable. When your career is more stable, you can wade into the higher stakes games.
One important thing to keep in mind when you start your online poker career: like any self-employment opportunity, playing poker for a living can become all-consuming. Make an effort to keep a balance in your life with plenty of time away from the poker table. Keeping that balance in your life will keep your stress in check and make your game better.
