Poker is Different
First and foremost, playing poker does not offer a fixed salary as a 9 to 5 job. If you plan to become a poker player, then you will not have a steady salary. Basically, it is one of those jobs wherein you go to work and you just might lose money.
No Requirement for License
The best part of playing poker professionally is that you do not require any credentials like a school/college degree, certifications or licenses, etc. Anyone can become a poker player. All you need to do is, jump in if you dare, and play the game. You can play poker online by following poker game rules. If you have the capabilities, then you can succeed beyond your wildest dreams.
Determine Where to Play
As a poker pro, you need to decide where you want to play for a living. If you visit a poker club where there are only small limit games then you are loosing out on money. You should visit casinos where medium and high stakes games are played in order to earn a living. But before moving up the ladder, you should build a bankroll and train yourself in playing high stake games because high limit games require more money and usually have stronger opponents. You can also try to play real cash poker India.
Keep Records
To be a professional poker player, you need to learn keeping records if you haven’t been doing it so far. If you haven’t been keeping good records till now, then you have been deceiving yourself about your ability which can cost you more than money.
Use Statistics
When playing poker for living, you should start using statistics to assess your game play over the long haul. This involves calculating standard deviation and using it to identify the results you might achieve in poker. When calculating standard deviation, you should consider factors like your playing style, number of opponents and their behaviour, and how aggressive or passive the game is.
Scrutinize your Results
Anyone seriously considering poker as a career needs to keep his or her poker diary up-to-date, and do it assiduously. Never mind that you are tired, just had a fight at home, are stuck in horrible traffic on the way to the casino/poker room, and didn’t play your best. When you’re playing for a living, no excuses are allowed. Only reality counts, and thoughts like would, should, could doesn’t mean a thing.
Play your Best Game
Professional poker players have to play their best game all the time, i.e., you will have to play your best game even when you’re not your best. But that doesn’t mean you cannot take breaks during bad situations. Playing poker frees you from following that 9 to 5 shift. So, if you do not want to play, then go watch a movie rather than visiting a casino as it will cost much less.
Evaluate Risk Tolerance
While playing poker, you should adopt a playing style that will yield you the highest possible win rate. In other words, you can play cautiously but you will have to put in more hours at the table or you can play aggressively but you cannot ignore the risk of going broke because of it.
Follow Successful Players
When planning to go pro, you should develop and build relationships with people. This will help you find successful poker players whom you can look upto as role models. So, follow the players whose results have been outstanding in the poker industry and try to find out what they do and how they do it. You can pick them as your mentors and master poker secrets, learn how they avoid going on tilt, or discover how to exploit the table etc..
Quiz Yourself
Poker players should ask themselves questions to direct their mind to play the game tactfully. You should avoid asking negative questions like ‘Why can’t I win?’, ‘Why do I always get the bad beats?’, etc. Instead you should ask questions like ‘How can I keep applying the winning strategies I’ve learned?’, ‘How can I increase my winnings by eliminating the mistakes in my game?’ etc. Therefore, if you ask right questions, you can think rationally and can control your actions on the poker table.
Professional poker can be fun, rewarding, and social but playing poker for a living is not easy. But if you think you can, then you can easily pull it off. Hence, start working on developing your poker skills and work on, self-discipline, strength of character, and the willingness to persevere to be a successful poker pro.
