poker pro - hardest job there is?

[Henry17]

So if you are only playing 30 hours a week why don't you have time for your GF?

That is what I'm having trouble following. People with 9-5 jobs work more hours then that and they don't even get choose when they work and they manage. So I'm not following what your problem is?

[Triumph36]

joop:

there is just no way that a job where you set your own hours and are in control of all of your decisions can possibly be a hard job.

if you are exploiting tiny edges and have little or no savings, it can become very, very difficult - if this is the case, then yes, poker is hard.

when things are going bad, poker is a very difficult job. when things are going well, poker is the easiest thing in the world and you wonder why everyone doesn't do it.

[joop]

[ QUOTE ]
So if you are only playing 30 hours a week why don't you have time for your GF?

That is what I'm having trouble following. People with 9-5 jobs work more hours then that and they don't even get choose when they work and they manage. So I'm not following what your problem is?

[/ QUOTE ]

Not having time for a woman wasn't really the crux of my post. All I mentioned in fact, was that she seems to think I can talk/chat whilst playing - and that she can never understand how difficult what I'm doing is.

Let's stick to the primary point of the thread. How difficult is being a poker pro.

[Henry17]

Ok I misunderstood. Sorry.

It isn't hard at all.

1) The level of play is a joke. Compared to when I first started playing it is so much easier to make money now.

2) Online adds a whole level of convenience. I use to either play underground or drive 4-6 hours to get to the closest legal game. Now I can play roll out of bed and just log on.

3) It has gained in respectability. Now when I tell people I bet on sports and play poker for a living they think it is interesting. 10 years ago they thought it was sketchy and probably that I was dealing drugs or something else illegal.

4) Physically it is pretty much nil. You get to set your own hours. You can work 20 hours a week or 100.

5) It is 100% merit based. No office politics. No BS to deal with.

Poker is only hard as Triumph stated when someone is playing with no savings and needs to win constantly.

[inyourface]

I posted in NVG and I'll post here aswell, OP you are an idiot and you insult everyone who works for a living. I have no idea how you people survive in real life?!

[Flip-Flop]

Playing multi-table-online-meta-poker seem demanding on the brain yes but I wouldn`t call it "hard" sorry.

It sounds to me like you don`t know how to manage your time and work.
If 6 tables is too demanding you know the answer to that...play less tables?
Don`t be a slave to the money it`s not worthed.

Think about so many people in the world that hate their job and do it only for the money.
They have fixed work hours,deadlines and bosses.
They hate doing the boring job and feel miserable for it but they have no choice in the mater...they must.

The idea behind playing poker for a living is to avoid that trap, to work on your own hours without bosses and deadlines.
And most importantly, to make a living doing something that you enjoy doing.
That`s the simple secret to happiness.
To get payed for something that you would do for free.

Now.. your post sounds like you don`t enjoy what you are doing, you find it hard and it interferes with your social life.
Do the math and tell me how is that different from the millions of biter people doing some boring worthless office jobs while daydreaming for something better.

This is exactly why I`m not a fan of online poker.

Live poker on the other hand is something totally different.
Being a mostly live pro with putting few online hours in the mix is a perfect job for someone who loves the game of poker.

[joop]

[ QUOTE ]
Ok I misunderstood. Sorry.

It isn't hard at all.



[/ QUOTE ]

I don't know how to edit quotes, so I will just address your points in order.

1) I've only been playing 3 years, but in that time the games have only gotten tougher and tougher. Not sure what games you play, but I thought this was widely regarded as fact.

2) Playing online is considerably more difficult than playing live, I don't care how far you have to commute to play live. Commuting doesn't make the actual job difficult, per se. Online I play 500 hands an hour, live - people play about 35-40 hands/hr. Online is much more mentally intensive.

3) Respectability doesn't have much to do with difficulty. Kinda off-topic.

4) I did mentioned in my first post that I didn't want to compare physical labour type jobs with being a poker pro. It is a different kind of difficult - I have worked a very hard laborious job before, you can't compare the two. Setting your own hours has nothing to do with the difficulty of the job... I'm sure most jobs are available in "part-time" roles, or limited hours. So since I said most poker pros play 30hrs/wk or less, lets compare apples with apples and look at other jobs where you work 30hrs or less - so probably any other job, in a part-time position.

5) True, merit based. Which adds stress. You can't go into work and slack off because you know the salary comes in regardless - you have to be at your best whenever you work. Poker doesn't have office politics, that is true... not sure how hard that is to deal with, never been in that situation.

Most poker pros have savings and do not "need" to win constantly. If you ask them if there job is difficult, I'm guessing most would say yes. They sure wouldn't say, "well, I have savings, so I don't need to win constantly... soooo, it's pretty easy".

[img]/images/graemlins/smile.gif[/img]

[Henry17]

1) Over the last 3 years I'd say the game has stayed consistent. About 2003 the games became so soft that it is hard to judge but anyone who can't make money now never will.

2) Commuting does make the job harder. So does the number of hands played / hr. Making decisions isn't hard. If I want to play 1-2 tables I can do it while reading the newspaper. It requires very little attention. Making decisions is only draining when you get to multi-tabling. You might want to decrease the number of tables you play.

I also find equipment makes a major difference. At home I can 8-12 table no problem because I have a duel monitor set up. With my tablet I'm pretty much limited to 4-5 tables. You are playing 6 tables so I assume you have s decent setup?

The one aspect of playing online that is much harder about online is that when it goes bad it is so much faster. You can get hit hard by a series of bad beats in rapid concession and that can be mentally exhausting. Again I think this is a bigger issue if you are playing with a short bankroll and making enough just to live day to day. If you have savings this will be much less draining.

4) The flexibility of the hours is important. I can play right now or if I don't feel like it I can play tonight. When you have a job even part time you'd need to show up at a specific place and specific time.

I think you are under estimating the importance of having plenty of savings. If I run bad for a month I'm not going to freak out. Someone who is a week away from needing rent money is going to be under a lot of pressure. That really changes the mental stress of the game.

[Sounded Simple]

LOL HARD AT OP!!!!!

Im an electronic engineer.
Ever tried working on a technical project to a deadline?
Ever tried a 36 hour straight shift THEN going to site to fit the thing?
Ever had a contract that could make/break you hinge on whether you can get something to work in the next 8 hours?

Thats pressure son.

Even then thats not even close to being the toughest job, there are hundreds tougher.

Off the top of my head its probably nursing or anything medical.
Seriously, have a long think about getting into the real world.

[inyourface]

[ QUOTE ]
LOL HARD AT OP!!!!!

Im an electronic engineer.
Ever tried working on a technical project to a deadline?
Ever tried a 36 hour straight shift THEN going to site to fit the thing?
Ever had a contract that could make/break you hinge on whether you can get something to work in the next 8 hours?

Thats pressure son.

Even then thats not even close to being the toughest job, there are hundreds tougher.

Off the top of my head its probably nursing or anything medical.
Seriously, have a long think about getting into the real world.

[/ QUOTE ]

What this guy said, plus what i said above which you selevtively avoided answering. Grow up ffs, you insult everyone with a job with that question.