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So You Think You Can Be a Pro?
- 2-22-2008
Many people constantly ask
the big name pro poker players whether or not they should also try to give up
the day job and play for a living. Most "pros" have the
same answer. This answer usually consists of something such as, "If
you can make more money consistently than you do at your job then it is
possible." This is a decent answer but one that can easily be
misinterpreted. This is a little story of how a series of poker decisions
turned out for someone very close to me. I will also try to provide as
much wisdom as I can, knowing what I know now, I’m about to become a
professional poker player.
My husband was working in customer service for Verizon for almost 10
years. He had a 9-5 job like most Americans and he absolutely hated
it. (Also like most Americans) One day he decided to ease his mind
after a hard day at work and went and played a poker tournament at the local
Hard Rock casino. He had always played poker for more than just fun and
had been winning decently for about six months. This tournament, however,
had a bigger prize pool than any other he had ever played. To make a long
story short, he ended up winning the tournament for around 40 thousand
dollars. He was completely thrilled.ÂÂ
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Unfortunately, as we all know, there is variance in the game of Hold’em. This is especially true in tournament play. Many players, even the biggest names, go months and months without winning. This tragedy happened to this particular player as well. One day he started to run very poorly. This continued on and on. He asked some of the best players in the world he had befriended what he was doing wrong after busting out of tournaments. The problem was that he couldn't correct bad luck. This bad run continued for a year and is still going today. This pro is struggling to pay credit card debt now and is on his last leg as a professional player.
The player in question happens to be Steve Diamantas, my husband. Every part of this story is true. Steve is a great player, I promise I am not just saying that, but he has been on one of the worst runs one can be on. His struggles, however, are nobody's fault but his own. Steve refused to grind it out and did not use the best bankroll management. Also, his family is a bit to blame. When things started to go bad we refused to change our lifestyle to conserve money.ÂÂ
So what is the moral of the story? If you are thinking about being a professional poker player, the most important advice from someone who has been around the poker world is to have a plan! Make sure you know exactly how you will be able to provide for yourself. Also, like everyone who is successful in the poker world, you MUST have bankroll management. Even the best players have bad luck. Most of all treat the game like it is your job. No matter how hard it may be to grind it out, you must remember it is better than whatever you were doing before. I hope I was of some help to anyone looking to make the tough decision