The Downsides Of A Pro Gambler’s Life

Once in a while, everyone wonders what makes someone quit their job and play their favorite game for a living. Can you make a living from it? Do they live well? Aren't they afraid of losing everything? Before choosing this path, it is worth taking a look at the downsides of a pro gambler’s life! Few think of every aspect of a professional gambler's life, and even fewer do the necessary math to determine their chances based on numbers alone. It's easy to get excited about the benefits of playing poker as a job. You work for yourself and set the number of working hours. You play when and where you want, and you can earn incredible amounts if you can fight your way to the top. However, if it were that simple, every gambler would be filthy rich!

Expectations vs. Reality

So what does such a player look like? Most people imagine him as a real James Bond who enters the casino in a suit and then wins everything from the house. Real professionals are not like that at all. Most of them are completely average men and women who have managed to finance their livelihood from their favorite hobby. Of course, some went further and became famous thanks to their performance, but they are the minority. Most professionals prefer online casinos, but some are more down-to-earth and play the traditional way. Many people think that gambling, as the name suggests, is based only on luck, so it is impossible to become a professional, but that's not the case. However, once they become a pro, the game changes. This will be their profession, which they must do well if the players want to achieve their goals, and from here on, the game loses its fun value.

The Downsides of a Pro Gambler’s Life

It's very easy to answer the question of what is the best game to become a pro at. You can't make a career with a slot machine, so the games that require skills are the best choices. In order for someone to become a professional, a lot of calculations, practice, and research are required.  Of course, they need money to start and finance themselves until earning prizes and practice in every spare minute! Most professional gamblers spend the same eight hours or more a day in front of the computer as an average employee.

First, researching, learning, reading, and doing whatever it takes to get better. When the time comes, they start playing games and put what they have learned into practice. This is where many people give up. The initial enthusiasm after the first failures leads many to believe that it is not possible after all. However, it’s possible. For instance, if you decide to become a professional poker player, get engrossed in studying Texas Hold'Em, build up your beginner's bankroll from freerolls and get into it. Though, you should remember the downsides of a pro gambler’s life too. Being a professional poker player comes with sacrifices! Don't take the famous WSOP players as examples. By learning the tricks, one can achieve an above-average life, buy an apartment or house and have a decent life. Though don't think professional players are all counting the big stacks of money in the jacuzzi. People who make a living from either blackjack or poker are very successful in business. For example, let's mention Edward Thorpe, who, after developing the art of card counting, turned to the stock market and had a very successful career there as well. In case you have other financial sources, check out Everygame Casino!

What to Expect?

The first and most important rule of becoming a successful professional gambler is to stay calm under every circumstance. Those who can’t control emotions and think reasonably will never be successful. Many approach the matter as business, following a strict risk management strategy, never straying from it. It is also crucial to handle pressure well and have good analytical skills. Also, they prepare for them to fail sooner or later. Ups and downs are unavoidable in gambling, which could lead to cheating. Of course, there are cheaters among the pros too. Mainly from the world of sports betting, match fixing has always been a part of sports, and although bookmakers take precautions, they can’t protect everything. Players also hacked the online poker system, but many have failed and got caught. You can find countless stories at online casino sites in the US about fraudsters cheating, but in most cases, they end up getting caught. So we do not recommend it! Professionals need to face reality to avoid becoming desperate or gambling addicts and to remain successful. 

We do not know how many pro gamblers are around the world. Most likely, there could be much more, but, as we mentioned, plenty of them don't stick with their own decision. Of course, it's also possible that they're not good enough to become professionals, and they realize that. However, anyone who ever gives professional gambling a try should certainly be prepared for a lot of difficult evenings because things do not work as they do in the movies. Playing well enough to earn money requires a lot of perseverance, work, and, of course, skills. Though, even if they do everything well, the downsides of a pro gambler’s life could still defeat them.

The Downsides of a Pro Gambler’s Life

One scary feature of playing casino games for a living is that playing as a professional is one of the few jobs where you can lose money while working. Even agents working on commission, who only make money when they sell something, suffer no financial loss when a deal falls through. Although they don't get a commission without selling, at least no one is reaching into the agent's pocket, taking money out of them if they aren't successful. However, this is what happens in gambling. 

They can work and still lose money in the process. The players can’t avoid it, and this happens again and again. In addition, professional gamblers are responsible for their own health insurance, as well as their retirement savings. If they don't take care of themselves, no one else will. Many players ignore these crucial factors. Especially when they first start and are relatively young. The life of a competitive player can be complicated, even in the best circumstances. Let's do some math and see why. 

The Reality of Playing Professionally

Let’s take the WSOP as an example. In a tournament where thousands of players compete, around 10% earn a prize. While this may not sound bad, it's crucial to realize that every competition is tough. In a 500-player WSOP tournament, more than 50% of the prize pool goes to the top three finishers, and more than 80% goes to the finalists. Here is a little help with poker tournament types! So between the 11th and 50th place, the players receive bubkes, which means not too much, but it sounds better. Once you realize that you actually have to finish in the top three to get a decent payout, it does not look so promising.

It's also important to factor in the entry costs of the tournaments. Once you start adding up the buy-in fees, you quickly realize that you need to make at least $200,000 a year, maybe more, to pay the entry fees for the bigger tournaments.  In addition, you have to cover the costs of travel and accommodation. Since the field is so large, it's easy for even the best players not to have an appreciable ranking for a year or two. A piece of advice to anyone who wants to make a living playing tournament poker is to have a backup plan, a plan B, to make a living. If everything goes wrong, you won't be desperate and ask your friends for help, not to mention pile debts. However, it doesn't have to end like this every time. Everygame Casino offers plenty of options for amateurs and pros as well.

A Counterexample

We brought you a counterexample of the downsides of a pro gambler’s life. Though, it’s up to you to decide whether Dan Bilzerian’s life is a dream come true or a bad joke. Poker player-turned-millionaire Dan Bilzerian probably needs no introduction. However, if you haven’t heard about him yet, here is a brief introduction. The man is famous for his luxurious and shocking lifestyle. It has been quite some time since he got in trouble, but he hasn't been idle during this time either.  He literally surrounds himself with dozens of beautiful girls, weapons, and, of course, his drug use didn't stop either, although, by the time he was 32 years old, he already had three heart attacks as a result. Dan Bilzerian is famous for wherever he goes, a group of playmates follow him and grant him his every wish. If you don't believe it, check out his Instagram account. A special film crew also accompanies Bilzerian everywhere to constantly record the girls, the crazy situations, and the king of Instagram himself. Although many people hate him for his lavish life, even more of them would trade places with him without thinking. According to online casino sites in the US, he claims to have a 150-million-dollar fortune earned at various poker tournaments, though many doubt his sincerity.

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