A Day in The Life Of a Poker Professional

Above: Canadian pro Daniel Negreanu has one of the greatest live results records ever seen.

Imagine not having to get up for work in the morning, setting your own hours and, best of all, managing to clear a six-figure sum for just a few hours’ work each day. Sounds like the perfect life, doesn’t it? It’s also why so many people dream of becoming a professional poker player.

But how realistic a picture is this, and surely no job can be so easy and enjoyable?

Before we start it’s worth taking into the account the words of poker pro Matthew Wheat who has said:

When most people think about professional poker players they picture someone sitting around a casino making tons of cash playing a recreational card game The reality can best be described using the famous quote that a lot of us in the business use to describe our jobs: 'It’s a hard way to make an easy living.'”

Part of the reason for this is the sheer number of hours that a player has to put in each day if they’re to make anything like the money that they hope for. So, for example, the typical online player will be hitting the tables as soon as they get up in the morning – the global nature if the internet means there’s bound to be a live game taking place at any time of the day or night – and that means no lie-ins for the dedicated pro.

Below: Peter Eastgate won The 2008 World Series of Poker Main Event.

After a few hours playing, which can probably have gone either way making the morning a big success or something of a disaster, it’s time for a well-earned and very important break. As Wheat has also said:

To be successful in the long run you need a healthy mix of other things in your life aside from poker... like friends you can spend time with, hobbies or a fitness regime.”

But that’s not to say there aren’t some nasty surprises in store – after all, online you never really know who you’re playing or what their luck, or ability, may be like. Plus, if the morning session’s not gone so well then the rest of the day may have to be dedicated to trying to recoup losses. As Michael Shinzaki, another poker pro, says:

Most professions don't have inflection points where one minor mistake can erase hours and days of acute focus. But if you are to accept the long-run nature of poker statistics, you are going to lose quite often if you play a lot”.

Below: The final table at the 2009 World Series of Poker in Las Vegas.

Of course, for all the risks of losing, what gets every poker player through the day and looking forward to the next one is the prospect of winning big just like the players who will be competing for the $8 million first prize in October’s WSOP Main Event

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