Poker Articles

So, You Wanna Be a Poker Pro?

You've read every book, you've seen every tournament every broadcast on TV, and you say to yourself, "Self, I'd like some of that money, too!!!" What's the first step? That's the key, and having read every book, the advice will vary wildly.

Some say, find a local casino, and play as often as you can. Others profess that to be a professional, first you have to play a million hands online. Still others will tell you that it's not a decision that you make, it just happens. One day you wake up and suddenly, you and the world declare you a poker pro….

The reality of the situation is some or all of the above, however, there are indeed several steps to take along the road to becoming a professional poker player. Personally, I don't even know if I'm on this road myself. So, I will tell you about it when and if I get there.

My first tournament experience came from a radio promotion freeroll at one of my local casinos. Having seen a few broadcasts of Celebrity Poker Showdown and listening intently to Phil Gordon's commentary, I thought I was ready. A couple of hours later I busted out with about a third of the field left, so obviously, I wasn't.

However, my father once told me, "You can either generalize, or specialize." At the time, he was talking about Stamp Collecting, but the advice holds for poker as well. Realizing that I had outlasted 2/3rds of the field when I didn't know what I was doing, I came home and did a search of poker on the 'net.

Over approximately 177 million sites later, I had found a wealth of information. Of course, with all things internet, some of it was spurious. But here's what I found:

· Patience is a virtue. You will be folding between 80% to 90% of the time.

· Build a decent bankroll. This advice is mostly for cash games, however, having a healthy one for tournaments is equally as important.

· Have six months worth of expenses covered. You'll need this in case of bad beatitis, and you continue to get unlucky.

· Did I mention patience? You'll also need this to get through the above mentioned losing streak.

· Experience. The more you play, the more you learn. Skills acquired include but are not limited to starting hand selection, playing style, and money management.

· Have you developed an effective playing style? Most will tell you that selective aggression is the way to go. My style can be called Beyond Aggressively Tight™, or BAT™ for short.

· Most importantly, knowledge. Something I thought I had when I played in my first tournament. Read every book you can get your hand on, pick up the magazines you've heard about, and read those too. Some excellent advice from top poker pros in the various publications. It's also available online if you perform the above mentioned search like I did.

After you've done all of the above, you may still not be ready. Do you have the mentality to sit at a table, and fold almost 9/10ths of the time, in order to win one big bet an hour? Can you extend this to online, and sit at a computer screen for several hours at a stretch? For a tournament, can you avoid going on tilt when you get a bad beat? Are you comfortable lying?

That last one is important. Poker is a game of deception at its root. The way to earn the most in the various pots you enter into is to disguise the strength of your hand. Sometimes a bluff is in order. Will you give off 'tells' when you do this? You might not be ready to compete at the highest levels yet if you do.

Are you in a relationship? If so, do you have the support of your significant other? Family is important. You're attempting to make life better for yourself and your family by becoming a professional poker player. Do you meet all of the above requirements?

You'll find as you travel to the various casinos in your area that most poker professionals never appear on TV, or even play in tournaments. This is a choice that I have made, simply because I've taken my father's advice. Until then, I'm merely a filmmaker that plays poker. I'll let you know when I become a poker player that makes films.

72 and sunny in Redondo Beach.

Next time, we’ll talk about poker. Be there. Aloha.

Disclaimer: Mike may very well title his poker book that he's writing, "Don't Try This At Home," as his playing style clearly doesn't match anyone else's. If you'd like to contact him with your necessarily opposing view, he can be reached at Batman@azteca.net.

Editor's note: Matches Malone has been writing for us for a couple years
now, and you can read his blog notes at @ PokerAllStar.com