Life As A Professional Poker Player

in #steem7 years ago

I got into the game young, VERY young! I was introduced to the game by my father at the age of 12 and never looked back. I would play for nickles and dimes here and there and occasionally play with friends, no money involved. I Would count down the days till I turned 18, the legal age here to play poker.

I started off small playing 1/2 and it grew increasingly boring after Poker shows on TV taking in thousands. I slowly began to build my bank roll and took a shot at a bigger stake, 2/5. It was intimidating ar first, but after the first few weeks I got the hang of things and started raking in the money.

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I made 12k in the first few weeks of playing. I had the itch and wanted to play every second. I told myself I would never work a day in my life.

I would log all my information on Poker Journal and treat it as a job. It would tell me my hourly rate and how many hours each session was. (Its a must app for Poker players)

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I kept playing and after a year I had amassed 40K. I was enjoying life, gaining respect, being asked for help on how to play, but people didnt see the other side of it. They never saw a picture on instagram when I lost thousands in one night. Why would I post that? People would only see when I won and wanted a piece of it.

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It was eating away at my social life and happiness. I was more bitter when I lost than happy when I won. I would sometimes come home crying because I lost a lot of money. I saw people cry at the table when they lost, saying that now they couldnt pay the rent. It was definitely sad and it was taking over my life. I decided after a few years of playing it wasnt for me anymore. Treating it as an occupation took the fun out of it.

I ended up putting all my money that was won over the few years in bitcoin when it was $5 and now im rich.

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Lol if only....

Morale of the story is be careful when gambling and notice when things are getting out of hand. Gamble within your means and always remember Family and friends are more important than being stressed and trying to make a quick buck gambling everyday

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I would have feel sorry to myself if i dont give you an upvote. I have so much respect to poker player and while it seems easy i understand how much hard work you guys need to do to go over the top. I myself did full time trading for a while but only later go back to a full time job. Props to you

Thank you for the Kind comment! It is definitely a lot tougher than people think. I am happier now with my 9-5 :) and I still ocassionally play but I don't have to rely on it to pay the bills.

I tried to join a couple of tournaments in the past (at local casinos) and I feel like the demographic is a little better at those since you have people staying at the hotel playing, old-timers, etc. I do notice cash games are really where the career players go and it's much more serious and stressful (imo)

Definitely a lot of stress when you NEED to win as to where you can afford to lose.

Wow what a small world! no idea who you are but I have a very similar story. I came up on those magic city games! I use to play full time in miami then moved to SoCal about 3 years ago, Im sure Ive played with you several times if you were grinding at Magic like 3-6 years ago. Im all in on crypto too! good luck man earned a follow from me.

Thats hilarious! I was definitely there 3-6 years ago. Pretty sure ive seen you around if you played regularly. And good luck to you as well!

Loved how you told your life story ... Loved your writing style ..can't wait to read tips and tricks of poker .. would love to read more posts by you .. keep posting
Upvoted the post!
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Thanks and followed!

What a beautiful story. I've Upvoted for sure. happy to meet you in this big family.
looking forward to your next post.
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Thank you I appreciate it! Followed! Please follow back :)

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