Chuck Blount on poker, the San Antonio Express
One of the most common questions that hits my mailbag doubles as the most difficult to answer: "Do you think I`m good enough to go pro?"
The safe answer is: "No."
Poker is all over television, and it has everybody thinking they could be the next one sitting at the table with a shot at a million dollars.
The truth is, players at the final table are there as a result of tremendous skill, terrific luck and good timing that can take years to accumulate.
But "no" is also the advice most of those players probably got when they considered poker as a career. After all, people are socialized from grade school to make the safe play and get good grades, get into college and go on to a 9-to-5 job that pays well.
The system works, but it`s clearly not for everybody.
A lot of people we idolize — musicians, actors, athletes and business icons — took a road that steered clear of traditional occupations and 40-hour work weeks. Folks in this group, which includes top poker players, decided the reward was worth the risk, so they went for it.
This brings me to my most common answer: "Maybe." Let`s talk basics.
If you are in or near the same tax bracket as actor Ben Affleck (who plays regularly), do it if you have interest — even if your gaming history begins and ends with Uno. You have little to lose financially and can afford to go through the learning curve with plenty to spare.
I also would endorse it if you have navigated your way to a final table in a big $5,000 to $10,000 buy-in tournament, even if you made it via a $40 online qualifier. With championship money into the millions, just making the final table is worth $60,000 or more and allows enough seed money to play for a year or two full time.
But forgive me if I assume you don`t fit into the criteria listed above.
First off, what type of game do you play in regards to limits and how successful have you been in that game over the long term? You need to accurately estimate a cash flow. Showing proficiency in low-limit poker isn`t going to cut it.
In his book "Poker: The Real Deal," Phil Gordon provides a checklist of questions that you must be able to honestly answer `yes` to before deciding to go pro. One addresses the stakes needed to make it profitable.
Gordon, co-host of Bravo`s "Celebrity Poker Challenge," says that if you go pro and wish to make $60,000 a year playing poker, you need to be able to beat the game at the $15-$30 level for at least one big bet per hour ($30) over the long term to justify it. The stakes are moderate compared to some of the poker games found in Las Vegas, but pots regularly can get well into the $500 range.
He also advises that you have a minimum of 500 big bets ($15,000) available to you strictly for poker, in addition to six months of money in reserve for living expenses for life as a grinder.
This is a serious commitment, and a trial run should be made before quitting the day job. If you have a family, multiply the needed funds by three before even considering it.
Keep an accurate log over many months to chart your progress to prove you can beat the game. The log will resemble a stock chart with good days and bad, but if it looks like Enron`s, you know you aren`t ready. Remember that a bad day at the poker table is like paying your boss to come to work.
Make sure you leave yourself some outs.
