The biggest factor in turning pro is having an accurate understanding of your win rate.
Too many players who play part time (once a week) will usually take their best day and just assume that every day will be like that.
They also don't have an accurate understanding of their endurance.
having a winning day is one thing, having a winning week is another and having a winning month is yet another.
Winner's tilt is a HUGE HUGE problem for certain personality types.
Also, players contemplating pro often jump into a game they have very little history with. i.e. they will be an internet player looking to crush live 1/2NL or 2/5NL.
If you are thinking about turning pro, here are some quick suggestions.
1) You need to chart the last 30 times you've played at the limit you wish to turn 'pro' at and figure out your winrate
2) You need a bankroll of at least 40 buy-ins plus 3 months living expenses
3) You need a solid history of positive CONSECUTIVE wins before even thinking about turning pro
3b) I would say you need to have a solid positive winrate over a stretch of 30 consecutive live games. Not saying you need 30 days in a row of winning, but that over a consecutive 30 game period (a game measured as one day of playing) you have a winrate that is indicative of your true ability
4) You need to put together a budget that takes X% / month of your poker bankroll for living expenses and figure out what winrate you will need to sustain a proper bankroll while simultaneously pay your living expenses
5) Compare the winrate needed (WN) in 4 to your actual historic winrate (HW) deduced by 1 and 3
5b) If WN is greater than HW then you are not ready to turn pro
I know most players don't appreciate the stress of live grinding. It is not just stress in the negative sense, another stress is stress in the positive sense.
For some people (especially if you have bad habits) you go a little crazy sitting with $20K, $30K, or even $50K in your house.
You can start to think you are more big time then you really are, fly to Vegas, and before you know it, you monkey tilt off $20K.
Similarly, you think just because you have some money you are now ready to take a shot at $10/$20NL and you lose your ass and go on tilt trying to win it back.
And then there is the negative aspect, losing to variance 4, 5, 7 days in a row...
If you turn pro, a downswing is inevitable and if you don't have the mental discipline to step back and regroup, you can blow your whole bankroll.
Anyways,
the biggest factor of whether you should turn pro or not is DATA.
Do you have the DATA to support your claim. DO YOU HAVE A WINNING RECORD. No excuses. If you do not have a solid winning record then don't turn pro.
And resist the romanticism of "Well, if I quit my job I could concentrate on poker". that is BS. Quitting your job does not magically result in a solid winning record.
Too many players who play part time (once a week) will usually take their best day and just assume that every day will be like that.
They also don't have an accurate understanding of their endurance.
having a winning day is one thing, having a winning week is another and having a winning month is yet another.
Winner's tilt is a HUGE HUGE problem for certain personality types.
Also, players contemplating pro often jump into a game they have very little history with. i.e. they will be an internet player looking to crush live 1/2NL or 2/5NL.
If you are thinking about turning pro, here are some quick suggestions.
1) You need to chart the last 30 times you've played at the limit you wish to turn 'pro' at and figure out your winrate
2) You need a bankroll of at least 40 buy-ins plus 3 months living expenses
3) You need a solid history of positive CONSECUTIVE wins before even thinking about turning pro
3b) I would say you need to have a solid positive winrate over a stretch of 30 consecutive live games. Not saying you need 30 days in a row of winning, but that over a consecutive 30 game period (a game measured as one day of playing) you have a winrate that is indicative of your true ability
4) You need to put together a budget that takes X% / month of your poker bankroll for living expenses and figure out what winrate you will need to sustain a proper bankroll while simultaneously pay your living expenses
5) Compare the winrate needed (WN) in 4 to your actual historic winrate (HW) deduced by 1 and 3
5b) If WN is greater than HW then you are not ready to turn pro
I know most players don't appreciate the stress of live grinding. It is not just stress in the negative sense, another stress is stress in the positive sense.
For some people (especially if you have bad habits) you go a little crazy sitting with $20K, $30K, or even $50K in your house.
You can start to think you are more big time then you really are, fly to Vegas, and before you know it, you monkey tilt off $20K.
Similarly, you think just because you have some money you are now ready to take a shot at $10/$20NL and you lose your ass and go on tilt trying to win it back.
And then there is the negative aspect, losing to variance 4, 5, 7 days in a row...
If you turn pro, a downswing is inevitable and if you don't have the mental discipline to step back and regroup, you can blow your whole bankroll.
Anyways,
the biggest factor of whether you should turn pro or not is DATA.
Do you have the DATA to support your claim. DO YOU HAVE A WINNING RECORD. No excuses. If you do not have a solid winning record then don't turn pro.
And resist the romanticism of "Well, if I quit my job I could concentrate on poker". that is BS. Quitting your job does not magically result in a solid winning record.
