Chris "Fox" Wallace, in Bluff magazine, June, 2012, page 71.
When aspiring pros find out that being a poker pro mostly involves folding hands and waiting for the right spot, they get bored. Sometimes it seems like you are folding hands all night long, and when you do get a hand, you end up folding the flop. And on a rough streak this can happen for a week straight. When an aspiring pro discovers that playing poker correctly really isn't that much fun and it isn't the fascinating creative experience he thought it would be, the bloom is off the rose. Playing poker for a living is a ton of work, and sometimes you work hard all week for a paycheck that has a negative number written on it.
After a few years as a pro, you may start to wonder when the big baller lifestyle is going to kick in. You'll get impatient for your time on TV at a big featured table, your time on the podium being awarded a bracelet, your big sponsorship dollars. And they may never come. There are great players who have never done any of these things. They just grind away, making good money, paying the mortgage, paying a ton of taxes, and folding hands. Are you sure that's what you want?
This article is really the long way to ask a simple question. Do you really want to play poker seriously, or do you want to play poker the same way I wanted to be an astronaut when I was 9?
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6 comments:
If you don't mind Grump, how much money did you go to Vegas with when your plan was to become a poker dealer and not an immediate full-time player?
I want to be a firetruck when I grow up
More like I wanted to be a jet pilot like Roger Ramjet...
A few years ago I thought it would be nice to play poker for a living. After many, many hours of poker, I have learned it would be a hard way to make an easy living. Much more fun as a hobby for me. I am impressed by how long you have been grinding 1-2.
Have fun in Albuquerque.
Want to be a professional poker players. Its not easy to be a expert in such a game of poker. To be a professional poker player needs practice and dedication towards the game.
Hey Grump, this post peaks my curiousity on the life of a grinder. Not sure if you've made a targeted post in the past on this topic but how about a post or two on the general lifestyle of a grinder. I think a lot of your readers would like to hear this from a 1-2 grinder's perspective. Cheers.
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