Tips for Becoming a Professional Poker Player

Have you ever watched a Grosvenor Poker stream and thought how easy it looks? After all, you just need to have a strategy and a bit of luck on your side and you’re on to a winner, right? Well, not quite.

Away from the glitz and glamour of the studios and TV cameras (we’re looking at you, Mr Kassouf), the life of a poker professional can be a stressful one. Really, really, stressful.

Think you’ve got what it takes to be a professional poker player? Here’s just a handful of the essentials you will need to consistently crush at the felt.

Mental toughness

One of the most important skills a professional poker player must possess is exhibiting mental resolve at the table. Even the best poker players in the world lose big pots and make bad plays from time to time. It’s the nature of the game.

The difference for pros is that they can ride the swings; something which many players naturally find unnerving. Learning how to bounce back when things aren’t going your way is an essential element of not just being a pro, but surviving as one. You will also have to utilise this mental strength when analysing hands, studying your opponents, and considering new tactics – all of which take time and dedication.

Bankroll management

To survive and eventually thrive as a professional poker player, you need to take bankroll management extremely seriously. The best way to approach poker in this respect is to treat it like a business. This means you should only use money that you can afford to lose to make up your bankroll – no sneaking money out to pay for bills or drinks behind the bar. Solid management also means never playing stakes which heavily eat into your bankroll. A good rule of thumb is to stick to stakes which are 1 per cent of your total bankroll. This will give you a nice cushion for when you lose or get those sick beats.

Effective bankroll management also means being honest to yourself. Be truthful about your skill level and only enter games that are below or equal to your ability. Wasting your time on expensive games with lots of experienced players could be disastrous for your bankroll.

Be a ‘professional’

Being a professional poker player also means being smart. And, while this may sound obvious (poker players are smart people, after all!) it is something which should be considered anytime you approach a table or ponder a decision.

This means selecting the correct tables, knowing your opponents (e.g. the inexperienced players you can target), having a fantastic awareness of your table image and, finally, minimising risks. The latter is particularly important, as folding when you know you’re beat and avoiding pots where you have weak hands could save huge chunks of your bankroll in the long run.

Practice makes perfect

You can do plenty of research into how to play poker, but the best way to learn is by playing the game itself.

We offer plenty of opportunities for you to perfect your game and we hold a number of events all over the country that will enable you to get the practice you need in order to make it a poker professional.

Our bigger events include Goliath, which is held annually at the Ricoh Arena and the main event has a buy in of just £125.

This year’s winner turned his buy in into £85,670 and he was one of  6,385 entries. For more information on the event, click here.

Grosvenor also holds the £120,000 GCOOP event, with the week-long event taking place between Sunday 25th November and Sunday 2nd December.

Buy-ins can be from as little as £5 depending on the event, and for more information, click here.

Most successful Poker players

There is a lot of debate about who is the most talented poker players, but here is a list of those who have been most successful in 2018

1 – Daniel Negreanu – $34,151,32 – Negreanu was name the Global Poker Index player of the decade such is his consistent performances.

2 – Erik Seidel – $33,333,457 – Seidel began his poker career before the internet poker boom and initially made a name for himself way back in 1988 with a second-placed finish in the WSOP event

3 – Antonio Esfandiari – $27,096,274 – The Iranian has made six-figure returns every single year since 2004.

4 – Fedor Holz – $26,746,838 – The German youngster enjoyed a stellar 2016 and won his first World Series of Poker and has continued to produce big results since to propel him into being ranked number 7 in the Global Player Index.

5 – Phil Ivery – $23,466,348 – Dubbed the Tiger Woods of Poker, Ivey won his first tournament back in 2000 and became the first two-time winner of the WSOP Main Event in 2012.

Health and wellbeing

If you follow Daniel Negreanu on Twitter, you’ll know the importance of health and wellbeing all too well in the poker arena.

During huge tournaments that span many days, such as Goliath, it is paramount that you stay alert and remain sharp. This will allow you to make sensible and rational decisions at the table. Staying fresh will also help you to immerse yourself in the game and keep boredom at bay.

As you’ll be aware, poker games are frustrating when you haven’t played a pot in a while and have been sat at the table for hours. If this sounds like you, just get up, walk around and reset the batteries. Taking that extra couple of minutes away from the table could mean the difference between making a big or bad call.

Do you plan on becoming a professional poker player? What do you think are the most important factors to consider before making poker your profession? Let us know in the comments section, below.

Fancy giving poker a try, you can do so here.

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