A professional card player ! A dream come true for some. Nightmare for others. What is the truth ? Well, it can be found somewhere in the middle…So let’s start searching together.
- Pros and Cons of Being a Poker Player in 2022
- Pros – Emotional Control
- Cons – Anger Issues
- Pros – Financial Freedom
- Cons – Financial Problems
- Pros – Free Time
- Cons – Reversed Routine
- Pros – Travelling
- Cons – Loneliness and Lack of Support from Friends and Relatives
- Pros – No Boss
- Cons – No Guaranteed Salary
- Pros and Cons of Being a Poker Player – Final Verdict
Pros and Cons of Being a Poker Player in 2022

For all those who have not found their passion in life and enjoy playing poker, often wonder – can i do it as a professional poker player ? Then there are other type of people, who play poker on the weekends, after work and at every other time, they are free. This is a “secondary” job for them or at least good way for them, to earn some extra bucks.
Those type of enthusiasts often wonder what are the pros and cons of being a poker player. What their lifestyle would look like and what sacrifices must be made, in order to succeed.
Playing poker is vastly different from any other job or business you might have. It offers financial freedom to successful players, who devote their energy into mastering the game. For others it brings only financial problems.
One thing is for sure though, you need to have an iron mindset or build yourself one, in the process. Which brings us to the first entry to the list of the pros and cons of being a poker player ;
Pros – Emotional Control

Poker is just a game, but at the same time it mirrors real life in fascinating way. In just one poker session , most of the times you would;
- suffer loss
- experience big win
- suffer unfair turn of events
- deal with stress
- take huge risk
- get irritated with someone
- feel empowered and on top of the world, when your strategy works wonders
Now all this can happen to you in real life , as well, right ? True, but often to check all the boxes and experience all these events, you would need months.
Poker often is described with words like luck, war, skill , but its very rare for someone to call it , for what it is – a highlight reel of our daily life . It has all the negative and positive emotions packed into just a few hours. Its like a rollercoaster for your emotions.
This is why successful players, have no choice but to build a very strong and calm mindset. Emotion control is the first thing, required for you to win in poker. And in life. This hard-earned discipline when playing poker, will change your life and your personality for the better.
Cons – Anger Issues

Of course, there is other way to look at the pros and cons of being a poker player . The truth is, many of those who attempt to play poker seriously, in the end will leave with nothing but anger issues.
Think about those people, who lose their job, relationship or business. They can never bounce back and be their old happy self. Same is with poker. Sore losers, who complain poker is rigged or that dealer is crooked – will not only lose money, but will damage their mindset beyond repair.
The very nature of human psychology is to always find excuse. An untrained mind will easily find a way to blame everything else for the failures. Those too hot headed guys, who are not ready to suffer loss, in order to win later – stay away from the poker tables or start working on your mindset.
Pros – Financial Freedom
As a winning poker pro for many years – there is nothing more fulfilling, than being able to play cards and be financially free. Yes, you go through countless sleepless nights, but in the end is worth it.
Once you are successful enough, an elite player, who reached the high stakes games – you don’t really have to play at all times. You are financially free and decide when, where and how much to play, as you do not have to worry about rent, family being secured or credits.
The thing about poker is, the sky is the limit. 99% of the jobs in the world has limits. Even most businesses have ceilings, which they can reach. With poker , all you need is a local casino or laptop. After that you can reach the highest of highs or the lowest of lows. There is no such things as capping your achievements. Not only that, you do not depend on anybody ! You are the one responsible for all your successes and failures.
Cons – Financial Problems
Its not a serious pros and cons of being a poker player list, without mentioning the obvious – poker, especially when not played correctly, is gambling in the short term. As the popular saying goes –
” Problem with losing short term, is that short term is longer, than people think “
And it is very true, indeed. Now many people who played a lot of card games or do good in sports, chess etc… believe the only thing needed in poker is cool head and natural talent.
Yes emotional control is the first ingredient , having the secret sauce of being natural talent is good, but the bread and butter is hard work. Just like everything in life – without hard work, you will only position yourself for trouble.
Playing recklessly and gambling money, you can not afford to lose, is how the large problems begin. In general, if you are addicted to casino games, roulette, slots – stay away from poker. Poker has gambling element – but it is skill based games, played against other players. Those above are games, in which you play against the casino and the odds of success are below 50% .
Pros – Free Time

Probably the biggest attraction of them all – the spare time. Playing poker full time means that there are no work hours, no shifts that must be taken and no more being stuck in traffick at 7 AM .
”Pros and cons of being a poker player” is mainly researched by newcomers , because most people hate their job. Missing out on occasions, family gatherings, drinking with friends, vacations are the risks we take by working 9-5 job.
With poker, you can make your own schedule and try to follow it, but you will always have time for important events. You don’t have to beg your boss, to take your annual leave. Just miss out on few days of grinding and get back when you are ready. Getting those extra 8-10 hours a day, can do wonders for your psychological health.
Not being scared of monday is great and luxury, not many can afford.
Cons – Reversed Routine
Most serious poker players grind at night. Those are times when the busiest and fishiest games occur online. When playing live, you do not have a lot of other choice, than playing at night.
Of course you can totally grind online during day time, but its very hard with taking breaks to eat, train, talk to people and other normal human activities.
The main problems in both scenarios, is that you spend awfully long time in front of a computer / phone screen with little to no movement. Some sessions prolong themselves and you must stay keep playing a lot more, than planned. Lack of quality sleep, missing out on drinking with friends at night and having to study poker strategy, just after a losing session , just pile up on the misery.
Pros – Travelling

Whether you are live poker hustler travelling the world to find the best games or online grinder with a lot of free time to take vacations and travel, the result is the same – lovers of travelling can’t hope of better profession.
Having the ability to play poker from anywhere makes you citizen of the world. You are not tied to your job or certain destination, due to the lack of interest to your craft elsewhere. Of course, there are countries where poker is not legal, but the majority of the places are available.
And if you are not in the mood for poker, just take a vacation to clear your mind and return with recharged batteries. Its not like your place will be given to the next guy or that expected salary raise is in danger.
If you have the will and discipline to learn the game, keep your emotions in check and never give up, poker gives you freedoms like almost no other activity.
- Freedom to Travel
- Financial Freedom
- Free Time
- Free Life Lessons 🙂
- Free Adrenaline rushes 🙂
You have to give poker back quite a few things, but gains in the end are worth it, in our humble opinion.
Pros and cons of being a poker player are many, you just need to decide how much each of them weight in your book.
Cons – Loneliness and Lack of Support from Friends and Relatives
Many have faced this uphill battle, but there are no ” pros and cons of being a poker player ” list , without a good story about how no one believed in you , at the beginning. It is one thing , to be alone, because you have to grind yet another session stuck at home / casino , with study materials sitting on your backlog. This is a loneliness in its most common form – lack of the watercooler normal conversations, deprived of sleep and exhausted.
The worst type of loneliness is that most of your closest friends will laugh when you tell them, you play poker for a living. Relatives will worry you throw your life away. No one will see a career path in ” just playing some cards ” . Jokes about this not being a real job or profession are coming your way with full speed . At daily basis.
Now it is time to start building your emotion control. Yes, the first big pro of being a poker player. To be strong minded warrior, who does not give up. And no one is born ready. We just have to learn how to become emotionally intelligent and relentlessly follow our pursuits.
Playing poker with no applause, no one cheering behind you, without any thumbs up and patting on the back, is part of the deal. The only way to silent doubtsters is with your own results. Not poker superstars winning huge tournaments and cashing millions. Show them , what you can achieve. The work comes before the believe. You will have to grind alone, in the dark, for long time, without compliments and people applauding you.
Good thing is, when you finally show your good results, those who doubt you will have to eat their words. Then their own opinion on the pros and cons of being a poker player will change dramatically and you will experience a sense of victory, like never before.
Pros – No Boss

No bosses, no supervisors, no people above you. Not even annoying colleagues. You are your own boss. Of the time you work, how you work and where you work. There are not many professions, where the only thing you have to take into account , are your own preferences. Successful poker players are people who hold power over their own destiny and depend on no one.
The amount of people who hate their bosses and colleagues are well above 50% . We would bet a good money this is the case. Actually the percentage is probably closer to 80% . This resentment alone can make your life more miserable and depressing even. Depending on people who you hate is stressful and unfair.
Cons – No Guaranteed Salary
Last entry on our pros and cons of being a poker player list , is that poker players, have no guaranteed salary. Yes good players, can estimate pretty well their earnings, but when it comes to the short term results of a 2-3 months, you can be on huge downswing and accumulate losses .
If you do not have the emotional control and bankroll depth to bounce back, things can get brutal.
For low stakes players, who play for a living, means one bad month and money for rent are gone. Most beginners are always faced with decision – do i continue to play and follow my dream or not risk it and go to my safe job, where i know , that money are guaranteed. Or in other words – settle with less or aim for more.
To have easier time deciding, just think if you are stubborn individual, who is relentless in pursuit, or you give up easy. Trying to go to the gym for three months and quit smoking from six , just means poker is not for you. It is a game, where people who stick longer than others and work a little bit more than the rest, prevail in the end.
Pros and Cons of Being a Poker Player – Final Verdict
When i was faced with decision, whether to play poker professionally , the pros vastly outweighed the cons. If you are beginner or recreational player, who uses poker as side income, deciding whether to go full pro, can be tough. If these advantages and disadvantages are not the most important ones for you – maybe take a pen and paper and write your own ” pros and cons of being a poker player ” .
If poker is your passion, we can help you play in the best games online. Check all these online poker rooms we give access to . For those who want to be up to date with online poker and receive all the information right at their finger tips – our Telegram News Channel : @thepokeragentclubs is tailor made for you.