I was bored!!!!

Get In There

[FONT=Trebuchet MS, sans-serif]Since I’ve started playing poker a little over a year ago, I’ve quickly fallen in love with it and it has become a part of my life, more often then not the social aspect of my life is spent playing poker more now than going out on the piss every weekend like your average 23 year old. Just as I fantasised about being a professional footballer when I was a kid, it's hard not to romanticise with idea of being a poker pro no matter how bad one is at it.. Returning from the buzz of the IPC to my boring brain dead job as a civil servant, I now find myself envying anybody who plays poker for a living. So I’d like to ask all you pro’s out there a couple of questions some of which may be silly and naïve, some which may be totally stupid or some may be typical questions to ask a poker pro. But there are no “AK vs JJ” questions or the like! Just wanna get some insight into the life of a Irish professional poker player cos I'd love to know what kind of a life a poker pro leads!![/FONT]

[FONT=Trebuchet MS, sans-serif]Mainly for Live Players although applicable to online players as well[/FONT]

1. [FONT=Trebuchet MS, sans-serif]How and when did you start of playing poker?[/FONT]
2. [FONT=Trebuchet MS, sans-serif]Home games aside, when did you start playing proper games of poker? How long afterwards did you decide to leave your regular job (if you had one) and rely on poker as your main source of income?[/FONT]
3. [FONT=Trebuchet MS, sans-serif]Does most of your income stem from online poker or live poker?[/FONT]
4. [FONT=Trebuchet MS, sans-serif]Cash games or tournaments?[/FONT]
5. [FONT=Trebuchet MS, sans-serif]Describe your regular daily routine, what time do you get up, go to bed etc...[/FONT]
6. [FONT=Trebuchet MS, sans-serif]What are the positives of being a professional poker player?[/FONT]
7. [FONT=Trebuchet MS, sans-serif]And the negatives?[/FONT]
8. [FONT=Trebuchet MS, sans-serif]Any social benefits to being a recognised poker pro?[/FONT]
9. [FONT=Trebuchet MS, sans-serif]Are you sponsored by a poker room to play in tournaments? How did you manage to secure sponsorship?[/FONT]
10. [FONT=Trebuchet MS, sans-serif]Do you not get tired of seeing the same faces every time at your regular casino? Do you not think it affects your game playing the same people on a regular basis?[/FONT]
11. [FONT=Trebuchet MS, sans-serif]Some friends have roped you into playing a charity donakament that is being held in your local where people have heard you are a professional poker player. Would this put pressure on you not to let the donkeys show you up and show everybody that you are as good as they heard you to be.[/FONT]
12. [FONT=Trebuchet MS, sans-serif]I played against some Irish professionals in the IPC. But they (well the ones I talked to) seemed to be living in the UK. Why is this? Is it because there’s more poker to be played over there? Better tournaments? Do you plan on moving over there yourself sometime in the future?[/FONT]
13. [FONT=Trebuchet MS, sans-serif]Going back to the days where you weren't as good as you were now. What was the experience of playing in your first major tournament like? Did you get found out quickly or did you surpass your expectations?[/FONT]
14. [FONT=Trebuchet MS, sans-serif]Would you want your son/daughter to follow you into a career playing poker?[/FONT]

[FONT=Trebuchet MS, sans-serif]For the Online players:[/FONT]

1. [FONT=Trebuchet MS, sans-serif]Why do you live in Ireland where your income is offset by the expenses of living in such an expensive country? With your job mobility, have you ever considered living in somewhere where houses don’t cost a fortune, where the weather is consistently glorious and your earnings would enable you to live life like a king? Or more so, travelling the world whilst playing poker a couple of hours a day to earn the wage that an average backpacker would earn for cleaning the bedrooms of some random hostel every week?[/FONT]
2. [FONT=Trebuchet MS, sans-serif]If a law was passed in the Dail today, prohibiting online poker in Ireland, would you switch to live poker or would you move to some country that allowed online poker? Or would you just look for a normal job? [/FONT]
3. [FONT=Trebuchet MS, sans-serif]Preferring live to online myself as I find online too boring after a couple of hours, how do you manage to sustain your concentration day in and day out?[/FONT]

[FONT=Trebuchet MS, sans-serif]Hope you dont mind me asking you all these questions. I was bored at work! Thanks for putting up with me. Cheers![/FONT]

dannydiamond

mmmm "civil servant" asking lots of questions mmmm

Theresalwaysone

I seriously doubt anyone is going to answer these questions.

dannydiamond

Theresalwaysone wrote: »

I seriously doubt anyone is going to answer these questions.

.

Get In There

Ah I suppose I am askin too many questions!!! Dont mind me then! Lets just consign this threads to the pages beyond!!!

Requiem4adream

Get In There wrote: »

[/LIST]

[FONT=Trebuchet MS, sans-serif]For the Online players:[/FONT]

1. [FONT=Trebuchet MS, sans-serif]Why do you live in Ireland where your income is offset by the expenses of living in such an expensive country? With your job mobility, have you ever considered living in somewhere where houses don’t cost a fortune, where the weather is consistently glorious and your earnings would enable you to live life like a king? Or more so, travelling the world whilst playing poker a couple of hours a day to earn the wage that an average backpacker would earn for cleaning the bedrooms of some random hostel every week?[/FONT]
2. [FONT=Trebuchet MS, sans-serif]If a law was passed in the Dail today, prohibiting online poker in Ireland, would you switch to live poker or would you move to some country that allowed online poker? Or would you just look for a normal job? [/FONT]
3. [FONT=Trebuchet MS, sans-serif]Preferring live to online myself as I find online too boring after a couple of hours, how do you manage to sustain your concentration day in and day out?[/FONT]

[FONT=Trebuchet MS, sans-serif]Hope you dont mind me asking you all these questions. I was bored at work! Thanks for putting up with me. Cheers![/FONT]

You went to a lot of trouble so i'll try a few for ya:

1. I live in Ireland because it's home. Home is home All my friends and family are here. The cost of living is pretty high but it's the same for everyone. I hate flying hence never been to America or Australia and by America i mean primarily Vegas

2. If online is prohibited i'd get a normal job/career. I'm not good enough nor patient enough to grind out a living on the Dublin poker cash scene. It's grand eeking out a living from the comfort of home, but would be like pulling teeth for me in town.

3. Maintaining concentration is tough. Once your concentration wanes it's downhill from there. I usually play 10-14 hour sessions with no breaks. Listening to music, watching tv, reading Boards.ie & bbc.co.uk, stuff like that helps to keep you alert and the mind active (that's if the 10 tables i'm on isn't enough to keep me awake!).

nicnicnic

Get In There wrote: »

[FONT=Trebuchet MS, sans-serif][*]

[FONT=Trebuchet MS, sans-serif]Are you sponsored by a poker room to play in tournaments? How did you manage to secure sponsorship?[/FONT]

[/FONT]

think there might be about two Irish
players sponsored in total

Get In There

Thanks for the replies guys... Sorry abt the questions, once i had typed down one i just had to follow it up with another and then another and so on! I m intrugied by the life of a poker pro so apologies for being a nosey bugger! But anyway I do realise the questions are too many so lets just let the thread drift away to the boards archives!

Cheers again!

Jools Poker

hey Get in There,

fwiw I'd also love to hear the answers to your questions from some of the regulars on the circuit...but you might find a little of what you're looking for if you search on the forum for the "In the Well" threads where various players put themselves under the spotlight and people ask them loads of questions about poker and their life as a poker player...
I had similar wistful notions leaving Galway last Sunday and heading back to the real world....hang in there..it could happen yet!!!:)

bohsman

Like most things its fun when its a hobby but becomes a grind when you do it for a living, I cant face the tought of playing a festival the last few months, playing nearly only live cash games at the moment, I should be playing a lot more online but I just cant face it, I know I'll tilt money away if I do so I havent bothered.
Daily schedule varies as I try to stay playing football and see daylight every now and then, Ill often play for 12hrs+ and go home whenever I get tired, rarely use my alarm clock. Often change from days to nights twice a week. A 9-5 would be far easier but I enjoy the positives too much.

Positives - travel, able to pick your own schedule

Negatives - It gets boring very quickly and its a nightmare playing trying to play your way out of a bad run. Unsocial hours, difficult to stay anywhere near fit sitting at a poker table ordering food all night.

Im not a profesional poker player, I do the odd hour or twos work every now and then when the rent is due but I try to avoid it so Im practically living the lifestyle. Also remember that your average pro footballer isnt earning a fortune, same with poker, for most people its a grind to make a half decent living. Read some of the more honest players blogs. Ive just been up for the last 48hrs or so so its a bit of a ramble.

Ste05

If you wanna read about the lives of some of the Pro's on here, check out the Sticky in this forum and go down to the Best of Thread post. In there you'll find links to the "Well's" or Q&A sessions of various pro's.

Each of your questions has probably had a thread on their own at some stage, if you feel like rooting around the old threads.

Macspower

welcome to the forum.... from time to time you'll see Q & A (well) with a player there to answer questions.. keep that list and throw the lot at him

Get In There

Great... I ll look forward to that! Thanks guys