Yes, agreed, I mean if you're going to lie you need to have a reasonable cover story that you will remember from day to day.

I consistently lie about playing online ("I heard that it's rigged"), which is easy to remember but I also need to not to use online poker jargon or 3! to exactly x3 like I would online.

"I'm on disability, on account of the voices. Some of them are pretty good at poker. Most of them are total donkeys."

Tell them you work for UPS doing deliveries, how many follow up questions can there really be?

"What do you do for a living?" is a super standard question in general.

"Are you a pro?" is also a super standard question when you buy in for more than most people do and then table hop and also know everybody.

Most pros I've seen when they are asked are honest. They don't use the word "pro" but instead say they're doing it or gesture towards the table.

A few people have asked me if I play poker for a living, which I find amusing. I truthfully say no, but I feel like they wouldn't care at all if I truthfully told them yes.

I like this one. For humorous answers, I also enjoy "shipping industry" and "equity analyst". But as previously stated in this thread, this is basically like saying, "I'm a pro and I'm trying to hide it."

?????????

I'm not a pro, but if I was and answered honestly, I don't think they would care.

nah, it's not a lie at all. If someone's grinding 200-500NL live, he's pretty much unemployed.

I was also going to suggest "I'm in between jobs, have a lot of free time lately".

No one has ever asked me out of the blue what I do for a living, unless I was in a friendly conversation with him for a while, and at that point, what's wrong with saying your play full time, if in fact you do?

No fish is ever going to yell across the table at you and say "Hey seat 6, what do you do for a living?" These questions usually come with sincerity from people who take interest in getting to know you.

I feel like it's kind of an unwritten rule that you don't ask people at the poker table what they do for a living. There are 3 groups of people who play poker: people with normal jobs or businesses, criminals and poker pros. 2 of those 3 groups would rather not discuss it.

I don't think I've ever been asked the question unless I was specifically talking about something relating to my job.

Im injured and cant do the work I used to, so Im forced to be a "poker pro" Fortunately its working so far. When Im asked what I do I say "this" Im not too intimidating though even when I leave with most of the money.

I have found this to be true. I've never had somebody radically adjust their play if they heard or found out I play for a living...Now, I've had guys completely stop playing with me after getting stacked several times. This one guy in particular, will never sit at my table, and if I come to his, he will rack up and leave within a couple hands 100% of the time. This just illustrates that people care more about how they run against you than anything else.

The fact is that, particularly at the 2/5 level, there are a lot of aspiring and wannabe pros, and I think people are aware of that for the most part, and when I meekly say "This is all I do right now" when asked about my profession, I don't think many people immediately jump to "OMG THIS GUY IS A CRUSHER WHO IS LIVING THIS LAVISH LIFESTYLE AND FEEDING HIS RETIREMENT ACCOUNTS WITH MY MONEY!"... Nor should they. You can make a comfortable living at 2/5, but it is hardly a means for living lavishly, supporting a big family, or boosting those investment accounts significantly.

Once you get to the higher stakes (5/10 through 25/50), all but the biggest whales realize the 24 year old who always max buys and runs up big stacks is probably playing for serious profit, and that person is probably just better off embracing their beast of an image.

I find the other side of this far more common. Can't count how many toolboxes at WSOP needed to tell me multiple times, "I do this for a living."

internet company like what?playing poker?you should be specific doing betting is never that too good from what I know thou playing a game like poker is pretty much beneficial for those who have the right skills and the knowledge this is the right place which they need to get start from.
Soccer betting is the best it is the right place for the unemployed but its a game of chance.

Those guys are such tools, and half the time, they only do this "for a living" for less than a year before they realize they aren't good enough.

I think the more likely a player at the table is to tell people at the table that he/she is a pro, the more likely that player doesn't have what it takes to actually be a pro in the long run.

Def agree, most actual pro's dont see the title as something glorifying -- they see it as a way to pay the bills. You will rarely catch them openly bragging about that

Best thing to say is whatever your last actual job was. If you never had an actual job, then just say student. Do not claim to be a pro. Ever. Or say "I was in (blank) but am currently looking for something." This could lead to possible job offer.

since I moved to full time and am basically now just traveling around the country playing 8 months a year, I just give an honest answer... Investments and business let me travel and play a lot. They don't know I am making a tidy sum playing. they assume I am a rec

Agree with those who say, be honest and friendly. I usually say "I gamble and do some other stuff," which is true. If they want to talk more about gambling, I'll steer things towards sports betting. Mainly because I think any serious talk about poker is bad and I find it boring.

As mentioned, ask what they do. It keeps the subject friendly and casual. Sometimes the answer leads to a fruitful conversation as well. I've met cops, soldiers, fishermen, successful business people, intellectuals, pro athletes, rock stars and almost anything else you can think of who are happy to talk about their experiences, all of which are far more interesting than poker.

Also, I think at the higher limits, people expect and perhaps even desire the challenge of playing pros. At the lower levels, where I play, people seem to understand that it's not that big a deal: that nobody at 1/2-2/5 is Phil Ivey.

The exception is if you act like a DB, get off on intimidating or embarrassing people, or otherwise make them uncomfortable and make a big show of it all. But if that is the case, someone knowing you are a "pro" is just the cherry on top.

Yes. When someone makes a big point about "being a pro," I lean heavily towards believing they are in the process of going broke attempting it, are a rich kid, etc.

Op why are you preoccupied with such minor issues?

Even if this is a real problem (which it isn't) surely it can't take but a few seconds to come up a satisfactory reply?

Either tell him you play to make a living or make something up! It matters little what you do the effects are minimal.

I usually just tell people I live in my car and drive for Uber

"I'm living the dream."

This response was actually aids. Why bother posting on forums at all just to tell people their question is too trivial for you to answer.

"I invest...."

I'm not sure if it really matters, I guess maybe at lower levels. I played 5/5 last weekend, made a couple good moves in a couple spots, made 1 huge 4bet/double barrel bluff against a kid that seemed like the only possible pro at the table (was 3betting somewhat light), showed the bluff because besides him the table was really nitty and he immediately complained about me being a pro. Then I told him what I do (work in finance) and he as well as a couple other guys chimed in that I'm lying.

IDK, I think my point is, people will be able to tell whether or not your a good/dangerous player. If you claim to be a "pro" but I watch you do questionable things at the table, it's not going to make me feel any differently about battling with you. If you just play for fun during the weekends but I watch you make some good moves in spots then I'm going to note that as well.

I think eventually, after 3-4 orbits, people can tell who the better players are.

Honestly, I think it really comes down to table etiquette. If you sit down and start engaging everybody/chatting it up, keeping it light and friendly, people will want to give you more action whether or not you're a pro. If you sit down with a hoody/sunglasses (I have come to really find sunglasses annoying) and headphones and don't talk, your image to everybody else at the table is unfavorable.

I don't really see how saying you're a pro could help you though. Hopefully if you are a pro, poker isn't your only source of income and you're doing something else on the side as well. Then you can just talk about that and claim that's what you do (have a blog, write on the internet, trader, etc)

Right...... but do you disagree with me?

Could this ever really be a problem for someone who can speak fluent English and is not in a coma? What reaction is the op scared of? Does he seriously believe people are going to adjust playing styles towards him because of the way he answers? If they do is he incapable of readjusting as a "pro"? I have yet to meet a "pro" who hasn't the gumption to say something either funny or defusing to this question, it doesn't even really matter if he can't speak English...... Geez! Just shrug laugh and say nothing and let them talk about it if this line of questioning messes you up so bad. (Its unlikely it crops up more than once every 200 hours anyway unless you're inciting it yourself)

The thing is WHO CARES!