But do they have the brain for stomach surgery?

is that so?

i just passed my final exam of my medicine studies this summer, and i will be a doctor in a about a year after internship, but i sure as hell won´t be a brain surgeon, as only a very few % of us actually are qualified and have what it takes to do that imho.

as a side note, after being around for a few years now, on 2p2, the occasional live trip to the casino, being on skype and the almighty hsdb, i have to say that most poker players are just pretty dumb, plain and simple.
ofc, there are excuses, but your regular joe is just quite stupid and got a exaggeraget opinion of himself.

There is more to it than just brains. Quite honestly there are probably brain surgeons who are not as smart as some of these poker players. But on the flip token there probably are brain surgeons who are smarter than poker players but cannot beat the game.

Stress is really a relative thing and is hard to compare to a real world job. Everyone is different. Now some people play cards and no highs or lows. Others are stressed to high heaven. There are people who go into wars and everything is fine afterwards. Others it is so traumatic they never recover. There are people who consider a cashier one of the most stressful jobs ever. Others consider fast food so stressful but playing poker being very low stress.

It was a rhetorical question, but I appreciate and agree with your reply.

I also agreed a lot with Kaby's comments it the thread. FWIW, I think a lot of players don't realise just how stressful poker can be. It's pretty damn serious if you take it, er... seriously.

JudgeHoldem is a top gangster, no-one question him

Probably about as stressful as a taxi driver, fast food fry cook or junior reporter.

There's a difference between the stress of worrying about income and the actual stress of a job.

Poker isn't that stressful when you're not worried about your finances, imo. In fact I hear it's kinda fun to play.

I haven't talked to any day traders in the last few years, but I knew quite a few in the late 1990s during the internet boom. In terms of the swings and the stress, I'd also say that's a good comparison.

Apologies for singling this one thread out, as many are making similar statements, but the OP did not ask how stressful poker is, he's asking how stressful being a professional poker player is. Those are two completely different questions.

I have not found poker to be all that stressful. Aggravating and frustrating at times, but not really all that stressful per se. Why? Because I'm a recreational, low-stakes player. If I have a downswing (or an upswing, for that matter), it's not exactly a life-altering experience.

But a professional player makes all of or most of his income through this game. Even with the strictest of bankroll management practices, a rough patch means the well will run a little dry for a while. He just has to hope that he gets back into enough of an upswing to a) pay the bills and b) withstand the next downswing with some extra to spare.

In that regard, I would compare what I know about the professional poker-playing lifestyle with that of my friends who work as creative freelancers. They go weeks, even months at a time with zero income. Then they go weeks and months at a time where they seem to be working around the clock on several lucrative projects. In between jobs, they have to spend what they made wisely, hone their skills to stay marketable, and remain confident that their abilities will eventually yield the next reward. If I could somehow chart their bank accounts on a daily basis, I imagine it would have the same roller-coaster shape as a poker player's graph.

Ultimately, I agree with another poster that it's pretty much impossible to answer this question in any absolute sort of way because of variations within any given profession, not to mention one's personal styles (e.g. risk aversion).

This pretty much covers it.

Fluffer

Walmart greeter.

I went from playing poker for a living to a sales job and I'd say the stress levels are comparable

Professional poker players and prostitutes do have A LOT in common, in my opinion.

Mods please close this abomination of a thread

Drug dealer

Archduke ferdinand nailed it. Can you handle that Dave?

Sports bettor, Baccarat player

Lifeguard

Drug dealer both professions got crazy upswings, risky gambling, degens, and attract lazy people. Also just like poker players most drugs dealers make nothing but the true great top .1% is making a good living. Also notice both drug dealers and poker players love to bs about how much they make.

To back up my point I know quite a few poker players who deal drugs im sure you do as well.

Or do you know quite a few drug dealers that play poker?

Obviously all of OP's example were LOLable and anyone who is comparing the military, surgeon, etc to a poker player is delusional without any real world experiences.

Salesman is the correct answer and it doesn't matter what they are selling as long as they get paid by commission only.

Every job ever.

Lets not forget that in Poker you still hold a level of freedom that you can't find in any other profession, and that includes business owners.

okay Pablo make sure you don't get in any more 140 mph car chases or get shot at and tell people on an internet poker forum about it

I went from playing professionally to being a real estate agent.

The freedom and stress are just about the same. Lots of variance in real estate, imho

day trader who makes small trades/ scalpes/ few trades a day for 4 hours a day