I am new to the poker scene and wanted to know a few things. I was always curious about this so if you PRO's are out there, please provide some insight.

1.) What is the true definition of a Pro Poker player? What makes you a PRO compared to being an amateur.

2.) What are the PRO's and Con's of being a PRO Poker Player?

3.) Many poker players have backers and there are makeups. What are makeups?

4.) How do you distinguish the real PRO's compared to those that are just wannabe's.

I await for your reply and thank you in advance!

How do you have an 8 year old account but new to the poker scene?


1 - Someone that makes a living playing poker


The rest is subjective/speculation

If you are stuck in a bad game, but play an extra two hours for the free buffet offer, you are probably a pro poker player.

His SN accurately explains why it took so long to post

Most income from poker

/end thread.

The "you might be a pro poker player if..." bit might be fun in this thread...

Even that one is subjective. If you went to culinary school, opened a restaurant five years ago, working in there 60 hours/week and lost money every single year, you’re still a professional cook. You might suck at running a business, but’s a totally different issue.

If you play poker full time, you might be considered a professional player, no matter if you make money or not.

I'm not a pro but I do that all the time!

I'll take a shot at answering.

1) Having your sole source of income or at least most of your living expenses come from playing poker, can be considered to be a pro. Not sure why that's a question really but that's the basic answer. Playing cards is there "job"

2) The pro's are the freedom of it, and making a living doing something you love to-do. It's that simple really. Least for me it was.
The con's of it can be different for everyone, but speaking personally, I'd say that the grind of it all can ware you down sometimes just like with most jobs, but poker is also a very emotional game and when your playing for rent stress levels can and will increase (times that by 10 if your not properly bankrolled or on a downswing)

3) I'd wager that a majority of pros have been backed or staked at some point in their poker careers. It's the nature of the beast. Downswings happen to everyone, and sometimes even the most prepared fully rolled players get hit with unforeseen issues. Getting backed helps alleviate some of the stress that comes with playing for a living, and can even help a player play at their best.
"Makeup", is the amount of money that a staked player owes to the backer before future profits are given to them. (For example, if you backed me for cash games on a 50/50 weekly split, and the first week I lose 1k, then the next week I am considered to be in "1k of makeup" so when I win 4k the very next week, you take that 1k I owe before we split the rest. The same thing goes for tournaments)

4) Let's face it. We are all just wannabe good poker players. And you don't need to be Phil Ivy good to be a pro. Just gotta try to be on the right side of variance and with proper bankroll management, hope you can stay there!

I was bored, hoped that helped you..

I'm thinking back to the time when we argued whether or not the plural "pros" should be contracted (it shouldn't, as "pro" is a standalone word, thus the pluralization rules simply tack the "s" on the end).

Now let's discuss whether or not it should be PRO, all caps. Maybe the OP thinks it's an acronym?

If the PPA T shirt you got still fits then you are a pro.

PROS - groupies

CONS - Have you seen the poker groupies?


3.50

Wannabes lack the groupies and appropriate T-shirts.

You’re not a pro unless you owe absurd amounts of money while taking absurd shots

This^ also being in 6 figure make up

i think being a pro really comes down to how sick of casino food you are and whether you've dated a dealer or not .... for live poker.

online it comes down to how pissed your parents are at you for still jerking off on there good towels and exactly how many times youve told them your moving out once you move up stakes...... obv.

This is the answer your looking for OP

Thank You for the response, this helped out a lot and clarified a lot of things.

How do you have an 8 year old account but new to the poker scene?


User name checks out.