NOTE: I realize this is fairly long so if youÂ’d like to skip to the questions, I have underlined the important parts. You can answer all questions or just 1, up to you! I was hoping to ask some questions about poker but I'll start with some background: I'm 27, have a BA from UW-Madison in psychology, and intellectually my SAT/ACT scores put me in the top ~3%-5% in terms of intelligence. So I can learn things pretty quickly with good comprehension and have a pretty good memory. While I'm certainly good at math, English and communication are my strong suit. I have been playing/studying for 2.5 months now.

About Poker, IÂ’ve learned the basics and worked my way about 30% through RedChip PokerÂ’s CORE 2.0 Course (along with other articles from well-known websites). I have a pretty solid foundation. I've made it to the 2nd module of CORE 2.0, which introduces you to the basic math of the game, betting+sizing, applying ranges to villains, pre/post-flop play, and the mental aspect.

I currently play at PlayWSOP.com (where no actual money is involved, so IÂ’ve been using it as a proving ground) though you do have to buy chips to start- my bankroll currently stands at around 650M 2 months after buying 700M in chips. Anyways, right now, IÂ’d say IÂ’m a below average player though in the last week of playing everyday I would estimate my winrate to be 25-50 bb/100 hands so I'm definitely improving quickly. Fair assessment?
My 1st QUESTION IS: what is the best way to spend your time in order to improve? Right now, my time allocation is about: 35% playing at WSOP (free money site, though you have to buy chips, get about 100M per $10 USD and it doesn't have hand histories- that sounds like a pretty important feature to have considering I hear it can help immensely), 45% studying on poker websites like Pokerology, Upswing Poker, and put my most focus on RedChip PokerÂ’s CORE 2.0 course which has TONS of material starting at beginners that know the fundamentals and apparently getting pretty advanced and 20% taking/reviewing my Notes, pre-flop charts, 3-bet charts, etc. I plan to move to micro stakes real-money play ASAP b/c the free money competition is just so wild and unrealistic with no one having any defined ranges, pre-flop folds maybe 20% of the time, and itÂ’s obviously impossible to really gauge your skill/improve when playing complete amateurs. I also plan to purchase PokerTracker4 for when I start real-money in a few weeks, have Equilab downloaded on my 4 year old Windows laptop, while I mainly use a Mac, but am looking at purchasing Flopzilla/Poker Cruncher in the future. Any recommendations welcome (in terms of software, best micro stakes sites for beginners, any anything else poker-related.
2. Also, what's the best way to exploit loose passive/aggressive players for both WSOP and my upcoming microstakes? Also any advice or good articles/course (free or cheap) on Microstakes would also be appreciated- I’ve read Blackrain79’s “Massive Profits at the Microstakes” though it was written when there were a lot more online fish and has received mixed reviews so I’ll just try to take away the main points.
3. If I want to become a professional player at 27, about 2.5 months in, how much time per day/week would I need to invest in order to become a competent pro player that could reliably make $75K-100K+ per year? Or what would it take to alternatively keep a day job and make $25K+ per year on the side?
4. Honestly, do you think I have what it takes to be a solid professional poker player if I dedicate myself or am I starting too late in life? IÂ’m currently trying to decide whether to pursue a MasterÂ’s Degree in Psychology (where IÂ’d earn on average $60-75K as a therapist), or if I want to possibly go to law school, or a number of options.
5. Lastly, in poker and in life, whatÂ’s the best piece of advice youÂ’ve been given or could give to me?
Thanks so much for reading this message! I really appreciate any advice I can get at this point in my life!

The best way to become a good poker player (don't think about pro/ametuer, that's getting too far ahead of yourself). Play for REAL money and (i can't stress this enough) START AT THE LOWEST AVAILABLE STAKE. I don't care how much $$$ you can afford to loose. If you're new and want to improve your game, you should start from the ground and go up from there. 2nl or 5nl should be your launch point. If your confident in your current abilities, play 25k hands and evaluate your sample. You'll need a HUD if you don't already have one. 25k is a small sample size but it should give you a glimmer into your medium term poker future. You might be in for a long, brutal, slow realization that poker is more complicated than you once thought and your not cut out for it. There's nothing glamorous about staring at a computer screen for hours every day. I've been playing for 19 years, live and online. It's taken a long time, but after nearly 2 decades I feel like I'm just understanding the game of poker, even though I've won 7bb/100 over my last 250k hands. It's VERY unlikely you will ever become a pro. It doesn't matter how smart you are outside of poker. Study GTO after playing a little. Learn player tendencies and how to exploit them. Best advice, keep betting and raising. Aggression wins more often than not. That's how I play.

I might be wrong and you might be the exception, but as a rule, when someone asks if they have what it takes to be a pro poker player, the answer is no. I’m not trying to discourage you, but being a pro is very difficult. Full disclaimer— I’m not a pro and I would answer the same way foe myself; I don’t have what it takes.

What does it take? Well real pro’s can feel free to add to this, but here’s just a few things:

1. Mathematical ability. You cannot be a pro player without a good basic knowledge of the mathematics of probability, statistics, and game theory.

2. Work ethic. You cannot be a pro without the discipline to put in the hours of both play and study needed to succeed. People think being a poker pro is easy money. That’s probably the opposite; you probably would have to work less at a 9 to 5 conventional job to make the same money as you would as a poker pro.

3. Mental discipline. Once you develop your strategy, you must have the mental focus to stick to it regardless of results. You just lose an entire buy in with AA against a donk who shoved PF with 95? How do you react? Do you get angry and upset about it? Do you berate this player for making dumb plays? Does it affect your play going forward? If you can’t be truly happy with that result, compliment that player, and keep grinding after such a loss, you probably don’t have what it takes.

4. Self awareness. It’s a natural tendency to think that you played well when you win. It’s natural to think you’re better than you are. Can you be honest with yourself, questioning your play regardless of result, and make a true assessment of your play, even if you find that you really just got lucky? Brutal self honesty is necessary to succeed as a pro.

5. Lifestyle factors. Being a poker pro means no benefits. No vacation time, no medical insurance provided by an employer (which may not be a factor if you live in a country with government provided health care), no disability insurance, etc. You would have to take care of any investment for retirement on your own as well. You also will have periods, possibly extended ones, where you go on a downswing and have no income. Can your lifestyle handle having no income for several months at a time? Going back to my last point, here’s another thing you need to be honest with yourself about. Also do you plan on getting married or having a family? If so, will your SO be okay, really truly okay, with the downsides of your poker profession?

Most people don’t watch Tom Brady win the last Super Bowl and say “I could be a football pro”. Most of us didn’t watch the last Olympics and say “I could be a gymnast”. Well, it’s different skills, but very similar for poker. The vast majority of people who watch a poker pro win a WPT event or a WSOP main event and say “I could be a poker pro” really can’t.

I’m just trying to be honest, not discouraging. But you don’t have to make a living at poker to enjoy the game and actually win some money. If I were you, I’d finish whatever educational path you choose and establish a career. If you have the money, set aside a poker bankroll and start playing micro stakes and see how it goes. There’s nothing stopping you from playing and improving your game while pursuing a conventional career path. There’s also nothing stopping you from pursuing poker as a full time career later on if things go well enough that you think you can do it. You don’t have to say “I’m going to be a poker pro” at any given point to become one. I believe many pros kind of just evolved into it without actually setting out to do so. The important thing is to develop your game, practice good bankroll management and see where things go. Whatever you decide — good luck; hopefully it works out foe you.

Get a degree first. (I regret not getting one and now I feel too old/no energy/time to go for one.)
Do some research, getting a degree has tons of advantages even if you never actually use it. The biggest advantage imo, you get to meet lots of smart people.

Play poker as a hobby/side income while you're studying.
Once you get the degree you can take a shot at pro poker.
Honestly though, if you haven't played poker seriously for at least 2-3 years, don't even think about going pro.

The best advice in life imo: Believe in yourself and NEVER give up.

Did you read the Sticky thread HERE about some of the pitfalls to becoming a pro? A few VERY good pro players have chimed in; may be a good place to get a dose of reality.

My personal opinion is tainted by 60+ years of life experiences. And it all boils down to "why would anyone want to become a professional poker player?"

It can't be fun...... more likely a life of stress and the likelihood of not having financial security is a HUGE stresser imo. It can't guarantee life success. Very much like the 10 year old dreaming of playing at Fenway...... success is only for the very few.

Lastly, what do you see long term for the game of poker? Are there going to be more casinos? More online sites? I can't help but feel with the consolidation of poker since Black Friday...... the few remaining sharks are just going to be pushing chips back and forth across the felt with very few minnows swimming around.

/doom and gloom

stop playing playmoney

Hey all,
First off, I appreciate each of your responses/advice. Also, I realize the odds of becoming a highly profitable pro are extremely slim, my main questions were the best/fastest way to improve my game and what it would take to potentially become a pro/make poker a lucrative side hobby. Here are my main takeaways that I will implement ASAP:

1.) Start playing microstakes 2NL or 5NL with PokerTracker4 and play 5K-10K hands to evaluate my game at that point. I will do that while continue to study/take notes/and plug the leaks in my game along the way.

2.) You guys did bring up some of the negatives I hadn't thought of in terms of benefits, possible losing streaks and managing bankroll. Thus, I would agree it's much too early in my poker career to consider possibly becoming a pro. I also read the linked thread posted by KingSpew. I plan to continue my studies, I already have a Bachelor's in Psychology from the U of Wisconsin and every year or so, evaluate my current poker game (which I think I can do fairly objectively, esp. with Poker Tracker 4 providing objective stats) and soon get a career while playing poker as a hobby and if I think I have what it takes in a few years, maybe then I'll put more serious thought into becoming a pro.

If any of you have any response to this post, or someone new see this and would like to add a comment, or there are any recommendations for a good site to start playing real-money microstakes (with a decent amount of fish) then I'd still very much appreciate any comments!

5-10k hands is really not much for cash games, 50k will give you a better idea, if you play zoom games closer to 100-200k hands

don't get discouraged when you play 100k hands and you're a slightly losing player, this is normal, the way you become a winning player is by keeping at it

tournament variance is even worse

Here's an interesting video on the subject:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QXSpoiBJSiM

Learn proper bankroll management.

Even if you are an amazing player ... without bankroll management you will go bust.