Definition of a 'PRO' player

BIGSHANN

If a player plays poker and this is their only source of income, does this mean they are a 'professional player'?

Or

To be called a 'Professional player' does a player need to be playing high stakes cash regularly/ big money live turneys/ play on a tour?

This discussion came up in the chat box earlier and 2 thought version 1 and 2 thought version2.

Can anyone offer a definitive answer to clear this one up?

OMahonyO

I would say a `pro` would be someone whoo`s only/main source of income is from poker no matter how they earn it

BADBOY985

IF YOU USE THE OLD SPORTING DEFINITIONS THEN ANYBODY WHO RECIEVES ANY  FORM OF PAYMENT FOR  PARTICIPATING IS A PROFESSIONAL FOR INSTANCE IN RUGBY UNION PRE THE 1990s ANY PAYMENT EVEN FREE BOOTS FROM SUPLIERS WAS A BREACH OF THE STRICTLY AMATUER RULES.
SO ALL PLAYERS ARE IN SOMEWAY PROFESSIONAL,ALTHOUGH TO BE REFERED TO AS A POKER PRO FOR ME YOU WOULD HAVE TO BE EARNING YOUR MAIN INCOME FROM IT OR BE SPONSERED INSOME WAY.
EXELLENT DISCUSSION POINT THOUGH

scotty77

From talking to you, you have only recently started playing for a living?  I'd say after 6 months or so of continued success you can consider yourself a 'pro'.

I wouldn't consider the stakes to be a barrier tho.  If you play enough hands with rakeback then even at 20nl$ it is possible to grind a living.  I know some various people live who are pros and they only play 300nl cash, which live is hard to do because of the variance + how few hands you can get in.

ACESOVER8s

A Pro at anything is somebody who makes a living from a specific activity. A Pro golfer someone who plays golf for a living, pro footballer the same (only with football not golf obviously). So a proffesional gambler or poker player is somebody whose major income comes from that source. It has nothing to do with, amount earned, time served or fame it's purely down to how you make your money.

I've seen on other forums people try to make a distinction between being a pro and making a living but if poker is a full time occupation for you then you would have to say you are a proffesional poker player.

OMahonyO

There are some who think or make out they are pro`s that are not.

I remember a good while ago I was on ft of a live £20 f/o.  We were down to about 6 players (100 ish starters).  Apart from myself the others seemed to know each other.  One was really annoying..  I made some move that didnt get through and the annoying one said `what you have to remember is you are sitting at a table with four pro`s`,  `really`, I said.  `Yes` he said `theres four of us`  (obv counting himself as one of the pro`s).
I thought yeah get real mate, just coz you play regularly doesnt make you a pro.  He would have to final table every night to make a living at live £20 freezeouts

unknown_username

In Response to Re: Definition of a 'PRO' player:

There are some who think or make out they are pro`s that are not. I remember a good while ago I was on ft of a live £20 f/o.  We were down to about 6 players (100 ish starters).  Apart from myself the others seemed to know each other.  One was really annoying..  I made some move that didnt get through and the annoying one said `what you have to remember is you are sitting at a table with four pro`s`,  `really`, I said.  `Yes` he said `theres four of us`  (obv counting himself as one of the pro`s). I thought yeah get real mate, just coz you play regularly doesnt make you a pro.  He would have to final table every night to make a living at live £20 freezeouts
Posted by OMahonyO

Whether you consider yourself a professional poker player or not is subject to many variables. A person who is for instance unemployed and making £10,000 a year from poker may be happy with that and consider themself a professional. The figure of £10k is relative to the persons personal circumstances. A person with a well paid job may be a good poker player and win overall but they probably wouldn't consider ''turning pro'' simply because it makes little sense financially. I am a 'professional' but not a poker professional. I am lucky enough to recieve professional fees for my work but also enjoy my poker. For me to consider becoming a poker pro would mean I would probably have to be spending £250k+ pa in entry fees with all the uncertainty associated with poker.

So if someone calls themselves a pro be happy for them but don't be intimidated by the term, they might earn £10k pa. There are professional footballers earning £20k pa and some earning £20k a day.

scotty77

In Response to Re: Definition of a 'PRO' player:

There are some who think or make out they are pro`s that are not. I remember a good while ago I was on ft of a live £20 f/o.  We were down to about 6 players (100 ish starters).  Apart from myself the others seemed to know each other.  One was really annoying..  I made some move that didnt get through and the annoying one said `what you have to remember is you are sitting at a table with four pro`s`,  `really`, I said.  `Yes` he said `theres four of us`  (obv counting himself as one of the pro`s). I thought yeah get real mate, just coz you play regularly doesnt make you a pro.  He would have to final table every night to make a living at live £20 freezeouts
Posted by OMahonyO

While this kind of table talk is LOL, just because it is a £20FO doesn't mean that they couldn't be 'professional'.  Maybe they play fairly high cash games/other tournies but just played that tournie to chill out with mates...I was playing a £75 tournie the other week down my local cardroom and had a very recent WSOP final tabler (actually think he came 2nd in that event) on my table.

I admit tho it is unlikely and the 'pro' in this story probably had won a couple of similar BI tournies and let it go to their head.

nirvana29

pro stands for professional, as in you do it for a job.

Tikay10

In Response to Re: Definition of a 'PRO' player:

In Response to Re: Definition of a 'PRO' player : While this kind of table talk is LOL, just because it is a £20FO doesn't mean that they couldn't be 'professional'.  Maybe they play fairly high cash games/other tournies but just played that tournie to chill out with mates...I was playing a £75 tournie the other week down my local cardroom and had a very recent WSOP final tabler (actually think he came 2nd in that event) on my table. I admit tho it is unlikely and the 'pro' in this story probably had won a couple of similar BI tournies and let it go to their head.
Posted by scotty77

Bracelet winner Willie Tann (he won his bangle in 2005 IIRC) regularly plays the Friday £75-er & Sunday £100-er at Luton, as does Kevin O'Leary, who has won or chopped four Venetian Deepstacks for over $500k in the last 2 years.

A top 3 finish in either of these is close to a grand minimum, & that's tidy money to almost every poker player.

SHANXTA

u cant judge someone just from the current game they are playing.

a few weeks ago 2 'red pro's' of ft were playin 5/10c omaha, not because this is their normal level, far from it, but because they were jus avin a laugh, both AIPF every hand and spinning $10

BIGSHANN

Thanks for all your arguments guys.  Seems that the concensus is, if you your sole income is from poker then this makes it your profession.  Whether or not you are earning £10kpa or £1millpa does not make a difference.

Hopefully the guys who were on that table will read this thread and add their comments!