You're almost certainly paid while on vacation, or if you're sick.Īre you really going to sit grinding for 60 hours every week? When you have a salaried job, you are usually paid on the same date every month regardless of how productive your week or month is (within reason). Once you've ascertained that you're a winning poker player, it's time to begin trying to figure out how many poker hands or tournaments you'll need to play in order at least to match your previous salary. If you're not a winning poker player over the long term, you'll soon be heading back to your old boss cap-in-hand hoping to be reemployed. You need tens of thousands of cash game hands and tournaments (if not hundreds of thousands) to prove you're a winning player. Many people bag a big score in a poker tournament, or win the equivalent of two months' wages at the cash tables and start thinking that this game is an easy way to make a living. This is one of the main reasons why: you need to prove to yourself you know how to be a profitable online poker player first.

Remember how we said that handing in your notice and jumping straight into being a professional poker player isn't a good idea? The games are completely free to play, meaning you can play poker for fun, try new things, play online poker with friends and never risk any of your bankroll. You can also practice Texas holdem and pot limit Omaha cash games and tournaments for free on the WSOP Poker app.

Learn how to play poker online