How to Become an Online Poker Pro – Everything You Need to Know

Every poker player has fantasies of ditching their day job and taking up poker professionally. Poker is one of the most rousing and remunerative casino games in existence – every poker pro knows that it is a skill-based game that presents players with plenty of opportunities to win real cash. Online poker is very popular as well, with a plethora of live tournaments and competitions with huge cash prizes offered at a range of different skill levels so that not only pro poker players get to have all the fun.

To become a professional poker player, you will have to have a pretty solid online poker strategy and luckily for you, we also have a number of online poker tips you can use to up your poker game.

To enjoy the rewards of being an online poker pro, every player needs to work very hard, especially if you intend to join the likes of Phil Hellmuth, Daniel Negreanu and Jason Mercier, who are some of the greatest poker players in the world.

Now, onto the online poker tips we prepared for you.

Get Acquainted with All Aspects of the Poker Game

To win any online poker game, the first and most important online poker strategy is to study and master each and every aspect of the game. This is what defines a professional online poker player – in-depth knowledge of the game presents more opportunities for you to win. Furthermore, this online poker strategy is based on consistency which therefore implies a consistent need for more research and study so as to make sure you are not left behind or even outsmarted by other players.

To become a professional poker player, you need to find out what poker pros like Daniel Negreanu have been doing to get to their level. As you may have already inferred from all the online poker tips you have heard of before, while you may win at online poker tables even on your first try, becoming a professional poker player is not as easy – it takes time.

You will need to remember that the game exhibits a strict learning curve that stretches out across several months, and sometimes, even years. Extended practice is what makes a poker pro and thus everyone who intends to get there needs to acknowledge this. You can read books, join online poker forums, watch online poker tutorials videos, and even find a mentor to guide you through the best online poker strategy and hands.

Set Realistic Goals

This is one of the online poker tips that tend to be dismissed by very many online poker players who want to go pro – and it has cost them. Once you decide to be a professional poker player, you need to figure out the number of tournaments or hands you will have to play to reap a substantial amount of money in the form of earnings – ideally, assuming you had a job prior to your poker career, the amount you earn should be at per with your previous salary, otherwise it would not be worth it.

So, let’s say for instance you aspire to rake in $100,000 annually, which is possible – the key factor here is to plan out a gaming schedule that is fit for a poker pro. Like any other profession, there will be days you will not be able to work as a professional poker player and this will definitely affect your overall earnings. Of all the online poker tips you will find out there, this one is intended to keep you from making a mistake that will make you regret leaving your job.

Establish a Huge Bankroll and Life Roll

Every online poker strategy guide always comes down to how you manage your finances – they most certainly have to be in order. Every smart poker pro will have a substantial amount of cash stashed away for emergencies since, as we all know, things in the casino industry can get a bit shaky sometimes.

Furthermore, the stash should be off limits to any of your poker-based ambitions as it is almost guaranteed that you will not always win at the online poker games you play. As it is almost certain that you will not always win at online poker, it is advisable to have a bankroll that is much larger than that of regular recreation online poker players. This online poker tip protects players against stake drop downs which make it very hard to achieve your monetary goals and, as always, being a ‘fool’ with a huge bankroll is definitely better than being broke.

Act the Part

While you can win money at online poker without being a professional poker player, the rules change significantly when you decide to be a professional poker player. Every poker player can benefit from numerous online poker tips or any online poker strategy but this does not necessarily make them professionals – which implies that every poker pro needs to have a professional attitude towards the game.

A professional attitude involves discipline and dedication, which is typical of any career.

The ability to define your own working hours as a professional poker player is a huge advantage and once you figure out the best time to play, it gets even better. It is very likely that you will be motivated to play at certain times more than others – this freedom keeps fatigue at bay and allows you to make the most out of player pool tendencies.

Being a poker pro essentially means that you are self-employed and you are therefore not accountable to anyone but yourself. While there are very few jobs that offer even close to the same level of independence, you need to practice self-management to make sure that you do not veer off every time you win an online poker game. You have to stay focused.

Play at Your Limits

Sometimes avoiding further losses is a win in its own special way. This is one of the best online poker tips you will ever find as it protects you from potential bankruptcy caused by unregulated gambling.

Usually, a key trait that defines a poker pro is the ability to tranquilize one’s ego and effectively stick within the gaming limits that best suit one’s current situation. Limits, in this context, do not refer to just finances but extends to various other aspects such as skill – poker tables are often offered in tables of different skill levels.

Moving to the next table of a higher skill level should only be done after you have spent a considerable amount of time practicing till you are confident in obtaining a win.

Online poker rooms of higher skill levels will, obviously, have smarter opponents and therefore your gameplay capabilities need to at least match theirs. Ideally, you should move to the next level when you are sure you can beat each and every professional poker player at that level.

Don’t Just Dive into It

This online poker strategy might imply having one foot in online poker and the other elsewhere – in your career, for instance. While it is true that to win at online poker as a poker pro you will have to be very dedicated to the game, not every player will be successful at launching a successful online poker career, at least not immediately. For this reason, you need a fallback plan to ensure you do not go down the much-dreaded road of unemployment with no income at all.

Very few online poker tips will give you such advice but here we advocate for the idea of giving online poker a test run before you completely switch to being a poker pro. If necessary, take a break from your regular day job and spend some time exploring the depths of the poker game to see whether it indeed suits your mindset, financial needs and time.

Be Consistent

Once you establish yourself as a professional poker player, you will need to play consistently if you are going to win enough online poker money to reach the earning targets you set for yourself. Like many online poker tips, this one is simply an incentive to play online poker responsibly.

Playing constantly is a great online poker strategy when you win at most online poker tables but does not work out so well when you are losing. Players, therefore, need to know when to stop playing and when to go back to the drawing board and strategize on how to improve their gameplay.

Be Choosy About the Online Poker Games You Play

There are a plethora of online poker games that you can choose from depending on your personal preferences as well as your confidence in the games. Mastering one or two poker games increases the opportunities you have to win at online poker tables – you do not have to stick to conventionally popular poker games as you have the liberty of deciding which poker game best suits you or offers you more chances of winning.

So, the more games you have under your belt, the more opportunities you have of taking advantage of different games at different times, resulting in more potential winnings for yourself.