Is Poker a Good Career? 5 Professional Players Share Their Story

Wondering whether poker could actually work as a career is a normal thing to think about. But it’s not an easy question, and it’s not one you can answer from the sidelines.

So instead of guessing, we asked five of bitB Spins’ own players and coaches to walk through their own path: how they started, what they got wrong early on, how they kept learning, and what it actually looks like to build a living around the game.

Their answers cover starting out, the value of studying the right way instead of just playing more, building a career around coaching, balancing poker with family life, and staying motivated once you’ve made it to the top.

If you’re weighing the same decision, their stories are a more honest starting point than most.

HOW DOES SOMEONE ACTUALLY BECOME A PROFESSIONAL POKER PLAYER?

areanu: My Spin & Go journey has started in late 2017. Before that, I was an NL and PL cash game player, but in either format, I never moved past the 0.25/0.5 stake. Back then, I was a “rakeback grinder,” which was very detrimental to my progress.

With the Spin & Go format, I changed my approach entirely: I focused on quality over quantity, and since then I’ve only played 2-3 tables at a time. That shift did wonders for me.

I joined a school and quickly went from $5s on Party Poker to $60s on PS. I also met a lot of great people along the way (special appreciation and love to Stefan, Pierre, Diginius, Wolle83, Alchemikpl, and many others), and later followed them into bitB Spins, which I’m still very happy about.

I joined the bitB Spins team wanting to be a little more than just a player. I’ve experimented a bit with giving sessions on the areas of poker I excel at, but the role that stuck is “hand judge”. I’m good with words, both reading and writing, and I enjoy sharing knowledge and being helpful, so it suits me perfectly.

A big part of any job is some sense of “goodness” we contribute as human beings, and poker is a pretty ungrateful job in that regard. Pros work hard to outplay hobby players, but it would be a bit much to expect any appreciation from their side.

This role covers that need for me. I feel appreciated, and I get to help others walk a similar road and contribute to their progress. It’s a wonderful feeling.

WHY LEARNING POKER THE RIGHT WAY BEATS PLAYING MORE VOLUME

sbala90: I like to learn well. For me, quality is over quantity. I know I could earn more by analyzing less and playing more, but as I said, I enjoy exploring.

I think there are many different things one can do wrong in learning poker: not focusing on the right thing, not following the logic of GTO, not understanding how to exploit well, forgetting strategies, having unstructured strategies, not having an optimal environment, and so on.

You can do many things wrong in learning. I think I am able to learn well because I spot bad processes and I pay attention to avoid bad habits when learning.

BUILDING A CAREER AROUND COACHING AND SHARING KNOWLEDGE

Stefan: Hey, I’m Stefan, also known as Fetedlabiere. I’ve been playing poker professionally for a few years. I started my career playing 6max, but quickly switched to HU Cash.

At that time, I was already creating videos and offering coaching sessions for a big poker school. I was playing up to NL1k when, in 2016, my poker-related friends told me how profitable Spin & Go’s are.

Soon after that, I understood what a big opportunity this was and started playing this format more frequently. I began slowly with €10 Spin & Gos and committed myself fully to this type of game in June. By the end of 2017, I was already playing €100s and starting to feel comfortable at that limit.

BALANCING EXPLOITATIVE PLAY, THEORY, AND FAMILY AS A PRO

WHAT KEEPS TOP PLAYERS MOTIVATED TO KEEP CLIMBING

I became a coach because I saw how rewarding working together was for both sides. My coaches were so happy with my development, and I was so proud to make it to the top and create more and more $EV every month, while we both made more and more money.