How Much Money Should You Be Making Before Turning Pro in Poker

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Doug Polk and Jaime Staples recently debated the issue of how much money you need to become a poker pro. Doug Polk argued that you need to make $100,000 a year to be a poker pro, while Staples argued that the number is arbitrary.

I tend to side more with Staples. Back when I played semi-professionally, I got to the point where I thought about going pro and I had an initial bankroll of around $65,000. However, after evaluating certain factors, I decided that I did not want to go pro.

Today, let’s walk through some factors you should consider before turning pro and whether $100,000 is indeed an appropriate benchmark.

What’s Your Monthly Nut?

Daniel Negreanu likes to refer to the amount of money you need each month for your basic living expenses as your “monthly nut.” This includes rent, utilities, money for food and gas, and any other money you need to keep things going around your home.

When I was in my 20’s, my monthly nut could have been met between $1,000 to $1,200 based on where I was living. Based on my lifestyle and certain expenses, that has grown to as high as $2,500 per month.

So for me, I needed an annual nut of $14,400 to $30,000 to keep things going. That’s not even considering tax considerations.

Think About Your Taxes

Poker pros are self-employed, which means they are subject to self-employment taxes. Those taxes range somewhere in the are of about 30% depending on your income level, etc. So figure that you need to have about $250 in taxes for every $1,000 that you make.

Yes, that’s steep, but that’s the reality for many. That means you need an additional $3,500 to $7,500 just to cover your taxes. So I would need at least $20,000 to $40,000 a year in profits in order to stay afloat.

The Cost of Poker

When people rush into turning pro, they often overlook the costs associated with playing poker for a living. If you’re an online poker player, your costs are going to be static and limited to the buy-ins that you have for the game.

For those that play live poker, the cost of playing poker will go up in a big way. For starters, your average buy-in will be higher than your online games. Next, you have other expenses to contend with, such as parking, tipping, food, drinks, and gas to the casino.

If you travel to play poker, such as those chasing the poker tournament circuit, you have another level of expenses to contend with. You have to factor all of these expenses into your play. While you can take the expenses off on your taxes, you still have to make enough money to cover your play and take care of bills.

Can You Turn Pro Where You Live?

The biggest catch for players choosing to turn pro is that they often have to dramatically change their lifestyle. For online players, they have to either move to a country where online poker is legal or risk it on unregulated online poker sites.

For live poker players, most must move to a region where there’s plenty of poker rooms. This means moving to Las Vegas, Atlantic City, Florida, or another poker-rich area. You’ll generally encounter a higher cost of living, meaning you will have to make more money to get by.

Crunch the Numbers Before Turning Pro

Personally, I sat and evaluated everything from income to where I’d live and came to the conclusion I should not turn pro. I felt I had the ability to make a run, but in the end, I didn’t want to make the commitment it would take.

For those of you making the same decision, take the time to evaluate what it means to turn pro from a financial aspect. Evaluate all factors and decide whether you’re at a level where you can meet those needs.

If you are not, there’s no shame in remaining a winning recreational player. In fact, there are many “pro poker players” that are really just glorified recreational players. The great thing about poker is that you can always change your mind at a later date and try your hand at turning pro.

While I don’t believe that you need to make $100,000 to turn pro, you do need to be able to make enough to cover all of your living expenses, your poker expenses, and to make it worthwhile to dramatically change your life. Take some time to determine what your number needs to be and whether you can meet that number by playing poker for a living.