In the world of gambling, you get to experience the love and hate relationship of the game you play. That is also a spinning reality of professional poker because of the joy it brings when you win and the stress that comes when you lose. However, many people love to play poker nonetheless.

Playing professional poker for a living can either be good or bad as this can bring out the best and worst or a combination thereof depending on how you take a look at it. What you see on TV aren’t entirely the clear depiction of what playing poker really is because for the legitimate professionals, thrilling and exciting moments are few and typically monotonous. Well, poker is undoubtedly fun as long as you know how to use the steering wheel.

Playing poker professionally is certainly not an easy thing to do. It requires psychological maturity, patience, and a bit of luck. For you to know why so many people got hooked by this game, here are five of the best things professional poker offers.

  1. A boost in income

Many critics would probably say professional poker player are always broke. Let’s get straight to the fact that everyone with a regular job is ultimately always broke. But what’s striking is the amount of hard work vested on the job that only makes them barely survive from paycheck to paycheck.

Playing professionally doesn’t entirely mean quitting from your day job. You can play poker professionally while still working as a marketing analyst or construction engineer for that matter. It only suggests that with poker, you can actually have an extra money on top of the salary you get from your job without sacrificing the latter. You tell me it ain’t good?

  1. Tax matters

Surprisingly, being a professional poker player does have big tax advantages. The US government doesn’t get keep withholding taxes from the money you earn in playing poker or any cash businesses as in other professions. You can also profit from the interest of your own money and pay your tax bills according to the schedule you prefer with the IRS.

It is important and necessary to declare all your winnings. You can get off the hook at first, but the IRS is one nasty bureau who will haunt you down if you mess up with their authority. Piece of advice, keep good records for contingency.

  1. More time with family

Gambling like playing poker only requires a small chunk of daily time. Usually, the most professional poker site players are totally immersed in the game, and tend to neglect their families. If you play poker responsibly, poker as your chosen profession allows you to spend lots of quality time with your family. This aspect of life solely depends on the perspective of a person.

  1. Community Exposure

The population of poker players is not as big as you think it is. Actually, there are only few who play poker professionally and that includes your community businessmen, lawyers, doctors, policemen and even drug cartels of different races and cultures. Nonetheless, poker players are those who have names in their desks at work.

You’ve got to be bond with these people and have six-packs while watching a ball game right before you start hanging around the poker table. A poker hub is the place where everyone knows your name and treats you like a casual human being, sugarcoating aside.

  1. Better lifestyle

Regular job goers wake up early in the morning to prepare and go to work until late in the afternoon with lunch breaks in between. This is a routine you’ve got to keep doing five, six or even seven times a week. With all honesty it’s a bit boring and exhausting just thinking of it.

With professional poker, you’ve got to decide what time you play or when you’ll be playing unless if you are in a tournament. The number of hours depends entirely on you. According to high-profile professional poker players, time doesn’t really matter when playing poker.

For those who thought of venturing the world of professional gambling and make a living out of it, poker is ticket for your dreams to come true. You can have the best of both worlds in poker as long as you are really good. Professional poker can be very exciting and a rewarding profession if you acknowledge the realities of it.

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