Professional Poker: The Essential Guide to Playing Poker for a Living
By: Mark Blade

A Must Read For Every Serious Player

If you have ever won at poker the thought of going pro has probably crossed your mind. You watch a new player win a million dollars every week on the WPT and think to yourself "I win my home game every week why can't that be me?" You play online during the weekend and have been consistently making money, maybe even at a rate similar or greater than your 9-5. You might start think that being a poker pro is your dream job. You get to make your own hours, be your own boss, and go to work in your underwear (I hope you avoid this if you play at a B&M casino). So why wouldn't you go pro?

The fact of the matter is for every successful pro there are dozens who failed and went back to their day jobs broke. You might think that they didn't have the poker skills to make it in the big game. Many of them had phenomenal poker skills, but lacked the many other skills necessary for a successful poker career. In Professional Poker Mark Blade shows the harsh realities of a poker career, and the skills necessary for success.

The book is broken down into the following 6 sections:

I. The Decision to Become a Pro Player
II. Money Matters
III. The Education of a Pro Player
IV. The Life of a Pro Poker Player
V. Advanced Mental & Emotional Tips
VI. Advanced Poker Strategy Tips

Section I discusses the choice between playing part time and keeping your day job and making the leap to playing full time. He covers many of the reasons to go pro the average player comes up with, and why they might not be indicitve of a successful career. Blade suggests that most people would be better off keeping the job and playing part time during the night and weekend when the games are best. The rest of the chapter covers the transition from part time to full time including topics such as record keeping, where and what to play, and the importance of game selection.

Section two "Money Matter" might be the most important topic for any potential rounder. Money management is essential to the success of any player, and this book breaks it down like no other book available. He starts off explaining why poker is profitable and where the money really comes from. The next chapter shows you how much you can actually expect to make and any given limit and in tournaments. "How much money do you need" gives a very detailed look into how much of a bankroll you really need to play. He tackles many of the myths and simplifications currently floating around on the subject. Anyone considering playing poker either full or part time should study this chapter religiously. The rest of the chapter goes into stop loss/win strategies and tournament staking considerations.

If the book only contained those first two sections it would still be worth the cover price. In the last 4 sections of the book he covers many other topics that will help you with your career. He does a very good job with his emotional and strategy tips. The scope of the last 2 sections is pretty small, as he has 2 more books on the way to cover these topics in greater detail. If there was one flaw to be found in this book it is that Blade promotes his other books what seems like once a page. If the following books are as helpful as this one I think we can all let him slide on that.

You can purchase this book here: Professional Poker By Mark Blade