Getting serious with poker?

If you are in phase where you know how to play poker very darn well and you are more than experienced player, you might start to think about being a professional poker player. Making your living from poker.

So you know how to play? Great. That is the first step. It is the most important step, but only the first one.

When getting serious with poker there are dozens of other things that you must get right, not only your cards on table. Here is the list of some very important things, you have to keep (always) in mind and take care of.

• NEVER PLAY DRUNK! Never. You won't be the first or the last pro to lose all or most of his/her bankroll, simply because of playing when drunk.
• If you had to take 2-3 portions of alcohol, don't drink beer. It makes you run in to toilet too often. Instead of beer drink wine, it doesn't make you pee so often... and in poker you want to stay in the table where the game (and your money) is. Don't drink anything stronger than wine either, for an obvious reason: you'll get drunk.
• AVOID PLAYING WHEN TIRED! According to research, playing tired is almost equally as bad as playing drunk. Your brains start to take much more higher risks (desperate risks), when your brain's control-system goes down and risk-taking system boosts up, and that's what happen when you are tired. (You want faster winnings and don't have patience.)
• Take care of your social-life. Playing poker for living is very antisocial. Be sure you'll find yourself time to go out, meet your friends and family. On regular basis.
• Take care of your physical condition. Especially your back and shoulders will need attention. Sitting long hours in front of the computer will sooner or later take it's toll. That is the fact. And you can't play your best poker if pain disturbs your concentration.
• Poker can and will take a lot's of space from your thoughts. You might find yourself thinking about poker (the last game... the next game...) even when your mind should be at somewhere else. Have a vacations off from poker! You'll get fresh ideas and thoughts.
• Have yourself a hobby. Poker was your hobby, right? Everyone needs some sort of hobby to relax and refresh himself... to be able to be at his best on his job. So, when your "number one" hobby became now as your job, you had to get yourself replacement.
• Take very good care of your love-life & relationship, if you have one! Poker takes 100% concentration when playing. If you have problems with your wife, fiancee, girlfriend, husband, boyfriend... no matter what the problem is, your concentration won't be 100% when playing. And if she/he someday walks out from the door and leaves you, because only thing you anymore do is playing poker, your concentration will be less than zero! You might as well burn all the money you put in to game in that situation. So take good care of your love-life and relationship. You must do things together with your better-half. Poker tables won't go away, they will wait for you forever, but she/he won't.