Playing poker professionally in Ireland

Gary Clarke, 10/06/08 | Print this article

How does poker rate as a career option here in Ireland?

A professional poker player. A person who makes money from poker. Enough that they can live off that money in order to make a living from the game. There are many people doing this throughout the world, especially in Las Vegas. These are the people who grind money from poker. It is largely a mundane exercise for such people playing hand after hand after hand. For these people poker is work not unlike that of a factory worker. Clocking up hands like hours, folding hand after hand in a live game. They are all grinding out a wage, a living, an income. Wages differ for poker players there is no doubt. Most will earn more than the factory worker but by and large the routines are akin. These grinders work off a strategy which allows for little creativity but one which is clearly a winning formula. Its easy to see how these people can make a living in a city like Las Vegas with the steady supply of gamblers all year round. One wonders can such people exist in Ireland.

There are without doubt people in Ireland playing poker ‘exclusively’. That is they are not in full time employment or full time education and as such are making a living through poker. What constitutes as a living will obviously vary from person to person. Those with reduced expenses such as singles, people living at home, students, retired etc can make their living through poker much more comfortably than those with a full menu of expenses. Therefore the career prospects of a professional poker player are unclear, especially in Ireland. Some have already set off on the journey and have been successful to date. That is not to say that the success will last. Such people need to keep ahead of the game. Keeping in front of the game is difficult as constant practise is not enough. With so many poker forums and new books being launched all the time, staying ahead of the game can be a mammoth task. Should the pool of players reduce, not only will it be harder to get a game but it will be the failing rather than the successful players losing interest. Unless you strike win of Donal Norton proportions you may end up facing a huge task.

This is no easy profession in its own right and the livelihood of an Irish professional poker player is uncertain. Those making a living on the various tables throughout Ireland may be benefiting from short term-prosperity but heading for long-term sacrifice. In a small country like ours the horizon of the professional poker player is murky. The steady supply of games and players we are enjoying at present cannot last forever. In the last month rumours have been rife that one of Dublin’s newest poker rooms was being shut. However true this may be it may be the first sign of a decline in growth of this game. Being a professional poker player in Ireland is a lofty order and it may be one that is getting taller. We are not in Las Vegas. Lets not forget poker could well be a fad and prove to drop in popularity in such a fashion as it rose over the past number of years.

We are not short on aspiring poker pros but we may fall short of fish to feed from. Becoming a professional player in Ireland would be a brave if not silly career choice in these uncertain times. For those considering such a move they will perhaps take the opposite of reassurance from the preaching’s of poker legends Doyle Brunson and Barry Greenstein to their respective children. With all the wealth of both cash and poker knowledge to back their children they still urged them to stay in college and give poker a rain check. It is tough to dispute such brains on this issue and it could spell rainy times ahead for those aspiring to turn to poker professionally here in Ireland.

Gary Clarke can be contacted at gary.clarke@pokerireland.ie

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