I’ve been asked many, many times about what it’s like being a professional video poker player – and if it’s really worth it. And it’s only natural. People who gamble are of course infatuated with the seemingly free-spirit lifestyle of what they perceive is the best gig on earth. Only problem is, they rarely get a truthful look inside the real life of a real live professional video poker player. Until today.

To start off, a professional player is not born of blood; they’re self-groomed through hard work and sacrifice. And in order to have any real chance at being continuously successful at such a challenging task, the player has to go through the very tedious process of becoming unequivocally prepared. No stones can be left unturned, no loose ends can remain, and no questions can ever be left unanswered.

The most common form of professional gamblers are those whom we catch on the fly. They were never pros, but luck and they met somewhere along the way. Suddenly and without notice, what appears to be endless cash and constant winners become the guiding light of their lives. Until, that is, the trip through fantasyland ends and reality begins. Then the emerging pro quickly becomes a fading memory.

There are also those who like to claim they’re professional gamblers, simply because they fell into the trap of believing that advantage players have a superior understanding of the same math that casinos use to their extraordinary advantage in order to continue to build and maintain the most beautiful resort hotels in the world.

The problem is, almost everyone who says they “play with an edge” sooner or later ends up opening up shops or working in the gaming business, they take on multiple part-time jobs to both make ends meet as well as put gambling money into their pockets – or they just simply disappear. And the math types who do all the talking? It’s a free country.

One of the more nonsensical types of video poker “pros” are those who either form teams to chase progressives and other “positive EV” machines – and those who play on such teams. When you win you win little, and when you lose you can say you don’t. It makes little to no sense to me, and I have no idea what it means to those who engage in it other than to be able to say they’re involved in such "professionalism", which, of course, they are not.

Others who play video poker always seem to be into the very lucrative commercial end of the business. They charge for a multitude of products and services and their time is expensive. All well and good, only these are more business people than anything else, and are not what I consider to be true professional players. Hey, some WRITE about playing but rarely even play!

Still others play two or more casino games besides video poker, and while these folks seem to have the best handle on what it takes to be a real pro, trying to pin them down for a straight answer is usually a futile exercise. By and large however, my impression has been that they know what they’re doing – at least in the present.

When I decided to become a professional player I did so only after several years of planning, and I did so with the approval of my family. I believe one must have almost perfect individual circumstances to make such a drastic move and to be successful with it, and that’s exactly what I had. My wife had and still has our very important health insurance through her job, I accomplished much more than I ever expected to by travelling the world many times over while employed by Corporate America, and our future was firmly set.

If professional gambling didn't work, it really wouldn't matter. So many times we see people who call themselves professionals tell us what a disaster it would be if they failed because they didn't plan well in advance, and their declining work skills & age would not be what the market could sustain. That's unintelligent, very poor planning, it comes with undue stress--and it's a good reason why my detractors all peddle their strategy while I do not.

But most of all, by coming home for good and becoming involved in professional play -- and although I am gone nearly one week total out of every month -- I’m home far more than I ever have been throughout my career. That alone made the choice an easy one.

Has this been the right overall decision for a family man who has always had a good job? Well, let’s look at the facts and see where I stand. Since 1999 my life’s had very little stress, my family’s grown in size and I was here to see it, I’ve been able to take on the projects around the house that I never thought I’d get to, and I’ve won enough money every year to make it easy to forget about how I used to earn my living.

I’ve had the time to write two books as well as this weekly column, and I have a very enjoyable time helping the many e-mailers who come to me for video poker advice. In fact just today, a couple from the Phoenix area visited me at my home for a meaningful chat about video poker and many other things. Ten years ago I’d have never been home to do that.

So are there any negatives associated with being a professional gambler? Of course there is, but they’re really not THAT bad. Let’s start off with there being no sick pay. Some people might balk at the fact that I have to/choose to drive to Nevada for my work, but believe me, after virtually living on airplanes throughout my working career and with the way things are now at our airports, that’s really a blessing.

And then there’s the inevitable audits that come with filing as a professional gambler. An inconvenience at most, but I’ll take that in trade any day for constant international travel. That might sound odd to some, but it wouldn’t if you’ve been there.

At the end of the day it’s obviously nice to be able to set your own hours, and not have to drive through rush hour traffic while fending off the many good people who for some reason turn into angry animals when they drive their cars. But professional gambling is not for everyone or even for the majority, and those who go into it MUST fully prepare for every aspect if they want any hope of doing it successfully.