8. Psychological awareness

Everyone knows that tells (and the people who exhibit them) are key to high-stakes poker and most of the ways they apply to poker have been covered in Caro’s Book of Poker Tells, so between that and your own experience you’ll be well on the way to spotting behavioural patterns.

Of course, there is a bigger picture to watch out for as well, such as which players are on tilt, intimidated or showing the traits of a bully, but if you keep your eyes and ears open this will soon be second nature to you and you’ll be able to adjust your play accordingly.

9. Lack of ego

When things go wrong, or every move you make seems to work perfectly, it can have a big effect on the way you think about your game or yourself and the other players. But it shouldn’t, as you’re playing your A game most of the time (hopefully) and the rest should just be the ebb and flow of luck swaying your results back and forth.

But in reality poker players rarely understand the fluctuations they can experience while still being either winning or losing players overall, and so they often end up thinking they’re geniuses or doubting their talents. If you can let go of your ego and just focus on the game and the long term rather than how your luck is running, you’ll be a mile ahead of many of those who already call themselves professionals.

10. Personal stability

If all this sounds like a lot to contend with then don’t worry – it is! Poker is certainly ‘a tough way to make an easy living’ and you shouldn’t attempt to get serious with it unless you think you can tick all the above boxes and more. The history of the game is paved with those who took their shot and missed, and only a small few live to get to the playboy lifestyle and can handle the downswings to keep living it.

This makes emotional wellbeing and the understanding support of your partner, family and friends even more important than usual if you want to give playing seriously a go, and just remember that what was once a fun pastime might soon get stale if you do it every day. If any of this is making you think twice about living the poker life then maybe you should stick with the day job. But if you’re still set on sleeping till noon and being your own boss, just make sure the rest of your life is in good order first!