Recently a friend was asked to contribute to an article in a national newspaper. The story suggested that poker might be a legitimate, alternative career choice for those with the ability to compete at the highest level. When asked if he would recommend poker as a possible career, his answer was, ‘not to anyone I cared about’. Now, given that he’s made a living from poker over the past five years I was interested to know why he responded so negatively.

My friend explained that he’d been on a long losing streak. ‘How many other jobs offer the opportunity to work hard for 14 hours a day and come home with significantly less money than when you started?’ he said.