Name a profession...

[david3103]

Technically, poker is not a 'profession', however you can be a 'professional poker player'
They both have different meanings.

According to the Oxford Dictionary:

Profession
'a paid occupation, especially one that involves prolonged training and a formal qualification' i.e. a teacher

Professional
'engaged in a specific activity as one's main paid occupation rather than as an amateur' i.e. a professional boxer

You can't argue with the dictionary.

Pretty much the point I made in the post immediately above yours.

What was the purpose of the original question Alex?

[Doobs]

Should that not be "e.g." instead of "i.e."?

It most certainly should.

So you can be a professional poker player, but poker is not your profession?

Interesting.

Exactly, Melissa is right.  

To be a profession it needs formal training/exams/governing body etc.  

I have a profession, and it isn't poker. In the last 11 months I haven't made any money from it, in fact I am down about 1k because I have to pay fees, and keep up with current developments in order to remain a fellow of that profession.

I can claim to be a professional poker player, and have earned more than the average wage from it (not that my earnings need to be that high to be professional), but it isn't my profession and never will be.

I'd say that professional footballers are closer than poker players to a profession, as there are formal qualifications available and there is a governing body.  

[kinboshi]

Oxford Dictionaries:

noun

    1.  a paid occupation, especially one that involves prolonged training and a formal qualification:his chosen profession of teaching

Note the 'especially' not 'exclusively'.

[kinboshi]

Technically, poker is not a 'profession', however you can be a 'professional poker player'
They both have different meanings.

According to the Oxford Dictionary:

Profession
'a paid occupation, especially one that involves prolonged training and a formal qualification' i.e. a teacher

Professional
'engaged in a specific activity as one's main paid occupation rather than as an amateur' i.e. a professional boxer

You can't argue with the dictionary.

I'm about to argue with the dictionary!

Should that not be "e.g." instead of "i.e."?

Oops, that was my bad, not the dictionary's! 

[Tal]

I think it's been covered now in the twelve or so pages since I went to bed.

A professional is generally demonstrated by someone who is a member of a profession:

Solicitor
Barrister
Doctor
Surgeon
Dentist
Accountant
Surveyor
Actuary
And so on

These are the people who can sign your passport photo.

However, the definition isn't exclusive, so it can be more broadly interpreted (which I have no doubt is what was intended by OP) to include any primary source of income (i.e., a pursuit by which someone is a professional)

Seems like the mother of all digressions to me.

[Doobs]

Oxford Dictionaries:

noun

    1.  a paid occupation, especially one that involves prolonged training and a formal qualification:his chosen profession of teaching

Note the 'especially' not 'exclusively'.

The kids rely on Wikipedia these days. 

Terrible how standards can fall apart in some once respected organisations.  The publishers would never let standards slip like that if they had to be members of a profession.

[smurf]

Doobs

Are you able to answer my question on page four, no problem if you would rather keep it private I was just curious as a recreational player.

I don't play the higher stakes but wonder what the standard is like compared to lower stakes, after seeing the camels thread and looking at his stats he seemed to smash $500 heads up yet struggled with lower buy ins heads up - it's all a learning curve

[Tal]

A friend of mine has never worked a day in his life (now in his late thirties). He plays chess to a decent club standard in leagues and at the weekend. I assume he's on the dole.

In weekend comps, the entry fee for the section he plays in would be around £25, there would be, say, 75 runners and the prizes would be, say, £300 for first, £200 for second and £100 for third*

Every now and then, he gets in the top three and gets some money back, but it wouldn't be a guaranteed thing. He might have a 10/1 shot of cashing, if he's on his game, given that he'd often be playing against similarly rated opponents.

No one can be a professional doler (you have a job or you don't), so is he a professional chess player?


*don't ever knock poker comp rakes!

[Doobs]

Doobs

Are you able to answer my question on page four, no problem if you would rather keep it private I was just curious as a recreational player.

I don't play the higher stakes but wonder what the standard is like compared to lower stakes, after seeing the camels thread and looking at his stats he seemed to smash $500 heads up yet struggled with lower buy ins heads up - it's all a learning curve

Sorry, never saw it.

I keep stats on how often I finish in the top 10%.  I think keeping stats on cashes can be misleading as some tournaments pay 10%, others 15%.  I think you should aim for higher than 11 or 12% in the top 10%, though I am down at 10.5 this year (and am something like 7% on stars recently, which isn't a place I want to be).   I can't really control profit, but know that if I keep getting to the later stages frequently enough I should make money long run.

Games tend to get tougher the higher you play.  It is definitely important to find your level.  I think you can be more sure of what your level is in cash than MTTs.  I don't play a lot of tournaments that are $500 and up and that isn't just a bankroll thing.  And I know people who can probably beat $2/$4 but play 50c/$1 because they can play more tables and make more money in total.  I know at the highest level I used to play cash at semi regularly I had to put up with a ton of variance for very little profit in the long run, and my winnings at that level may well just have been luck or variance.   I am fairly sure I am probably long run down in $500 games on the Internet (though that may be just variance too).  It is very possible that I'd be a lot better off now if I had removed the bigger games from my play over the years.

As a digression, I have seen some people's stats at the very top, and some of them seem to average only 10% in the top 10, so guess there main skill is in closing.  I think if you are finishing in the top 10% much lower than this then you are going to struggle to be profitable.

[Doobs]

A friend of mine has never worked a day in his life (now in his late thirties). He plays chess to a decent club standard in leagues and at the weekend. I assume he's on the dole.

In weekend comps, the entry fee for the section he plays in would be around £25, there would be, say, 75 runners and the prizes would be, say, £300 for first, £200 for second and £100 for third*

Every now and then, he gets in the top three and gets some money back, but it wouldn't be a guaranteed thing. He might have a 10/1 shot of cashing, if he's on his game, given that he'd often be playing against similarly rated opponents.

No one can be a professional doler (you have a job or you don't), so is he a professional chess player?


*don't ever knock poker comp rakes!

Maybe more a professional sponger?

[smurf]

Cheers doobs

[kinboshi]

Is someone who is a professional rugby league player incorrect when they say that their profession is "rugby league player"? 

I don't think they have to get any certificates, just be competent at what they do to a level that means they can make their income from it.

[Tal]

A friend of mine has never worked a day in his life (now in his late thirties). He plays chess to a decent club standard in leagues and at the weekend. I assume he's on the dole.

In weekend comps, the entry fee for the section he plays in would be around £25, there would be, say, 75 runners and the prizes would be, say, £300 for first, £200 for second and £100 for third*

Every now and then, he gets in the top three and gets some money back, but it wouldn't be a guaranteed thing. He might have a 10/1 shot of cashing, if he's on his game, given that he'd often be playing against similarly rated opponents.

No one can be a professional doler (you have a job or you don't), so is he a professional chess player?


*don't ever knock poker comp rakes!

In my opinion, not unless they are making enough to live off. So then they wouldn't have to be on the dole.

Everyone's interpretations are different. We could debate about it for years and still wouldn't be able to come to an answer that everyone agrees with

 

Welcome to blonde.

[tikay]

I think it's been covered now in the twelve or so pages since I went to bed.

A professional is generally demonstrated by someone who is a member of a profession:

Solicitor
Barrister
Doctor
Surgeon
Dentist
Accountant
Surveyor
Actuary
And so on

These are the people who can sign your passport photo.

However, the definition isn't exclusive, so it can be more broadly interpreted (which I have no doubt is what was intended by OP) to include any primary source of income (i.e., a pursuit by which someone is a professional)

Seems like the mother of all digressions to me.

So an artist - you know, paints pictures & stuff - would not be a profession. What would they be - manual workers?

[outragous76]

They would be an artist