Can you be a pro?

Kirby · #1

When you started playing go, did you think that you could become a pro? Do you still think that you can become a pro?

xDragon · #2

i thought itd be cool but knew it was out of the realm of possibility for me since i began playing when i was 21

Jedo · #3

It would be cool for sure, but I knew that it would require dropping out of college and putting the rest of my life on hold. If i felt it was my true calling, than I suppose any sacrifice is worth it, but I don't, and I'm content with just trying to become a stronger player.

Tyson2011 · #4

i never fathomed going pro in go..but thats because i have a relatively good chance of going pro in MMA, the skill set is definitely there, its just a problem of getting noticed.

Magicwand · #5

i can get close as 2 stone but i will never be that strong.
it is a level that is possible only in my dream.

Solomon · #6

The question says "can". I think I "can" become pro, but to make this a possibility I'd have to drop out of college and fly to Korea to train over 12 hours a day in a Baduk academy. This, in my eyes, is an absurd sacrifice of education and many other things so that's why I'm here and not there. But the option's certainly there - strangely enough my parents are more than supportive of the thought of me going pro and said they were willing to help me financially to take a shot if I were willing.

judicata · #7

Can't say I'd want to enough to consider the possibility.

Alakazam · #8

If you know me, you know my answer.

ross · #9

I don't understand this mentality. How many western pros are there? Of those, how many are active in their professional organization? I mean, we're talking astronaut-like percentages here. Can you become an astronaut? Well, yes—but I don't hear anyone saying, "Sure, I could become an astronaut if I just worked hard enough." Even if you have the right capabilities, the right training, and the right resources to get in with the right people at the right time, you still could be passed by for completely fortuitous reasons outside your control.

[img]http://img443.imageshack.us/img443/8186/potential03.jpg[/img]

Life's not fair sometimes, even if you work hard. That's just how it is.

lorill · **#10**

Other: i didn't know that there were pro players.

tj86430 · **#11**

No, I never thought/dreamt about becoming a pro. Like with my other serious hobbies (e.g. poker, golf, bridge) I'd like to improve, but I have never had any illusions about the limits of my possibilities. OTOH, I tend to take the hobbies pretty seriously, and sometimes they provide some extra income (I contribute to the major poker information website in Finland and I sometimes write articles to a Finnish Golf magazine, and I have toyed with the idea of importing go equipment), but becoming a pro, no.

topazg · **#12**

I'm soon to have married (again!) and have 4 kids - my life is completely taken up from 6am to 8pm every day with the hope of squeezing a bit of Go into half the remainder of my evenings, when I'm not spending quality time with my fiancee that is.

It's probably optimistic to get strong enough at Go to become a pro as well I guess

SoDesuNe · **#13**

I'll always thought 5 to 6 Dan is enough =) Maybe if I reach this strength in the next four years, I'll reconsider (no).

CarlJung · **#14**

What's the salary like?

Jordus · **#15**

I am just a pro hiding in a 9k shell.... I'll bust out soon enough

SoDesuNe · **#16**

CarlJung
Depends on your rank. I heard below 5p it's a hard living, above you'll get more teaching games and stuff assigned.
Most of the money will come through winning big titles, I assume: http://senseis.xmp.net/?ProfessionalTournaments.

kirkmc · **#17**

CarlJung wrote:

What's the salary like?

I've read that for the handful at the top, it's a good life, and for the others, it's about what you make as a middle-manager, if you're lucky and have enough students. I think it's a lot like being a musician, in terms of income. The huge group in the middle does "okay" but no better than that.

Probably a lot more enjoyable than working in an office though.

mic · **#18**

When I first learned about go a few years ago I thought "Hey, that's not so difficult, simple rules and so" ... and you can earn money with it? Sounds reasonable and fun. ... Then I got crushed on KGS as a 25k+. So, I voted "Yes, but I realized that I was wrong" and the time between "Yes" and "Realization" was quite short

Mic

tj86430 · **#19**

kirkmc wrote:

Probably a lot more enjoyable than working in an office though.

That most likely depends on person and office-job as well. And I suspect that life of a professional Go-player may sometimes get boring, too. (As a sidenote I've followed many young people aspiring to become professional poker players. Not the same thing, but many of those who make it will eventually find that sometimes boring too)

freegame · **#20**

I knew I would never become a professional when I started playing Go.
But even if it would have been possible I don't want to become a pro Go player.
I don't mint being that strong in Go, but I would never want it to be a job.

I don't want my income to depend on my results, nor do I have an ambition to become a full time teacher

For me it's a great hobby that I take very serious, but in the end it is and will always be a hobby and nothing more.

Can you be a pro?

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