It is the dream of everyone who has picked up a deck of cards at some point. Everyone dreams of ditching the “9 to 5” (or, in some cases, much longer) hours and do exactly what they want to do. For some, that dream is still just that – a dream – but, for a Chicago man, it has become a reality.
You might not have heard of Ben Ponzio, but he is someone who has done something in poker that only slightly more than 800 people can say they have achieved. The winner of a $2000 No Limit Hold’em tournament at the 2007 World Series of Poker, Ponzio holds a WSOP bracelet and has a total of five cashes at the WSOP, including one this year. Still, it is an audacious leap to go from the quiet sidelines to the bright lights of the main stage as Ponzio is looking at doing.
According to Chicago media reporter Robert Feder, Ponzio resigned from his position as the general sales manager at Chicago Top Forty station WBBM 96.3, allegedly to take up being a professional poker player full time. Feder quotes Ponzio as saying, “It’s been a lifelong dream that I never thought I’d be able to do. Now I have the opportunity to make it happen and I am excited about it. If I can make enough money doing it and I like the lifestyle, then that will be my new career and I’ll be done with radio for at least the foreseeable future.”
Feder looks a bit deeper and has determined that Ponzio’s move may just be a bluff by the radio veteran. CBS Radio is looking at massively restructuring their sales departments at their properties across the United States, according to Feder, and WBBM isn’t the only one that has fallen under target by management. Another radio veteran who was a part of the company resigned after 32 years of service and Ponzio, perhaps seeing the writing on the wall, decided to make his move before the axe could fall on him.
It may seem glamorous to be a “professional poker player,” but what exactly does that mean? Prior to the 21st century, it meant having a leather ass and grinding it out for hours at a time in the few poker rooms that existed in Las Vegas, California or Atlantic City. Depending on the stakes, it was possible to pull in mid-five figures but it wasn’t a cakewalk.
In the 21st century – and particularly after the advent of online poker and high-speed internet – suddenly it was possible for folks to earn a living without even leaving their homes. Along with the online explosion came the tournament poker boom, where new millionaires were seemingly crowned every day. That became a bit tougher in the United States, however, with the dual hammers of the Unlawful Internet Gaming Enforcement Act (UIGEA) of 2006 and the 2011 “Black Friday” federal crackdown pretty much forcing any online poker professionals out of the country to continue to play. For those that stayed in the U. S., a tougher brand of player, flat or fading tournaments and the closure of poker rooms made it more difficult.
If someone is going to take up the “poker professional” mantle, what type of money would that take? Many articles and books suggest that you have two bankrolls: one for playing poker and the other for paying expenses in life. For the expenses pool, it is suggested that you have six months of living expenses; that takes into account mortgage/rent, food, utilities and medical. There’s also a suggestion that there should be an “emergency” fund, one that would cover any unexpected situations; that, in a perfect world, would be the same amount as the “living expenses” fund.
Then there’s the question of how much money do you play with at the tables. If you are a cash game player, then the least money that is suggested to play with is around 1000 times the big blind. For example, if you’re a $5/$10 player, having a $10,000 bankroll would be the MINIMUM you would want to play (of course, the more money, the better). For a “tournament poker professional” it is suggested that you have the minimum of 100 buy-ins for the type of tournaments you enter (if you enter $1000 tournaments, have a $100,000 in the bankroll). This is because of the variance in tournaments as it is estimated that even the best tournament players only cash in about 20% of their events. This doesn’t take into account the travel and hotel expenses that would be spent while “fading the white line,” something that could be put in the “expenses” side of the bank but ought to be in the “poker playing” side.
Ponzio, who has won $648,020 since 2007 in tournament poker (with almost $600K of that from his bracelet win in 2007), is saying all the right things about his experiment, however. He sounds like he’ll be battling on the cash game tables to start with, saying, “I’m worried about whether I’ll like going to work so many weekend nights. My work hours are going to be 5 or 6PM to 3 or 4AM. It may not be for me.” Ponzio, a single dad, also goes on to say, “My daughter is going to come first in all of it. If (poker) gives me problems with that, then I will go back to the media world.” Best of luck to Ponzio in his pursuit, if for nothing else than taking a brave step that many would like to and haven’t done.
