You can bet poker is your passport to a work-from-home lifestyle

I am willing to bet poker will become the 'new wave' way to break free of the nine-to-five grind, much as eBay selling freed hundreds of thousands of workers from their corporate shackles several years ago.

However, in order to let poker 'free you' from your day job, you have to be absolutely certain of your ability.

Just as you would not quit one job to start another without checking out the new position, you must approach poker with the same kind of mental approach and coolness.

Sure, it can be tempting to convince yourself that you're good enough, based on a few months of solid results in your spare time.

But you can bet poker, as a full-time career, is vastly different from being a part-time or recreational player, no matter how successful you have been up to now.

You want to bet poker can be cruel? Take it from me, it can and will make you want to scream with frustration at times. The game you loved so much as a profitable hobby can become a curse. I'm hoping to help you to avoid that trap.

A solid base will help you achieve your goals.

Make sure you have all the correct, winning habits in place before you bet poker will pay your bills for you.

Keeping records is an absolute must. You cannot be a serious amateur poker player, let alone a professional, without having daily records of your wins and losses recorded.

Experts say this helps analyse your best game, your best returns per hour etc. You want to bet poker gets tedious then?

For me at least, keeping records is keeping score. I've found my level and don't need analysis as proof.

If you are undecided whether limit, no limit or SNGs are going to provide for you and yours, I suppose analysis could be useful. If, like me, you know which direction works for you, stick to keeping score.

Keep your head while all around lose theirs, or you can bet poker dollars will be moving from your bankroll to somebody else's.

Tilt is the greatest enemy you face. Losing one big hand often sends players on tilt, which means future decisions are made in haste and 'with the needle' (when they declare a personal vendetta against somebody who beat them in a previous pot).

If you feel yourself being affected by a previous losing hand, take a break. You owe it to your bankroll. Playing your best poker all the time isn't only smart, it's essential when you do it for a living.

Be prepared to change your mind! Nobody's going to chastise you for realising that you are not cut out to be a pro player.

It might be a wise plan not to shoot your mouth off about going pro. At least, not until you have a solid year of profits behind you and no sign of clouds on the horizon.

If you are looking for some kind of 'parent-friendly' way to describe what you do for a living, say you're "an Internet consultant with global clients". Anybody over 40 will glaze over and assume you're a wealthy geek. You can BS your way though a conversation with Internet-savvy folk.

I'll be publishing more hints on how to become a professional Texas Holdem player. For now, if you bet poker is your way to riches, do some serious soul-searching before you make the leap.

You want to bet poker is a big part of your future?.