Getting Into the "Poker Industry" Without Becoming a Pro Player

[BJ Nemeth]

In another thread, Kaveros asked a question about what kind of qualifications Shronk and Court had to have to get their jobs at Poker Road. I thought it might be an interesting topic, so I'm starting this thread here, in a more appropriate forum.

In my experience, resume-style qualifications such as college degrees have very little to do with these types of jobs. (Though many of us have college degrees.) The best way to break into the industry depends greatly on what it is you'd like to do.

For example, if you want to be in the poker media (like me), becoming a Card Player or PokerNews WSOP intern seems to be the easiest, most-effective way to get your foot in the door. Once your foot is in the door at the WSOP, you need to bust your ass and prove yourself. It's hard, thankless work with sometimes long hours, and it doesn't pay a ton of money. But if you do your job well for those 6-7 weeks, you'll get noticed and find more opportunities open up for you after the WSOP.

Consider this list of poker insiders who got their start as Card Player interns. They are sorted by the companies they currently work for, with the year of their internship in parentheses.

Poker Road: Scott Huff ('05), Joe Stapleton ('05), and Justin Shronk ('06)

WPT Live Updates: Andy Liakos ('06) and Tom Bostic ('06)

Card Player: Ryan Lucchesi ('06), Julio Rodriguez ('06), and Shawn Patrick Green ('06)

Full Tilt Poker: Jeremiah Smith ('06)

There are probably a few others, but this is off the top of my head at 3:00 am. (For the record, Al-FX, Jeremy Firth, LA Mike, Rich Belsky and I were all hired by Card Player at different times without ever becoming interns.) Everyone I've mentioned went on to find steady jobs in the poker industry.

Others took a different route. Dan Michalski started Pokerati.com and built it from the ground up until he became a media outlet unto himself. Dr. Pauly perfected the personal poker blog (Tao of Poker), and then improved it by traveling to the biggest tournaments in the world and reporting on things that you can't read about at Card Player or Bluff. FlipChip and Poker Prof added a poker blog to LasVegasVegas.com where they have built up one of the greatest collections of poker photos you'll ever find -- and they're willing to share them with fellow bloggers on a Creative Commons basis. (Which is extremely generous of them.)

Other top poker reporters are professional freelance writers who are skilled enough to work in any industry, but they choose to focus on poker because they love the game: Amy Calistri, Tim Lavalli (the Poker Shrink), and California Jen Newell. (Of course all three of them blog as well.)

Of course, there are non-writing, non-reporting jobs in the poker industry as well. If you're looking for a more traditional job with one of the larger poker companies (World Poker Tour, Full Tilt Poker, Card Player, etc.), then you need qualifications specific to the job. Accountants need an accounting background, computer programmers need a programming background, graphic artists need a ... well, you get the idea.

Now, if you're a t-shirt manufacturer, there's an upcoming site named ShirtRoad.net that you might want to get in touch with ...

[Rikadu]

Very fascinating post, say someone is interested in this line of work. You say the easiest way is to intern at the WSOP.

How would someone actually go about getting an internship at one of these sites? and how far in advance would a person need to apply to become an intern?

Also you say the pay is lousy, which is obvious as most internships are lousy paid, but do the sites provide bonuses? For example help with accommodation costs, or free buffets/tokens to buffets?

Probably a dumb question, but is there a age restriction to working in this job? or does working for these sites allow people under the age of 21 in the poker area?

Thanks again for your insightful post!!!

[Espirit77]

Knowing someone on the inside definitely helps. That's the case with any job -- if someone on the inside can put in a good word you are ten times more likely to get the job than just submitting your resume. If you don't already know someone in the industry, there are so many ways to get to know them now, for example, send a message on facebook, myspace, through forums, introduce yourself at a live event. you'd be surprised how responsive people will be. if you show confidence and a positive attitude, and are likeable, that often goes further than having the "looks good on paper" qualifications.

[BJ Nemeth]

The minimum age requirements for media are the same as for the players, so in the United States, that means you have to be at least 21 years old to work the WSOP. (Amanda Leatherman still gets asked for I.D. from time to time.)

The call for WSOP interns usually goes out several months ahead of time, so I'd keep your eyes peeled at CardPlayer.com and PokerNews.com around March. If you think you might have missed it, just ask in one of the major forums, and someone can probably point you in the right direction. (You might want to ask this question again in late February just to be sure.)

They get a lot of requests from people who love poker and would love to go to the WSOP. Saying you want it more than the others won't make you stand out. You want to come across as a hard worker and a good writer. You obviously need to understand poker fairly well, but just in turns of hand rankings and the basics of a tournament -- you won't be taking any advanced strategy tests. (Your role would be to report the action, not analyze the play.) Any prior reporting experience of any kind would obviously help your case, even if it was just at the high school or college level. Good, clear handwriting will definitely help you once you get the job (you need to read each other's writing), but so far, it hasn't been a dealbreaker. (It would be if I were hiring!)

If you have anything that separates you from a normal candidate in a useful way, mention it. For instance, Rikadu's location is listed as UK. Can you identify a lot of the top European players? If you can, that's a bonus that's useful to sites like Card Player and PokerNews, because the WSOP attracts players from around the world. The same goes for online players.

Obviously, not everyone can become a WSOP intern, and there will always be more applicants than there are jobs available. But I don't think any team has ever had to turn away somebody that they thought would be really good at the job -- there are very few applicants that make them say, "This person sounds great!"

I know Card Player has provided housing in the past, where the interns share one (or more) large apartments, close to the Rio. Other sites usually do something similar. Having said that, you would definitely earn a lot of bonus points in the application process if you were already living in Vegas during the WSOP, and even more bonus points if you had your own car. (It saves a lot of hassle when your superior has to work up a schedule.)

I can't comment on the salary, because I've never been one of the interns, and don't feel comfortable sharing information that was given to me in confidentiality. But you'll definitely make enough to cover your food and other incidentals, and have at least a little bit left over. None of the interns has ever starved. (However, some have blown all their earnings at the poker tables -- but that's up to you.)

[CARNEY]

Awesome thread. BJ, again, proving himself to be a pokerroad mvp. well played.

[The 6th Wilbury]

Originally Posted by BJ Nemeth

The minimum age requirements for media are the same as for the players, so in the United States, that means you have to be at least 21 years old to work the WSOP. (Amanda Leatherman still gets asked for Thin Mints and Samoas from time to time.)

FYP.

Seriously, tho... this is a cool thread. I'm knee-deep in my career in sports media. Sometimes I wonder if I made a wrong turn along the way.

[TheMrAutomatic]

Originally Posted by BJ Nemeth

The minimum age requirements for media are the same as for the players, so in the United States, that means you have to be at least 21 years old to work the WSOP. (Amanda Leatherman still gets asked for I.D. from time to time.)

Obvious attempt at a pickup by security.

[Unicorn_Lord]

I wouldn't mind working in the poker industry.

[ClickRaise]

I write for a number of music publications and it was tough to break into that field. I imagine the poker community, which is very tight-knit, will also be tough to break into.

I found with music, the best thing to do was be persistent. When applying to write at a large music magazine, I would email an editor I knew once every few months while sending him my latest clippings. Eventually he gave me a small story to run with and I took it from there.

It's a humbling experience, but it works.

[Unicorn_Lord]

does anybody know if anybody is offering up a internship or any jobs?