Can you be a pro?

[SoDesuNe]

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]

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]

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]

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]

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.

[psk31]

That's the one nice thing about discovering Go in your 50s, going pro is the one temptation you never have to worry about.

[HKA]

I certainly learned too late, already in College, and pre-internet so it was even difficult for me to get to play. So I had no illusions.

By the time I started playing in tournaments, ambitions began to materialize. I can remember being at the 1st US Go Congress as an 8kyu, looking at the player list and thinking, "Man, if I could just get to 5 kyu I would be in the upper half of the field"

At the 2nd Congress a 5 kyu looked at the player list, "Man, if I could just get to 2 kyu, I would be in the upper half of the field"

At the 3rd Congress a 2 kyu looked at the player list, "if I was 1 kyu I would be in the upper half of the field".

Now I am content with working on my game, trying to get better, and teaching others. I do not think I will ever reach my highest ambition - not to win the U.S. Open - never realistic, but I had hoped to be someone the winner beat someday.

[L.G.Hail]

I chose "other"

Go is a fun game and I do want to get stronger, but I would not want to devote the rest of my life to it.

Plus I started late and would have to study every waking hour to get that strong.

[Mef]

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

This was the answer I was looking for as well. When I learned to play it didn't occur to me that there were professional players (though I guess if I had really given it the thought it would've made sense, given that there are professional chess players).

[Marcus]

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

This was the answer I was looking for as well. When I learned to play it didn't occur to me that there were professional players (though I guess if I had really given it the thought it would've made sense, given that there are professional chess players).

Technically, I chose "No. I wasn't that naive" because I never considered it more than a fun game. However, I guess this applies to me as well ... I did not realize there were pro players when I discovered the game. When I found out there were, I filed that idea away with the idea of becoming a pro Chess player ... something I did not have the drive to achieve with all my other interests.

That being said, I've started to look at the game from a different angle lately, and it's become more fun for me to play. In addition, this new way of looking at the game has improved my skill in it and it feels like I'm improving faster now than I was 6 months ago. Right now, I feel as if I could eventually be as strong as a pro player. I believe I have that potential. I'll never truly be a pro, though.

[Dante31]

No one really knows how go associations give pro ranks to foreigners, since they are willing to make exceptions. There are foreign players that get pro ranks without passing the pro exam as we all know; and there were cases where they gave pro ranks to even the native players that were over the age limit.

[Loons]

(other)

When I just started playing, I assumed that I was the next Takemiya Masaki (this was when I was 19 maybe?). Then, after I stopped playing and restarted at least once, I started forming goals like becoming a casual amateur 1 dan.

Now though, I'm inclined to the hazy goal; become as strong as I can, given the amount of time and resources I am happy putting into it.

[deja]

Becoming a pro never seriously crossed my mind anymore than becoming a professional bicyclist or movie critic. There's more than enough room for improvement and understanding in this game to last me several lifetimes. I don't need to be a pro for that.

[Rafa]

Yes, like some people said i too when i started playing go i dreamed of becoming pro, but i realised i was wrong because im already too old and i had to probably walk,run,eat,sleep,dream,study Go 24/7, and of course there always the pro exams and the chance of passing them is always the slightest, so now i treat Go as a hobby and trying to become the strongest i can be.

[Phelan]

Never thought I could be pro. I had understood my limitations prior to getting into the game. I've always wanted to get into the dan ranks, though. Hope I will still.