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1. Title:
What Is Freelance Poker Writing?
Word Count:
1789
Summary:
There are many popular casino-style games, but nothing matches the growth and popularity of
poker and how poker influences society. Poker writing covers limitless topics in the gaming world;
and poker writing can be a blend of journalism, feature writing, sports writing, entertainment
writing, travel writing, food writing, technical writing, and so on, depending on what you choose to
write.
WHAT DOES FREELANCE POKER WRITING INCLUDE?
You might think freelance poker wr...
Keywords:
freelance writing, creative writing, freelancing, writing
Article Body:
There are many popular casino-style games, but nothing matches the growth and popularity of
poker and how poker influences society. Poker writing covers limitless topics in the gaming world;
and poker writing can be a blend of journalism, feature writing, sports writing, entertainment
writing, travel writing, food writing, technical writing, and so on, depending on what you choose to
write.
WHAT DOES FREELANCE POKER WRITING INCLUDE?
You might think freelance poker writing is exactly that: writing about poker games. You might also
think poker writing is about writing for one specific market: poker magazines. This might have
been true years ago, but not so today. The expanding market of online and offline poker and
gaming magazines is one small fragment, out of dozens of paying markets, to find freelance work.
The Internet has spawned many online writing opportunities, such as blogging, writing for poker
and gaming websites, self-publishing, and writing SEO articles for companies and affiliates. And
poker writing is more than writing about the games of poker. Poker writing encompasses the
influences of poker, such as entertainment, technology, psychology, law, lifestyle, money, travel,
and so on. Writing about poker and gaming, along with their influences on society, is limitless.
2. Many successful freelance writers tap into an arsenal of online and offline media outlets to sell
their work, not just to poker and gaming magazines. Their recipe for success is simple: they write
varied topics related to poker and gaming that dont just fit into a specific poker magazine, but also
fit (with some reslanting) into many other non-poker magazines and media outlets (i.e. trade
magazines, regional magazines, newsletters, tourism guides, newspapers, websites, blogs,
ebooks, etc.) that cover varied subjects (such as gambling, gaming, professional sports, sports
betting, travel, lifestyle, womens issues, money, finance, real estate, hobbies, and so on).
WHY POKER IS ON THE MINDS OF SO MANY PEOPLE
To write about poker, you need to know why it is on the minds of so many people. Why all the
excitement? What do players see in a little game of cards? Many people fall in love with playing
poker because it challenges the mind; poker games are thrilling and competitive; and lets face it,
we love the winnings. The winnings in poker games, even online, can trail with many zeros. What
other game can you play with a $40 entry fee and win a couple of hundred thousand dollars, or as
with WSOP winners, several million? Its what lures the crowds to the game. Once players begin to
play, everyone is a legend in their own mind. The enticement and excitement of winning drives
players to want to play more. Typically, players just play more and more once they discover Texas
Holdem.
Even if you arent playing poker for the money, you will quickly become aware of the jackpots of
money that poker players play for online and offline. Many people play poker because of the great
challenges of the mind. Amarillo Slim (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Amarillo_Slim), another
legendary poker player once said, Poker is a game of people.Its not the hand I hold, its the people
that I play with. Most of the older players do play with dollar signs glinting in their eyes. On the
other hand, if you read some of the articles written about Slim in the past, youll discover he
enjoyed beating his opponents as much as anyone else.
Guru.com, CraigsList.com and Elance.com showcase job postings for many different freelance
opportunities. If you have the skills to write on gambling, specifically poker, then youll never be
short on writing gigs.
In fact, a search on a handful of job boards produced many writing opportunities, from blog
posting, to writing articles on poker games and strategies.
POKER WRITING OPPORTUNITIES
If you want to write about poker and gaming, the opportunities are there. If you are educated about
poker and you can write well, the opportunities will be endless. However, you have to be better
than average to earn a decent income as freelance poker writer. You must know your stuff in this
3. field.
Writing about poker and its players requires you to learn about the games of poker and about the
players whom people want to read. For instance, Doyle Brunson and Amarillo Slim Preston are
two old timers who many consider two of the last living legends of the game. However, Brunson
pulls a crowd more so than Preston. People look for articles, books and information on Doyle
Brunson because he is still an active player in Las Vegas. Furthermore, Brunson lives where
poker rooms are on every corner, whereas Amarillo Slim lives in, well, you guessed itTexas!
A freelance poker writer has many opportunities. For starters, a poker writer can write from home
because of the online games and tournaments. The online poker rooms (the ones offering the
large satellite tournaments) are newsworthy as are many of the sit and go tournaments that offer
large purses. Writers find ample topics and stories to pull from in this capacity alone. People want
to read whats going on in the online poker rooms. As a new writer, you need to write as much as
you can on the subject of poker no matter where people play it.
In addition to the newsworthy opportunities online, web content is a huge marketplace for
freelance writers. Writers who can write content-rich articles related to poker and gambling are in
high demand.
To succeed as a poker writer, you will need to find your niche. However, you dont necessarily
have to stay within your niche market. Many writers will write on poker and cover online and offline
games. Theyll cover the World Poker Tour for an offline gambling magazine one day and write an
informative How to Spot a Poker Cheat article the next day for an online website. Poker writers like
the ability to remain diverse but it pays to have a niche.
For example, there are several writers on Elance.com who write web content for gaming websites
but still pick up a couple of writing gigs offline in magazines and for newspaper articles.
Respectively, several notorious authors and professional poker players write primarily as book
authors and authorities on their game but occasionally they will snatch a writing column for an
online poker website.
Dont fool yourself into thinking the gigs you have online will allow the offline writing jobs to fall in
your lap. You have to keep your options open. You will need to apply for most of the work you get,
even after you become well-known within the industry. However, if youre good, youll very seldom
face competition for the writing jobs you want.
When you become established in your niche, clients, editors and colleagues will willingly generate
referrals for you. In fact, if you are well-informed and can stand out as a leading authority on
poker, you can create your own jobs if jobs dont randomly come your way. Youll be able to query
an editor with ideas and convince the editor to publish your articles. You may be able to query a
4. book publisher with a manuscript idea and have it accepted for publication.
In addition, the offline writing jobs on assignment are often lucrative. Most of the writing jobs on
assignment will allow you to live like a high roller, or at the very least, a low roller with some great
perks. Poker writers normally stay where the action takes place, which is commonly in a casino. If
youre covering a World Poker Tour event, youll likely stay in upgraded casino accommodations;
after all, the casino knows you are writing on the event and theyll likely want you to plug their plush
rooms and their many amenities.
On assignment writing jobs will enable you to eat in marvelous dining restaurants, stay among the
upper echelon of poker players in suites or upgraded rooms and enjoy hosted parties among
poker players. Writing on assignment as a poker writer enables writers to stay in some of the most
elegant resorts in the world while enjoying the lifestyle of the pampered poker player. And trust it
when you see it in magazines and hear about it online, these professional players are pampered.
Before you obtain your first job assignment as a poker writer, you need to learn all you can about
poker. Read everything there is to read. Listen to everything and anything you can on the subject.
Flip on the TV set and watch some live game coverage and learn the terminology. Poker
tournaments and poker coverage are constantly on TV, especially in the evenings and on
weekends.
PERKS OF A FREELANCE POKER WRITER
Poker writers who travel to some of the casino destinations hosting world events such as the
WSOP (http://www.worldseriesofpoker.com) or the WPT (World Poker Tour
http://www.worldpokertour.com ) find they can enjoy a lifestyle many freelance writers dream
about. Not every freelance writer can endure the schedule of these writers. However, if you are a
writer who can face the unpredictable scheduling of events in the World Series of Poker, have a
great personality and excellent people skills, then your chances to live a jet-set lifestyle in the
world of poker is better than what many writers might think.
Life is better as a poker writer than it is in most areas of writing. You will be rubbing shoulders with
people in Sin City and many other casino destinations where money is no object. Remember,
money is no object to a great number of poker players. Stakes are always high. With that in mind,
remember who you are and where you are. Remember to capture the story, and not the party.
You will get a free ride pass as a poker writer if you can achieve a name for yourself in the poker
world. You will have the things only high rollers can get just because the right people want YOU to
remember their name. Naturally, this will only happen after you become recognized as a poker
authority. If you strive to achieve it, you will know what the inside of the suites at the MGM and
Paris Las Vegas look like because youll be staying in them. You wont walk or hail a cab in Vegas.
5. Youll be riding in a limo, free of charge. Best of all, when you are on a job, you will drink and eat
what you want and never see a bill. Welcome to success. Revel in it and know youve worked hard
for it.
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