Actually, the majority of poker players on tv seem to be math professors. You have to be able to calculate odds very quickly.

Well, if they are it’s probably because they needed money to begin gambling with.

it is very untrue that the “majority” (by definition this means more than 50%) of professional poker players are lawyers or ex-lawyers, but if it seems this occupation is over-represented in poker consider that lawyers and ex-lawyers comprise a large percentage of the American professional population as a whole. It is also likely that another reason you might find many poker pros were former attorneys is that the same character traits lawyers develop from their professional (analyzing situations quickly and knowing how to work with, handle, and “read” people) are skills that are useful at the poker table and allow them to become good players.

I don’t think this is true at all. It would certainly be inaccurate to claim that 51% or more of professional poker players are or were lawyers.

I don’t think the lawyers make up the majority of pro poker players by any stretch of the imagination, but I could see why they are common. Lawyers are often very intelligent people with analytical minds. They also tend to have a lot of money. Lawyers are by nature very competitive as well, since they spend much of their time trying to ‘beat’ other lawyers in the competition that is the United States court system.

These attributes could easily combine to become a successful poker player.

LAWYERS WILL DO THINGS NORMAL PEOPLE WON’T AND NOBODY CARES.

LAWYERS WEAR NECKTIES TO KEEP THEIR FORESKINS OFF THEIR FACES.

Possibly because they have the excess money to play with. And, being attorneys, they are skilled in reading body language as well as deceiving others.

Where did you hear that? Pro players come from several background.