If you’ve ever heard the saying “get paid to do what you love”, you might have wondered how to turn your gambling hobby into a profession. So how do you become a professional player and stand out in such a competitive industry?

Kevin Cochran has years of experience in the iGaming world and knows the ins and outs of professional gaming. From online platforms like Casiplay Casino to project management, Cochran is an expert in the process and is here to teach you what it means to become a professional gamer.

Find your passion

The first thing to know in order to become a professional gamer is to be passionate about what you do. It has to be more than a hobby – you will need to invest time, practice, and research to hone your skills.

Before continuing, ask yourself why you want to do it, what you hope to achieve, and what type of work you want to invest in. You do not know where to start ? Here are some common types of professional gamers: *

• Casual Gamers: relaxed and flexible style of play (comments, walkthroughs, etc.).
• Old School Gamers: focus on retro games (8-bit and 16-bit technology).
• Social Gamers: opt for interactive games and team building. Often multiplayer or competitive titles and style.
• Expert players: jack of all trades. Similar to casual gamers, except they have in-depth knowledge and skills of most titles.
• Pro Gamers: excels in one genre and participates in esports tournaments.

Choose a niche

Now that you know what excites you, it’s time to find your niche. This will help you stand out from other players in the same category. Think about your favorite professional players and identify their unique qualities for inspiration.

For example, there are many Let’s Play (LP) channels. A notable YouTube channel by the name of Let’s Game It Out takes LP content to a new level. Josh, the creator, plays the game incorrectly (until chaos occurs or it crashes the frame rate) for comedic effect. This has resulted in over 200 million views and referrals from many reputable companies. *

To be coherent

You will notice that your favorite players have a set timeline and create content consistently. The typical daily routine of professional gamers includes research, practice, marketing, and content creation. Not only does this help viewers know when you’ll be streaming, the algorithms are also more likely to push your content. *

Build a brand

Marketing and strengthening your online presence is essential in any industry. That’s why building a personal brand is so important – it helps viewers identify you across all platforms. *

Start by having an easy-to-remember name and a catchy icon across all platforms. Design a logo, stick to a color scheme, or use other visual factors you may be known for. Your personality and other unique characteristics will also be linked to your brand. Be creative to stand out from your competition.

Connect with others

Even if your content is all single player games, you will still need to be social and network with other professional gamers. If you play competitively, you will benefit from joining or building a team. The more you are noticed, the more doors open for your career with other players, exclusive communities and referrals.

Know your audience

Knowing your audience is essential for many retail and entertainment industries. Figuring out who your audience is and what they like about your game will help you understand how to grow your brand. Interact with viewers, get feedback, and tailor your content accordingly.

Have the right attitude

Professional players can be penalized for violating platform policies, hate speech or other forms of misconduct. To minimize censorship, platforms like Twitch allow your content to be tagged for mature audiences. This means that you don’t have to be 100% family-friendly to be successful, unless you want to appeal to a younger audience.

However, any controversy can cost you viewers, sponsorships, etc. Keep your file clean with the right attitude, avoid sensitive topics, and keep your generalized and somewhat SFW language.

Upgrade your equipment

What is a professional gamer without the right gaming equipment? At first, it is recommended that you start with what you have and upgrade later. A mistake many aspiring pro players make is to assume that they can only start their careers when they buy an expensive setup.

All you need is a good gaming mouse, headset, microphone, and mechanical keyboard. Keep in mind that you have to try out your gaming peripherals on many stage games. If you are using laptop or PC, it should work fine and avoid frame rate lags or bugs.

Get sponsored

When you gain enough ground in your playing career, you can be associated or sponsored to further fund your career. In addition to making a lot of money through live tournaments or financial support from your fans, companies can pay you to wear their products while you are on screen.

Make movements like a professional player

There is a lot more to being a professional player than what you see. Along with streaming, content creation, or competitive gaming, you also need to network and brand for yourself. The good news is, you don’t need much to get started. When you work, you too can become a big name in the gaming industry.

Related

Mobile gaming has come a long way from just playing games like Solitaire and Candy Crush on your smartphones. We met a member of the Galaxy team and a professional Fortnite Battle Royale player Ali “Myth” Kabbani spoke about how Samsung’s Galaxy Note20 Ultra is changing the landscape of mobile gaming as well as its debut in professional gaming.

Myth started streaming on Twitch in 2016, his game of choice at the time was Paragon before Epic Games decided to unplug its online shooter in April 2018. Myth then decided to donate Fornite Battle Royale a trial towards the end of 2017, and its popularity began to increase, gaining over 200,000 followers on Twitch. By the end of the same year, its number had increased dramatically to over 3.2 million. It could also be the moment he described to us when his parents realized that playing video games professionally was, in fact, one thing.

Speaking about the exact moment he decided he wanted to be a professional gamer, Myth describes having a conversation with his mother. Still, she really hadn’t quite understood how serious he was to take this step.

“I remember there were a couple of times that I told my mom,” Myth says, “you know, I wanted to participate and I wanted to start playing games and getting involved in this. community. And she would always say, “Oh, yeah? OK. You know, as long as you keep your notes, honey, you know. Just keep those notes. “

It wasn’t until his streaming numbers started to increase that he realized professional gaming was indeed the route he wanted to go. He said Hip-Hop Wired, “things got more and more serious, and he [professional gaming] started, you know, I started to spend a little more time on it.

Myth finally decided it was time to reunite the family to discuss her plans before she graduated from high school. He revealed that his mother didn’t take the news very well, but it was the encouragement of his other five siblings that gave him the boost he needed.

“I had, I grew up with like five other siblings in the household, or the, yes, five other siblings in the household,” Myth says. “So they all went through the process of college, school, and they saw how dedicated I was to the game, and they know how long I’ve been playing and how well I’m doing it.” . So they were sort of, they were there, and they were like, yeah, you know, do it. Like, we went through the process. We are drowning in debt. As if you can do something with it, or think you even have the opportunity to do something with it, like go ahead and give it a try. You know. What have you got to lose? “

Her parents eventually came with the help of her siblings, and they saw her streaming numbers firsthand after signing with TSM.

“I remember one day I took my parents to my room and showed them like my Twitch stats one day for a month, and they were like, you know, and – and, they – they were like, “Holy shit. And uh, and at that point, they were like, ‘Okay, yeah. It’s official. Like it’s actually a thing. (Laughs). And like until then, my mom said, “I thought it was video games, but he was talking to people, like he wasn’t doing much. I didn’t know he was making money or getting anything out of it.” that is.

Now the rest is history. As a member of the Galaxy team, Myth had the honor of showing off the powerful gaming ability of the Galaxy Note20 Ultra while also showing the phablet’s ability to run Microsoft’s new baby Xbox Game Pass Ultimate, which is currently still in beta phase.

Source: Samsung / Samsung Mobile

Thanks to Samsung’s partnership with Microsoft, it is giving the Korean tech giant a leg up on the competition by showcasing it on its device, and the Note20 Ultra is the best smartphone to launch the new game streaming service. Samsung is hoping this will now usher in a wave of gamers using smartphones, preferably their devices to play anywhere. We asked Myth if he ever imagined playing a lot on his smartphone and, as expected, being a die-hard gamer, he never really saw that happen.

“To be, to be honest, like I think, uh, definitely not,” Myth says. “I mean, I remember it was not that long ago. Like maybe four or six years ago, right, you know, like you used to like to go and try and play like, you got games on your phone? And you go out angry Birds , and you’re like, oh my god. But there was a difference between having a game on your phone and enjoying playing on your phone, right?

Myth goes on to point out that being able to instantly play triple-A titles on the Galaxy Note20 Ultra is a game-changer.

“I never thought it would get to the point of having full-blown titles, you know, like triple-A titles on your phone that you could play, you know, from anywhere you want. So this is … this is my point. So definitely, no, I haven’t, I’ve never seen it get to the point where it is today, that’s for sure.

As for his initial reaction when he first saw the Xbox Game Pass in action and was chosen to unveil it, he couldn’t believe what he saw in the palms of his hands.

“I remember thinking to myself, ‘Is this real? ” (Laughs). Because I couldn’t, I didn’t, it was hard for me to imagine trying to tell my 10 or 12 year old self exactly what I’m doing right now. As if I didn’t think that after me, I would believe in what exactly is going on. So that’s how I felt, if I had to go back a few years and explain to a younger version of me how you can play games these days, I just wouldn’t believe you. I was like, “Yeah, okay, bro, cut it. Like, you’re kidding. Are you kidding me? Like, I could play for years on my – on my phone, yeah, on my couch or on my bed, maybe while I use the bathroom?

Source: Bernard Smalls / @PhotosByBeanz

Myth even considers the ability to play games through Xbox Game Pass on your Note20 Ultra and other devices in the future as the perfect tool professional gamers can use to keep their skills up to date.

“I think console gamers in particular will be able to enjoy it a lot and be able to, you know, play from anywhere like you see me doing when I put the Note20 on the bluetooth controller, and I could play everywhere. Um, being able to like, you know, just pull out something and then search for info or get info about the game while you’re on the go or whatever, or show your friends that something is going to be huge. And as this technology gets better and better and better and better, that will only make it a more viable option, and I think it will definitely go down that road.

Of course, we ended things by asking Myth what games he was looking forward to playing on Xbox Game Pass, not named Fortnite. He quickly responded Halo: infinite, unfortunately, we will have to wait until next year to play the next adventure of Master Chief.

You can follow Myth on Twitch, YouTube, Twitter, and Instagram.

–

Photo: Samsung / Samsung Mobile