By Marcel Lee Pereira

THEY live the high life - fast cars, fancy restaurants, and money, money, money. Meet Singapore's poker aces - educated young professionals who make more than a decent living from playing the game.

my paper met four of these "professional" players, part of a tight-knit group of five or so, who often go overseas together for tournaments or cash games.

They are among the growing number of poker enthusiasts here who are drawn to the game not just for the money, but also to make a name for themselves and to see the world.

Poker has risen in popularity in Singapore ever since the first tournament was held here in 2006, say observers.

Now, two poker tours are likely to be staged here in the coming months.

Mr Vince Lau, chief executive officer of Asian Poker Network, which publishes the regional poker magazine Poker Times, believes there are 20 to 30 full-time poker players here.

Two years ago, there were only two or three Singaporean poker professionals, he reckons. The poker scene now even includes some enthusiasts who are thinking of going full-time straight out of university.

Mr Lau added: "Singaporeans started reading up on the game, and found that there is a lot of mathematics involved. It's not just luck. You can have an advantage over someone with no skills."

Winning a poker tour can mean prize money of hundreds of thousands of dollars.

That is why former business-owner Ivan Tan, 27, gave up his pub and two pool halls to play the game full-time last year.

Last November, the business graduate from Edith Cowan University in Australia came in second in a Macau tournament, bagging US$129,000 (S$182,000), and decided to pursue the game full-time.

Poker can be a feasible career, the players agreed, but cautioned that one must be willing to work hard and put in the hours.

Many of them devour poker books, for instance, and start off losing money for months at a stretch before finally winning something. They also spend months away from home when they take part in tournaments.

Players must be able to take the ups and downs of poker, they cautioned.

Said Mr Nathanael Seet, a 24-year-old Singapore Management University student, who has been playing for three years: "I have lost a lot of money in one session - my biggest loss was US$200,000."

They must also face the stigma attached to gambling, said Mr Bryan Huang, 23, a Singapore Institute of Management accountancy student.

He is torn between getting a job after graduation and continuing with poker full-time. Said Mr Huang: "In a place like Singapore, when you speak to strangers, it's very hard for you to tell them you play cards for a living, because they will be thinking: "This guy is just lucky."

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