~snip~
Yes, it reminds me of a professional athlete who needs to constantly stay in shape otherwise equally strong players will try to unseat him. Instead of training in the gym, a professional poker player needs training on a poker simulator with a detailed analysis of the hand or with a coach who will share subtle secrets with us. Also, for an athlete, muscle mass is important, while for a poker player, a flexible brain is important.
Yes, what matters to them is not winning in the first place, but how the process of achieving this occurs. This is the key idea. While an ordinary player has only winning in his head, and then everything else, such people will never be able to win.
Yes, that's what someone has to do to become a professional in their field. If a gambler wants to become a professional gambler, he must train his skills well to improve his abilities. And by continuously practicing their skills, they can become professional gamblers. But it can also make aspiring professional gamblers addicted to gambling because if they don't train themselves well, they will just keep practicing it without stopping.
And it wouldn't be worth it if they had succeeded in becoming professional gamblers, but they also became gamblers who were addicted to gambling. So those who want to become professionals must be careful and always pay attention to their self-control so that it doesn't weaken and they can continue to train their abilities.
This is a very fine line between gambling and addiction for any player, no matter how pro-gamer he is, but that’s why a professional is called such that he can control it. I am sure that there are professionals who, after many years of playing, broke down and fell into the abyss. But if he starts with low limits, then he will be able to rise again if the fall was not fatal and did not cause him severe moral suffering turning into chronic depression.