Train Like A Gamer: How People Train To Get Better At Games

When you ask how much money people get paid to play video games, you might not like the answer.

According to eSports Grizzly, the salary alone for pro esports athletes can range from $50,000 - $75,000. 

That doesn’t even start to take into account the additional earnings from sources like tournament winnings, sponsorships, and streaming, or the likely partnership deals that influential gamers can have on their social media accounts.

So, if that’s the average salary for your ho-hum, everyday professional gamer, where does it go from there?

The sky's the limit. According to eSports Earnings, which tracks video game tournaments and payouts, the top 10 players internationally all have career earnings of more than $4 million. Johan Sundstein, the number one ranking player, has pulled in over $7 million.

To even crack the Top 100, you’d need career earnings of more than $1 million.

While there’s nothing remotely realistic about us normal video game aficionados coming close to achieving video game success like that (and it may not even be advisable - imagine training for one game, and then the developer discontinued it. At least with sports, they’re not going to discontinue running anytime soon… I hope), it’s certainly fun to think about.

So for today’s blog, we don’t have the tips to turn your video gaming into video gazillions. But we do have a few tips to give you an edge in your next matchup.

Ready to start your own pro gamer career? Here are a few tactics for training like the esports pros.

3 Tips To Train Like A Video Game Pro

1. Don’t Binge Game - Just like actual work, taking regular breaks helps our brain to recharge, says Dr. Matthew Barr of the University of Glasgow. If you’re planning to quit your dayjob to train for video games, then don’t train for six hours straight. Other work-like tips that can improve your training and your video game play include incorporating regular breaks, getting fresh air and sunshine, and creating a good training environment, especially one that keeps your posture straight.
   
   
2. Study The Professionals - The question about how to use livestreams to get better at video games is as old as … Well, I guess it’s as old as livestreams. As user arcshine points out on reddit, the goal of watching them has to be to learn. Start by asking yourself questions like “How would I approach this situation?”, “What did they do differently?”, and “What did they do in that situation, and why was it effective?” After picking out a few techniques, work to incorporate those into your own games.
   
   
3. How To Actually Go Pro - If you’ve actually gotten excited about your potential as a pro gamer, you’d be wise to follow Game Design Lounge’s advice. If you do want to make a living doing this, you’ve got to go where the money is. Find out which games have large tournaments and prizes, and regularly train with those games.
   

If all of this talk of video gaming training has your thumbs worn out already, it’s okay. 

Going for the e-gold is a serious commitment. For even more motivation, consider checking out our IRLA Video Game pack, which is full of collectible coins designed to motivate your video gaming achievements.

Now let us know - if you were collecting a salary to play one video game, what would it be for? And how much would you need to be paid?