Do you make a profit playing online poker?

I'm curious to know how many people here make a profit every month (on average) playing online poker? I know some months are good and others are not so good, but I'm looking for "in general".

Do you make a profit, a loss or pretty much break even (in general) every month playing online poker? And about how much do you lose/make? (don't have to answer if you feel this is too personal or you can just put profit or loss)

What do you play (Ring/MTT/STT) and what games (NLHE, Omaha, etc)?

What is your average buy-in (or table level for Ring) and how many tables do you usually play at one time?

How many hours a week do you play? And how many hours a week do you spend improving your game (not playing time) by studying, reading, analyzing, etc.?

What poker software do you use on a regular basis?

How long have you been playing online poker? And how long have you been playing at your current level?

Is this your primary means of support (are you a professional poker player)?

Thanks in advance to anyone who answers any or all of the above questions. If some of the questions are too personal, please just skip them. If you answer any of the questions at all, thank you!

...

I make a profit playing poker.

I play MTTs of all different poker forms (mostly NLHE and PLO)

Average buyin right now is $10 and I play up to 10 at a time.

I play about 20 hrs/week and I spend about 30 hrs/week dealing poker and being around players and talking strategy while on break, etc.

I do not use any poker software.

I have been playing online since 2004. I was an instant winner and took all my money off in 2006. I played a little between 2006 and 2008 and in 2009 I decided to restart and try to just continue to build up a bankroll. I started with $60 on pokerstars and a $10 freeroll win on cake and now I have all my money on cake and over $1500 bankroll. I have been playing at my current $10 average buyin level for about 2 months and I am SUPER close to making the jump to $20 buyins.

Playing poker is not my primary source of income, but dealing poker is. My goal is by next year to actually make more playing than I do dealing.

I am unemployed right now so I have a lot of free time on my hands but no extra money to do much of anything. I am wondering if it is realistic to think I could "get by" playing online poker. I don't have a mortgage or any car payment (all paid up), so it would just be making enough to help cover the monthly bills.

I'm wondering how long it would take (playing and studying) to get to the point of having a consistent profit margin each month (say 200-300 a month). I do other part time stuff, so it wouldn't be my only source of income.

I know not everyone will be profitable playing online poker. That's why I asked the questions. I wonder how many just play for entertainment and don't care about the money, and how many actually keep track and know what they make/lose playing poker. And if they are profitable, what they play and how often they play, how much study is involved and how long did it take them to get to where they are.

Right now I have acquired a small bankroll (across many different sites) playing freerolls. I have recently started focusing on playing Micro STT SnGs. I am currently on the border of breaking even and making a profit. I'm wondering if I'm heading in the right direction or if my time would be better spent flipping burgers at Mickey D's.

I have seen a lot of posts saying the Micro SnGs are so easy. I'm wondering what win percentage would be considered "easy"? Do people play these and win 90% of the time? Or is a 65 - 70% win rate considered "easy"?

What is your academic/professional background? If you have a PhD in game theory (like Chris Fergusson) you have significantly better chances of succeeding at the game than if you dropped out of school because you hated mathematics.

Belgo makes a profit playing poker. As do I, and a lot of others.

To "get by" takes a lot more than just making a profit, though.

Really strict bankroll management - including when to leave a table when up, can help your profit margins.

I havent made any money yet... i've only borken even... I only play SNG's

Sometimes I think the only side of my brain that works is my "math" side. I have always struggled with language/English but have always excelled in mathematics. I have a very "logical" mind with above average intelligence (just shy of Mensa candidate). I do NOT have a PhD in game theory. I was a computer programmer for years and was even one of those geeks that programed in Assembly Language and enjoyed it!

I adhere to very strict bankroll management. For me, that's the easy part. I have a bankroll of about $400 right now (mostly from freerolls), across different sites with most of it at 2 specific sites.

You can make money online, but I was warn you that it doesn't happen over night and you WILL go broke before you get better. Everyone and I mean everyone goes broke playing poker sometime in threr life. It is just the name of the game. The best you can do is bankroll management. I play stud and razz online and I do pretty well for myself, I've actually been able to pay for the car payment playing poker for about 7 months. That being said I have also had times where I lost money, I gave up NL Hold Em for pretty good stakes because I couldn't handle the swings, I stick to games like stud and razz because I have an easier time reading my opponents hands because 4 are showing. Find what games work for you. Maybe limit would be best to start so you don't go through the money swings.

I did not know i went broke..... What you are saying about going broke is so NOT true. I even know players that have like 40-46 winning months in 4 years time. And thats not grinding on micro believe me....

I have never busted my roll and am up an amount that Im sure i wont!

Playing within your limits and playing winning poker is the key.



Snow

I'm disabled and on a fixed income, so I play micro MTTs and SNGs .. I manage to grind out about a 100 bucks a month. Not much you say (I do too) but when you live on 900 dollars a month,,, it sure as heck helps,,,never had a losing month...
Take care

Yes, I make a profit. I've never deposited and cash out once a month. I play $1 buy ins or less most of the time. Sometimes 3-5 if money added games. I play 3-4 games most of the time. I also still play some freerolls. I probably play in excess of 40 hours a week. I spend very little time just studying. I've never read a poker book and rarely read poker strategy. I use no software. I started playing online in Oct 06. I did not have a steady bankroll until mid 2008. So the first time it took me years to get above $200. In June I cashed out almost my entire bankroll. I then built it back up again, almost to where it was, by mid July. Since then I have cashed out the end of each month. Each month it has been easier to rebuild than the last. Just 200-300 a month so far, so no, it's not even close to being my primary income. But it is nice to get paid for my hobby.

Started a couple of years ago on Bodog, with some freeroll money. Stayed at $2 sitngoes and worked my way up to $8. Along the way played in a bunch of tourneys and cashed numerous times. Recently been playing at PS, grinding away on the $5 DoN's, bankroll going up, lets me play in a few tourneys, and have cashed a few times. Recently took a second in a 90 man, nice jump in bankroll. Keep grinding and dont play above my level. Full Tilt has been giving me problems, mostly negative returns, but hopefully I can turn that around. Good Luck on the tables

I can only say that through about 650 SNG's I am ahead by a very, very little bit.

Tiny enough that even a modest downswing will put me in the red again. (obviously, if online poker was my primary means of support, I would be living under a bridge and able to afford about a cup of coffee a week for subsistence).

So, no, I don't make a profit playing online poker.

I play $3.00 27 man SNG's, and I play one table at a time.

I play 12-14 hours a week.

Time improving my game? Maybe 2-4 hours a week? (not sure, really)

I used to use PT3, but not anymore.

I have been playing poker for about two years, at my current level for less than a year.

Not everyone.

Thank you to everyone who replied to my questions. It has been helpful.

I will continue to learn and to study and play freerolls to increase my bankroll. My game has improved over the past 4-6 months. I feel like I am finally "getting it". I know I have a VERY LONG way to go with my game, but I have a lot more confidence in what I am doing now and I believe I'm heading in the right direction.

Thanks again to everyone.

Yep, Up a few hundred lifetime. Heres to thousands someday!

STTs your crushing them if you got 20% ROI. i would guess any where from 10-15% in the micros is reasonable to obtain. i'm not sure where it drops off but at the higher buyin(+$100) a 5% ROI would be considered top end.

I make profit only in cash games .It is not NL Hold'em .I 'm the worst Hold-em Player plus I don't like it.My bread and butter is Omaha Hi/lo and any limit Stud razz or horse.I don't have poker tracker and if I still did I would not be a winning player in hold-em .However in Omaha Hi'lo I tend to make 2.00 or 3.00 a session in .05/.10 PL Hi/lo or .10/.25 PL Hi/lo.I have a very peciular hand selection that if it doesn't rank in those certain catorgorys I will fold .Plus way less variance then Hold-em I don't care if anybody disagrees.

I do not play poker to make a profit. It is a hoby to me although I have built up a bankroll of just under $700 from an initial deposit of $25. It has taken me a few months to do this and my target is $1000 by Xmas.

..im playing online poker alot, but only in last few monthhs have i started to take it serioulsy..made an initail depoist of 50euro..i got that up to 600 euro, took a cheque out..reuilding it through freerolls, and up t 65 dollars..
i play nlh only,no other game...i know alot about other games,id fair ok in the mixed..but this is my game my way of making money...so im sticking to it..i pla alot of heads up, and mtt...thats it..dont play odd sng or cash, it dont interest me financially...

The higher stakes you play, the more you will make. But it could make you lose more too because of variance. Winning or doing really good in a big tourney, or doing well in cash games in which the stakes aren't too low, is the way to go for all those people who make 6 figures. Theres lot of MTT pros, and a lot of times they don't cash and it takes them awhile to get a big score.

Thanks cardplayer. This explains a lot. Good to know that even the best don't win every STT they enter.

i havent gone broke yet and i dont plan to by using good br management

Yup. WAY up from my original $250 deposit 2 years ago lol.

I have yet to even cash out, my BR skills are horrible. I have taken $100 deposits up to $800 and all the way back down in a couple of days. However, I am working on my lack of BRM, and think I finally have the discipline it takes to keep my roll.

I too have kept a tiny..and i mean tiny bankroll for the last 2 years on ultimatebet..it seems to get larger every other month to the point i want to move on to the bigger game ..and when i do BAM back to mini sng and micros ..but on the homefront at brick and mortar< i live in vegas> i have done quite well!

Yes, I do. I have admittedly taken poker slowly, unlike everything else I've ever done where I dived in too quickly and either burned out or made an ass of myself (or both). I'm quite grateful to poker for allowing me to augment my meager teaching salary.

I am at about break even online. One thing I have learned is that bankroll managment is crucial like the other players noted. Also knowing what games you are good at and can make a profit will help.

At the moment I mostly play 3 and 5 dollar NLHE rebuys where I have done quite well (I have a very high percentage of top 50 finishes), but I still haven't won one. If I played those tournaments everyday, I estimate that I could make an average of 500 dollars profit per month.

Answers in bold.

Yes i make a profit.........

Never put money on, or use poker software either i know a few that make a living out of it too

yes, profitable, both in money and knowledge. But it is a slow going process and one must be patient to see results.