If I'm winning then who is losing?

My question is, what percentage of online poker players win, what percentage break even and what percentage lose.

I have deposited $25.00 and over a few months I have increased my bankroll to $118. The fact that the $US is in free fall and making my winnings less is a different issue.

As I play at the lower limit games I am pretty sure most of those players are in the losing category. I would estimate at this level it would be at least 85% of people are losing.

A large percentage of online players, especially at the lower limits are playing primarily for entertainment, actually having a positive ROI is simply a bonus.

The percentage of net winners is probably somewhere between 5% and 10%.

The limit is largely irrelevant - the weak players at say $1kNL will obviously be less weak in general than those at $10NL, but they will still be losing money.

lol. I find it much more entertaining to win.

I'm still curious about the percentages. Not sure if anyone has ever worked it out. I know the poker sites would want everyone to believe that everyone wins.

So, if you are a winning ring player, your knowledge/style/strategy/experience should put you in the top 10% of a MTT in general. Unless, of course, you are playing with a group of winning players (CC members, e.g.) and you need to be even better to place in the money. That is why I count on my ring play in the general populace to pay for my CCoP entry fees.

I myself hate ring games online but love them live play. To many idiots online especially in the lower ring games who just play as you guys say for fun and dont care if they lose a few bucks on a terrible chase. Sad thing is you can have 2 pair and the idiots will have draw hands and suck out it seems all the time online. Never happens in live games to me I guess me giving them the evil eye makes them fold who knows. Online is so much harder to take serious until you start to cashout and make a profit until then most people just dont take the game as serious. Just play your cards right and you will be a winning player. Chase and you will be a losing one.

I heard someone say once that only about 15% of online players are in the positive from wherever they started. I have no idea, but that's what I heard...

In seems from this data that the percentage is closer to 70/30: