poker as income

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heix24

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how long did you have to play untill you actually started to win enough to call it income?
Have you learned from forums and books to start playing from hobby to pro?
 
quick

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Depends on a lot of factors. In past year or so I've become much more serious and focused on my poker. I've found I do much better live than online but I cut my teeth and learned online for years. I didn't read many books or watch many videos, mostly just dove in many years ago and played and played. Talked to others who played, read some forums, etc. I've read exactly two poker books : Zen of Poker and Treat Your Poker Like a Business.

Zen of Poker helped me a lot as far as non-technical books go.

I consider myself only in the past few months as "earning" a small side income and even then it's still mostly kept for poker. But I will say live it's nice to have the cash on hand and not faraway in some account. If I really need cash it's right there in a pinch.
 
bullishwwd

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The other side of Income is Loss which means your JOB or what you do to live on ... only those that have gone PRO (your profession or what you live on) can really effectively post to this. I never intended to make a living from poker nor would I ever ... I am certain that it would require greater than 8 hours or even 12 hours a day and a substantial bankroll considering the varience.
 
quick

quick

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The other side of Income is Loss which means your JOB or what you do to live on ... only those that have gone PRO (your profession or what you live on) can really effectively post to this. I never intended to make a living from poker nor would I ever ... I am certain that it would require greater than 8 hours or even 12 hours a day and a substantial bankroll considering the varience.

I have to respectfully disagree here a least in term's of the first question they posed. While I agree that a true "pro" who uses poker as their primary income (or job) can only ask questions related to poker as a living. But anyone who gets any "income" from poker can answer these questions. You're right there's a lot of variables here but for some people the variance is going to be different as is the number of hours they play based on the game type, bankroll, etc.

But income can be derived from multiple sources. I only work part time currently but have had and currently still have sources of income outside of my "profession." Income profit versus loss applies for tax purposes certainly and I've linked to the great CardsChat Poker and Taxes information page. I currently file my modest poker income as "misc" income but if it continues to grow I may consider, if my state allows, adding it as official income source to be able to consider loss deductions. But others here may be able to answer that in more detail.

BTW I love your sig. Funny how poker is a lot like life and life is a lot like poker.

https://www.cardschat.com/poker-strategy.php
 
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Two6JJ

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I am not sure at this point. I will let you know when or if I manage to build a life roll with my poker roll.
 
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kidrock1211

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If poker was my income i could not pay the internet bill to post on here. lol Its hard to talk of poker as a living in less its all you do
 
fletchdad

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I assume you think about how it would be to be a pro. To make poker your job. I will make a couple of comments.

Many people want to be a pro. And not only at poker. Football, writing, music, acting etc. How many actually can live from their passion? You can google this, but it is often less than 2-5% depending on the dream job. And most "Pros" make a humble yearly income, and the "dream" becomes a job and a grind, and the money is often not all that better than a normal day job, but the stress is much higher... And, when you play poker, and set your skill and knowledge against the other players, you will invariably be facing other players who also can play, and have the same dream. They are not all clueless. They will try to stop us, and crush us. This is the game. They (we!!!) are also quite often not as good as they (we!!!) think they (we!!!) are....... Important to realize.

Poker is a game of skill, but also of luck. Which means there are downswings - and upswings - which WILL!!! happen. The downswings can crush you, if you play good. The upswings can kill you, if you play bad. Why can the upswings kill you? Because you can actually be a mediocre or even bad player, and think you are better than you are, and maybe quit your job, only the have the reality kill you financially when the upswing ends and your actually hourly rate comes in.

You need to think like this:
How much money do I need to make a month to pay my rent, to eat, to pay my bills, to pay my coach(!), to have fun, etc.etc...? How many hours a week do I PLAY poker? How many hours do I STUDY AND REVIEW? What is my hourly win rate? When a downswing comes, can I financially handle it? Is my mental state able to handle the poker lifestyle, and stay focused?

Am I looking at this realistically?

Most players who dream of becoming a pro don't make it. Like in just about every other dream job. Only a few survive. I am not trying to be negative. This is just how it is.

Having said all that, some DO make it. So, do the work, and make your poker a business. Keep records of your time, your investment, your earnings, see what your hourly rate vs. your monthly expenses are. Keep track of your earnings at every stakes. Do the study, review, the hand analysis, the work off the tables, and keep in touch with yourself. Are you happy doing this? Are you acting like a pro? (Not being drunk and losing money as one of many examples)?

And good luck.

And, to answer your question.. lol.. How long from hobby to pro? It will be also like any other dream job. It depends on the player, how much work they do and how dedicated they are. It will not have a set time window of how long it takes. It will vary from individual to individual. And, most will eventually move on to another job.
 
Diegol

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There is no answer to that question, depends on a variety of factors but the most important is the the player
 
glenn6971

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I never consider poker as income. Too much variance that can lead to huge swings in the bankroll. Don't get me wrong, I do like when the checks come in however.
 
wagon596

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When you're 70 years old and disabled and on Social Security any small amount that I make (I'm a micro and freeroll player) each month is considered by me as income.

I don't lose money overall in the big picture, so there is no losses to be considered. Just my thoughts,,,,
 
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Reelmookey

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some players have played for a long time and still dontmake money playing poker for a living its all about ho well you understand themathmatics and odds as well as being able to read the other players at the table, and when in tournys a bit of luck never hurts
 
bullishwwd

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I assume you think about how it would be to be a pro. To make poker your job. I will make a couple of comments.

Many people want to be a pro. And not only at poker. Football, writing, music, acting etc. How many actually can live from their passion? You can google this, but it is often less than 2-5% depending on the dream job. And most "Pros" make a humble yearly income, and the "dream" becomes a job and a grind, and the money is often not all that better than a normal day job, but the stress is much higher... And, when you play poker, and set your skill and knowledge against the other players, you will invariably be facing other players who also can play, and have the same dream. They are not all clueless. They will try to stop us, and crush us. This is the game. They (we!!!) are also quite often not as good as they (we!!!) think they (we!!!) are....... Important to realize.

Poker is a game of skill, but also of luck. Which means there are downswings - and upswings - which WILL!!! happen. The downswings can crush you, if you play good. The upswings can kill you, if you play bad. Why can the upswings kill you? Because you can actually be a mediocre or even bad player, and think you are better than you are, and maybe quit your job, only the have the reality kill you financially when the upswing ends and your actually hourly rate comes in.

You need to think like this:
How much money do I need to make a month to pay my rent, to eat, to pay my bills, to pay my coach(!), to have fun, etc.etc...? How many hours a week do I PLAY poker? How many hours do I STUDY AND REVIEW? What is my hourly win rate? When a downswing comes, can I financially handle it? Is my mental state able to handle the poker lifestyle, and stay focused?

Am I looking at this realistically?

Most players who dream of becoming a pro don't make it. Like in just about every other dream job. Only a few survive. I am not trying to be negative. This is just how it is.

Having said all that, some DO make it. So, do the work, and make your poker a business. Keep records of your time, your investment, your earnings, see what your hourly rate vs. your monthly expenses are. Keep track of your earnings at every stakes. Do the study, review, the hand analysis, the work off the tables, and keep in touch with yourself. Are you happy doing this? Are you acting like a pro? (Not being drunk and losing money as one of many examples)?

And good luck.

And, to answer your question.. lol.. How long from hobby to pro? It will be also like any other dream job. It depends on the player, how much work they do and how dedicated they are. It will not have a set time window of how long it takes. It will vary from individual to individual. And, most will eventually move on to another job.
Good thoughts here that I mostly agree ... Very few folks will actually keep the records and do the analysis necessary to operate as a "business", including the existing Poker Pros :)
 
antonis32123

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No serious income for me from poker ,it's not a job , it's just a hobby to have fun , have a good time and make some $$ . I'm still learning from this forum and others , videos , etc I have a lot to study , but not to become a pro , just to improve my game :)
 
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When I started playing poker, I thought it would not be a great extra income. But unfortunately for me, it remains just a pleasant way to take time.
 
fletchdad

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Many people want to be a pro. And not only at poker. Football, writing, music, acting etc. How many actually can live from their passion? You can google this, but it is often less than 2-5% depending on the dream job.

EDIT: I worded this this wrong.

I meant of the pros that live from their passion, somewhere from 2-5% get rich enough make it a full time job for life, so sorry about my mistake here. The rest have average incomes at best or make so little that their dream becomes more of a nightmare.
 
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dino

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I've read somewhere, years ago if you play 8 tables in microstakes and if you're successful enough, you can make it about 20K a year.
With each level is bigger profit, if and only if you're playing 8-10 hrs a day, every single day, considering you have enough luck....

I am IT guy, and do IT stuff for living, had my Photo business for years (which tend to be more as part time job) but I've stick to IT, since it's certain that I will have a job and health insurance for my family and myself tomorrow and day after.
With Photo job, Poker, etc.... I do not see myself doing it whole day long.
I treat poker as hoby, and if I earn enough to make nice vacation and to pay good lunch or dinner, :)
Just my $.02
 
maikl2602KML

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at the moment poker for me is a hobby.t.to have a main job and a little experience.I hope that in the future poker would be my main source of income FIHM I improve the skills in the game.
 
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heix24

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an income is very relative, for me it would be at first great to keep it even without loosing my deposit.
For me it looks from the freeroll table you get the taste of the game, but its not that good practice as people not playing with actual money.
does anyone know a good and intresting book to read about how to play, its a nice winter evening hobby and why not to invest a little more time and effort to enjoy the game.
 
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I've manage to make a living and a stress free life, no mortgage or car note since 94'. Maybe it was how i was brought up but it all discipline, you never plan to lose. So to be even if it a $20 profit from a cash game at a local casino, you have to know when get up and go home. So yes there is income, and living in Southern California is NOT cheap
 
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