How Much Money Can You Make Playing Poker?

Tammy

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So how much money can you make playing poker? The answer is a common one in all things poker: it depends.

It can depend on a variety of variants such as the individual's skill set, the type of game they play, where they play, who they play against, and so many other factors. And the cold hard truth for many is that the answer to the question is an emphatic no.

Luckly, we've broken down all the variables for you to decide if this poker thing is right for you. Read the article and chime in below with your thoughts and experiences.
 
terryk

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Very interesting question;),,,i find our personalities limit us sometimes,but i`m a bit of a dreamer who likes to reach for the stars so to speak,,,so i play out of my bankroll at times and try to satty into higher buy-ins ($100-$200) so my ceiling to win is a bit higher than say someone who just plays micro`s and freerolls only,,,,my lack of experience and skill level limits my ability to win now,but as i gain more in both areas my odds increase,imo.:) So my answer is $limitless$,,,:star:
 
Debi

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For most players it is a lot less than they think when they start playing. :p
 
hyperion

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my big winning was 5$ USD ,nothing more than that.I'm working hard to conquest 1st place at a tourney.
 
Edison A

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Like every poker player I have good and bad experiences playing poker, but the good thing about all this that from the two lessons, good and bad I have learned, I have played online poker for more than 10 years and I have managed to have good victories, I have already said sometimes that 2016 was my best year playing poker getting more than $ 5,000 winnings, well I got to get those profits because after so many years playing different varieties of poker I realized it was very good and I felt like a fish in the water playing the KO tournaments and it was in that type of tournaments that I won my first major tournament reaching the first place (buy / in $ 11) as time goes by you learn to have discipline and control that desire to continue playing without stopping when you have managed to obtain A gain of money in some tournament, DISCIPLINE AND SELF-CONTROL, is what you always have to have, I've also had bad experiences and I'll say it, once I play casino and I win a $ 900 JACKPOT and I did not retire and I kept playing and after a while I was only $ 300, I spent almost everything in a stupid way and believe me I could not sleep in several nights, now I am much more controlled for the game and I do not spend my profits, I withdraw the money earned, thank Tammy for this very interesting article.
 
3betfish

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Unlimited income potential, limited loss potential to how much you put in the game
 
eberetta1

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What is nice is a lot of players can hone their skills playing poker online. Some folks are over an hour away from a casino, or when they get around to playing, no tables are open. Less of this being unable to play poker happens in the online world. Now we just gotta figure how to make a profit from this thing called online poker..
 
Jockerist

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Interesting question and interesting article. My income is very low. At the moment, I do not have enough experience in online games. I have little time for games. I hope that my difficult time will pass and I will fully deal with poker.
 
Helloween

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MTT is too dispersive. Recently, I watched my bankroll charts on a non-working room. More precisely, he is now working, but based on pokerstars. Laughed remembering the win 1k in the superturbo MTT with 650 participants for 11 bucks))) As I won it already and I do not remember. But before that I played 200 tournaments and the winnings did not exceed $ 100. But it became an impetus for me and it became easier to win at higher limits. In general, I wish all forum participants to always remain at a profit, so that the defeats seem like a drop of water in the sea)
 
ZenGreen

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The game would drive me insane if I had to make a living from it. The biggest thing holding me back is volume and I have no interest in putting in the amount of volume needed to make the whole deal work. Its almost to a point where it feels your are looking for the poker table thats hitting. When I set my mind to it I can make a few bucks here and there but I dont know what it is, everything about the game seems so much painstaking then it used to. I just accept the fact that I play to try to make some but understand thats its very hard these days
 
chicopaw

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Like so many new and returning players, most of us enjoy and play for pleasure,Making any large amounts of dollars comes down to the hours and the amount of money your willing to invest/lose,,the more u play the better your chances of hitting the gold
 
CRStals

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The biggest things that one can do to ensure they maximize the earning potential playing poker these days are, in my opinion:
- Study - Those that do not work on their game will not move forward

- Manage bankroll - If you play outside of your bankroll, you might gain short term, but playing outside of your means can lead to emotional swings and risk of your overall bankroll

- Stick to one format - Those that jump from cash to SNG to MTT tend to not maximize potential as your skills have to adapt to the format you're playing. Practicing one format allows you to capitalize on your preparations

- Be stable - Manage bad beats and tough losses like it's one hand and move on. Tilt can kill a session, your overall mindset and your bankroll

Stick to the lessons in the article and you'll see results eventually.
 
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On a possitiv perspective - it's very calculateble. 20-30 ROI in NLHE,40 in PLO/8 cash wll depends on the limit but 3-4bb... and that grind =)
Yeah and taht live mtt exempla... comon this is live! You can drive around all your life and not get anyting and you can bank HR after HR... look at Fedor. Now thats a heater.
P.S. My Danish agro CBeter is making a comeback +)
 
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A friend of mine writes for CardPlayer magazine, and has interviewed everyone from high stakes TV name pros to the everyday casino grinders--

At the average $5/$5 game in Los Angeles ($300-$500 buy-in), the solid, winning pros make around $80k per year, give or take $20k in either direction. Some break six figures but it's rare. To make more than $150k, you really need to jump to higher stakes games which are obviously very pro-heavy.


Also--
You need to RISK A LOT to EARN A LITTLE.


Watch some of the grinder blogs such as Brad Owen and Andrew Neeme. They always enter for the max buy-in -- usually around $1k -- and make sure they're topped off, so on any given night figure they're risking anywhere from $500 - $3,500. Yet their wins are usually under $500. You're basically risking $1,000 per day to make $200.


Here Brad Owen -- who has around 40,000 subscribers and is one of the most popular poker vlogs on YouTube -- made just under $40,000 in 2017. See his stats at 26:30:


Doug Polk also did a video breaking down earnings:


And don't forget about RAKE!! It is a HUGE factor!
A friend of mine plays poker online in New Jersey. Plays lower stakes, and plays almost everyday recreationally but takes the game very seriously. Last year he had a net profit of $3,000. But he spent around $30k in rake. Yes, 30k...


Sometimes it is harder to beat smaller stakes over time because the rake is so great.


Bart Hanson (owner of UpSwing poker, regular face on TV high stakes poker games) said in a video once that even Phil Ivey could not beat small stakes casino games because the rake/drop makes them unbeatable.


LASTLY,
Tournament math doesn't make sense in the long run.


Check this ~*informative*~ article which breaks it down: https://deadspin.com/why-its-hard-for-poker-pros-to-make-a-living-playing-l-1526098295


You need to risk something like $240k to make $60k, and that's if you are one of the top players travelling around the world constantly. And you run good.


Vanessa Selbst, the highest-ranked female tournament player in the world, only cashed for $120k in 2016-2017 COMBINED, and god knows how much she put down for buy-ins. https://www.pokernews.com/news/2018/01/vanessa-selbst-retires-pro-poker-player-29628.htm


--


Of course there are poker players who beat the odds. I know a few grinders who do reasonably well and are able to support themselves comfortably. Just remember most aren't making as much as it seems, and the deck is stacked against you (pun intended!)
 
Vorem

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useful article. I myself, too, can not decide what to play - Cash or MTT, tournaments are more interesting for me, but because of the greater disspersiontion I mainly play Cash. How I to learn to fight with tilt - I will play more tournaments. Jared Tendler's Mental Game of Poker recently started to read, may be help to me)
 
makisaa

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Nice article, about the things we must be carefull and very impressive information about the profits balance of the famous players. It is wright that poker needs patience and wise decisions when you lose but also and when you win. Another very usefull "tool" which I apply, is putting simple targets and moving step by step, which I see it works very good!
 
gjwalk

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Interesting article with a lot of comparisons between Grinding and Tournament playing. I didn't see anything about the role that staking makes. A lot of the top tournament players are not risking their own money which make some of the stats inaccurate regarding profits. I'm mostly a small stakes tournament player, I don't have the time or patience to grind out a living on the cash tables.
 
Andrew Popov

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Please note that we only discuss Cash or tournaments. And do not even mention Spins, and all these lottery formats, games with special abilities, and so on, realizing that this is no longer poker. Games with a huge rake, and a high proportion of chance, reducing the impact of the skill of the player on the final result. :D

Cash game is the least dispersive - but to achieve a significant profit you will have to play very much. And the process itself is quite imaginative. Unlike tournaments, more interesting with different structure, different situations at the table and tournament situation. In addition, in tournaments at low limits, you will meet a large number of casual and weak players. Especially a lot, if in the poker room, some action is carried out with the distribution of free tickets. ;)
 
cubons

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I wonder how Gus Hansen can sleep. :) For sure, there are many factors on that! First of all, I can truely say that I am really bad when it comes down to Heads-up. That is one of the reasons why I play only MTTs with such a huge field! Definetely also cash games are not for me. ;) Step by step, and that is how I can decide what to play next! If I want to make a profit then I play MTTs, it does not matter how big profit is.
 
8bod8

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can you make money?: Yes
can I make money: Yes (playing freerolls)
how much can I make? no idea yet, I try to analyze the games by ROI, the plan is to find the most profitable in terms of ROI or $/hr. The process and play is fun, the amount is on third place. Or in priority:
1) fun & BRM
2) maximize profit
 
No1eJoker

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Very very nice article and educative..But I play more for fun,so I do not risk much money, and I can not expect any kind of profit..The old proverb says.."Who doesn't risk, doesn't have profit" :)
 
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I don't plan on playing with those pro's, or on their level. When I avoid tilt, I am averaging 100-500 bucks per year.
 
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i try much as I can,but there is situation when you ask yourself how much you can lose?thats why I dont chasing BIG MONEY...
 
Zorba

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IMHO it depends a lot on how big your skill, poker bankroll and the stakes you play. Just because some people can afford to play the higher stakes doesn't mean that they have the skills to play those stakes and make a profit.
 
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I ever win 0.5 sit&go and 0.10 sit&go.But lost for cashgame and roulette.
Now I play freeroll only .
No deposit again.
 
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