I find poker more difficult now. I used to make a bit of money in 2003 to 2005 before Black Friday hit. Now I find myself looking for different poker variations because everybody seems to know Hold Em now. I have never faired to great at PokerStars and that is the only place I have played for the last year. Just starting at 888 poker today and hoping for a bit smoother sailing. Anybody have any thoughts on building money a little easier?

Poker has got more popular over the last twenty years, mainly because of on-line Poker sites like Pokerstars etc. With television series like The Big Game and Late Night Poker, it has become more respectable, and of course you cannot watch any channel today without the odd advertisement for different Poker sites.
As it becomes more popular, the players are getting better, and even professional players are saying it is harder now to make money from on-line Poker because of the standard of the players, There are a few who make a living from on-line Poker, but most of them Stream live games on "Twitch" and most of their money comes from their subscribers and sponsors.
It is possible to make a living from on-line Poker but it is now harder than it used to be.

When the fun Stops, STOP!

Poker has evolved in recent years so it seems more difficult now.

Online is a different game. The players are much better than live. The average player puts in a good amount of work away from the tables too.

I started playing again about a year and half ago. I went from $250 to around $750 but I doubt I'll be playing online once the casinos and cardrooms open up here in Ontario and Qubece. I study about 1 hour for every 3 -4 hours of play and also multi table 4-6 MTTs at a time, about 7-8 a session.

So unless you play a ton and study you're not going to be good online.

Absolutely it's harder , actually I think it's getting harder and harder every year , and some Poker rooms with their decisions for increased rake , lower rakeback or smaller prizepools or other restrictions to players , they make it even harder for players to win big nowadays ......

But on the bright side , if you are good , you can still have profits . If you adapt you survive , if not .......

Obviously its never going to be 2005 again. Online poker is not a hidden secret, which have been waiting 20 years for someone to discover it. Today players have a lot of software and training material at their disposal, and most games are close to being solved. So optimal play is within reach of anyone, who bother putting in the work to learn it and then also has the disciplin to carry it out.

In top of that the internet has also reached mid income countries like Russia or Brasil, where making 5$ an hour playing online poker is pretty attractive to a lot of people. And therefore we now see "regulars" even at limits, where 20 years ago it was almost only recreational players filling up the tables.

But that being said in micro and low stakes games there are still many recreational players, who have taken advantage of none of all the knowledge or software available. They have just learned the rules of the game, made a deposit, and now they are sittting down at a table or two to have some fun. Chase some draws, wim-bam-boo, left and right, dust a stack away, and then the tournament is over. Or in some cases the cash game session, because often these players dont reload, when they get busted.

So its really a matter of perspective and expectations. Yes poker is surely more difficult now, than it was in 2005, even though I have no personal experience, because I did not play back then. But its still not difficult to beat micro and low stakes games and to make an amount like 500$ per month, if you put in a lot of hours at the tables.

So its just, that online poker is no longer a "get rich quick" scheme, and if you live in a country with high living costs, then being a full time online poker pro is probably not a career, you want to try and pursue. As PokerPoet2 say, most of those, who actually try, also have significant side income from streaming or other sources like being sponsored by a poker site.

Where do you feel the difficulty? What are the reasons? Because you are not winning enough money?

Originally Posted by MarlonCanada

I find poker more difficult now. I used to make a bit of money in 2003 to 2005 before Black Friday hit. Now I find myself looking for different poker variations because everybody seems to know Hold Em now. I have never faired to great at PokerStars and that is the only place I have played for the last year. Just starting at 888 poker today and hoping for a bit smoother sailing. Anybody have any thoughts on building money a little easier?

Hi, I have to agree that the competition has certainly gotten harder over the past few years and especially since COVID. I am guessing that it is due, in a large part, to the availability of HUDs and other software. As well there now seems to be a lot of free coaching available. As for PokerStars I play there regularly but over the past two years have not done well there, perhaps its the competition or most likely it is due to changes at PokerStars where I have found if one's bankroll is low then winning is almost impossible??? I have done and am still doing really well on ACR and 888 and not quite as well on GG. maybe its just a different batch of players? I mostly play Micro buy in MTTs so building a large bankroll isn't very feasible, however the fun of playing is still there...Good Luck

For sure it's harder nowadays because there are plenty of information and strategies on sites.
Also a lot of good players started to stream and they share valuable infos

Online poker has pretty much always been harder than live.Not really sure why but its always seemed this way to me.

MUCH harder these days for sure!

You might find you have a bit more success at 888Poker & maybe GGPoker... & possibly some sites that are open to the USA (just be sure to research your available withdrawal options first).
I find it can help to play at certain times of the day. (at least it does for me)

It's a different game - much more aggression and lots of poker training sites. Also, not as many 'casual' gamblers.

Poker has evolved a lot since then. Everyone has been playing completely differently ever since. However, most players still play incorrectly. I don't like 888 at, I think ACR is a much better poker room.

I don't think it's that much more difficult at micros/low stakes but it has definately changed. People are more aggressive overall than in the past. A similar thinking player can still win relatively easily in today's game still

There are more good players but at the same time bad players continue to emerge, I evolve and there is a lot of content but if you are a good player you will continue to earn money

I think it has always been difficult, since you do not have the virtue or the ability to see the players, and because today there are many tools and programs such as Holdem Manager and poker tracker, which help to have a base and an idea of your adversary.