Can someone make a long-term career at online poker?

Originally Posted by Unregistered

I see some of these comments as interesting...noone is going to post here saying how much money they have lost. First of all, unless you keep a record of all online and offline play you will never reallly know if your up or down. I know that each site keeps records but i guarantee everyone has taken a loss in some way. If you havent, you have not played enough. Otherwise, run dont walk, to the WSOP and I will see you on TV. Everyone who posts says that I won here and I won there, guess what? someone is losing big and it is not the everyday joe that logs on and says why not deposit $50 and see what happens. These guys lose once and uninstall the software. Sure there are some people that make a living with onlinepoker but it is very rare and sometimes not legit(aka party poker million that was proven to be rigged). Its very easy to forget those times where you lose and exagerate the times that you win. As far as tournament play online, it is fun and I recommend it. Can someone play in low limit and make money.....yes. In the long run though its not likely. Not because of the money but because once someone starts winning they think, that they are better than the hand that is dealt to them. Higher limit is different. If you are a by the book player and can lay down good hands it is possible. There is nothing better for an online player to play in some live tournaments because there is a huge difference. When i play in las vegas I am amazed at the amount of tourists who play, and how easy it is to win. When I play in my hometown, people who play are people who know poker and its much more difficult. This is just my view as I know that people who respond will believe how that they are great solid players that win............

very well put..i was just thinking the same thing before i read your post. especially the one guy who said he could "read online players" ... 98% of people playing poker, DO NOT know how to read someone, and when people think they do, they are way off base!

[Locohombre]

I have taken some totally bs bad beats online. Also, the quality of play is either too terrible to read or the players are too good to read. I can read people in real games after a while. I am right about 3/4 of the time when I do that. I don't see how you can really read people online accurately though. On top of that, even if you do, you will get the bad beat reguardless. You have to be very lucky to make an entire living from poker. Most of the guys on the WSOP and WPT were either extremely rich or totally broke before and during play anyway.

Truth be told almost 90 % of poker players say they are either winners, just someone who plays recreationally and doesnt care about the money, or that at the end of it all ( day, session, year, etc etc.. ) they end up even .. sorry , but thats not true .. almost 85% percent of all amateurs that play poker are losers. they lose consistently and hope for that one big payout, the WSOP or a great run of cards at a WPT event they can hardly even buy in for. to make it big is a huge investment of time and a lot of patience. to quote Dave Scharf of Canadian Poker Player Magazine " poker is not nascar ..things dont happen fast " as for online, beware of the automaticness of pushing a button and having money deducted from ur Credit card. It can sometimes not feel as real as sitting across from someone and playing a live game. To play poker online for hours at a time can be draining and all that to win 2 BB's an hour ?? it can be done but is it really worth doing ? i think ill keep my job thanks and ill meet the boys on wednesday night like i have for the past 6 years, well talk about the bad beats and make fun of each others play and most of all ... always question how good we really and wonder if well ever get to play in the big one ?
Good luck on the tables and may all ur pots be huge

[CAPPARELLA]

I guess if you are an introvert you could make a living of it, I myself like poker because of playing the people, i do however enjoy online just to sharpen the skills and keep the game clear in my head. I guess you'd be your own boss though which definitely has its advantages...

[HPG ADMIN]

<<all that to win 2 BB's an hour ?? it can be done but is it really worth doing ? >>

I agree with your post. But 2BB/hour is $32/hour if you are playing 4 tables of $2/$4 and $16/hour at $1/$2. For people out there grinding it out at a entry level job I think it can have appeal. Most of the people who tell you "I wouldn't sit home and play poker" probably hve jobs they like - but most people don't in my opinion.

[Locohombre]

Very well put, I couldn't agree more.

Originally Posted by Unregistered

Truth be told almost 90 % of poker players say they are either winners, just someone who plays recreationally and doesnt care about the money, or that at the end of it all ( day, session, year, etc etc.. ) they end up even .. sorry , but thats not true .. almost 85% percent of all amateurs that play poker are losers. they lose consistently and hope for that one big payout, the WSOP or a great run of cards at a WPT event they can hardly even buy in for. to make it big is a huge investment of time and a lot of patience. to quote Dave Scharf of Canadian Poker Player Magazine " poker is not nascar ..things dont happen fast " as for online, beware of the automaticness of pushing a button and having money deducted from ur Credit card. It can sometimes not feel as real as sitting across from someone and playing a live game. To play poker online for hours at a time can be draining and all that to win 2 BB's an hour ?? it can be done but is it really worth doing ? i think ill keep my job thanks and ill meet the boys on wednesday night like i have for the past 6 years, well talk about the bad beats and make fun of each others play and most of all ... always question how good we really and wonder if well ever get to play in the big one ?
Good luck on the tables and may all ur pots be huge

It is very possible to make a living playing online poker. I am one of the most honest poker players you will ever meet. If you are considering playing online poker for the first time, or considering getting serious about online poker, let me tell you this...
From someone who has been playing all types of poker for nearly 20 years, It cost me about 4k to learn how to play online poker. That's right, I lost about 4k before I started winning. Did I have days where I won $1500? Oh yeah, I had hours where I won that much, but overall it cost me 4k to learn how to play online poker. I stopped playing for about 3 months after dropping 4k online. I had to take a moment to reflect what I had done so differently than live play? The answer: Nothing. You have to play incredibly tight in order to make a living playing online poker. Also, you have to track your winnings every single day (whether you are a live player or an online player). I do that. Keep in mind, playing online, there will be times when you are running hot. You may make 3k in one day, you may also lose 3k in one day (both of those things have happened to me, & I don't consider myself that high of a stakes player, max I ever played online was $15/30). Max I ever played in NL was $5/10 NL. You must be patient though, patient & always play tight. In live games I am a much looser player than I am online. That is b/c it makes it much more difficult for people to read me (in live games). Online, there is no read, you either have it, or you don't. End of story.

ok...let me take a stab at it even tho i have limited knowledge of the subject...

let's say a decent living is $60k/yr, before taxes. not a whole lot, but a decent living. that works out to $5k/month, also before taxes.

we all know that poker is a feast/famine enterprise, so some months you might only make $1 or $2k (hope you've put your $$ away for these months), while others u may hit a hot streak and win a tourney or two and bring in $10k or so.

how would u go about making the $5k consistently? the beauty of internet gambling is that you can mix your game between cash games and tournaments without the added expense of gas or airfare/hotel. not to mention that you can play as often and for whatever stakes you have the bankroll to fund. with that in mind, i would want to go into each month with at least $1000 available for buy-ins and tournament entry fees available (an additional $12k annually, which would either bring your annual gross to $72k, or reduce it to $48k, depending on how u look at it).

another great part of internet gambling is the opportunity to play free sattelites to qualify for live games, which are great chances to pick up big money.

that's all my brain and i feel like thinking on this subject right now, i'd love to see some more discussion along these lines as opposed to, "i made $100,000 with a $5 investment". there has to be a practical way to approach being a "professional" online player, and i'm curious as to what that is.

Originally Posted by Unregistered

You have to play incredibly tight in order to make a living playing online poker.

Online, there is no read, you either have it, or you don't. End of story.

Well said, and very true. I think people put WAY too much stock in getting reads online. B&M Poker and Online Poker are two different animals. It's obvious that live games require more attention where online you can play 4-5 games at a clip and just play your best cards.

1. Play tight, always. Don't try and get cute.
2. Poker is cyclical. If you aren't prepared to lose as much as you win or have won, get out of the way. Go play checkers.