Is Online Poker Harder Now

Why can’t I win money at online poker? Where am I going wrong? What do I need to do to improve my poker game?

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I don’t know. Those are some pretty vague questions right there. Maybe if you sent me some stats, graphs and a few hand histories then I might be able to do something. Then again, this isn’t really much of a dialogue, so that’s not going to work either.

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However, what I can do is give you a bunch of reasons as to why you can’t win money from online poker and ideas for what you could do to improve. How does, say, a nice, round 26 reasons sound?

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Reasons why you lose money playing online poker.

You’ve played 1,000 hands. Ever heard of variance? Don’t draw any conclusions until you hit at least 10,000 hands, and even then you can’t really rely on the results from that sample size. Just play lots of hands before you resign yourself to the losers’ corner.
You don’t use bankroll management. If you don’t use BR management, you’re never going to be able to consistently win money from poker. And no, I’m not just saying that to scare you.
You play too many hands. Sure, all hands in poker have a chance of winning, but then I also have a chance of having a threesome. Just because an event can happen it doesn’t mean that you should put your money behind it. The odds aren’t always going to be in your favour.
You undervalue position. How many articles and tips is it going to take before you start to understand that position is actually way more important than you think it is? Have you not noticed how much easier it is to play from the button than it is UTG?
You make minraises before and after the flop. Why? Raise 3BB + 1BB for each limper preflop and bet at least 2/3rds of the pot postflop and you’ll do much better for yourself. See bet sizing for more details.
You multi-table too many tables. Yeah sure, all the cool kids are multi-tabling but that doesn’t mean you have to too. Take you time and play within your comfort zone. I’m sure that if I had a Ferrari as my first car I would have crashed it. Thank God that I was broke and had to settle for a washing machine with wheels.
You chase draws too much. Blindly chasing after any and every flush and straight draw isn’t going to pay off. Pot odds will sort you out.
You make crying calls. It’s nice to be able to see your opponent’s hand at the end, but if it’s costing you money then it’s not really all that nice at all. Learn to be content with your decision and fold if you think you’re behind.
You blame the poker room and not yourself. PokerStars is rigged!!11!! - of course. It couldn’t possibly that you have leaks in your game could it. Winning players look inward not outward when they are losing.
You haven’t read any poker books. Even in this high-tech world of training videos, interactive seminars and snowboarding, there is still room for the good old-fashioned poker books. The better ones are still incredibly helpful, so don't overlook them.
You chase after stats. You are 28/16/2 and apparently you need to play 22/18/3 to be a winning poker player at 6max NLHE, so you force yourself to play less hands and raise more. Unfortunately, that’s not how it works. Focus on playing good poker and the stats will take care of themselves.
You play whilst on tilt. Yes, that’s right. Shoving all-in with 63 offsuit UTG is by far the most effective way to get your money back after that bad beat.
You make fancy plays against micro stakes players.Floating the flop and check raising the turn isn’t going to go down too well if the guy on the other side of the screen is dribbling, scratching his balls and randomly clicking buttons. Keep it simple. Bet your good hands and check/fold your bad hands.
You don’t value bet big enough. Seriously, crank your value bets up and your winrate will skyrocket. Why bet $20 in to a $100 pot when you can get called by a $100 bet? Bigger value bets = bigger wins.
You don’t value bet at all. Even worse! If you have a good hand, get some money for it. Don’t be afraid to lose 1 time out of 10 or whatever. Not value betting is like never crossing the road because you’re always afraid of getting run over.
You call raises with weak hands and then fold to further action. If you don’t have a plan for later on in the hand you’re no better than a monkey clicking buttons. You should always have a plan of action for later streets. Fold on that turn if you don’t know what you’re going to do on the river.
You don’t continuation bet.Continuation bets can pick up loads o’ little pots. Adding the cbet to your game is an instant winrate booster.
You continuation bet too much. Easy now tiger, cbets are good and all but not necessarily 100% of the time. On some flops you’re much better off checking. See this video on continuation betting for a quick quite on when and when not to cbet.
You don’t double barrel. This is often because you just cbet too much. If you’re not prepared to double barrel then hold back on those cbets.
You double barrel too much. Just because your continuation bet got called it doesn’t mean you need to go ahead and throw the kitchen sink at your opponent to get them off the hand. Pick your spots.
You triple barrel too much. I think this is going to be the biggest bankroll rapist. Poor triple barrels are going to ravage your bankroll until it’s a quivering mess.
You don’t 3bet enough. If you’re not 3betting your AKs and AQs against loose raises you are missing out on easy money. Put money in the middle with strong hands.
You call too many 3bets. If you raise and get 3bet by a tight player, what sort of hands do you think your AJo is beating?
You don’t get rakeback. This isn’t going to fix the root of the problem, but if you’re a break even or marginal losing player then rakeback can turn you in to a winning player overnight.
You play when you’re tired or drunk. As a rule of thumb, if it's not legal for you to drive, then you shouldn’t play poker either. As sad as it is to say this, think of poker as a sport. You need to be in good condition, otherwise your results will suffer.
You have a “lucky” hand. No, J3o isn’t lucky and it’s not going to win you any money.

Any of those help you out?

Oh, and for what it's worth, you definitely can win money from poker. Have a look at how much money you can win playing online poker.

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Be honest, how many of you reading this article have wanted to be an online poker pro at some point since discovering such a thing was possible? I know I have — and on more than one occasion.

Being able to play poker for a living seems like the perfect job — for someone who loves poker at least. But it’s harder than you would like to believe. How to be an online poker pro? We have six quick poker tips for you to set you on your way to your dream job.

How to become a professional online poker player in one easy step would be to quit your job and use poker as your sole source of income. While this instantly makes you a poker pro, it is not advised, not even a tiny amount, for reasons that we’ll cover shortly.

1. Study all aspects of the game

Studying the game of poker is crucial if you want to learn how to succeed as a professional online poker player. When you think you have learned all there is to learn about poker, you need to study and research even more. In fact, you should never stop learning because standing still in this game means you’re going to be left behind.

Read articles on PokerNews, check out the 10 most important poker strategy books ever written, join a training site, or hire a coach. Any edge you can create for yourself will eventually lead to profits.

You can also practice playing no limit hold'em and pot limit Omaha cash games and tournaments for free at WSOP Social Poker. The games are completely free to play, meaning you can play poker for fun, try new things and never risk any of your bankroll.

2. Prove you’re a winning player

Remember how we said that handing in your notice and jumping straight into being a professional poker player isn’t a good idea? This is one of the main reasons why: you need to prove to yourself you know how to be a profitable online poker player first.

Many people bag a big score in a tournament, or win the equivalent of two months’ wages at the cash tables and start thinking that this game is an easy way to make a living. Wrong!

You need tens of thousands of cash game hands and tournaments (if not hundreds of thousands) to prove you’re a winning player. If you’re not a winning poker player over the long term, you’ll soon be heading back to your old boss cap-in-hand hoping to be reemployed.

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They say practise makes perfect and what better way to improve your online poker skills than by doing so without any risk at all to your poker bankroll? This is possible at WSOP Social Poker because it is a free-to-play online poker site that has cash games and tournaments running around the clock.

Try out new strategies completely free at WSOP Social Poker and set yourself on the way to becoming a professional poker player.

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3. Be realistic

Once you’ve ascertained that you’re a winning poker player, it’s time to begin trying to figure out how many hands or tournament you’ll need to play in order at least to match your previous salary. Here’s where many people fail.

When you have a salaried job, you are usually paid on the same date every month regardless of how productive your week or month is (within reason). You’re almost certainly paid while on vacation, or if you’re sick.

Are you really going to sit grinding for 60 hours every week?

The fact you have to go to work five days per week is probably enough to make you get out of bed and go to your job. But what if none of that was true?

You may have aspirations of making $150,000 a year

, and that may be possible. But make sure you factor in at least three full weeks “holiday.” You should also plan for being sick and unable to play for a couple of weeks per year. Also, ask yourself — are you really going to sit grinding for 60 hours every week? Do you think you can make enough money at $0.25/$0.50 to warrant giving up your job?

How many online poker pros are there who wake up at 12:00 p.m., play online poker for two hours, and then swan off enjoying life to the max. The answer is not many, and those who do generally don’t succeed as professional online poker players for any meaningful length of time.

4. Give playing poker professionally a trial run

Even if you have done all of the above, you should at least give playing for a living a trial run, so you have experience of how to play online poker professionally.

Take a week’s holiday from your job and spend the next five working days doing nothing but playing poker (at least you’ll be getting paid even if you have a bad week!). You may surprise yourself at how difficult it is to motivate yourself to play poker non-stop for a week. Or how after four hours grinding you suddenly lose all concentration. Or how after losing 15 buy-ins during the first three days you no longer want to get out of bed at 7:00 a.m.

It’s best to find out you’re not cut out for the life of a poker pro before you take the plunge into playing for a living.

5. Build a big bankroll and liferoll

You haven’t gone through all the previous steps but still think you know how to be an online poker pro. That’s fine, but do you have a bankroll and your other finances in order?

Most poker pros like to have at least six months’ worth of life expenses tucked away in a separate bank account in case things go pear-shaped. Dipping into your poker bankroll to cover your bills is a big no-no.

Your bankroll should be larger than a recreational player would have because you never want to drop down in stakes. Doing so, dropping down that is, makes it harder to reach your monetary goals — much harder. It’s better to be a bankroll nit than it is going broke.

6. Act professionally

Professional poker players often cite the freedom it gives them for playing for a living, but that’s not to say you shouldn’t have a professional attitude towards the job. Some of the best poker players in the world are extremely disciplined and in their approach every single day.

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You wouldn’t rock up to work and put your feet on the desk or lounge around on the sofa with your laptop, so don’t do it as a poker pro. How to become a professional poker player? Starting acting like one, a professional that is.

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_{This article was originally published on Jul. 5, 2017. Last update: Jun. 20, 2019.}

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