One of the things I get asked the most is “What's it like playing online poker for a living?” To be honest, I often asked this same question only 18 months ago. There are various ways to make a living playing online poker, and not all of them involve investing huge amounts of money (or collecting six figures in return). I consider myself part of a new breed of online players who grind out a living without the benefit of a large initial investment. In other words, I make money by multi-tabling low-stakes online poker games (in my specific case – about 80% Sit & Go tournaments and 20% MTT’s).
So make no mistake, you shouldn’t underestimate the amount of skill and work it takes to be a winning high stakes player online. While the golden era of poker was a much easier time to make a living playing poker, I assert that it is much more accessible and easier for a young player to make a living playing poker today than it was in the 90’s.
So when I read that question in an e-mail or instant message, my first inclination has always been to “set the record straight”. It’s no secret (or source of embarrassment) that players like me aren’t multi-millionaires who have taken advantage of the recent influx of mediocre players to gain access to some proverbial Easy Street. Online poker has provided us with an opportunity to make enough money to justify the long hours we put into it, but until someone has actually “taken the plunge”, it’s impossible to comprehend the trials that poker puts a full-time player through; or the amount of respect that The Game demands from any aspiring player.
It always gives me a chuckle when I scroll down to read the next question that usually follows the former… “How can I make a living playing online poker?” It flatters me that an unknown player would think I hold the key to unlock a universe of worry-free profit-making. I attempt to answer similar questions in a non-negative, yet realistic, manner. Living the life of an Online Grinder is no walk-in-the-park… and it doesn’t exactly lead to a star-studded fantasy lifestyle that most envision. Playing winning poker commands more time and dedication than most “9 to 5” jobs; and can include moments of enormous emotional swings and financial insecurity.
However, online poker has been a savior to me. It may sound incredible, but poker has played a principal role in increasing my income, helping my marriage, and providing financial peace-of-mind. For over a year, poker has given my family a positive means of earning income, while at the same time paying for necessities. Oh, it’s been very difficult at times (and will continue to be), but one should expect no less from any employment. The main reason I hold online poker in such a high regard is the fact that it has opened up so many doors to me personally and professionally.
But you’ve probably accessed this article in hopes of gaining insight into how someone (like yourself) can become successful and reap financial rewards from online poker. I don’t blame you. I wish there had been more information on this subject in circulation in early 2005 when I became an Online Pro… it may have saved me a lot of headaches (or I may have ignored it). Either way, my aim in this article is to help a winning online poker player decide whether to turn pro.
Bankroll vs. Expectations vs. Time
It all starts here. Without a proper bankroll, your ship will eventually sink. So we must first ask ourselves just how much money we need to make (on average) playing online poker. If you only require a very small supplemental income, then there’s no need to deposit thousands of dollars into an online poker account. Major poker sites offer low-stakes ring games and tournaments that allow a “budget player” much more flexibility than ever before.
For those who decide to become full-time players, there are plenty of well-written bankroll management articles available on the net; and you should refer to those when deciding how many Buy-Ins or Big Bets to start your professional career with. The amount of time you can spend on playing (and studying) the game will also influence the stakes you play, since you’ll be able to play lower stakes to reach your monetary goals by increasing the number of hours you play each day/week/month.
Multi-Tabling
At some point, you will have to decide what you think about multi-tabling. While many players who can afford a large initial investment can get by with playing only one high-stakes table at a time, multi-tabling is very common among winning players in online poker. In many cases, it’s comes down to simple mathematics. If a low-stakes Limit player can expect to make 3 Big Bets per 100 hands while one-tabling, and 1.5 Big Bets per 100 hands when 4-tabling, then a $3/$6 Limit player can increase expectation from $9/hour to $18/hour (assuming an average of 50 hands per hour, per table).
But a word of caution: multi-tabling is not for everyone. And don’t be fooled into thinking that overall expectation doesn’t drop very much when a player decides to play 4 tables or more at a time… because it does. Most importantly, there is absolutely NO logic in multi-tabling if you’re a losing player. The first step is to learn to beat a certain game/level while playing one table at a time. Until you can do this, multi-tabling should be a non-issue.
Personality & Attitude
In my experience, people who are stubborn are the first casualties when it comes to playing the game for a living. Those who burden themselves with short-term financial goals (i.e. “I have to play a ton tonight so I can cash out and pay rent tomorrow”) are setting themselves up for failure. After all, a player cannot “will” the cards, and this is what leads to the downfall of so many young and capable start-ups.
To combat a popular myth: winning at poker (long-term) is not easy. Yes, there are some players who are far better than others. There are many who display prodigal abilities here and there but are not psychologically built to handle the inevitable downswings involved in poker (or they’re too stubborn to try). Domination is defined by a few percentage points of overall edge; not by repeatedly blowing-out your opponent by 100 points in some virtual sports game.
In my case, I had to change the way I approached online poker in order to keep my mind (and bankroll) intact. While I endeavor to take poker seriously at all times, I’ve learned through experience not to take MYSELF so seriously. Extended bad runs are much easier to handle for players who are good at letting negative things “roll off their back” while continuing to do their best. Playing poker full-time may not be a wise choice for those who take uncontrollable factors (like the cards) personally.
Talent
If I received a nickel for every time a poker player complimented him/herself, I’d be rolling in the dough for sure. Talent is certainly an important aspect of winning at poker, but perhaps not as much as one would think. Once a player comes to terms with the fact that he/she probably isn’t a “natural” at the game, improvement takes on a whole new meaning. Overestimating your talent or skills can lead to horrible consequences for those who aren’t able to separate fact from fiction.
If ever you arrive at a point in your poker career where you feel there’s nothing left to learn, do yourself a favor and take a break. Constant improvement means all the difference when it comes to playing poker for a living. The game evolves daily and learning to adapt to new environments and situations is key. Talent in poker, for the most part, is something that can be achieved through hard work and dedication.
How To Make Money Online
Other Responsibilities
I have a wife and two kids. In the entire mix of things, my family comes first and poker is second. While many full-time players look at exterior obligations as obstacles, I’ve found that appreciating and embracing my family obligations has improved my poker game. There are times when I’d rather spend time with my family than play poker – and vice versa. But for the most part, I don’t have to deal with depression or guilt from outside influences when I sit down at an online table – and this allows me to bring my ‘A’ Game to the table at a much higher rate than many of my opponents.
Whether it’s school, family, or personal relationships, a full-time poker player should be willing to set poker aside from time to time to concentrate on more-important matters. A poker player is only as good as his/her mindset will allow. Breaking your own values by not spending enough time on other aspects of your personal life can lead to a downfall in your profession.
Leaving Yourself with Outs
Make A Living Online
Let me be frank. Online poker may not work out for you… it may not work out for many in the long-run. There is no shame in leaving yourself with other options just in case full-time poker isn’t quite what you expected.As I mentioned, online poker has opened many doors for my career. I consider myself very fortunate to receive other poker-related income from writing and announcing that allows me to take short-term poker losses in stride. I’m also proud that I’m able to make money from translating and my part-time radio job here in Mexico City.
Believe me, if I had a full-time “regular” job (especially one that provided health insurance & benefits), I’d hold on to it and play poker part-time. There will always be a game starting somewhere… online poker isn’t going anywhere in the near future. I’d advise any start-up player to maintain employment opportunities and seek other means to earn a more stable income while gradually increasing time spent playing poker.
In Closing
Experience is the number one teacher. Although many of us attempt to provide others with insight, nothing compares to the actual learning experience you’ll receive once you turn pro. Play within your means, bring your ‘A’ game to the table at all times, allow yourself to make mistakes, keep your cool, work on your game, give priority to family and other positive activities, and don’t put all your eggs in one basket. If you can follow all these rules without exception, then you’ll be well on your way to justifying your leap into a new profession.
Poker Blog
I recently spoke at a conference in Toronto called Discovery that is put on by the responsible gaming council each year. I was asked some tough questions, but none that I wasn’t prepared for. There was one question that inspired me to write this blog and it came from a man who asked, “I deal with teenage problem gamblers and many of them say they want to be professional poker players. What would you say to those kids?”
I think the most important aspect of dealing with kids like this is to have an honest, coaching conversation with them. One that illustrates the complexities involved in making a living gambling. You don’t want to come from, “It’s not possible,” because obviously it is. There are thousands of professional poker players in the world, but I can’t think of a handful of pros that are successful today that are not treating it like a serious job and working hard both playing and studying the game.
So my intention in this coaching conversation is to really illustrate what it takes to make a living doing this. To have them fully understand what it really looks like, but doing so in such a way where it’s they themselves that are realizing it, rather than me preaching to them that they shouldn’t bother trying.
I start by explaining to them that a professional poker player is a small business owner, in the business of entertaining their customers (players who aren’t as skilled as they are). Most every successful business has a mission statement. Since this is a one man small business let’s call it a vision statement.
The vision statement should be one to two sentences on exactly what you want to see for the company. You are the company of course, so I would encourage you to write this vision statement now. It could look something like this:
My vision in poker is to use it as a vehicle to create abundance in my life. To passionately dedicate myself to learning, improving, and developing my skills, while also being financially responsible.
That’s just one example, you need to write one that speaks to you personally because you will be coming back to this statement often. It is the statement that will guide you during your career. The next step is to get a little more specific and quantify what abundance looks like for you. A concrete yearly income you are hoping to achieve. For this example, let’s use $100,000 as the goal.
So now we have the vision statement and the goal, next up is the HOW. The real plan. Drawing from our vision statement, we need to make sure that our plan is financially responsible and that we are continuing to develop our skills away from the table. To hit the $100,000 a year mark, it also requires that you are able to gauge how much money you can expect to make hourly in the game you are playing.
For example, let’s say your bankroll and skill level have you playing $2-$5 no limit hold’em at Bellagio. It’s important to know how much that game is worth to you. The best place to start would be to ask around and see what the best player in that game can expect to make, then deduct about 30% from that total. Yes, you may become the best player in that game, but until you have proven you can be, lets assume you are still in the learning phase and shouldn’t expect to jump out of the gate and be the best player at the table.
Based on what I’ve heard, the best players in that game may make as much as $30 an hour. Deduct 30% from that, if all goes well you can target $21 an hour. To make the math easier, let’s just make it $20 flat per hour. Since our goal is to make $100,000 a year, now we can have a rough idea of how many hours we actually need to spend at the table playing poker. That comes to 5000 hours a year playing. If we break down that further, that comes to 417 hours a month, which breaks down to over 100 hours a week! This is before we even add all of the study hours required to be in line with our vision statement. For ever 10 hours of play, you should add at least two hours of study time. Add on another 1000 hours a year of study, which boils down to 14 hours a week.
So now we have you playing 105 hours a week, and studying around 14 hours a week for a total close to 120 hours in a week. Do you know how many hours are in a week? 168. If you plan on sleeping 8 hours a night, that’s another 56 hours a week. With work/study at 120 and sleep at 56, that totals 176 hours a week.
Uh oh, Houston we have a problem! While your vision statement was quite clear as was your goal, your plan just isn’t feasible. It’s just not humanly possible unless you plan on skipping out on sleep entirely and having absolutely no social life whatsoever! No matter how good you play, your plan is destined to fail and it will.
So the most obvious thing to adjust is your expectations on your yearly income. Maybe lowering it from $100,000 down to $50,000 a year. To save time, let’s assume you can make a plan work where you make $50,000 a year working very hard. Will this allow you to create abundance in your life? Maybe, maybe not. That depends on your monthly nut, meaning how much your expenses cost you monthly. We are also going to assume you are a law abiding citizen who pays their income tax, so right off the bat let’s whack of 30% of that $50,000 a year. That leaves you with $35,000 to spend over a 12 month period, or about $2900 a month.
You want a car, you will have rent to pay, and I assume you also may want to eat food at some point. Maybe even have a telephone and wifi in your apartment. So let’s say you find an apartment for $1200 a month, spend another $300 on your car and gas, and then $1000 a month for food. That’s $2500 total, leaving you $400 a month to cover EVERYTHING else! Not to mention the fact that you need to maintain a bankroll big enough to deal with the inevitable swings. Heaven forbid you ever have to fix your car or get a speeding ticket!
If you aren’t playing with a bankroll big enough to play the games you want and live the lifestyle that you want, then what is your plan if you run out of funds? How will you stay in action? Borrowing from friends is one option, but how will you ever build a bankroll big enough to pay them back? At best, you have an extra $400 a month. If you borrowed $5000 it would take two years of everything going perfectly for you to pay them back. How many people do you know that will loan you $5000 on the hope of being paid back in two years if all goes well? So you will get staked you say? Ok, so now someone is putting up the money for you to play in the $2-$5 game and you get to keep 50% of your winnings. Now you will also have to slash your monthly earnings to $1450 a month while your living expenses are at $2500. You are still underwater. Well what if I get staked to play higher limits? OK, so you are going to find a backer to put you in $5-$10 games where you have no experience, there are tougher players, and your win rate isn’t guaranteed to be any higher than the $2-$5? Good luck with that.
This is all painting a dark picture by design. It is the reality that most of you who are hoping to become professional poker players face. One that can’t be ignored. Is it possible that you have the work ethic, the modest monthly nut, the skill set, the emotional stability, the drive, the will, the bankroll, etc. Sure, but don’t be fooled. There are maybe 2%-5% of people that can make this lifestyle work. Less than 5% of ball players in the minor leagues will ever make the big leagues. Even less high school football players putting on weight in the hopes of an NFL career will make it. There are many careers where the odds are heavily stacked against you. There are heroes, those special people who have “it” and find a way to make it, but most will fail. This holds true in poker as well.
My intention wasn’t to discourage you from chasing your dreams, whatever they may be. My intention was to illustrate to you that it will require HARD WORK. It will not be as easy as it looks on TV. Are you willing to put in all that hard work, all the while knowing that even if you do, it still may not be enough?