Is it possible to make a living playing poker?

Question

REALISTICALLY .... is it possible to make a good living playing poker "professionally" around local casinos? I am not talking about making millions of dollars or anything like that. For example, would it be possible to make at least say a $50,000 yearly income from playing poker?

I am relatively new to the game so any tips are appreciated. how big of a bankroll would I need to make it even possible to earn a living doing?, how long would it take to "master" the game in order to make a living doing it?, etc.

Answer 1

you could certainly do that, but it takes a lot of dedication and grinding. Start playing small and build your bankroll. It's going to take your a while. I will suggest to have X100 buy-ins for your bankroll. In order to make 50,000/Yr reallistically, I think you need to play NL10-20 and beat the game, which is not easy.

For me, I am playing NL0.5-1 partime plus tornaments, and I can make 10-12 K a year on the side.

Answer 2

I think it is possible but it is a lot more of a grind than what it looks like on television.

I have a friend who earns a modest living playing online poker but it is a lot of folding and waiting. Gets to be pretty boring.

He claims that there are a lot of idiots playing on line so if you take your time is like taking candy from a baby.

Answer 3

it's possible. some thoughts:

1. by general consensus, 1 out of 10 people have the little extra that separates them from someone who simply studies the books. some people think this is "people skills", "people reading skills" or "instinct." also by general consensus, you are born with this ability and it can't be taught.

2. the three requirements of being a professional gambler: practice, study of mathematics/statistics, bankroll. if any of these are missing, you can't be one.

3. bankroll: by general rule, you need a bankroll that is 200X bigger than the smallest bet at a ring game, and 10-20X bigger than the entry fee to a tourney to cover the short term losses. Brick and mortar casinos generally have high limits so you need a bankroll in the thousands. however, if you start online, you can get started with a few hundred...or 5 bucks.

Answer 4

You definitely can! You just have to learn the ropes and master poker in a way that you beat more and more people. Some of it you learn from books, some online, you have to have an aptitude  for it and some of it is just skill, guts and determination.

Seen as how you are fairly new to poker i suggest you start off at one of the many online poker site. They generally have poker schools where you can learn a bit more, free roll tables where you can practice and low buy-in tables to slowly work you way up the ranks. Whatever you do, do not expect this to happen over night, TV only shows the good bits, poker is all about patience. If you cant be that, it's going to be very hard!

Good luck, and i might see you online :o)

Answer 5

Absolutely, you can gain a winning expectation in poker by playing your hands ideally where the average player you play against does not, this give you an edge over other players.

the amount you win based on your edge is totally dependant on how much you bet, so whatever you constistute as the amoutn of winning you need to make per hour to "make a living" all you need do is be betting high enough that your expected winnings per hours meet or exceed that number.

if you play 1/2 limit you probibly cant make a living but if you play for high enough stakes you totally can as long as you have enough cash.

Answer 6

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Answer 7

yes but you can lose a lot of money do it only if your Lucky or rich but have a job in mind i wouldn,t hope on trying it you could get homeless if your to caught up in it