The Best Tips for Making Money in Poker

For many established poker professionals, online poker was the entry into the million-dollar business that can turn a talented player into a millionaire in just a few months. The online poker sites often serve as a springboard for young players to build up a bankroll with which they can then finally participate in high-value online tournaments or live events and make a breakthrough there. Others are content with securing a remarkable additional income month after month by playing poker on the Internet or playing online hold’em (온라인홀덤). But how exactly can you make money with online poker?

The Best Tips for Making Money in Poker

Below we have listed the most important tips from real professional players and experts that you should definitely consider before you take the step to become a professional poker player.

1. Don’t quit a good job to become a professional poker player

Professional poker players seem to be fun and boring at the same time but this is not always the case. Even as a professional poker player, you don’t enjoy more free time than in a normal job and it takes a lot of self-discipline to organize yourself. If you have a good job that is difficult for you from time to time, but you can still make a good living from it, we generally advise against quitting it with the aim of becoming a professional poker player.

2. Gain enough experience

Your poker career will only have a good start if you have sufficient experience in online poker rooms. You should have played at least 200,000 hands and made a decent profit before you even consider becoming a pro. A few wins and successes don’t guarantee that you can live a life as a professional poker player with no worries. Only when you have earned enough winnings from daily play for at least 10 to 12 months to make a living can you consider making poker your profession.

3. Build up reserves for downswings

Even the best players suffer downswings that can drag on for weeks or even months. In these dragging months of no wins, you must have a steady income to see you through. If you can manage to hold a steady job and play poker with the aim to win then you could be ready to make online poker your career.

4. Calculate if you can finance your living expenses

Before embarking on your professional career, it is a good idea to work out exactly what your cost of living is. Add up food, insurance, rent, utilities, and whatever other expenses you have each month and add another 15-20% to that amount to work out how much money you need to make playing online poker to be good to be able to live from it. If you have already been a regular hobby player, you can roughly work out whether your poker career has a future or not.

5. Adjust your bets to match your bankroll

Bankroll management is the most important aspect of managing your finances and making money online poker. It doesn’t necessarily depend on the size of your bankroll, but rather on choosing your bets that match your bankroll. As a cash game player, buy-in for the table should generally not be more than 1% of your total budget. Increase your bankroll, enough to sustain your game before you venture to tables with higher blinds. For example, if you buy in with 10 euros at 0.05 / 0.10 tables, your bankroll should be at least 1,000 euros.

6. Treat Your Poker Like a Business

As a professional poker player, you are not just someone who plays a game of cards for money in order to make a living. Realize that you are running a small one-man business. This means that you have to organize your working hours yourself, plan your free time and vacations carefully, and need a lot of self-discipline to run your small business to success. It is not enough to land a lucky hit and then lie on your lazy skin. Your company and your project as a professional poker player will only have a future if you keep improving, stay disciplined, and generate profits over the long term. The book “Treat Your Poker Like a Business” by Dusty Schmidt offers good instructions for this.

Summary

In summary, you should above all be aware that as a professional poker player you have to overcome a lot more hurdles than it initially appears. You also have to get away from the idea that working as a professional is always about games, fun and excitement. You will only be successful with this project if you are serious about it, consider poker your right job and have laid the necessary foundations beforehand. No matter how you ultimately choose, we wish you the best of luck and success in making money online poker.