How To Be Successful At Online Poker

  

There is a phenomenon that occurs frequently among amateur poker players. A recreational player starts running well and winning consistently and comes to the conclusion that playing poker for a living makes a lot of sense. Hey, what’s not to like? It’s fun, it’s profitable, you can make your own hours, you are your own boss, quit when you want, play as long as you like, sleep till noon and the list goes on. Our winning recreational poker player’s only query at this point in his analysis is, “Why didn’t I think of this sooner”?

Assuming you’re not already a full time pro, have you ever thought of poker as a career path? I mean, really – how difficult can it be? You see these youngsters on TV that deposit $20 in an online poker account, begin winning, never look back and are now millionaires! While there certainly have been a couple of mind boggling success stories, when poker becomes your sole source of income the following cliché becomes very true; poker is a tough way to make an easy living.

Playing successful online poker requires dedication, an attention to detail, and some careful forward planning. So, if you’re looking to get your online poker career off to the perfect start, what things should you be looking at? Let’s take a look at 10 ways to stave off the monkey tilt just a little longer. Use Online Poker Software This has become one of the most controversial facets of online poker play over the past few years, but simply can’t be ignored for anyone who wants to grind online poker successfully.

I’m not saying becoming a poker pro can’t be done or is a foolhardy endeavor – after all many have made a successful crossover to professional poker and prospered. I am saying it takes some thought, introspection and honest evaluation of your talents, motives and determination to assess whether you are resilient enough to succeed in this unusual life style. Let’s examine some of the criteria that one should be focused to before making the plunge.

Are You a Winning Poker Player?

The real question is are you a winning player at stakes high enough to support the life style you demand? Two key criteria need to be addressed. First, you must know you are a winning player not just believe it because of anecdotal evidence. You must keep meticulous and honest records of your sessions to prove to yourself that over time you are a winning player. Keeping honest records is a must. I know some players tend to fudge the records slightly to make their statistics look better. This is nonsense of the highest order as lying to yourself can only be self defeating. I also think that you need a minimum of a thousand hours and, more realistically, two thousand to have a database of any relevance. So, if you’ve just won your last four sessions in a row for a total of fifteen hours and think you’re ready to turn pro – think again!

The second part of the proof is the stakes that you have been beating on a regular basis. Remember, if you’re playing low stakes and beating them like a drum those winnings will probably not be able to support you. You need to determine how much money you will need to earn in order to support yourself and, if not single, your family. If you have been keeping solid records, then you know your hourly earn rate over a thousand or more hours. You can then compute that against how many hours per week you plan to play and determine if the thought to turn pro is just a fantasy or could actually work. Here is a sobering fact – if you determine that you will need to play higher stakes to earn enough money to live on then the competition just became stronger and you will need to prove that you can still win against stronger opposition. Notice how the fanciful thought of being your own boss and earning a living while having fun at the poker table has begun to sound like a real job?

Bankroll Requirements

You also need to consider how large a poker bankroll you will need to survive the inevitable downswings that will occur. Every business needs working capital and if you are considering turning professional you will be starting your own business. The first step is determining what stakes you will be playing as discussed above. There have been many different bankroll requirements espoused in the poker literature. Let’s look at two versions, one for limit hold’em and another for no-limit hold’em.

Limit Poker Bankroll Requirements

The most common number used for limit is 300 big bets. That means, once you determine what stakes you need to play, anticipating an earn rate of one big bet an hour, you would multiply the big bet times 300. If you need to play $20-$40, which would yield (at 40 hours per week) $1,600, then you would require a bankroll of $12,000. The reader must also understand that this represents a very simplistic rule of thumb and there are many other variables that are beyond the scope of this article.

No-Limit Poker Bankroll Requirements

The bankroll swings that can occur in no-limit are far steeper than those of limit. Assuming we are addressing the current method of limiting the size of one’s buy-in, then a good rule of thumb is 20 to 25 maximum buy-ins. If you have determined you need to be playing in a $500 max buy-in game then you should have a $12,500 bankroll.

Amassing a Bankroll

If you are contemplating quitting your day job in pursuit of a career in poker, take the precaution of proving to yourself you can swim with the sharks and prevail while at the same time putting together the necessary bankroll to assist in a smooth transition. The best way to accomplish this is to identify the stakes you will need to win at in order to live well and begin playing while you still have an income stream. After each winning session, put half of your new found wealth in a locked up kitty until you have the requisite bankroll to start your business. Using the above bankroll examples should mean that by saving just half your wins you should be able to amass a $12,000 bankroll in about four months. Using a factor of $20 per hour when you really need $40 per hour is just prudent to build a bankroll before jumping into the deep end of the pool and turning your life upside down.

In addition to having the necessary bankroll to start your business you must also have a minimum of six months worth of expense money put aside because you can’t withdraw your expenses from your bankroll. If you do have what it takes, at the end of six months, your bankroll should have grown and you can begin to use profit for expenses.

Protecting Your Bankroll

You must also think about protecting your bankroll. For example, if you begin to lose having played at stakes of $20-$40 then you must drop down to $15-$30 until you rebuild what you have lost. If you’re going to be successful then forget about a bruised ego that may occur as you envision others seeing you dropping down in stakes. So what, who cares – your business has to embrace a temporary austerity program.

Of course, while weathering the storm your earning capacity is reduced and that is why it was prudent to be building your bankroll. If your bankroll takes a hit during a losing streak, you must own up to the fact that you need to rebuild it. There are only two ways to do that – one is by cutting back on your expenses thereby adding to it weekly and/or by adding to it through another income stream. If you do not ardently protect your bankroll you ultimately will go broke and be out of business. It happens to businesses all the time and if you turn professional and are relying solely on poker as your source of income then you are a business.

Other Factors and Pitfalls

The Future

No one knows the long term future of poker except to guess, since it has been around forever, its popularity will continue. If we accept that on faith then the real long term concern is if the games will remain beatable. One thing you must accept is even if you are a long term winning player, you must continue to work on your game away from the table which means reading the current literature, interacting in poker forums and honestly evaluating your play after each and every session. Having an associate or coach who you can trust to honestly evaluate your play and help you with leaks and new evolving strategies so you can continue to beat the games is also essential. Businessmen take courses, attend seminars and regularly interact with colleagues to keep their competitive edge – poker is no different. Oops, starting to sound like a job again… sorry.

Social Life

Social life? Maybe I should say the lack of a social life. You will find that your life away from poker will mostly be with people that eat, sleep and dream abuot poker. First, you will be keeping odd hours or at least hours that the mainstream public does not keep. That fact in and of itself does not bode well as far as developing relationships outside and away from poker. Quite frankly, in my view, that isn’t the healthiest cocoon to live all your waking hours in. Secondly, your income will be somewhat on a rollercoaster ride which will tend to effect your moods. It will become a tedious chore to remain stoic in the face of soaring euphoria and plummeting despair. It can and is done but it will become a challenge.

Your Sense of Worth

Many people despise their jobs and just suffer through the hours to earn a paycheck. They dream of doing something that they would enjoy or would be inspiring such as becoming a doctor, social worker, teacher, soldier or a member of any number of other professions. One day they question what they do for a living, thinking it has no redeeming social value. They wonder how they became trapped in this job – and yes, it will be a job. Many play professional poker their whole lives, enjoy it immensely, cherish the friendships they have made through the game and never have a second thought. As they say, there ain’t no right or wrong here, it’s whatever floats your boat. The question you need to ask yourself before making the plunge is if you believe in your heart that you will enjoy playing cards for a living in five, ten, twenty or more years – or when it becomes evident that it is a job. You need to put in the hours just like a job. The difference is there are no paid vacations and it is one of the only jobs that you can go to work, put in a full day and come home with less in your wallet.

Conclusion

I’ve tried to offer up a fair and balanced view of becoming a professional poker player. There are many other elements which I haven’t delved into that are beyond the scope of this article such as – do you play just cash games or tournaments as well, paying taxes, age related considerations, funding benefits that an employer might offer and more. Suffice to say that if you really believe this is the life for you, have proved through record keeping and bankroll accumulation that you have what it takes, have satisfied yourself regarding the many other personal elements unique to your own situation, then go for it.

Let me close with a few suggestions if you’re on your way to professional poker. Continue to study and work on your game. Poker strategies are always changing as the game is fluid so don’t fall behind the curve. Learn all of the games as there may well be opportunities to play in a juicy seven card stud or Omaha game and if all you feel comfortable playing is hold’em, you’ll be at a disadvantage. Last and maybe most important – have a backup plan. Don’t allow poker to consume your life. If one day you do wake up and despise your current job you just might want to try something else – try and be prepared.

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By Tom 'TIME' Leonard

Tom has been writing about poker since 1994 and has played across the USA for over 40 years, playing every game in almost every card room in Atlantic City, California and Las Vegas.

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  1. I think this is a solid article on the subject, TIME. Nice job!

    I’m a strong believer in paying yourself for your volume as opposed to doing so based on whether or not you win during that week or month. I had a post some time ago on a method that I was shown by Jennifear (of P5s fame) that works brilliantly. I’m sure the same method could be used by cash game pros as well.

  2. Thank you Time this was a great read and very eye opening, Im with you 100%

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If you thought playing online poker was simply about turning on the PC or Mac, loading up a table or three of $0.10/0.20 NLHE and fitting a few hands in between episodes of Breaking Bad, think again.

How To Be Successful At Online Poker Without

Playing successful online poker requires dedication, an attention to detail, and some careful forward planning.

So, if you’re looking to get your online poker career off to the perfect start, what things should you be looking at? Let’s take a look at 10 ways to stave off the monkey tilt just a little longer.

Whether you’re a novice starting out at the micro-stakes cash games or a seasoned pro at the upper limits, you’ll need to employ sensible bankroll management if you’re to prevail over the long term. Make sure you can afford about 50 maximum buy-ins at a single cash table, and about 20 buy-ins at the tourneys/Sit ‘n’ Gos. Handling your online bankroll well will mean you never go broke.

While messing with the big boys on the ballers’ tables might seem mighty tempting straight from the off, you probably won’t learn a great deal, other than how to lose a tonne of cash quick. So pick your limits according to your skill level – start off at the micro-stakes, and if you can comfortably and consistently crush them, consider moving up.

If you’re a Sit n Go player you’ll find the standard doesn’t change much from about $5 - $50 buy-ins, so if you have the cash you can probably look at chancing your arm at slightly higher stakes. If you find the heat too great – whatever your discipline - simply move back down to a more comfortable level.

Sensible hand selection is one of the first things you’ll learn when you start playing poker – whatever your discipline. Most, if not all, online players begin playing Texas Hold’em just playing every single hand – even rubbish like 9-2 off-suit – just to be involved in every hand. But players soon learn that folding most hands – or playing marginal hands in the right situations – is the key to a healthy poker life.

How To Be Successful At Online Poker For Beginners

What recreational players wanting to make money at the tables will soon learn is that betting or raising with a limited set of hands is the way to go. As you improve over time you can comfortably incorporate more marginal hands into your repertoire depending on your opponents, the stage of a tournament, whether you’re playing cash or tourneys, your chip stack, table situation, and so on.

#4Invest In A Quality Monitor And Up Your Table Volume

Finding the best computer kit is almost as important as finding the right online poker site. Getting the best Internet connection is a given, of course, but so is getting your hands on the best monitor you can afford. A widescreen monitor at least 24” is essential as it means you can fit many tables on-screen at once. Learning to multi-table is key to improving your volume and ultimately, improving your ROI (Return on Investment).

“Poker takes minutes to learn but a lifetime to master,” goes the rather over-worked saying. And if you are serious about improving as a player over the long-term reviewing your play is vitally important.

Taking notes on key hands you’ve been involved in is the first thing to do – just take a note of the Hand # in the corner of the game screen of any interesting hands you get involved in and you’ll be able to visit the Hand History to see the betting details (pre-flop, post-flop, showdown etc) or watch the hand from start to finish in the site’s Re-player.

By watching hands over and over with the benefit of hindsight you can spot mistakes in your play or take time to assess your opponents’ play. Then, when you come up against the same opponents again you’ll be better equipped.

Improving your play doesn’t stop at note-taking, of course: there are countless training videos and strategy articles on the web – many of them free – where you can pick and choose those relevant to your discipline. There’s really no excuse these days to be left wanting when it comes to improving at poker.

There’s no doubt that online poker players in 2020 are much better than they were 6 or 7 years ago – particularly at the upper levels – and the number of novices coming through at the bottom levels isn’t as high as it used to be.

Hunting out the fish is certainly much harder than is used to be, but that doesn’t mean there aren’t poker sites that have their fair share of bad players. New poker rooms which advertise heavily for business, poker sites attached to big sports betting sites and rooms that focus their lobbies on the micro-stakes games – all of these places are ideal for finding fishy players who are just dying to donate their bankrolls to you.

And while we’re on the subject of utilizing the web to improve your play, consider investing in some invaluable tracking software. Buying a dedicated piece of HUD (Heads-up Display) kit will set you back around $100 but over the long-term you can easily make that back in extra profits.

How To Be A Successful Online Poker Player

HUDs like PokerTracker or Hold’em Manager “sit” on top of your poker table and give you information on your opponents’ play, tracking stats like the percentage of hands they fold pre-flop, how much they bet pre-flop, and so on.Some sites, like Bovada, have anonymous players so it’s harder to a) take notes, and b) use tracking software, while other sites have banned the use of these devices altogether, so if you’re thinking of investing in a program, make sure your favorite site allows it.

How To Be Successful At Online Poker Games

One rule that applies just as well to live poker as it does the online game is to lay off the alcohol - completely. With a crate of Bud in the fridge at home it can be too easy just to crack open another can while grinding the cash tables.

But even after a couple of drinks your judgment can be severely impaired and you can feel invincible. Going for a two-outer to send that chump on life-tilt? Why the hell not; trying out a few gamble moves when you should be playing sensible, ABC poker? It can be too easy, especially when you start to get bored of the oftentimes monotonous nature of playing online poker for hours on end.

If you think poker begins and ends with No Limit Texas Hold’em, think again. While most land-based casinos are likely to offer NLHE at a few stakes – both in cash games and tournaments – online sites boast games in everything from Pot Limit, No Limit or straight Limit Hold’em, Omaha, Stud, Razz, and more unusual variants like 2-7 Triple Draw and Badugi.

Not only do these fringe variations give you the chance to try something new, they give you the chance to fleece the fish who are trying out new forms of the game themselves. If you can learn a few simple strategies at the lesser-known games, it will put you in a much better position to make an easy profit.

The beauty of online poker is that you can start your real-money poker journey with absolutely no bankroll at all. Most big sites will hold daily freerolls that cost nothing to enter and usually offer a couple of thousand dollars as prize money.
The play is usually fast and loose – they cost nothing to enter, remember – but freerolls are a good way of trying out a few plays and bumping up your balance. Check out poker forums online and some of the bigger poker magazines – they normally run exclusive freerolls which give away cash or live tournament seats.