I realize that professional players rely on a number of games to supplement their income, as well as to keep up their interest level. It has been my understanding however, through personal experience and poker literature, that most professional players rely on limit games. I can understand various reasons why this makes economic sense including gain/loss constraints, mathematically standardized decision processes, low variance, etc. However, I was interested whether or not it was possible to manage a consistent/reliable income source from no-limit hold'em. It seems that the variance and unpredictability would be difficult to overcome alone. Any information would be appreciated. Thank you in advance..

That's really a personal opinion I think.

I am in the process of building my bankroll [with risks associated as you mentioned] via no-limit. I know once I get to a certain level I won't find as many no-limit opportunities so I will have to get used to limit play again. So I need to stay sharp in that department.

As for no-limit play and pros, I think that most of the big games are limit games just because it requires a much larger bankroll to play NL games. That and I don't know that many casinos that spread high limit NL games.

But I definitely think it's realistic and quite possible to maintain a successfull poker career while playing no-limit.... it's just a matter of finding those games.

This a question, I've heard a few times about Poker being a big source of income of people.

Check out these articles on CardPlayer. For starters..

Part 1:
http://www.cardplayer.com/poker_magazine/a....php?a_id=14362

Part 2:
http://www.cardplayer.com/poker_magazine/a....php?a_id=14398


In a nutshell,it takes a lot to be a "Professional Poker Player." Here's my $.02 on the whole thing. With all the publicity you see from poker, it's hard to not want to get in a piece of the action. Greg Raymer, Chris Moneymaker, etc.. Who wouldn't want to be in that position, right?

Well,the unfortunate reality is, when it comes to poker, that few people will succeed finanically in the long run. It all comes down too EV. Under optimal conditions, it possible to have a slight +EV in poker. If you want to have poker as a main source of income, they're are alot of tax considerations to look at. Their is more detail included in the CardPlayer articles about that. But, in my opinion, why be a "Professional" player? Find a stable main source of income, and play, in your "spare," time. They maybe the most realistic option for some people.

Are you looking to play just cash games? Tournaments? Both?
Typically, cash games are a more "steady" course of income, because it's much more mechanical; but, it's all about knowing your abilities. Some people, like Chris Ferguson, play strictly tournaments, and not cash games. It's just a matter of preference and ability. If you're looking to make money at cash games, you can't really make a decent "professional," income unless you're playing at the $5/$10 level. Possibly, $4/$8, but,typically not. I find the variance a bit more on the lower limits because of the nature of the game people play at those levels. In the upper limits you find more solid players, which make for a tougher game, obviously, but, at least to me that's the great challenge. I think Poker is a game that can be beat, but, it's going to take a great amount of discipline, and, a largely better then average understanding of the game. You need to constantly adjust your leaks. Even the smallest leaks can cost you money in the long run, leading to a -EV. This includes playing hands to far when you shouldn't,etc.

Anyhow, I'm not going to "lecture," about the logistics of poker, I'm just saying personally, speaking; since I'm not a "world-class" player, from my experience it's A-TON of work. I read any book I can get my hand on. I play online, I play at tournaments, and cash games, versus my friends. If I have a deck of cards (which I always do), and I'm out and have 10-20 minutes, I'll just play some hands. If you're not desperately passionate about the game, in my opinion,it's going to make it that much harder to succeed if that's what you're looking to do. My advice is to read any book about poker you can, go to sites like this one, www.twoplustwo.com, is also a good site; if you know someone who's a good player, and admire their play, offer to take them out to lunch, in exchange to "pick their brain." Ask them how they got into playing, why they make certain plays they do, how often they play where they play, etc. Write down a list of questions, and bring it with you. Best of, I think it should be treated like a profession. Treat it like you were going to an office management job, working 9-5.

Even world-class players have been known to go bust. When this happens, do you think you could handle the "swings." Would that put you over? Poker is ultimately one long giant session. I think of it like this, each time a play poker, let's say a cash game, it's "One hand," in my poker journey. If I lose money on it, that's okay, because I know I'll be dealt another "hand." Another opportunity.

Do whatever you can to get ahead,(within reason) and STUDY. STUDY. STUDY!

Best of luck. Hope this helped a bit. :-)

-CK

It's possible and realistic to make a living playing even low limit games like 4-8nl HE. It depends on how one defines "making a living". One person I know plays at the 4-8 level and makes enough in a month for his food, moorage fees and assorted expenses, while building a bankroll and playing in every tournament that comes down the pike. He's a pretty happy guy, too.

It looks glamorous and exciting to "play" poker for a living. But I'm sure the fun goes out of it pretty quickly when you're grinding it out day after long day in a card room. After I've played cards for 6-7 hours, I ask myself; 'would I want to do this several days a week for 10 hours a day?' The answer is clearly "No".

The stress of playing all day is bad enough, but imagine the stress of counting on the 'possible' winnings to support yourself and your family. On TV we see the final tables where everyone is making hundreds of thousands of dollars and the winner is going to be a millionaire. What we don't see are the endless hours they have played to get there, all the near knock-out beats they've dodged and the hundreds of losers who went home with nothing. Some of those losers are former WSOP champions!

It is like pro golf. Every weekend golfer thinks he'd like to be a pro. But you take 150 guys who live out of a suitcase, travel to a different city every week, practice 5-8 hours a day and only half of them even make it to the money. Then a portion of those who play the weekend don't even make enough to cover their expenses. Then it is back on a plane Sunday night to another city, a practice round, a pro-AM and then another working weekend.

I choose to keep my regular job and play poker when I can. If I make some extra cash, great. But I don't want to spend all my days sweating it out in card rooms hoping I can make the rent. That's no dream, that's a nightmare.


"I think poker is a great hobby but a very poor choice of profession.
I'm concerned that the current poker craze is going to leave us with
legions who eventually discover that poker isn't all it's cracked up to be, but who have also rendered themselves largely unemployable."
- Paul Philips


Koroshiya