ITH Poker Forum

[Roland P]

i started playing online poker recently, read a few good books on limit holdem - eg. ITH new edition - and am a bit disappointed as the ring games an pokerstars - 1/2 and 2/4 - are, well, harder than i thought. so i try to find a way to make a living playing poker. i guess i need advice as to how to go on with it.

i know this is far from new. I also found a thread discussing this topic /poker-forum/limit-hold-em-f4/too-late-to-start-learning-lhe-t4556494.html. last answer was march 2011.

but the situation has changed a bit as US players are still banned on the major sites. are the games - full ring and/or 6-max - getting thougher still? or is there a reasonable chance to make money online? is short-handed FL "easier/more profitabel" than full ring, or is NLH the only way to make money nowadays?
maybe the future is pot-limit omaha, seems to become more and more attractive to lots of players.

i´d like to thank you for all the answers and information. anything will be helpful. and maybe, if this could start up an interesting discussion, i´d be very happy to read.

[thew92]

You probably need to drop down a few limits and see if you can maintain a win rate there. If you are expecting to make money right out of the gate playing poker you will be disappointed. I know a few people that live outside the US and beat the 1-2/2-4 6m limit games, so it is possible to beat the game. But its not something you can just do by waking up one day and saying "I want to play poker for a living".

[PauliF]

in 2004 I went from never having played a hand of poker to playing 3/6 on party for a living

it was much easier then... plenty bonuses... rakeback... and fishes to be shot in a barrell..

plus I am a lunatic and played 10 hours a day and studied 6 hours a day ....every day for the first 6 months....

sigh... I wouldnt recommend it tho... it is a hard way to make an easy living

[kpr16]

I've actually been curious about these stakes myself, since I also used the low stakes games to build my bankroll for mid-stakes in 2004-07. While it may be possible, really high win-rates were achievable back then because there was so much loose/dead money in the ring games. Now-a-days, I'd be more fearful of the rake. I would recommend big bet games if you're hoping to one day consider poker as a source of income. Unfortunately LHE is just such an awesome drug

[Piscivorous]

I've actually been curious about these stakes myself, since I also used the low stakes games to build my bankroll for mid-stakes in 2004-07. While it may be possible, really high win-rates were achievable back then because there was so much loose/dead money in the ring games. Now-a-days, I'd be more fearful of the rake. I would recommend big bet games if you're hoping to one day consider poker as a source of income. Unfortunately LHE is just such an awesome drug

I agree with kpr16, but will go a step further.

The two big reasons, outside the schools of fish, it was so easy to win back in the 2002-2005 era was the lack of good poker books out there and no tracking software. People like myself who took notes flourished. I even used a database program to track regulars as their note boxes filled up.

I don't even know if it's possible anymore to make a living at 1/2 and 2/4 FL online. If I had the bankroll, I could probably do so at 6/12 or 10/20, live. Maybe even 4/8 if it was a kill game. If I were to try again, I'd either go that route or NL.