Any professional online poker players here?

[nick3131]

Or someone who makes enough to live off poker but its not their main job.

I've been doing extremely well since I came back from my 2 years of absence.

Ive been playing at bodog, I've deposited $80 ($20 4 times) and each time cashed out over $200.

I usually get scared once I reach $200 that I will lose it all and get rid of it.

Now I doubt that this qualifys me to be a pro, I still think I have a ways to go. But I would love to pick the brains of someone who does it for a living.

[Nikki_Licks]

Hey Nick, long time no see. Hope all is well with you ;)

[nick3131]

Originally Posted by Nikki_Licks

Hey Nick, long time no see. Hope all is well with you ;)

thanks buddy

[tobephoto]

[I do the same, except cash out for $800 on PS

[Jarmusch]

First of all, if you want to become a 'pro' you need to have a bankroll and play within it's limits. It will allow you to not 'play scared'. ;)

[Kingfish]

It is a lot harder than it was 1-2 years ago. I think a lot of the fish swam away because of the bad economy. Making money for the most part is finding the right game (MTT, Sit and Go or Cash Game) and the right buy in amount for your skill level. If you?re smashing a certain buy-in move up or if you have a negative ROI move down. I would second giving a look at poker stars. By no means would I call myself a pro but I run a positive ROI.

[Snake Doctor]

I quit playing online. I hated it. It's like doing long division all day.

Nothing beats a live game. At the lower limits, the ability to read people far outweighs whatever advantage you might get from multi tabling and playing a bazillion hands an hour online.

[Snake Doctor]

Originally Posted by Kingfish

It is a lot harder than it was 1-2 years ago. I think a lot of the fish swam away because of the bad economy. Making money for the most part is finding the right game (MTT, Sit and Go or Cash Game) and the right buy in amount for your skill level. If you?re smashing a certain buy-in move up or if you have a negative ROI move down. I would second giving a look at poker stars. By no means would I call myself a pro but I run a positive ROI.

That new law made a shitload of US players go away didn't it?

[Kingfish]

Originally Posted by Snake Doctor

That new law made a shitload of US players go away didn't it?

Yep sure did

[Martin]

I'm a drunk fish. I go online just to splash around in the lower limits. lol. I play live very serious. $1-$2 / $2-$5 When I do play.

[Kingfish]

Originally Posted by Snake Doctor

I quit playing online. I hated it. It's like doing long division all day.

Nothing beats a live game. At the lower limits, the ability to read people far outweighs whatever advantage you might get from multi tabling and playing a bazillion hands an hour online.

I like a live game too, but what I discovered is if you can get to the level online where you have a positive ROI if you play live low limits or smaller buy in live tournaments (found at most casinos) you will often be one of the best if not the best player at the table.

[Nicky]

I've had my tries but I always lose my patience. I can play really well for several day's in a row and do $100 to $1000 easy then all of a sudden I go bananas and goto a 10/20 table and lose it all

[nick3131]

Thanks for all your input guys

[Snake Doctor]

Originally Posted by Kingfish

I like a live game too, but what I discovered is if you can get to the level online where you have a positive ROI if you play live low limits or smaller buy in live tournaments (found at most casinos) you will often be one of the best if not the best player at the table.

The only thing you can really do online is math. Seriously, the whole game boils down to a series of math equations when you play online.

Now if that's your thing then that's great, but a guy who can read other people at a live table is going to have a much greater edge than the online math whiz.

I've played tens of thousands of hands online, and like I said, to me it's like doing long division all day. Boring as all fuck.

So I gave up the online play and started playing live games exclusively, and focus most of my effort on reads and things like that, since you get to a point where the math is just second nature anyways.

[Jarmusch]

Originally Posted by Snake Doctor

The only thing you can really do online is math. Seriously, the whole game boils down to a series of math equations when you play online.

Well, you can also take notes of every player you play against and there's software that logs thousands of your opponent's hands which gives you a pretty good idea of what type of player you're up against without even having to remember them. For the not so mathematically inclined there's also software that displays your odds in realtime overlayed on the table.

Oh and you can play stark naked if you don't feel like putting on clothes.

[IllTestYourGirls]

Your buy in should be around 5% of your bankroll. Figure out how much you need to live on, then figure you will only win about 1 to 2 big bets an hour, and you will see how much of a bankroll you need.

[seeandsee]

i have friend working for salary and %.\

He get 2k$ to play every day, and makes few hundreds every shift...

[idtapdat]

there are tournys to win go get them! pstars has some nice ones.. ive taken 2 months off due to bad beats!

BLOCK YOUR ACCOUNT FOR 6 MONTHS (or the maximum available), UNINSTALL THE SOFTWARE NOW and FORGET ABOUT IT TODAY.

You'll thank me one day.

[Snake Doctor]

Originally Posted by Jarmusch

Well, you can also take notes of every player you play against and there's software that logs thousands of your opponent's hands which gives you a pretty good idea of what type of player you're up against without even having to remember them. For the not so mathematically inclined there's also software that displays your odds in realtime overlayed on the table.

Oh and you can play stark naked if you don't feel like putting on clothes.

Well on the naked thing you've got me. I can't play naked at a live game. I haven't actually asked Harrahs, but I'm pretty sure they'd say no.

Those tools you mentioned are all ok, but they basically just tell you who the fish are and who the TAGs are and all the other stuff inbetween. They can't tell you that this time the fish actually has pocket aces so get out of the way, or this time the TAG is making a move because of the way he splashed the pot with his checks, so call with bottom pair and snap off that bluff.

The thing that really annoys me about online poker is the ability to bounce around tables. So a short stack can double up really quick, and then leave, and buy in short at another table.
In a live game, if I pick up a read on a guy early, I can use that to my advantage for hours. He can't leave and switch tables without getting on the waiting list again. Almost nobody does that.
If someone sucks out it doesn't bother me as much, because I know they're going to stay right there and I'll likely get that money back later. Online they can hit and run so even if you are taking "notes" on players, they're much less useful than live reads.

But if there aren't any good live games in your area, which is probably true for most people, then online is a good alternative. Also if you want to stay naked all day and do long division, it's probably easy money, I just don't have the patience for it.

[JamesK]

I banned myself from pretty much all the poker & casino sites I knew.

[fuzebox]

Originally Posted by Snake Doctor

I've played tens of thousands of hands online, and like I said, to me it's like doing long division all day. Boring as all fuck.

I agree, to me poker is about having fun first and foremost, I get so bored sitting there mucking hands on PS for hours... Nothing like a live table, human interaction, chatting with the dealer, table banter, playing with chips, etc...

[Martin]

The thing about online poker too is that it's not real poker. You take the most insane beats online that just don't happen as often in a live game. Some say it's rigged, but I think it has more to do with the fact that people online are anonymous and don't have to look like a fucking idiot like you would if you were sitting across from the guy. Man some of the beats I take online make me want to murder.

[Daruma]

I only play if I can draw a RF

[HAPPYPEEKERS]

Wow.. Good to see you are still alive and kickin Nick & Hope you are doing very well!

[nico-t]

Originally Posted by nick3131

Or someone who makes enough to live off poker but its not their main job.

I've been doing extremely well since I came back from my 2 years of absence.

Ive been playing at bodog, I've deposited $80 ($20 4 times) and each time cashed out over $200.

I usually get scared once I reach $200 that I will lose it all and get rid of it.

Now I doubt that this qualifys me to be a pro, I still think I have a ways to go. But I would love to pick the brains of someone who does it for a living.

what do you play? sit & go's, tourny's...?

[Snake Doctor]

Originally Posted by fuzebox

I agree, to me poker is about having fun first and foremost, I get so bored sitting there mucking hands on PS for hours... Nothing like a live table, human interaction, chatting with the dealer, table banter, playing with chips, etc...

Yeah, that's all true, plus what really pisses me off about internet poker, especially at the lower limits, is all the people who want to educate you on how you should have played your cards.
I'm a big dude, so there aren't many people out there who would talk shit to my face or pull a Phil Hellmuth routine on me in a live game....but there are always 8 bazillion idiots online who will do that...and then they'll follow you around from table to table sweating your game and talking shit....and then challenge you to play $10/20 heads up....blah blah.

Those "tough guys" just keep their mouth shut at the live game.

Originally Posted by Martin

The thing about online poker too is that it's not real poker. You take the most insane beats online that just don't happen as often in a live game. Some say it's rigged, but I think it has more to do with the fact that people online are anonymous and don't have to look like a fucking idiot like you would if you were sitting across from the guy. Man some of the beats I take online make me want to murder.

Yeah part of it is that alot of people are just screwing around online and the other part is that you play like 4 times more hands, which means 4 times more bad beats.

[pamon]

nice if you can win, most times you lose and took myself outta gambling based on that. following the WSOP this year though online. Go IVEY

[nick3131]

Originally Posted by nico-t

what do you play? sit & go's, tourny's...?

I make most of my money doing hit and runs on cash games

Someone mentioned that in a thread.

As soon as I get up a certain amount I bounce and rebuy in with the previous buy in amount on the same value table.

It seems to work really well. Anytime I stick around a table too long I catch a hand which looks like a winner (a set or a str8) and someone sucks out.

[okok]

I multitabled SNGs to pay the bills during the online gold rush years, 2004-2005, on Party and its skins (Eurobet, Empire, etc), throwing in ring games maybe 10-15% of the time.

Nice rakeback deals, a vibrant community at 2+2, and poker on ESPN 24/7 made it a great way to make a modest living in a small town in Florida. In 12 months I had one losing month and one break-even month, which was very lucky but still very emotionally taxing.

If you play within your means and dedicate a lot of time to improvement -- posting hands on forums, reading as much as you can, analyzing your hand histories objectively -- then you can do it.

If you can't be honest with yourself, play disciplined within your bankroll, stay in a zennish now+longview-at-the-same-time state of mind, and forget about the value of money, then do not bother. You have to be capable of making the right decision the tenth time in a row even if the poker gods pissed on you the last nine times.

It was fun but in the end it became just another eight hour day in front of the computer. But definitely not regrettable is it really attunes the mind to strategy and long-term vision.

[Ecchi22]

I remember you from 2bet webmasters poker tourneys Glad to you see you're doing fine

[Ecchi22]

I can't say that I'm professional, but I'm doing pretty good at poker. I have some weird sense AND knowledge..

The main disadvantage and reason why I stopped playing poker is wasting time. Really.
I'm too scared to play high stakes at the moment (as you said), and if you aren't making serious cash from it, you could use that time to make something useful.
Poker is the same all the time, playing it for years over and over makes your brain kinda lazy. You aren't learning anything new from the thing you spend time the most.

I hope that makes sense