Poker: A Hard Way to Make an Easy Living

Poker: A Hard Way to Make an Easy LivingThe old saying that ‘Poker is a hard way to make an easy living’ hints at the fact that becoming a poker pro isn’t quite as easy or desirable as many people first imagine. With varying estimates that fewer than 10% of all players actually end up long-term winners, with an even smaller percentage able to earn a comfortable living from the game, the old adage become even more poignant in the modern poker world where the game has become anything but easy.
A decade back, when the 2003 WSOP Main Event winner Chris Moneymaker ushered in the Golden Age of poker, the poker landscape was significantly different from now and a huge skill gap existed between the best players and just average and bad players. These days, however, that gap has diminished greatly as a plethora of education and training materials became available to all those willing to learn the intricacies of the game.
Consequentially, more and more pros have been complaining about a lack of “soft spots” in any games, and as Steve Ruddock pointed out on an article for 4flush.com, recently: “Sure the best players are 10x better than the best players from 10 years ago, but the average player is also 10x better, and the bad players are about 100x better. Ranking them on a scale of 1-10, in 2003 75% of players were between a 1 and a 5, but in 2013 this has flipped with 75% of players now playing a poker game that I would rank at 5 or higher.”
So, how much money can one now expect to make from playing poker online for a living? Well, this article gives a revealing glimpse into what a poker player may expect to earn for his effort, providing, of course, he can handle the financial and emotional swings associated with the game, stay motivated, and practice good bankroll management. A $50 NL cash game grinder winning 6bb per hour across 4 tables, for instance, could still expect to earn around $1,500 per month, while for someone playing $5/$10 at a win rate of 4bb per hour might expect to earn around $10,000 per month.
Would you agree with these figures? Would you like to share your experiences of how the game has changed over the past years? If so please feel free to leave a comment.

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