Dusty Schmidt Says Leaner Profits Ahead For Poker Pros

In an article which appeared in Card Player recently, well respected pro Dusty Schmidt was remarking on the difficulties faced by online poker pros these days, while trying to make a living from the game.
Whereas in the past there was alot more juicy action to go after online, now Dusty Schmidt believes that from the 10/20nl level and above, the majority of players at the table are regulars with roughly equal EV situations, which produce no real income for anyone apart from the poker rooms. As he explains:
“Poker is hard right now…At one point I could make a million dollars a year at poker without doing anything more than grinding 5/10nl for about 40 hours a week…I once made over a $1 a hand playing an insane number of tables…If you can make 50 cents a hand online over a very large sample playing many tables at 5/10nl, you are a super star these days.”
Schmidt believes the root cause of the difficulties faced by online poker pros these days is, what he calls the “proliferation of so many professional players.” He believes that although the number of casual mid to high stakes players have increased, that the number of pros have increased 10 times as fast.
Schmidt even admits that whereas in the past he could rely on his notes to keep tabs on a limited number of maybe 30 players he regularly locked horns with, now with over 500 regulars and semi-regulars playing at 5/10 and up, using a HUD has become almost essential. He comments:
“In fact I am going to get serious about using a HUD again with tons of stats on the screen because I have a terrible idea about each player’s tendencies now… I need to use a HUD for sure now to keep track of them all.”
Ultimately, Schmidt believes that unless the US government legalises online poker soon then the poker playing community will have to experience an adjustment whereby a whole lot of pros leave to pursue more lucrative professions as their poker profits dry up. 
It isn’t all sour grapes from Dusty, though, and he concludes by saying; “To think I am in a position now to be worried because my 7 figure years are behind me, is something I have to consistently remind myself is a life for which I should be tremendously grateful for.”
The article in its entirety can be read here.