Making A Living From Online Poker

Video poker is one of the best ways to make a living in a casino. That may seem impossible to the average person that only gives action to small casinos or the Las Vegas Strip. There are thousands of advantage gamblers in the world that make enough to support them from video poker play.

It’s not easy making a living playing online poker. It requires focus, patience, mental strength and much dedication to improving your game. If you are interested in becoming a professional poker player, there is something you have to be aware of: For every hour that you play, you need to spend an hour training. I know a lot of online pros, and while many of them make their living in different games, they have each found one or more specific avenues of poker that make them the most money. Some players focus on multi-table cash games, while others play sit-n-goes for hours on end.

Basic Strategy Imperative to Learn

• Poker can take a toll on you after playing it for a living for years. It’s long hours in sometimes crappy conditions and constant stress day in and day out. This can cause burn out pretty quickly if you don’t make strides to stay ahead of it.
• Then you can maybe become a winner in high-stakes poker games. In the early days of online poker, a fortune could be made with very little poker experience and knowledge. But these days it takes an incredible amount of hard work and natural ability to make a living playing any form of poker.

Learning the basic strategy of any video poker game that returns at or near 100% is the first step in making a living playing video poker. Our video poker section shows the best play for the types of five-card hands that are dealt in video poker. It is imperative that you not use these plays on machines that do not offer full-pay tables. Some of the moves will change if a full house or flush pay lower than the 100% games.

It is one thing to know how to play. Most casinos do not offer 100% games, and when they do, they are usually for VP games that are tougher to learn. It is nearly impossible to find one on the Las Vegas Strip. A couple of Atlantic City and California casinos offer these. Check out VPFree2.com to find out if the casino that you are visiting offers good video poker pay tables. If they do not, you should not expect to win unless you get lucky.

Getting Video Poker Comps

The Las Vegas locals market is the best place for quality video poker in the world. There are more than 100 video poker machines in Lad Vegas where the pay table returns more than 100% when five coins are wagered. Some games, like 10/7/5 Double Bonus and 10/6 Double Double Bonus, are offered in denominations as high as $1. Full pay Deuces Wild and Joker Poker are common up to the $.25 denomination. These machines also add 0.05% to 0.1% in cash back on the play when a rewards card is used.

It is possible to get mailers with more free play if you give a little action to other games on a visit. This is known as cover play and may help keep you from getting backed off. This type of play can generate offers that may otherwise be withheld.

The cash back is just a sliver of the overall return that can be added to video poker. Expert players know there are promotions that can return far more than a small fraction of a percent.

Many casinos offer point multiplier days. Players that pay attention to mailers or log into players club sites will see special days where more points are awarded. This can be anywhere from three times to 10 times the normal amount. The catch on point multiplier days is that they normally do not apply to the games that return more than 100%. Point multipliers do apply to games that return just under 100%. The goal for the video poker advantage player is to find a game like 9/6 Bonus Poker Deluxe at a Boyd Gaming property or Triple Bonus Plus and Not-So-Ugly-Deuces at a Station Casinos’ resort.

The points can be converted into comps at Boyd at full price or free play at two-thirds the value. Station Casinos points are redeemable for cash back. This requires a visit to the Boarding Pass players center. Free play may be claimed directly on the machine, except for the 100% games.

Some casinos hold drawings based on the level of play during the promotions period. This can be a few hours, a full day, or a week. Every so many points receive one ticket into a drawing with these promotions. Winners can receive free slot play, cash or big prizes like a car. Another form of promotion along these lines is hot seats. That is where an active player is declared a winner from the promotions system. These types of drawings are typically awarded every 15, 30 or 60 minutes.

These types of drawings and hot seat promotions are more common at smaller casinos. The problem is that sometimes there are few or no video poker games worth playing. Video table games are often a great alternative at casinos without quality video poker. Those devices often participate in promotions.

Progressive Video Poker Jackpots

Progressive jackpots are one of the better ways to advantage play video poker in markets where there are no full pay machines. Casinos in remote areas with little or no competition often offer progressive jackpots on a royal flush to entice players to give action to machines that are otherwise give poor returns. These do not always hit when they should and can run up well into positive expectation, especially when combined with other promotions. These can be few and far between.

A 7/5 Bonus Poker game with a progressive would require a royal flush progressive of just over $2,000 to return more than 100%. The same goes for 9/6/5 Double Bonus and 9/5 Double Double Bonus. These are the most common progressive jackpot games. Keep in mind that any jackpot of $1,200 or higher will generate a W2G tax form.

Video Poker Quality Not What It Used to Be

It was much easier for an advantage player to make a living during the 1990’s. That is because the pay tables nearly all returned more than 99% during that era. The reason for this is because sites like Wizard of Odds did not exist. Players had to learn video poker strategy on their own without the help of experts and computer programs.

Some casinos still offer these machines from decades ago. Many are found in Las Vegas. Downtown casinos like Plaza, Main Street Station, Fremont, California and El Cortez spread coins from nickels to dollars. Locals’ casinos like Jerry’s Nugget, Poker Palace, Sam’s Town and Railroad Pass also have coin games with great pay tables.

When I first got into poker, playing online was still relatively new. Veteran players that I met would laugh when I told them that not only was my first hand played online, but that my entire poker infancy was spent on the virtual felt. In fact, it wasn't until I had spent hundreds of hours playing poker online that I felt comfortable enough to make my way to a brick and mortar casino and sit with other human beings, totally vulnerable to their intimidating stares and table talk. Although I found live poker intriguing, the convenience of playing online while struggling to keep up with my college schedule and day job kept me glued to my laptop every night.
Now looking back at those first few months of playing online, I realize that they were hours very well spent. It's no secret these days that the new generation of poker players are typically born and bred on the internet, sometimes never even stepping inside a live card room until they are more experienced than players 20 years their senior. The modern pro usually has an impressive online poker resume, and for good reason. Because of the speed at which hands are dealt and completed, combined with being able to play more than one table at once (called “multi-tabling”), playing online poker is a great way to learn and improve your game. There are a wide variety of stakes offered, including micro-limit cash games (often as low as 1 cent/2 cent) and tournaments with tiny buy-ins that are perfect for the poker novice. When you add in the appeal of a smaller rake and not having to tip the dealer when you win a pot (not to mention being able to acceptably play in your pajamas), playing online poker is a pretty sweet deal.
So how do you make money while playing poker online? And how do some players manage to play online poker for a living? Good questions. Setting up your account and joining a table is a piece of cake, but actually turning a profit is another story altogether. Of course knowing the poker basics and understanding some strategy will help, but here are some tips I can offer on how to make money playing poker online:
Find a Game That You Can Beat
I know a lot of online pros, and while many of them make their living in different games, they have each found one or more specific avenues of poker that make them the most money. Some players focus on multi-table cash games, while others play sit-n-goes for hours on end. There are lots of pros who have found that tournaments are the best way to make their cash, and in recent years many have turned to playing heads-up. No matter what their specialty is, any serious pro knows that your best game is your bread and butter and is where you should put most of your focus (and your bankroll). Finding your niche will take some time and experimentation, but if you keep good records of your sessions, it will eventually become clear where your strengths lie.

Can You Make A Living From Online Poker

Take Advantage of Online Tools
We have already discussed some of the benefits of playing online instead of heading to your local casino, but there are several more advantages that you should keep in mind. Mark my words: effectively utilizing online poker tools will make you more money.

Making Money From Online Poker Reddit

If cash games are your thing, having good table selection is key. Keeping your eye on the lobby and watching for tables with large average pots and a high percentage of players seeing the flop is sure to increase your win rate. Once you get into an action game, make sure to take note of who the worst players are because this information will surely come in handy later. Most online poker rooms offer a 'find a player' feature which can be used to hunt for your favorite fish when they are playing online. Conversely, you usually will have the option to hide yourself from search (surprisingly most fish never seem to get the hint that they should probably be utilizing this option themselves).
In recent years, it has become the norm to use tracking software while playing online. Programs like PokerTracker will collect statistics on every hand you play and regurgitate the data, allowing you to accurately analyze your opponents and your own game. If you are trying to win money online, it is a good investment to purchase this type of software because, well, everyone else who is trying to win already has it. When used correctly and efficiently, players will have an easier time making the split-second decisions that multi-tabling demands. These programs also aid in record keeping, improving your game, and finding which games are most profitable. In other words, this type of software is essential to making a decent wage online.
Avoid Distractions
Online poker allows you to be lazy; you can sit in your pajamas in the comfort of your home without a thought to your own hygiene or appearance. You can relax about proper table etiquette or dealing with an obnoxious guy to your right showing you pictures of his unfortunate looking baby. These are definitely perks of playing from home, but it can easy to go overboard with your laziness. Online poker takes discipline and focus, and it's not always easy with the distractions that are sure to be all around you. It is important to know what you can handle and what you can't, because everyone has a difference tolerance level for distractions. While it's usually a bad idea to watch television or read while playing online, lots of serious players occasionally surf the net and many listen to music. After playing professionally online for several years, I personally know that anything too distracting will affect my game (and therefore affects my profit) and I always have to be strict about not answering the phone while I am playing and limiting my web surfing.
The above mentioned tips are meant to be used in conjunction with a solid poker foundation. There is no substitute for experience, and if you are trying to make money playing online when you have never played poker before, then good luck. Although you are bound to win now and then, consistent money is not going to fall into your lap. If you want to learn how to make money playing poker online, you need to start playing small stakes, gather data, and gain experience. If you are honest with yourself and work hard on your game, the money will follow soon enough, and who knows - one day, you might even find yourself playing online poker for a living.