Do I have the potential to make a lot of money playing poker (Please be honest)

Do I have the potential to make a lot of money playing poker (Please be honest)

I started getting into poker 3 months ago and have quickly had success playing microstakes (4-tabling 25NL ignition). Through maybe 150k-200k ish hands (estimate) I've made $1100. I have not taken time to ever really study poker but I have decent enough fundamentals obviously as well as a pretty good natural intuition for certain spots. I am a 19 yr old college student and I seriously don't know if it is worth my time trying to make a lot of money playing. I think I have a lot of common background traits to online crushers as I have a math oriented background and am currently studying it in school. Is it worth investing my time into getting really good at this game? And do I realistically have the potential to do it. Please be honest and harsh as possible.

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06 March 2025 at 10:13 PM
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Yes it is worth it if you are good enough. The sample size you mentioned is pretty decent and that win rate is great considering the rake is so awfully high.

My advice would be to deep dive into theory and learn the fundamentals, using online as a means of improving your skill and making a bit on the side as well. Depending on your live poker options the cash games there are really where good money is made compared to online and if you're beating the games online you will annihilate them live once you're old enough to play in a card room. Good luck


Thank you for the insight. Still got a few years until 21 so I guess just keep building my roll


Finish school as well


Don't even consider, ever, at any point, that poker is your way out. It's not unless your going to dedicate every single free hour you have to out study the **** out of every angle and edge you can find. Which btw, many are already doing.


by abs33 k

Is it worth investing my time into getting really good at this game? And do I realistically have the potential to do it. Please be honest and harsh as possible.

Poker is a really great hobby that you can use to make some supplementary income. Poker is a really shitty career to rely on for all/most of your income. If I could go back 20 years and give myself advice (that I obv wouldn't take), it would be to stay in school, get a degree, get a job that is either easy or that you really enjoy, and grind poker 10-20 hr/wk where it fits into your life as a hobby and make an extra 10-20k/yr.


by evagaba k

Don't even consider, ever, at any point, that poker is your way out. It's not unless your going to dedicate every single free hour you have to out study the **** out of every angle and edge you can find. Which btw, many are already doing.

Be like me bro and do this. Move to MTTs and let varience decide if you will win and be thift miser towards yourself in your spending habits.


by abs33 k

I started getting into poker 3 months ago and have quickly had success playing microstakes (4-tabling 25NL ignition). Through maybe 150k-200k ish hands (estimate) I've made $1100. I have not taken time to ever really study poker but I have decent enough fundamentals obviously as well as a pretty good natural intuition for certain spots. I am a 19 yr old college student and I seriously don't know if it is worth my time trying to make a lot of money playing. I think I have a lot of common backgro

I think the better question is - do you really want to play poker seriously? Are you willing to put in hours at the table, then more hours studying/reviewing hands. Are you willing to sit in a casino playing poker on Saturday nights when your friends are out having fun at concerts or bars because that’s when the fish come out most? Are you willing to possibly risk romantic relationships because your partner doesn’t understand that poker is not just gambling but a serious source of income for you? Even as a winning player, you are going to have stretches of time where you lose. These may last weeks or even months. Can you handle this and do you have the financial discipline to not spend your winnings when you’re running well so that you have money saved to pay your bills while you are in a downturn? Is there something else you would rather do with your time, or do you really love playing poker and want to spend most of your time playing and studying the game?

I can’t answer these questions for you, and neither can any other poster on here. There is only one person who can. Just make sure you are honest with yourself when you do answer these. If you are then you can make a good decision about whether or not to play seriously.

Even if you find you don’t want to play seriously as a pro, that doesn’t mean you can’t play recreationally as a hobby and make a little cash on the side.


[B]THIS[/B] is still a very good thread for you to read, abs33


From results and win rates in the live strategy forum, I estimate that if you are in the top 1 percent of the player pool, you can make 70k per year grinding 10/25. You’d need a bank roll of ar least 100k, probably closer 250k. That’s little money to be made for that much capital. Better to use the bankroll to buy or start a business and play 1/2 recreationally.

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