My mission was to see of I could make more playing poker than being a computer consultant. The top annual for a computer consultant is somewhere around $250k - the average is probably nearer $120k. It depends on how good you are, how connected you are, what you specialize in and how many hours you can work (or if you run a small company) how many billable hours your team can work. I'm above average so probably looking at about $200k.
So what about poker. Well, Daniel Negraneu earns over $1million pretty consistently each year. But he is sponsored so Pokerstars pay all his entry fees. I would love this - if someone else paid my entry fees I could play all the big tournies and just need to win one. I think the sponsorship distorts the game - some players are seen on TV in all the tournaments but hardly ever win anything. So lets forget about the big name personalities for now and look at online players.
One of the best online players on Pokerstars is gboro780 - he won approximately $842k on that site in 2010 - of that $442k was profit. And he might have played on 2 or 3 other sites. But he is one of the best tournament players. I think the average tournament players earn much much less than this. Players who grind SnGs and 12, 16 or 18 table for 8-10 hours a day still do not win anything like what the top players earn. Maybe a good grinder makes 5-10k per month.
What about cash game players. If the 1 - 1.5 BB per hour profit margin is true for an average winning player than he needs to be playing at least $50-$100 to earn $200k per year. And the swings at $50-$100 are huge. You need a large bankroll to play at that level, just to make an average salary.
Of course there are the luckboxes who one-time a huge tournament. If you win $1 million + on a single tournament then that covers a few years. But to play these tournaments you have to put up an entry fee of $10k,, $25k, $50k or $100k+, with a 90% chance of losing your money. Even the good players need a bankroll to cover them for several tournaments so the one cash they do make covers all the losses in the other tournaments where they dont cash.
Arguably staking solves the above problems. Or does it? Stories are now coming out of players who are $250k+ in make-up. Lets face it - they are never going to enjoy playing poker again after losing so much money. Anything they do win going forward goes to the staker. How far in debt are you willing to go (or is the staker willing to let you go)....?
So where does that leave me. I won a bunch of small live tournaments (entry fees $50 - $100) but the winnings were not relevant to my wealth (< $5000 per win). I won a bunch of small SnGs and won/lost playing cash games. I took a couple of shots at bigger tournaments but did not win anything significant. As time went by I played smaller and smaller to preserve my bankroll but I realise this is pointless if you want to make an income. Its fun and as a hobby it is great to enter a small tournament and win it. But I wont make money to live off.
I have decided to get back into the computer work before my skills become obsolete. At least there I can earn a good wage. I will continue to take a few shots at the poker, play some small stakes online, follow the stories but now it is a part time thing. Just for fun!!!
Of course I still love the game.
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