Anyone Played Real Money Poker?

[Sly]

I think I found a quick and easy way to pay for my school tuition, I started out 10 dollars and within 15 minutes I came out with 60 dollars!!!! Anyone else play? If you do what poker site you guys use? Close thread if mods feel it's inappropriate (Gambling).

[Frank MetaMusil]

Originally Posted by Sly

I think I found a quick and easy way to pay for my school tuition, I started out 10 dollars and within 15 minutes I came out with 60 dollars!!!! Anyone else play? If you do what poker site you guys use? Close thread if mods feel it's inappropriate (Gambling).

I used to pay my rent with online poker when I was younger and out of work. You need to get into the rakeback programs, which will pay you some decent coin if you play a reasonable amount of hours per day.

[malcolmk14]

Congratulations on your $50, but that won't be the norm. Short-term variance will hit sooner or later (it already has, but in a positive way). You won't be making $200 an hour for long.

What stakes were you playing with $10 to make $50 in 15 minutes?

[Ren]

Free online poker is a good way to get an understanding for the basics. It takes a lot of experience to be able to immediately recognize all the possible hands that can beat you and when to play the pot odds, and if you can do that without breaking your wallet so much the better. It also takes a while to develop the ability to calculate odds in your head (believe me, sometimes it can get messy but it absolutely is an essential skill if your goal is to make money long-term). If you really want to start making money though you're eventually going to have to move away from online poker and start developing your game in the real world. Being able to read players, spot tells, and use mind games is the best way to help yourself succeed in any poker scene which are all things you can't do in online poker (or at least, not nearly as effectively).

There's definitely no fast or easy road to making money in poker, online or otherwise. You're going to have to lose a lot of money before you start making it consistently. Maybe stop by your local Chapters and pick up a Phil Hellmuth book if you're really interested. There's a lot more to playing pro poker than you probably realize.

[kipperfan]

Yeah it is pretty fun, but like Malcolm said, dont get too used to the massive win's. I have won $300 in less then 20 minutes online. Unfortunatley I have lost the same amount in even less time...so you have to be careful. For whatever reason you will hit times were you cannot pull a single card for hours on end, and may lose alot as a result.

[Sly]

Originally Posted by malcolmk14

Congratulations on your $50, but that won't be the norm. Short-term variance will hit sooner or later (it already has, but in a positive way). You won't be making $200 an hour for long.

What stakes were you playing with $10 to make $50 in 15 minutes?

25/50, yeah to be honest I just started so I'm only happy at the moment since I 5 x my money in such a short matter.

[malcolmk14]

Originally Posted by Ren

Free online poker is a good way to get an understanding for the basics. It takes a lot of experience to be able to immediately recognize all the possible hands that can beat you and when to play the pot odds, and if you can do that without breaking your wallet so much the better. It also takes a while to develop the ability to calculate odds in your head (believe me, sometimes it can get messy but it absolutely is an essential skill if your goal is to make money long-term). If you really want to start making money though you're eventually going to have to move away from online poker and start developing your game in the real world. Being able to read players, spot tells, and use mind games is the best way to succeed in the any poker scene which are all things you can't do in online poker (or at least, not nearly as effectively).

There's definitely no fast road to making money in poker, online or otherwise. You're going to have to lose a lot of money before you start making it consistently.

I disagree. It is absolutely possible to make good money playing online poker. It takes a lot of work, but you don't need to learn to play live to make money.

[VladtheImpaler]

Let it ride. Seriously, if you want to learn about playing poker online, I suggest you read the 2+2 forums. There you can learn about which sites are more/less reputable and easier/harder. This is very important. My friend played on bodog and wound up winning ~$13,000 in one night playing NL cash. However, cashing the money out was a major, major hassle - there is no way I would ever play there. Ultimate Bet was involved in a major scandal, whereby it was determined that "insiders" were essentially cheating at higher stakes games. Just some things to keep in mind. Pokerstars, PartyPoker, Betfair, etc are the most reputable - the British ones tend to be traded companies, as opposed to shady corporations registered on Mohawk reserves.

[malcolmk14]

Originally Posted by Sly

25/50, yeah to be honest I just started so I'm only happy at the moment since I 5 x my money in such a short matter.

You can go on $500-750 swings at .25/.50 pretty easily due to variance, but those swings go both ways.

Over the long term, if you're absolutely killing the game, you might make $5-6 per 100 hands.

Originally Posted by VladtheImpaler

Let it ride. Seriously, if you want to learn about playing poker online, I suggest you read the 2+2 forums.

2+2 is great for learning the basics of online poker. Liquidpoker has some good links and info too, if you're interested.

[Ren]

Originally Posted by malcolmk14

I disagree. It is absolutely possible to make good money playing online poker. It takes a lot of work, but you don't need to learn to play live to make money.

Of course, lots of people make money playing online poker, but if you're still learning the game it's definitely worth going out and getting the live experience as well. I've met lots of guys who thought they could learn the game just by playing online and they ended up losing a lot of money because they never developed the ability to make reads effectively. It's much tougher to develop that skill when you're only playing online.

[Poison]

Originally Posted by Sly

I think I found a quick and easy way to pay for my school tuition, I started out 10 dollars and within 15 minutes I came out with 60 dollars!!!! Anyone else play? If you do what poker site you guys use? Close thread if mods feel it's inappropriate (Gambling).

Hmmmmm, new to the game of poker? Fancy your chances?
We're always looking for more players!! (bring your wallet)

http://forum.calgarypuck.com/showthread.php?t=82593

[amorak]

I tried once, but I got busted by an undercover cop...

Ohh, wait, you meant real money poker, not poke-her? Noevermind...

[Grunt]

Originally Posted by Ren

Of course, lots of people make money playing online poker, but if you're still learning the game it's definitely worth going out and getting the live experience as well. I've met lots of guys who thought they could learn the game just by playing online and they ended up losing a lot of money because they never developed the ability to make reads effectively. It's much tougher to develop that skill when you're only playing online.

The level of skill you're going to see online is much higher than you're going to see at any casino in Calgary. Especially at the lower stakes. You need to "read" people online in the same ways you do at the live card room, save physical tells. And physical tells aren't rocket science.

If you went and played at a Calgary card room, and then went online and played those same stakes, you'd absolutely find that the local room is WAY softer.

[Grunt]

"Being able to read players, spot tells, and use mind games is the best way to help yourself succeed in any poker scene which are all things you can't do in online poker (or at least, not nearly as effectively)"

Sorry Ren, I don't mean to pick on you but ... this is really not anywhere close to the truth. Reading players and spotting tells is important, but on the scale of important items, it's closer to the bottom. At least for the lower stakes.

If you want to get good at poker, read and contribute on the 2+2 forums, read/re-read some solid books, and play at stakes that are comfortable for your bankroll.

[bomber317]

If you're playing poker to make a "living", in this case, to pay your rent, it's going to be quite a grind. It's just as a tough if not tougher then a regular job.

You'll have to be really consistent to make a steady hourly rate. Your EV will be really low at the beginning unless you're a natural.

You also have to factor in the times that people are playing, weekend players are much different then weekday players, both online and in real life.

[HelloHockeyFans]

Playing online is an ideal way to learn the game as you'll never get to see the same number of hands playing live games. Problem with learning online though, is staying focused. No point playing if you're not paying attention... that's when you start calling with air and get killed.

You most definitely can learn how to read playing online as you observe betting patterns and also how good players play. Check out the players around you when you play at sites like sharkscope.com and look at their ratings... observe and learn from the good players and follow the fish to make some easy coin.

[HelloHockeyFans]

Originally Posted by Sly

25/50, yeah to be honest I just started so I'm only happy at the moment since I 5 x my money in such a short matter.

How did you even sit down at a 25/50 table with only $10 to buy in? That isn't enough for the minimum buy in.

[Torture]

Originally Posted by HelloHockeyFans

How did you even sit down at a 25/50 table with only $10 to buy in? That isn't enough for the minimum buy in.

He probably meant 0.25/0.50.

[HelloHockeyFans]

^ Ha ha I know, but even at 0.25/0.50 there's typically a min. buy in to sit down...

[getbak]

I've played in $1/2 games where the minimum buy-in was $40. So, $10 at $0.25/0.50 would be the same proportion.