Mr Little you are changing my approach to poker. I want to thank you from the bottom of my heart. I wish you the best in life. I will follow for a long long time.
“You are your own boss, you have to motivate yourself”... if you’re not motivated to grind out a decent hourly, you’re better off not even playing and you are more likely to light a buy in or two on fire. Definitely have to want it and want to be there. Clear minded and focused.
discipline > motivation its like when i go out for a quick jogg/run, i feel like giving up some days, but when i start to run, i start to feel great :)
15:00 I listened to two of your books, tried playing poker for a living. Actually it was Berry Greenstines book that convinced me to give up the dream. It was a horrible life style. Life is much better working a job and playing cards for fun. Way too much stress putting your livelihood on the turn of the card
Jonathan, thank you for what you do for the Poker community, anyone that talks poker these days, I immediately refer them to your channels when they are asking for any type of poker advice.
You need a massive bankroll to it will take a lot of work to make 100K a year on avg . for a 20 year span. There will be losing years also. Do it as a hobby trust me.
I absolutely agree with you. Most people don't cost account they're play correctly. You have to figure in every single expense that you normally would not have if you're playing poker. Then as you said they're the other issues depending on your situation like medical insurance, and retirement if you haven't already taken care of those issues.
Retirement can be taken care of throughout your life. Start a poker career and you can easily make a 401K and put 100$ weekly in it. Also if your state has free insurance (for example Mass health for Massachusetts) then you can get on that lol. I know somebody who plays poker for a living for past 2 years. Live in apt with a roomate and pays cash. He doesnt claim any of his winnings and technically according to the state he doesnt work so he gets free health insurance lol. There always ways around the system, and say what you want, the system has been screwing us for years, so if theres a way to get a one up, we should be taking advantage of it lol. Or just have a part time job where you work 1-2 days a week you'll be on the books and you should still qualify for cheap insurance.
@@williamzagarella8066 interesting. So you going to get help from the system that you say is screwing you. To build a healthy retirement you're going to need more than $100 a week invested into retirement fund. Then you're going to have to hope that that fund actually grows. The fees take a large bite out of many of these funds in the long run. Living with roommate sounds like lots of fun. I have a friend who works for the state in the benefits division. He sees people every single day that are trying to scam the system. But let's say your plan works and the IRS and the state officials don't catch you. What do you do during the swings invariance assuming you're a very good player? Why not just work hard and get a decent job and play poker on the side? Since there's no guarantee that you're going to be a winning player then you'd always have something to pull back on. And if you we're actually a winning player and liked the lifestyle you would be in better shape to be make this a full-time profession. But having said all of that. The overwhelming majority of poker players do not win. The landscape filled with ex-pro players you started out very well and then went broke. You should follow Jonathan Little's advice. Starting very small games and see if you can build a bank roll. Follow his bankroll advice. Constantly study and play a huge volume in games within the proper percentages for your bankroll.
Great video for best route to 100K per annum in poker. but it only seemed to focus on if you are planning the live games. Online is certainly possible as well. He indicated online is tougher games to beat these days, which is partly true due to playing against many other online "pros" that have active software tools and solvers running alongside them as they play......but keep in mind online also give you much rake back and other benefits like freerolls etc etc that the live game does not. Also NO travel expenses, and just about all the cash and tourney selections you want 24hrs a day. Maybe another video geared specifically for online poker player considering making to pro jump
It is all just numbers right? Find your win rate $/hand and aim to play the hands it takes to make $100,000. You may not be at that level yet, so if not keep grinding your bankroll until you are there
Hello Jonathan...great video as usual Anyway i`m a little confused about online calculation... $1/$2 6 tabling with 8 bb / 100 win rate if i`m not wrong calculate = 6 table x 8 bb x $2 big blind = $96 x40 hour x 50 weeks = $192.000 ?
Good breakdown. I first made 100k a year playing $200 sit n goes and played 7 days a week like you said. Then online cash games and $1,000 heads up sit n goes before everyone got good. Now i'd agree online cash is TOUGH and best way is live cash in softer 2/5 and 5/10 games. Good luck to those chasing the 100k + goal in poker! It's very doable with study + hours.
I haven't played seriously since 2014, I did play for 10 years to support myself. Swrious question: playing live south Florida Hollywood hard rock... would playing 2/5 and 5/10 40 hours every week 6pm to 4am thurs to sunday.. now would a 5bb+/100 win rate be possible playing a super TAG style? AK/QQ+, set mining and suited connectors with good implied odds.. is a 5 or even 10bb Win rate be possible over a year in the current poker climate? I used to play quite LAG and obviously variance would be a bitch.. anyway the current poker climate is very different than it was a decade ago.. I'm just very curious how this play style would fair... I'm most likely going to join coaching sites and study full ring live strats however I'm really curious if playing like a rock can bring in a 5bb win rate in the long run
I have spoken to several vegas pros and they say in vegas specifically it is very difficult to win 10bb hour in 5-10 and 10-20, other than friday Saturdays and some key times of the year like march madness
bobbyb900 training sites and people getting better make all these numbers that JL cites less and less doable. With an upcoming recession as well... you’d have to be a fool to quit your job for poker right now. These things are not sustainable.
Certainly, the prime times will lead to higher win-rates. With that said, there are plenty of pros currently making 10bb/hour in 5-10, especially in the Vegas games where 5-10 is played deeper than 100bbs such as the Wynn.
bobbyb900 why does it have to be easy? Nobody said it was easy. It’s not easy to be the top delivery person for UPS either, it’s not easy to be the best bathroom attendant at the Bellagio either. But if you’re determined, you can DO THIS. It’s what you want out of life, dude.
GTO is horrible for poker... the progression of basic strategy will eventually make anything over about 10bb/100 hands impossible just like it has online. (10bb/100 hands is only about 3.5bb/ hour in live poker) . It is possible now... It will not be possible for long.
Love your videos. Your a great coach. I play here in Colorado and its hard in black hawk to make even 35 an hour here. Most players here are bad and the cap for holdem here is 100 max bet making it even harder to bet and bluff. Sounds like i need to move fron here if i want to win,right? Any advice? Have you played poker in Colorado with these bad games and players?
Given your average win rates, what were the factors that helped you decided whether you wanted to play 5/10 or10/20? Was it a matter of which game looked the softest? How does one quantify whether it is the right time to move up to the next higher stakes? Thanks Jonathan. You rock.
Ur bankroll dictates this along with skillset. If u have the skills but not the bankroll u can be knocked down to ground zero. Also, do not be afraid to move up in stakes. If there is a game available in ur area u may find it has a bunch of weak players. Ur strategy will have to change, because bad players with money will call almost anything! 😂 And obviously do not be afraid to move back down if it becomes necessary. Some people that move up do not wish to go back down; it hurts their pride too much. But sometimes a tight 5-10 can be hard to play in while the 2-5 may be juicy. Table selection is key. Good luck.
My card room is only open for 6hrs a day. I do notice going from online to live is actually alot easier. But hey I missed read my hand twice the other feel I shouldn't be a winning player that day
I like the 2-5 5-10 model, but my goal is a bit different. I'd like to play about 10-20 hours a week here in LA area, and then travel 1 -2 weekends a month to cities around the country and play 15 -20 hours. Then, 2 or 3 times a year travel outside country for a week 10 days and play 30 hours. My goal would be a profitable hobby. Maybe make 10k 15k a year after expenses. Thi k that's doable in live cash games at these levels?
Sounds like approx 90 hrs of poker a month on average if my math is correct. If you can win 10 bb/hr at 2-5, that's 10*5*90=4500×12 months a year is just over 50k a year. So given the winrate/blinds and that you do put in the hours you say, the math says that's more than doable
I have a question for Johnathon, I live in Washington State and the laws for no limit are different than Vegas or California because there is a buy in cap and a max bet cap for Tribal Casinos and independent, non tribal casinos. In my area our games are referred to as Spread Limit Poker Our only major casinos are Tribal so there is no Harrahs or Horseshoe casinos. Tribal casinos are allowed to have a max buy in of $500 for 1/3 3/5 5/10 with a max bet of $500 bet for any red chip game and a three re-raise cap on all streets. So UTG can raise, UTG+1 re-raises and UTG+2 gets capped so it gives middle position, chance to see the flop along with the original raiser. It gets worse for independent card rooms where although the 3/5 spread limit games are capped at min buy in of $1000, there is a max bet cap of $300 with the same three bets cap on raises. So my question to you is, can a good player make a living with these types of restrictions on buyin, betting and bet caps? Here is my theory as to why it is impossible to make a living under these conditions 1. with a $300 max bet, it gives the "Gamble Player" with $1500 stack a chance to call and catch his outs against the Hero because "Why not, its only $300 to call 2. $300 max bet takes away the fear of no limit and just becomes a bingo game. Am I wrong or can a good tight player who plays consistently well survive and become a profitable player in this environment?
I want to start playing 2-5 soon, then get a good feel for BB/hr. If I can get 10bb/hr at 2-5, looking to move to reno! Found a nice apt that is 10 min walk from peppermill..
Hey Jonathan I have a question. I play 1/2 and mostly 2/5 at local poker rooms here in Florida. A lot of times I sit down and after 2 or 3 hours Im up 1K and I pick a good spot to leave booking a nice win. Honestly I don't wanna sit there another 4 hours and give back any of that win. I think leaving when you can book a nice win is not a bad idea especially when other days Im there 8 hours just trying to get back to even or to book a small $200 win. Also a lot of times I will buy back in short for around $250 so Im basically free rolling with a nice win in my pocket and yes my goal is 100k per year and I am on my way to that goal. My main question is should I leave or not after hitting a nice win in only a few hours? Thanks for any input.
I do that semi-frequently as well when I'm up like 800 or more and my answer is I have had great success with this method. Immensly increases the profit, because its guaranteeing and its increasing your percentage of sessions won. I've won 75% of sessions at my casino last 6 months. I play 4 days a week. I'm winning 3 of those 4. Let me put it to you like this, if you play for 3 hours profit 1K, sure your hourly is 333$, and if you play 10 hours and win 1K your winrate is only 100$ an hour. However, same exact profit. It doesnt effect your 100,000 a year end goal. The only thing it effects is if you think you're losing EV by leaving. Meaning, is it beneficial at your current table to have everybody covered? Can you just apply immense pressure on people and get them to overfold? Is the game soft? Etc. etc. Sure we are preventing ourselves from running absurdly hot all session and book maybe a 3K win, but those are extremely rare. I dont play differently based on the amount of money I have in front of me, but I will certainly lock up a nice win if in a few hours in and up a grand or so. Why not? Start afresh tomorrow
Cash game poker doesn't work like this. You will have variances. There might not be a high enough stake to sustain. Cleveland OH only has a cash game at 5/10 on weekends on occasion. Usually there is one table of 2/5.
Hey JL. Little late, but thanks for this video and all the other ones you put out for us. Wouldn't be where I am without you. Would this advise scale down to someone who wants to make a supplemental income of say $500/month playing online only tourneys? I have a bankroll of around $500 and play mainly $5 and $10 buy-in tourneys.
Lots of factors.. Biggest factor is how good you are. The better you are, the tighter you are, the more consistent your are, the smaller steak you play, the more volume you play, the smaller it has to be. If you are worse, loose, play high variance style, play for higher steaks, etc the bigger it has to be. Examples form video... live 2/5 crusher who wins 35bb/100 ($50 an hour) with a very low variance style (STDEV=150bb/100) needs 963BB (~$5,000) but still has 5% chance of going bust over the course of a year. live 2/5 crusher who wins 35bb/100 ($50 an hour) with an a high variance style (STDEV=300bb/100) needs 2915BB (~$15,000) but still has 5% chance of going bust over the course of a year. live 5/10 great player who wins 17bb/100 ($50 an hour) with a a very low variance style (STDEV=150bb/100) needs 1982 BB (~$20,000) but still has 5% chance of going bust over the course of a year. live 5/10 great player who wins 17bb/100 ($50 an hour) with a high variance style (STDEV=300bb/100) needs 7,930 BB (~$80,000) but still has 5% chance of going bust over the course of a year.
@Tom Voke Nah bro. I'm going to play a 34% VPIP and go all in on the flop on draw heavy board to rep an over pair, and then when I have the nuts, I'll Hollywood and slow play. I'll tank until someone calls clock. And then I'll bust out the most fearsome weapon of all: the LIMP RERAISE! They've never seen anything like that before, I'm sure. I'll come back here and let you know how many stacks I won. Thanks for the warning bro, but don't worry about me! I'm actually secretly a nit too who just *acts* loose by running his mouth! I will be the first one of those in Vegas ever. Just wait.
Nice James Cameo Jon, great kid man, you are blessed sir with two of the best, well three counting the Mrs, shes a beaut as well, Rocking life mate. GG and well done.
Hi Jonathan - what poker apps do you recommend to use with the poker study? I m more into the tournament scene but slowly getting into cash games. I have been playing mostly live MTT for a couple of years.
honestly, playing $500 a day in tournaments and NOT winning/cashing the majority of the time, the likely outcome, costs $182k/year. Better off in an index fund.
Little off topic, but people often talk about downswings... Just wonder, would the downswing follow you over a time or over an amount of hands? If I do like Ivey and quit when losing a buy in. Noticing I am losing more then normal that buy in. Would I still be on that downswing if I play on another site for a month or so and then return?
Omaha Invest Downswings occur of # of hands, so the amount of time or playing another site will have no effect. The higher your win-rate, and the more volume you put in, the ‘quicker’ your downswing will be.
Yeah, I could make billions being the CEO of Amazon. I could make millions being a best selling author with movie deals. Or I could be an A-list movie star. There's TONS of things you can do to make millions.
I'd like to hear other ideas on transferring skill sets.. I play poker now because i was tired of dealing with stupid people. Now if I'm around someone who is stupid they give me money. If someone thinks they are better than me they give money if they are wrong. I like poker because it is fair. If I'm over confident it cost me. Kinda felt F*ed over in my past jobs. My hourly is on par for 100k my volume is not. 3 kids... barley hit 1k hours last year.
Treat it as a business. The only way I consistently win is to employ Ed Millers short stack NL algorithm. When I build the stack I loosen up in the late position. O buy the way I'm multi tabling.
Great work. I have a goal of 60k a year from cash and 50k a year from tournaments. I play 10 or so hours a week of medium stakes online PLO (1-2 to 5-10), and six weeks during the WSOP. The tournament wins are hardest because I sell over half my action for WSOP - and god knows winning an 8000 person live bird is hard (my best is 13th). I study 5 hours per week mostly by talking to pro friends, watching videos, and getting sweated by coaches when I play for 100 bucks an hour. The rest of the time I write books and play League of Legends. :-) I'm not sure I do this right, and am always under bankrolled, but over the last few years, I've sort of nearly achieved those goals with the described input.
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Is online poker rigged? I DO NOT PLAY ONLINE I am merely curious because I have watched friend's sessions with some crazy results. When will the big casinos host online games?
The reputable poker sites are not rigged. The unregulated sites are very, very unlikely to have any sort of rigged game either. Most people just think bad variance means the games are rigged. That said, shady things have happened before on unregulated sites, so you have to be careful.
The new room at the hardrock is soft like butter, playground the games are soft on Friday's Saturday's and during every habs game when people are drinking more than usual. Same thing with Lac Leamy, if you only go on a Friday night at 2-3 am or a Saturday night you'll have an edge because most people are getting tired by then, take a nice little nap early at home and crush.
Is this game sustainable long term? Johnnie Vibes said in his vlogs that the games is San Diego dried up and was no longer able to make a profitable living.
GTO is horrible for poker... the progression of basic strategy will eventually make anything over about 10bb/100 hands impossible just like it has online. (10bb/100 hands is only about 3.5bb/ hour in live poker) . It is possible now to make 35bb/100 in some parts of the country.. It is possible now but It will not be possible for long.
What do you mean the games are soft? Do you mean the games are easier? Cause I want to focus on online cash games, is this video focused on only live cash game?
This video is not focused on live or online cash games, it just shows that both are an option. I would recommend focusing on live cash games because online cash games are much tougher.
Dude out of 100 18 - 23 year olds watching this vid NONE of them will make money. Very few people, ever make money unless they get super lucky in a decent tournament.
Doubt this is all possible. Maybe if you live near a casino were holiday'ers are playing, but otherwise. All his affiliates recommend agressive play, don't know where that works, certainly not on the Internet. I don't believe all their advice.
Or you should get a group of Japanese " tourists" together and go to the Aria and start pointing out d-list poker players in awful Japanese and presenting them as a tourist attraction. Then every time you're like "ahh, Kono hito wa ALEC TORELLI, AGGRO FISH" then all your people take pictures and nod and all murmur "soooo desu ne". Man the would piss people off and you'd get thrown out and it would be hilarious.
...very realistic , but pretty tuff to reach that 50-dollar-hourly in vegas nowadays...and to handle downswings ( while staying away from home, not having a real social life, loosing instead of printing money, and sometimes questioning yourself)... "Living as a poker pro" sounds great, but not easy ...any thoughts ???
I appreciate the content, but these videos are so misleading. For 99% of players 100K/year isn't attainable. Most people playing professionally are backed and barely gross 100k. Poker is more than skill it's money management, game selection, and game availability. Even if you hit 100K/ year the tax man will take a good chunk of it. I say hold a decent job on the side and play a good amount on the side.
