As others have mentioned the main way these sites make money is from rake, where a percentage of the pot or entry fee is taken. It might also be worthy to note that there are some rake-free poker sites such as BetRaiser. These sites generate their income mainly from the transfer/deposit fees when you move money in and out of the site.

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One of the most common questions we receive, is “how can I make money from online poker”, and while there is certainly no one size fits all answer to this question, in the following post we are going to take a look at some of the myths and fantasies surrounding profitable poker play, alongside looking at ways at which you can improve your chances of winning and ensuring a profit over the long run.

We’re going to begin by taking a look at those who do indeed play poker full-time for a living, and will delve deep into their financial situation so that you have a solid idea of how much professionals and grinders really make.

Playing Poker Full-Time: The Reality

Poker tournaments have – within the last few years – become vastly more popular, and thanks to increased television coverage and prominent use of social media channels like YouTube and Twitter, many players are now able to watch and interact with professional poker players in ways that they never would have been able to before.

Of course, this has been great for the game as it is allowed more players than ever before to enter the playing field – and it has also allowed thousands of people around the world to begin playing poker full-time for a living – so just how much do these professionals make exactly, and what does their day-to-day life look like?

Well, the first thing to note when it comes to looking at how much these professionals actually earn, is the type of games that they play. For example, while you may think that the big tournament winners are the ones raking in all the cash, it’s actually the cash game players – players who are prepared to sit at tables for hours on end – who are the ones making money.

The reason behind this is relatively clear, and it all comes down to the way the game is structured. Tournaments are fast paced, and in almost all situations, players who win a poker tournament enjoy tremendous amounts of luck.

The increasing blind structure means that play gets continually more aggressive as the tournament goes on, and this means that poker skill becomes less important as the tournament draws on, with luck and good timing becoming the two main factors for winning.

Cash games on the other hand allow players to sit there indefinitely, and this means that they can choose their plays wisely – there is no pressure to make plays, and the blind levels do not increase regularly, meaning that it’s quite feasible to fold a few weak hands every now and then, only losing out on the occasional small and big blinds.

The actual amount a player earns also depends on how regularly they play, and how many games they play at once. For example, a professional who played only in Vegas – in a land-based casino – would typically earn a lot less than an Internet poker player, who may play upwards of eight tables and games at any one time.

Of course, if you want to earn money playing poker online, it’s important that you manage to find the type of game that works for you, along with the frequency at which you play.

There’s no point playing for 15 hours a day if it means that you neglect your health and social life – and if you’re not winning, it’s all in vain. So, for this reason, it is vital that you break into the poker world slowly, and find your footing before getting too heavily involved.

How Much Do Professionals Make?

The exact amount that professional poker players earn is often subject to scrutiny, and it should be said that no specific figures exist on exactly how much pros do actually make, largely down to the fact that the information simply isn’t publicly available. For example, in almost all cases when you look at how much players have earnt, you’ll see that charts and graphs show only the players’ earnings from tournaments.

Still, having said that, below, we’ll look at four of the biggest players in the world, and study how much they’ve made from tournament poker play.

Daniel Negreanu

Known as “Kid Poker”, Daniel Negreanu is possibly the best-known poker player on the planet, known for his impeccable reading abilities at the table, and his fun, friendly vibe while playing. He’s also the world’s top tournament player in history, with his earnings from tournament play alone standing at a whopping $32,887,949. Of course, that doesn’t take into account his cash game winnings, which are likely to be equally as high.

Phil Ivey

Known by many as THE greatest poker player on the planet, Phil Ivey is a beast at the table, known for his intimidating stare down, and the way in which he effortlessly bluffs other players out of hands. His tournament earnings stand at $23,856,035 – the fifth best on the planet – but his real forte is at the cash tables, where he frequents the big games in Macau and other Asian countries, often playing for as much as $3 million a hand.

Antonio Esfandiari

Antonio is a player that most of us either love, or hate. His chilled out, laid-back approach to poker has seen him become a popular figurehead in the poker community, and his big claim to fame came when he won the One Drop tournament. His total poker earnings to date stand at around $27,000,000, although it’s hard to know how much of that he actually gets to keep, as rumours state that he had many backers for the One Drop tournament, who all wanted a percentage of his winnings.

Phil Hellmuth

Phil Hellmuth is one of the most recognizable poker players of all time, known for his outlandish outbursts at the table, and his attitude which has seen him get himself into trouble on more than once occasion. While TV shows like High Stakes Poker may portray him as a massively losing player, Phil Hellmuth has an impeccable tournament career, and his earnings are the 7th highest on the planet, with just over $21 million won to date from his poker career.

Tips to Earn Money Playing Poker

If you dream of becoming a full-time player, and want your own professional poker player salary, there are a few things you can do to maximize the amount you win, and we’ll look at these below.

• Choose the Right Games: There’s no shame in admitting that you’re better at a certain game than another. For example, if you know that you’re a solid cash game player – but find it hard to do well in tournaments – then you should absolutely hone in on your abilities at the cash tables, and consider staying away from the tournaments.Of course, that’s not advice that everyone will adhere too – but it’s honestly one of the best pieces of guidance we can share, as – after all – you’re here to make money, so it makes sense that you’d only focus on the type of game you’re best at, right?
• Practice Makes Perfect: It sounds cliché, but there really is no better way to become a professional poker player than actually playing regularly, and getting a sense of how it all works. While no one is saying that you need to spend hours playing every day, it will massively help your game if you’re able to play regularly, and one of the best things about poker today, is that you can play online, meaning you don’t have to make long trips to land-based-casinos.
• Play Against Players You Can Beat: One of the biggest mistakes players make when learning to play poker, is that they try to play in games outside of their comfort zone. For example, many players risk far too much of their bankroll to enter big tournaments – and while the win-potential can appear tempting at first, it’s worth pointing out that there’s no room for pride in poker, if you want to be a successful, winning player.Try to find games where you’re playing against opponents who are worse players than you. Sure, the game’s themselves may be less lucrative, and there might be less money on the table, but by doing so, you’ll stand a much better chance of winning in the long run, and turning a profit.

How to Improve Your Earnings

Now that we’ve had a look at some generic tips to help you earn money as a poker player, we can take a closer look at how to improve, and increase your earnings, once you are managing to turn a profit.

(Of course, if you want to earn money playing poker online, you’d do well to use the following tips in your games.)

One of the biggest and most effective ways in which you can improve your earnings, is to refine your game and iron-out any flaws you regularly make. For example, many players find that they can’t fold sets. This makes sense, as a 3-of-a-kind hand is so often a winning one, that it can be hard to throw it away – even on a four-flush board – but if you want to stand a chance at really making a good living playing poker, it’s important to work out where you’re losing money, and put a plug in those mistakes as early as possible.

Another thing you should be aware of, is that poker trends are changing – constantly. Aggressiveness is one of the biggest and most notable factors here, and if you compare the playing-style of today, to that of 15 years ago… well, poker is a completely different game.

When you sit down at the table, always try to spend some time analysing your opponents, so you have an idea of whether they’re ultra-aggressive, or under-aggressive. This will, of course, take some time to work out, but doing so will allow you to build a “profile” for each player, giving you vital information on their playing styles, which you can then go ahead and exploit for maximum profit.

Your mind set is also something which you MUST learn to control if you want to become a successful poker player, maximizing your earnings. There’s simply nothing worse than spending a 12-hour session grinding a cash table, and turning a nice profit, only to lose it all in one hand because you’re tilted, tired, or off your game.

There are many ways that you can learn to control your mind, and become a better poker player, and while this varies for all players, one of the best ways is to listen to calming, soothing music while you’re playing. This can help you control your mood – both when faced with difficult decisions, and when things aren’t’ going your way – and finding little things like these are crucial if you want to be able to manage your game.

It’s also wise to know when to walk away from the tables. If you’re on a continual losing streak, it may seem tempting to up the ante and try to win back your losses – but almost all of the time, you’re going to end up in a worse-off financial situation than before, and this is why it’s so important that you set yourself limits, and stick to them.

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Thankfully, when you play poker online you can set deposit limits, and play limits, and we highly recommend you do this, as it can help you avoid siphoning off money when you’re tilting.

Conclusion

As you can see, becoming a professional poker player isn’t easy – and certainly nowhere near as easy as it’s made out to be by the masses.

Still, there’s no doubt about it; there IS a LOT of money to be made playing poker online, particularly with the U.S. players slowly integrating back into the scene – so if you want to make a living playing poker, then practice and learning is the best thing you can do.

Remember, it won’t happen overnight – but if you stick to the guidelines we’ve talked about, and work hard to improve your game, you’ll find yourself getting gradually more profitable over time, and before you know it, YOU could be on the all-time money list!

If you still have questions about how to make money at online poker, be sure to check out our other guides.

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Poker rooms, regardless of whether online or land-based, are some of the most lucrative businesses in the gambling sector. In fact, poker enterprises can be described as money-making ventures that attract millions of customers from all around the globe.

However, it is safe to say that even though poker is the most popular casino game, it can also be considered to be the least profitable. This, as it turns out, is not exactly the case. Players always flock at poker tables more than they do for other casino games.

How Is Poker Different?

Unlike most other casino games, poker does not involve players betting against the house. Instead, poker players bet against other players and win money from them. There is virtually no house edge when playing poker, which means that the casino does not win money from the poker player. Despite this, poker rooms are still considered to be a core offering in many casinos across the globe.

Casinos and poker operators make lots of money, all thanks to their poker operations. From regular poker games to huge tournament series, the poker industry boasts of mind-blowing revenue figures.

Keeping all that in mind, the question that you may be asking is how the sector can make operators so much money. Well, in most part, it all comes down to one word – rake.

Poker Rake

To understand how casinos manage to make so much money from poker, we need to break down the concept of the rake in poker. In the simplest terms possible, the rake refers to the commission that a casino or poker operator takes from every hand in poker, thus creating a house edge of sorts.

The rake will vary from one casino to the next, depending on several factors. This means that there are so many different kinds of rake the different casinos may take for their poker games. That said, it is vital to get acquainted with the different types of poker rake to ensure you are not met with any surprises when you are trying to join a poker game.

Some of the popular poker rakes that I came across include:

Pot Rake

This is arguably the most common type of poker rake, which involves the dealer taking a small portion of the pot (usually 5 to 10 percent) every time that a player at the table wins the pot. In most cases, this happens as long as the hand makes the flop – there is usually a no-rake policy that applies to hands that don’t get to the flop.

Fixed Fees

For games featuring high rollers, 5 to 10 percent of the pot is an awful lot of money, and most players are not willing to part with that much. To solve this problem, the casinos introduced fixed fees that the dealers collects after each round of poker.

Dead Drop

Is a special kind of poker rake where there is a predetermined fixed amount that is paid by the player at the button before a hand begins. Every player will get to pay this as the button position rotates between all the players at the table.

Timed Rakes

In this case, there is a fixed amount that each of the players pays to the casino for given periods of time that they spend at the poker tables. All players pay this amount regardless of whether they win or lose.

Buy-ins

Also known as tournament or participation fees, buy-ins are the primary way that poker operators get to set guaranteed prize pools and make a profit during poker tournaments. Just take a look at the world series of poker buy-in, which is as much as $1,500.

The amount will vary based on the size of the tournament or the operator’s policies, but, on average, they take about 10 percent of the buy-ins.

Membership/Subscription Fees

Some casinos and poker companies have poker clubs where players need to part with some money either monthly or annually to be considered as members. These clubs attract lots of players who are impressed not just by the poker games but also by the perks that come with their membership.

The Long Game

Now, even though directly taking money from poker players in the form of a rake is the primary way through which poker operators make money, it is not the only way. In fact, there are a ton of rake-free casinos as well as casinos where the rake is extremely low, but they still manage to make a lot of money.

As mentioned earlier, people will always flock at poker tables, and this is a very lucrative market that the operators take advantage of. At land-based casinos, the revelers who come to either play or watch some poker action will buy drinks and food. These casinos also offer additional services, including accommodation facilities, which are always fully packed during events like tournaments. Many casinos tend to think of poker rooms as a guest amenity.

In the online space, things get even more interesting. There are tons of online poker sites and apps available to players – quite a good number of these are rake free. Instead of relying on the rake, these operators depend on advertisement revenue. Some have also capitalized on play money or chips that are used in places where real money online gambling is yet to be legalized. These are also quite popular among casual poker players.

So, How Do Casinos Make Money From Poker Players?

As a poker player, it is crucial to understand how casinos make money from you as you enjoy their offerings. This not only helps you to manage your bankroll but also in choosing a platform that best suits your tastes and preferences. Ideally, the costs should be optimized since most poker players are looking for more value for their money.

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A typical example is tournaments – such as the WSOP Tournaments – where players may be willing to pay enormous buy-ins for a chance to be at the tables. Players who pay subscription or membership fees are also, obviously, impressed by the membership perks that they get to enjoy. All in all, it is about finding something that you are comfortable with.

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