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Texas Hold’em is the king of poker, but it is not the only poker variant out there. I cannot tell you how many times I’ve watched Texas Hold’em players walk by a 7 Card Stud table and scoff or make snide comments about the game. Some view stud as a “dinosaur game” and something that should stay relegated to the past.
I grew up playing Stud, and when I started playing live poker I continued playing Stud despite the waning interest in the game. When I first started playing in live casinos around 2006, it was becoming increasingly difficult to find a Stud game outside of Los Angeles and Atlantic City.
Thankfully, Stud and other mixed games started gaining popularity again thanks to online poker. The most popular brick and mortar as well as online poker rooms began offering it and events such as the WSOP $50,000 Poker Players Championship helped to stir interest further.
While interest in Stud has increased somewhat, there are still many players who avoid it like the plague. If you’re a Texas Hold’em player, you’re missing out by not at least becoming competent in 7 Card Stud poker. Not only will it make you a better all-around poker player, but it could also help improve your Texas Hold’em game. Here are three important reasons why you should consider learning and studying the game.
Whenever I am asked by someone about how to improve their patience and discipline at the poker tables, I tell them to learn 7 Card Stud. If you want a game that forces you to be patient and practice discipline at the tables, this is it.
Stud games provide a wealth of information, and you have to pay attention right from the start of each hand. You must keep an eye on all face-up cards that are dealt and retain them to memory during each hand you play. You then have to pay attention to the changing boards from each player.
This isn’t Texas Hold’em where you have to guess what two hole cards your opponent is playing. You will be able to see over half of your opponent’s hand, and based on their cards, the cards you have seen folded, and other factors, you must put them on hand ranges. This is in addition to any poker notes you’re taking on other players, their tendencies, and any tells you happen to notice.
Playing correctly, you cannot speculate with as many hands as you can in Hold’em. Sure, you can play speculative hands and get lucky, but often you’re just going to drain your stack. Proper hand selection is vital in Stud. Additionally, you have to practice discipline on later streets when you see your outs show up in other player’s hands and when it’s clear your opponent has you beat.
Finally, the game plays out much slower than Texas Hold’em, so you’ll see fewer hands per hour. It’s not uncommon to go for an hour and not play a hand beyond Third Street. Can you imagine playing Hold’em for an hour and not seeing a flop at least once?
Stud poker in all variants is an exercise in patience, focus, and discipline. If you can play Stud correctly for extended periods of time, then you will find that it will be much easier to focus and play disciplined Texas Hold’em.
If you have aspirations of becoming a mixed games player, then you must learn how to play all variants of Stud competently. Sixty percent of H.O.R.S.E. games and 37.5% of the games in the traditional 8-Game Mix are Stud variants.
A common mistake that fledgling mixed game players make is trying to coast through Stud games and just focus on the other games in the mix. In games like H.O.R.S.E., this is a disaster as you’re effectively playing two rounds instead of all five.
Casinos will embrace the LUCK variants of poker as floor games
the SKILL game of poker will regress to pre boom volumesThis is why I am NOT for increasing ACTION
antes WITH blinds
Big blind AntePoker should promote 7 card stud, 5 card draw, HORSE, triple lowball etc
— Doug (@Ggg2016ggg) December 8, 2018
This is a losing strategy as you’re not playing optimal poker a large percentage of the time. Sure, if your mixed game includes PLO or NL Hold’em, you might be able to hang tough, but what happens if your game is wholly or mostly Limit games? You’re going to get punished.
The majority of younger players coming into the game focus exclusively on Texas Hold’em. They want to play the game made famous by TV and the internet and have dreams of winning the WSOP Main Event or winning millions in cash games. Everything in their poker lives revolves around Texas Hold’em.
The downside to this is that Texas Hold’em has become increasingly difficult because of the influx of competent players. The same cannot be said for mixed games and Stud games. Often, you will find that Stud games provide excellent opportunities for profit because many of the newer players come in with Hold’em mentalities.
It looks like 7 card stud is my best game. I wish it was more popular dangit!
— Joe Sweat 🍀 (@BroSweat) January 26, 2018
What does this mean? Hold’em players who take up Stud often try to apply too many Hold’em concepts to the game or try and play the game too aggressively. Competent players take their time and slowly carve up the newbie’s stacks like a Christmas roast.
Learning Stud games will increase your revenue streams and give you a substantial advantage of the majority of newer players that know nothing but how to play Texas Hold’em. While mixed games are growing in popularity, they will likely never be anywhere as popular as Hold’em, meaning that the average lower stakes Stud games will remain excellent spots for profit.
The one catch in learning 7-Card Stud is finding a game. If you live in or near Las Vegas, Los Angeles, or Atlantic City, you may find a game, but otherwise, your pickings may be slim. For many, the only real alternative to learn Stud by playing online poker.
PokerStars is going to be your best option since they offer nearly every poker variant you can image. Otherwise, you may want to do some research on some of the best online casinos, such as Casinopedia.com, to find poker rooms offering Stud games.
There are also several good books out there that you can read about the game. For beginners, you can start with Winning 7 Card Stud by Ashley Adams or 7 Card Stud: 42 Lessons by Roy West. Ken Warren Teaches 7 Card Stud is a good option for those wanting a book covering all variants. Other books you can check out are Seven Card Stud for Advanced Players by David Sklansky and High-Low-Split Poker by Ray Zee.
Stud poker will never again have the following of Texas Hold’em. That’s just a fact of life. However, there’s still plenty of money to be made playing Stud, and if you want a piece of that action, then you need to learn how to play the game competently.
In this day and age, people expect more and more things they have access to online to also be available on their mobile devices. Whether it is reading and responding to emails, browsing social media pages, or performing dozens of different work-related tasks, we’ve become accustomed to having it all available on our trusted phones and tablets that we carry with us all the time.
Online poker is no different. Although it is a form of entertainment for most people, it is only natural to want to be able to play from your phone whenever you feel like it. After all, if so many other things have been adjusted for mobile use, why should online poker be any different?
The good news is that there are many different poker apps out there that suit the purpose. The not-so-good news is that not all of them live up to the type of standards we’ve become accustomed to with the best gambling apps for real money in general. For various reasons, poker software developers seem to be slightly behind the pace in this particular area, so we’re bringing you some useful tips to find the best poker apps for real money.
There are three main types of operating systems powering mobile phones and tablets, namely Android, iOS, and Windows. The first thing you should look at when trying to rate a poker app is its availability. Ideally, the app should be available across all different devices so that you aren’t restricted to one particular type.
If this isn’t the case, you should investigate whether they at least offer an instant-play solution. For example, an online poker room might offer an Android app but also have an instant-play site for iOS and Windows phones. This might not be ideal, but it is a decent alternative and definitely beats not being able to play at all.
Although more and more online poker rooms are starting to offer mobile apps, only the best poker apps out there make sure to provide players with the full access to their cash game and tournament schedule. You’ll often find apps that only let you access cash game tables while playing tournaments still requires having access to your computer, even if it is just to register.
It is hard to know if a poker app is right for you unless you try it for yourself. It is always better to test the waters in a play money mode and see if the user interface is intuitive and easy to use. Mistakes due to wrong-sized raises or accidental folds (i.e., “misclicks”) can be costly when playing for real money, so take some time to test things out when there’s no risk to your bankroll.
Like with almost all other products, players’ reviews for different poker apps tend to be a pretty good indicator of their actual quality. If there are many complaints about particular aspect(s) of an app, it is more than likely this is a real problem that you’ll have to deal with as well. Of course, people do exaggerate things sometimes and make them sound worse than they are, but if complaints are about important things (e.g., unstable connection, app freezing, or tendency to crash often, etc.), you should probably select an alternative option.
Most people are content to play just one or two tables on their mobile poker app so, for most, multi-tabling isn’t that big of an issue. However, if this is something you care about and feel like playing just a single table would be very boring, make sure to check out multi-tabling options for your selected app. Due to various technical restrictions, many online poker apps these days aren’t particularly accommodating to those wanting to play more than a few tables so it might be challenging to find the app that suits your needs in this regard.
Some poker apps in the market will let you play but things can become difficult when it comes to making deposits and, especially, withdrawals. In fact, even some of the best poker apps out there might not let you withdraw or transfer money from your phone, which is a bit frustrating, but it has to do with precautionary safety measures. Of course, if your phone ever gets stolen, you’d hate for your poker bankroll to disappear as well because someone gained access to your account and moved the money out before you were able to react!
With the rising number of real money online poker apps out there, it is no surprise we’ve been seeing some pretty bad ones in the mix as well. If the app you’ve downloaded is showing third-party ads and links to sites other than the one owned by the room, you should probably steer clear. There is absolutely no reason for a serious poker room to employ these strategies, so they’re likely doing it just to squeeze some extra revenue while still charging you rake.
I’ve had enough.
As a veteran poker player and product of the Moneymaker Boom, I’ve seen plenty in my 15+ years at the tables. Anyone who has played for any length of time has. However, despite the heartfelt campaigning from some of the best in the game, something I’ve seen way too much of lately seems to have become far too prominent, namely open criticism and gross mistreatment of recreational players.
We know the game has become far tougher to beat at even the lowest stakes, as the glory days of the mid 2000s are far in the rear-view mirror, replaced now by tables full of hoodies, headphones, and — most importantly — knowledgeable, experienced poker players.
We also know that these players need a continual flow of new players to the tables to grow bankrolls and prize pools. It ain’t 2004 anymore, so when something like what I recently experienced happens, it’s incredibly disappointing.
I was playing in a $2/5 NL game at a local casino that was filled with several regs and a couple of less experienced players, but no one you could really call a true ‘spot’ at the table. It wasn’t the best lineup I could ask for, but then a young woman sat down and greeted us all with a somewhat timid “hello” and a smile.
She nervously placed $500 in chips in front of her, fumbling with them as she took her seat, seemingly unsure of where they should go in relation to her hands. it was apparent this was her first time playing poker in a casino. I won’t lie, the imaginary dollar signs popped up in my eyes and the cha-ching of a cash register echoed in my head, as it likely did with every other player at the table.
As the game continued, she would look at her cards awkwardly, then place her chips into the pot hesitantly when she was weak, or overly confidently when she thought she was strong. She played too many hands, seeing almost every one of them to the river. She got picked apart by the table, and there was no beginner’s luck to be found for her.
Her stack dwindled, and then disappeared. But still, she had a smile on her face.
She reloaded for another $500 and shortly thereafter got stacked again… and again… and again. Somehow though, she was still smiling, shrugging off each loss and reaching into her purse for the next re-buy. She knew she was out of her league, but she was learning and having as much fun as she could. It was as #goodforpoker as you could hope for.
@JesseWeedman @EdMillerPoker That seems -ev. If he wants to keep coming back and donating, be quiet and let them. Don’t tap the Aquarium.
— Al Smizzle (@AlZeidenfeld) November 19, 2015
Until the following hand happened.
In her first hand after dropping a fresh $500 onto the table, she happily called a UTG raise to $20 from middle position. The BTN and BB joined the pot with calls. With $82 in the pot, the 4-handed flop came down A72 rainbow. The BB and UTG both checked, and the young lady quickly and excitedly pushed out a $100 stack of reds. She obviously loved her hand, but based on previous hands, her range here easily included plenty of weak aces, and possibly even some 7s. Her ‘strength’ could be very marginal but based on this flop action and those previous hands, the rest of that fresh $500 would be in the middle by the end of this hand.
The action moved to the BTN, who we need to talk a bit about before we continue. This player is a reg who is well known in my local room as a talkative, brash, and sometimes problematic player when it comes to etiquette. Think Tony G vs Ralph Perry or Hellmuth vs Northern Europeans, but clueless as to his behavior and with no redeeming qualities. As for his play, he can be a bit splashy, but when he’s putting significant money into the pot, he’s got it.
He called the $100, saying to the lady as he pushed forward his chips: “Ooh, you like your hand. I like my hand, too.” Her stack would undoubtedly be heading in his direction, but it’s how it would get there that’s the problem.
The BB and original UTG raiser both fold (the UTG player later claimed it was the easiest folding of KK in his life). We’re off to the turn, heads-up.
Before the snap of an offsuit 6 hitting the felt could be heard, the young lady has pushed another $100 forward. Cue the stage lights; it’s time for the BTN to go Hollywood.
He proceeded to unleash the most obvious and unnecessary mess of speech play, angle shooting, and borderline harassment I’ve ever seen at a poker table. He feigned debate of whether he should continue in the pot, pushing chips to the line then pulling them back, talking to her about whether he should call or not, asking her what he should do, saying ”you wouldn’t do that to me, look at that smile, how could you do that to me?” and other various nonsense.
Everyone at the table knew he had her crushed, barring a miracle, and that she’d be going broke. We suffered uncomfortably through this production for over 2 minutes before he finally said “OK, here you go” and moved all in.
She happily put her remaining $280 in the middle. The villain rolled over 77 for middle set and the second nuts. She sadly turned over her horribly ill-fated AQ. She hesitated for a moment and said, “Oh, I thought I was winning.”
The smile was gone.
She’d lost $2,000 over two hours in four $500 learning experiences and kept coming back for more, but after this, nope, she was done.
Much like you could read her for perceived strength or weakness when she played a hand, the expression on her face as she said goodbye and left the table screamed ‘that was an awful experience, I’m never playing this game again.’ And it had nothing to do with the money she’d lost. For all I know, she was off to play some blackjack online, where she wouldn’t get treated so poorly.
A couple of glances were shot his way from other members of the table, but much like the ineffectiveness of passivity in a hand, he was oblivious to it. And I wasn’t having it.
I spoke up, telling him how incredibly rude and unnecessary it was, that when everyone else at the table knew he was winning the hand and that she was never folding, he still felt the need for that production.
Either still clueless or now feigning it, he tried defending himself and his actions, saying he was just “playing the game.”
I continued to explain how unnecessary it was and reminding him of the fact that she’d just left the table miserable because of what he’d done. His response… ”What the f***? Why are you being such a d***?”
I don’t think I’ve ever shaken my head so visibly and dramatically. “Yah, I’m being the d***…” I muttered audibly.
A few more words were exchanged before the dealer shut the argument down and the player stood up and left for dinner. Once he left, several of the other players — and the dealer! — commended me for my actions. The dealer even said he would have loved me to keep going at him, but it was his job to calm things down. Soon after I too had to leave, booking a winning session that, yes, came partially at the expense of the recreational player I’d likely never see at this casino again.
I’d like to say this story is rare in its extremity, as I’ve never seen something so blatant in person, let alone felt the need to act so strongly in the situation. However, I’ve also seen too many incidents recently of snide comments being made, eye rolls or head shakes all within earshot or view of a player who is obviously new to poker.
Yes, taking a bad beat from a beginner sucks. Yes, losing a hand on the river when it never should have gotten that far sucks. But as a wise (though problematic around Northern Europeans) man once said, “If there weren’t any luck involved, I’d win every one.” Moreover, if that luck weren’t involved, those new players would never experience the thrill of victory and would never come back. So, let’s not be compounding things by driving them away with situations like what happened while I was at the table that day.
We can’t be scaring new players away from poker. The hoodies, headphones, and growing anti-sociability are more than enough to do that. If inexperienced players are brave enough to bring their money along with some innocence and levity to a table, let them. For the good of the game, everywhere.
The name Martin Jacobson is well-known in the poker world. The man who triumphed in the 2014 WSOP Main Event, claiming a cool $10,000,000 for his efforts, certainly earned his poker fame. Nonetheless, despite achieving what most professional and recreational players dream of, Jacobson has remained modest. Unlike many Main Event winners before him, he remains a bit of mystery to general public.
2014 WSOP Main Event Champion Martin Jacobson | Official Winner’s Photo
Martin Jacobson was born in 1987 in the Swedish capital of Stockholm. Growing up, he had ambitions to become a professional chef and open his own chain of restaurants in his homeland. He graduated from a culinary high school, taking those first important steps towards making his dreams a reality.
However, just as he turned 18, Jacobson was introduced to poker, and his life would take a completely new direction.
This was around 2005, i.e., right in the midst of the poker boom years, and Jacobson, like so many other young people at the time, became instantly hooked. Starting with small-stakes cash tables online and transitioning to single table tournaments, he fell in love with the competitive aspect of the game, turning his gaze towards a new, different future.
Jacobson first burst onto the live scene a couple years later in 2008, after turning 21 and winning a package to the WSOP Main Event in an online qualifier. He could have received the package value in cash ($12,000), but decided against it and, instead, entered the prestigious tournament.
In a perfect fairy tale world, we’d be telling you that the young Swede got to Vegas, hit some hands, made some bluffs, and made a deep run well into the money. In reality, exactly the opposite happened, as Jacobson was sent packing after just three hands of play. It was a painful experience, to say the least, but he wouldn’t let it crush his spirit.
He continued playing online and in live events, notching some notable results along the way, although a major title always seemed to slip from under his fingers. It wasn’t until 2013 that things would start to change for Jacobson in a major way. It was in this year that he finally managed to win a couple of big live tournaments, the WPT National High Roller event in Dublin and a side event at EPT London. The proverbial monkey was finally off his back and he was primed for even greater success.
Jacobson may have had a horrible Main Event experience in 2008, but poker gods can have a weird sense of humor like that sometimes. Six years later, in 2014, Jacobson entered the Main Event once again and, this time around, things simply fell into place.
Over the course of seven days, Jacobson managed to weave his way through many traps, avoid huge coolers that would cost him his tournament life, and finally reach the coveted final table, with $10,000,000 guaranteed for the winner. The man who had been chasing a major win for most of his career was now close to getting the most desired of them all, entering the November Nine seventh in chips.
Jacobson did enter the final table as a fairly short stack but he did have plenty of time to prepare, dedicating over 500 hours to studying his opponents and getting ready to crush during the break from summertime until the players reconvened once again to play down to a winner. And crush he did! Jacobson was ready to play and closed the deal, outlasting every single of the remaining eight players and bagging $10,000,000 first prize — a sum perhaps unthinkable to his countrymen except for via a win in a Swedish casino — alongside the most-coveted poker trinket, the Main Event bracelet.
2014 WSOP Main Event Champ @Martin_Jacobson is making all the right moves as poker’s newest ambassador. Watch our Q&A http://t.co/nYNLTlER09
— Robbie Strazynski (@cardplayerlife) November 25, 2014
Post-2014 Career
Despite the landmark win, Jacobson has never really become a big poker media figure, so his career achievements after the Main Event win might not be as familiar to more casual poker fans. To date, Jacobson has amassed over $16,800,000 in live tournament earnings, so that’s almost $7,000,000 on top of his 2014 Main Event prize.
A decent chunk of these winnings came in 2017, when Jacobson placed sixth in the $111,111 High Roller for One Drop for $641,000 and finished second in the $5,000 Deepstack Extravaganza III, bagging $398,000.
Martin Jacobson is currently firmly seated in the first place of the Swedish All Time Money List and despite some great players hailing from his home country, including Chris Bjorin in second place, they all have a lot of catching up to do if they’re to take the throne away from him.
In the meantime, Jacobson will likely continue to play and further increase his lifetime poker earnings, proving time and time again that his 2014 Main Event win was much more than just a fluke.
Rarely will you see anyone taking notes while playing poker. In the November 2018 issue of Ante Up magazine, celebrity poker expert Mark Brement’s column related to Texas hold’em, urges players to “Remember Details to Improve Game.” However, he realizes that: “Remembering and recording hands is cumbersome.” Our memory alone won’t be enough to “keep it real,” he adds. We strongly agree. To overcome that problem, Bremont, recommends: “Make a point to record only one hand per hour.” After a four-hour session, you go home with four hands for review.
Certainly, that’s better than nothing. But let me offer you a much easier and better way to take – and use – appropriate helpful notes at the table while the game is underway. This will gain you much more information about all of your opponents (and yourself) – information you can actually use during the same session, while the game is underway, to improve your results then and there. I will share this with you, my faithful poker column readers…
Take poker notes on your opponents
I use a 4 x 7 in. piece of paper that will fit into my shirt pocket. It’s up to you as to what information you want to record and track. It’s pretty straightforward and simple. Much like if you were researching an online casino to play at, you’d be sure to select the right casino no deposit bonus that gave you the best value and bang for your buck. So, too, with poker; you need to jot down the observations that will save you the most money and net you the most profitable return on your investment.
Here’s how you should go about it: List each player’s seat position (1 through 9) along the left side of the sheet, leaving space below for other info. At the top, show the date and starting and ending times, and how many chips you buy and later cash out. For me, here’s some of the information I look for and note:
I can assure you that by using appropriate abbreviations, all that information can be contained on that small piece of paper. As the game progresses, periodically review your notes; don’t trust to raw memory.
By the way, for the more electronically inclined, I recommend Cardplayer Lifestyle founder Robbie Strazynski’s poker notes live mobile app. Great functionality in there, serving the same purpose as I outlined above.
Yes, it does take significant effort to take such notes. But it will help you to go home a bigger winner more often. And, not surprisingly, it will help you better focus on the game. It’s well worth the effort…
I pronounce it ‘newbie’ — my kids pronounce it ‘noob’ — but however you pronounce it, I am most certainly and wholeheartedly it. My only experience playing real poker was a “friendly” home game over a decade ago in Detroit, where my “friend” waltzed in and cleaned me out in 15 minutes. Looking back, I was played like a fiddle. I do love poker though. Every hand I watch is thrilling. Like baseball, poker may often seem mundane, boring even, but the game can transition from the ‘grind’ into an explosion of heart-pounding, life-changing action at the drop of a hat. Which is why I love watching poker. And why I don’t enjoy playing poker? I’m too much of an amateur. I’m not a pro. I can’t disassociate the losses and intellectually place them against the winnings for a profit/loss analysis. Every dollar lost tugs at my heartstrings. And as every poker player will tell you, you can’t win at poker that way.
You’re on, @cardplayerlife! https://t.co/xGqVhxvOM3
— Yishai (@digitalirony) May 10, 2015
Earlier this month, I journeyed to Malta for the Malta Blockchain Summit and, having to stay over the weekend, found out that my friend and neighbor (Cardplayer Lifestyle founder) Robbie Strazynski (and evidently a million other Israelis) was there as well, for the Malta Poker Festival. Being a big fan of poker (from the sidelines), and never having been to a dedicated event festival to watch a tournament, I thought it would be an amazing experience to pay a visit. It was. Let me tell you about it.
That’s me, feeling like a fish out of water in Portomaso Casino (poker pun not intended)
I had never been to Malta before this trip. Malta has such a unique blend of antique, classic European construction and narrow winding streets, yet at the same time features a cacophony of massive construction projects, new buildings, and a sense of freshness and activity.
Look at this view from the balcony of my hotel room. I saw 10 active construction cranes. TEN! John Galt would be proud.
After landing at the Malta airport, right at the luggage carousel was an area to register for the Malta Blockchain Summit. Having landed at 11pm, the convenience was heart-warming and much appreciated versus having to make a separate special trip to the venue to pick up a badge early the following morning. The Summit workers at the airport said they were going to be there until 2am, and would open up shop once more at 7am the following morning. That caliber of effort showed that Malta was eager and happy to seamlessly absorb the 8,500+ conference participants. Major kudos!
The Blockchain Summit was an amazing experience. From hearing the Maltese Prime Minister himself address us, to (the virus-scan magnate and blockchain rock star) John McAfee’s colorful stories, coupled with meeting the most advanced Blockchain technologies and businesses in the world. I came away convinced that Malta is very committed to becoming the blockchain capital of the world. Just like their gaming industry revolution over a decade ago, which really put them on the map globally, the government is betting big with major blockchain legislation and major tax incentives. Malta has already started attracting the major players in the industry.
Before the entrée, I needed an appetizer. I was recommended by the hotel clerk to check out the Dragonara Casino. The venue was a 10-minute walk away from the hotel (all things are a 10-minute walk away in Malta’s St. Julian’s neighborhood; literally everything). I walked past some amazing-looking resorts (next time, Malta, next time…), and saw in the distance an epic, old-style building.
It felt as if I was instantly transported 200 years into the past. I could almost hear the horses’ hooves pulling the coaches, and see ladies in wide-hoop dresses arm-in-arm with their partners sporting top hats and suits. I walked up the sweeping curved staircase for the full effect, along with the ghosts from centuries past. After entering the small, elegantly decorated ante-chamber bracketed by welcome counters (and just a single security guard), I did what any noob to the scene would do: I continued walking towards the main doors into the casino. Immediately I was accosted by the two ladies behind the welcome counters: “Sir! Sir! Have you registered?!”
“Register?” I replied. “I need to register?”
“Yes, sir, everyone needs to register before entering the casino.”
Casino 1, noob 0.
Registered, ID’ed, and given an access card, I then proceeded. The Dragonara was quiet, elegant, and small. The square bar at the center was ringed by a single table of each main type of card game and two roulette tables. I spent some time observing a very interesting game I’d never seen before, a table game version of Texas Hold ‘em, but versus the house, like Blackjack (Ed. note: Casino Hold’em). Pairs or better pay out, but only if you beat the dealer’s hand. It reminded me of my brother’s go-to game in Vegas, Let It Ride. It was very exciting for me to watch.
I couldn’t get over how calm the players were. They would wager €100 per hand and calmly react to both wins and losses. At the time, I remember thinking that precisely that “indifference” is what makes a poker player professional, and what makes me, by contrast, such a poor player. The ability to take the wins and losses in stride. To treat the losses intellectually, and not emotionally, and, just as importantly, to treat the winnings in a cold, calculated manner.
I didn’t have the wherewithal to exchange my money for the mini-plaques. Aren’t they cute though?
That indifference reminds me of a story. I was in Vegas for a convention, and happened to be there at the same time as my (and Robbie’s) friend Amnon, who was there on a poker trip (Ed. note: More on Amnon in our feature, The Virtual Rail).
I remember watching him as he entered a poker tournament in the main poker room at Caesars Palace. I watched as he talked and played, talked and played, and kept on getting re-seated as the number of players dwindled. Next thing you know, he’s at the final table, keeps on unassumedly and amicably wishing other players “good game” as they leave, busted. Amnon chopped the first place prize (rather than duke it out all night with another pro), and walked away $7,500 richer.
What struck me most was his matter-of-fact manner when he won. He treated it just like I would treat just another day at the office. I personally was flipping out with excitement! I couldn’t believe he had just taken down the tournament and had won such a huge sum of money! He told me calmly that he was down $7,000 from the previous night, so the tournament chop put him up just $500 overall. As mentioned earlier, the mark of the pro is treating winning and losing in the same detached manner. Trusting your own skill and the forces of statistics and probability, rather than the emotions of a win or loss.
I left the Dragonara somewhat underwhelmed, but having enjoyed a taste of how casino evenings must have been like in the early 1800s. Then, it was off to the Malta Poker Festival at the Portomaso Casino. Armed with newfound knowledge, I knew to register first with the very serious reception ladies, and only then started wandering around. The casino is located downstairs in a dark, but modern, labyrinth of connected areas, with a surprisingly low ceiling. Portomaso had a lot more activity, foot traffic, and gaming tables than the Dragonara. The neatest thing I have seen in a while was a roped off area with five card tables being dealt by dealers facing cameras! It was a studio for live dealer online card games! I was so impressed with the technology and the business model, I just stood there and watched (creepily, I’m sure) for a while.
I wandered back upstairs into a side room of the poker tournament (I mean, ‘festival’). I feel rather awed walking into a poker hall (this one was small, as I would see later). I always feel out of place, like I’m invading on hallowed ground. Robbie had advised me that it’s no problem to spectate, as long as I don’t bother the players. Even so, I still felt out of place and watched for just a few minutes, but I did manage to catch an exciting all-in, and a subsequent pissed-off bust out!
By the way, another noob observation is players who bust out almost always immediately pull out their cell phones as they are standing up. I’m unsure why, but maybe it could be related to professionalism of losing? All in a day’s work? I’d be interested in hearing your takes.
Finally, it was time to meet up with Robbie and his wife, Miriam. Robbie showed us both around the casino and tried to explain the appeal of the games and action to Miriam, who ironically does not empathize with the gambling mentality. After patiently accepting the “VIP tour” from Robbie for 10 minutes, she left us to go explore some Malta nightlife, but not before capturing the moment for posterity.
Me and the man himself, Cardplayer Lifestyle founder Robbie Strazynski
Robbie then guided me into the main hall of the Malta Poker Festival. While fully expecting the distinctive sound, the chips rattling was thoroughly pervasive, yet not too loud. It was really a beautiful sound. To see hundreds of people playing poker, keeping their hands busy with chip tricks and stacking magic, was very neat. I think this chip shuffling (which Robbie told me most players do unconsciously and mindlessly) is a symptom of a poker player always wanting to be doing something. They have a need to be active, working the grind, always moving forward, and this feeling expresses itself as poker chip stacking. It is really a beautiful sound.
Speaking of the grind, as a noob, yet a big fan, I believe The Grind is a valuable lesson from poker we can all take to our daily lives. Besides taking winning and losing dispassionately, the professional poker player shows up for, and works consistently through, the grind. What I see on YouTube and the highlight reels is the result of days and days of 10-12 hour playing sessions. The Grind is dealing with seemingly tedious gameplay in order to be in a position to pounce on a rare opportunity, should that golden hand come. The poker grind inspires me to show up every day in my often boring day job.
Robbie explained to me the time screens projected on the walls, showing the number of participants, the rising blinds, and the payouts to the top winners. He also introduced me to some of his colleagues who run the behind the scenes of these tournaments, and also write like crazy about all the events. One dedicated lady (Ed. Note: Shirley Ang; hi Shirley!) there said she has been on almost 40 trips this past year!
I finally really understand what all these numbers mean!
As we talked and walked up the aisles on the main floor, we watched a loud bust out as a player went all in with pocket aces, but got beat by another player’s lesser hand that hit the flop. The dude was pissed! I was flipping out, but Robbie (a seasoned hand) coolly said, “yeah, it happens.”
We then sauntered over to the High Rollers tournament, which was underway in a different room. This tournament had just started, and everyone was very quiet and serious and in the poker zone. Headphones and deadpan faces adorned all the tables. I did not last long in that tense environment and we quickly bolted to the women’s tournament, which was where the party was at! There was raucous laughter, lively chatter, and wine glasses being emptied, as the final three tables (out of 10) played amicably. The women’s event was a blast to be around, and the effervescent lively atmosphere felt like the way I imagine poker tournaments should be played (naïve noob alert?).
Very impressive that 103 participants registered to play in the Ladies Event here at @the_malta. Great turnout and vibe! Some pics of the currently remaining 5 tables in play. pic.twitter.com/01gMhpnL6j
— Robbie Strazynski (@cardplayerlife) November 3, 2018
After some more discussion, and a glance into the dealers’ break room, we made our way down to the casino’s permanent Poker Room for Robbie to catch a cash game. He apologized, but said he couldn’t continue to properly socialize with me as he wanted to focus on the game at hand. I totally understood, and watched him for a few minutes, leaving him to enjoy his birthday game with interesting people from all over the world, talking and playing around a deck of cards.
There’s playing poker, and then there’s playing poker on your birthday 😃#goodtimes @the_malta 🎂 pic.twitter.com/beFYG8b6li
— Robbie Strazynski (@cardplayerlife) November 3, 2018
I wandered around the casino for a bit and tried to force myself to put some money down on a game, but I just couldn’t pull the trigger! I watched others play, enjoyed the excitement and atmosphere, but couldn’t get past my amateur risk-averse emotional attachment to losing money. I did, however, plunk some money down at the bar for a tall Guinness, and sat there enjoying my sure bet, soaking up the excitement in the air.
As a noob, I will always be there on the sidelines, just watching, yet enjoying, poker.
We certainly miss the glory days of online poker here in the United States. Things are looking up though, as in 2018 we saw a number of developments that give American players hope that another golden era for the online game is in our future.
Let’s take a look at five reasons to be optimistic about the future of online poker in the United States:
American players were left with zero options for legal, regulated online poker for a couple of years after the Department of Justice forced the shutdown of the major sites on April 15, 2011, otherwise known as Black Friday.
Nevada, New Jersey, and Delaware all eventually legalized online poker, with the first legal poker site, Ultimate Poker, launching in Nevada in 2013. That site didn’t last, but other regulated sites like WSOP Nevada, WSOP New Jersey, and 888poker New Jersey have stood the test of time, as well as 888’s network sites in Delaware.
The $200,000 guaranteed Coast to Coast Classic III Main Event starts now for $525. It’s your last day to win a share over over $1.5 million guaranteed with the series. NV: https://t.co/cHmB5IWXjh NJ: https://t.co/MohMAdxDij pic.twitter.com/4kgPIR4jOH
— WSOP.com (@WSOPcom) November 18, 2018
May 1, 2018 marked a major step forward for the online game in the U.S.A., as the player pools from all of these jurisdictions were merged. This meant more cash game tables, bigger tournament fields and guarantees, and opportunities to play for a bracelet in online events without even stepping foot into Nevada during the WSOP (more on that later).
As more states come on board, that player pool will grow even larger, which brings us to our next item:
The Pennsylvania Gaming Control Board began accepting applications for online casino licenses in April, and as of November at least nine casinos have been approved to offer online gaming within the state.
We should start seeing Pennsylvania’s first legal online poker rooms popping up very soon, with the possibility that the Keystone State’s player pool joins the Nevada/New Jersey/Delaware network.
That merger would add Pennsylvania’s population of around 13 million, meaning a four-state network with around 26 million people total. The addition of Pennsylvania effectively doubles the player pool. When the results of this start to show, perhaps some other states will start to become interested in making the merged online player base even larger.
PokerStars returned to the U.S. in 2016 with PokerStars NJ and gives New Jersey players another option (albeit with its own player pool, separate from the WSOP/888poker merged network).
The largest online poker operator in the world is also one of the most prolific operators of live events around the globe, but we haven’t seen any live poker tours with the PokerStars name attached since the North American Poker Tour ceased operations right around Black Friday.
That changed in 2018, with the highly successful Moneymaker PSPC Tour running throughout late summer and autumn, hitting some of the country’s best poker rooms. The tour’s events featured an $86 buy-in tournament, with the first prize of a $30,000 PSPC package.
The Bronx baby! Meet Ronald Mici, he’s a champ. For $86 he entered the @FoxwoodsPoker leg of the #MoneymakerTour, he took it down winning a $30K #PlatinumPass and he’s heading to The Bahamas for the #PSPC.
Watch the full episode at: https://t.co/FWwcbu3wVP pic.twitter.com/rKv7X1wYkN— PokerStars LIVE (@PokerStarsLIVE) November 17, 2018
The tour offered the opportunity to meet and play with Chris Moneymaker at every stop, and also got American players thinking about the PokerStars brand again. PokerStars could possibly build its own merged player network in the U.S.A. as the industry continues to rebuild here in the states.
The WSOP offered four online bracelet events on the 2018 schedule, and New Jersey resident Matt Mendez made history, winning the $565 Pot Limit Omaha event.
Mendez took home $135,077 for the win and also pulled off the feat of becoming the first player to ever win a WSOP bracelet while playing outside the state of Nevada. Mendez booked the six-figure score while playing from home in the Garden State, showing the NJ/Delaware player pool that huge scores, and WSOP glory, are possible.
PocketFiver Matthew ‘MattEMenz’ Mendez made history this morning as the first player to win a WSOP bracelet online in a state other than Nevada. Mendez won the $565 PLO event playing from his home in Sicklerville, New Jersey.
— Lance Bradley (@Lance_Bradley) June 23, 2018
The other three bracelet events included $365, $1,000, and $3,200 buy-in no-limit hold’em events, and each provided a six-figure score to the winner. As the player pool grows, the prize pools will only get bigger, and this extension of the WSOP brand will be plenty helpful with the growth of online poker stateside.
May 14, 2018 was a landmark day for the United States in the realm of legalized sports betting. The U.S. Supreme Court voted to overturn the Professional and Amateur Sports Betting Protection Act (PASPA), which had banned sports betting in 46 states since 1992.
This ruling re: USA betting laws has started the first wave of states now offering legalized sports betting, including Delaware, New Jersey, Mississippi, West Virginia, and New Mexico. These states join Nevada as territories where you can legally bet on sports, with Pennsylvania and Rhode Island set to join the list in 2019.
Notice that the aforementioned “online poker states” of New Jersey, Delaware, and Pennsylvania are on the list. Does this trend indicate that some of the other states slated to offer sports betting will join the fray and offer online poker as well?
This is a dream scenario for American players and a topic that a previous Ask the Poker Experts column tackled here on Cardplayer Lifestyle in the wake of the Supreme Court ruling. It gives us hope that better days are still on the horizon for online poker in the states. We can only dream of how big the merged player pool could grow, but for now it’s encouraging to see some of the steps already in place.
The first few years I played poker for a living, I overpaid drastically on my taxes, didn’t keep great records of my income in different games, and probably cost myself tens of thousands of dollars with silly mistakes in running my business. If you are serious about poker, then you have to be serious about running your business.
I frequently get students who tell me how badly they want to play poker for a living. They usually just think they want it, and when it comes to putting in the work that is actually required, they lose interest quickly. But if you really want to be a successful poker pro, then you need to be your own accountant or hire a good one and be your own manager who keeps very good records to send to that accountant.
If you don’t do this, if you don’t keep good records and do smart things with your money, you will not make it as a poker pro. You will end up owing too much money in taxes, it will crush your bankroll, and you will have no idea how much money you are making in any of the games you play.
I just went through the process of buying a house here in Las Vegas, and without a job other than poker to report to lending institutions, it can be really tough. I managed to get a mortgage, but it wasn’t easy. Even though my credit was very good, and my income was more than high enough to afford the home I wanted, getting a mortgage was more difficult than you’d think.
In order to get a conventional mortgage at the same interest rate as someone with a typical job, I had to pay extra taxes that I didn’t owe just to bump up my taxable income for the year.
I was lucky. I had a great accountant who specializes in taxes for poker players. I can’t recommend Kondler CPA high enough. They are based in Las Vegas and they all play poker as well as being tax experts.
READ MORE: Interview with Poker Tax Specialist Ray Kondler
I also had a great mortgage broker. I went to six or seven mortgage companies who either told me they couldn’t help me at all, or offered me a bank statement mortgage at 1.5% above the standard interest rate at the time. With 757 credit, I still couldn’t get a mortgage at a reasonable rate until I found Jenny Cox at Guild Mortgage. Thanks Jenny! If you need a mortgage, and have a unique job, definitely get in contact with Jenny.
Being a poker pro means that poker is how you make a living (for tax purposes). It doesn’t refer just to how good you are, or how much you have won, or how many hours you put in. It’s about the bottom line. And it’s tough to beat the game enough to beat the rake and pay your bills with what is left after the mortgage takes a piece and the tax man takes another. So you have to pay close attention to that bottom line.
That means you must be proactive and aggressive in controlling your expenses, saving your money so that you don’t have to have a backer any longer than necessary if you must take one, and making good choices with your money overall. If you are gambling, betting sports, spending money playing dice, drinking, and eating out every day, you are going to need to make a hell of a lot of money. Until you know that you are making $200,000 a year, you really need to leave those things alone or you will end up broke.
Do you want it bad enough to quit gambling and betting sports with your bankroll? Are you willing to forego that “bucket list” trip to Australia to play poker at the Aussie Millions until you’re properly bankrolled to fund such an excursion? Do you want it bad enough to study your ass off for months to make sure that your game is perfect – and to keep on studying, lest the competition get better than you? Are you prepared to adjust your schedule accordingly enough to play in a room that you don’t like, simply because your hourly win-rate is better there? Do you have what it takes to move down in stakes when necessary? Do you want it bad enough to do the hard parts?
Or do you just really want to play a lot of poker?
Do. The. Work.
— Cody Rhodes (@CodyRhodes) November 21, 2018
If you aren’t going to keep records and take care of your taxes properly, realistically speaking you don’t have a chance of maintaining that poker lifestyle you strive for. You aren’t a boxer or a golfer where someone is going to come along and be your manager and take care of all that stuff for you, even if you’re a great player. You have to do it yourself. Being your own manager is a big part of your job as a poker pro. And it’s a hassle. So the question is…
If you do, then you need to keep perfect records. You need to know what your hourly rate is in each game and each poker room. I can guarantee that this will significantly increase your income if you move around a lot. When I first started tracking my statistics online many years ago, I discovered that I was making twice as much money per hour playing sit and go tournaments as I was playing cash games. Switching to 100% sit and go play gave me a 40% boost in my income immediately and that was a big enough raise for me to quit my job.
Of course, you also need to pay your taxes and do your own bookkeeping. If you aren’t going to hire an poker tax specialist like I did, then you need to learn to be your own accountant. I recommend buying QuickBooks and spending a few hours on YouTube learning exactly how to use it. Then you will have something concrete to send to your accountant when tax season rolls around. Make sure your accountant is very familiar with gambling and poker because there are a lot of unique write-offs that can save you thousands, and a typical “tax guy” won’t know about them.
May need to start filing as a “pro” poker player for tax deductions. I ALWAYS owe! Who here can give me the pros and cons? #pokerhelp
— Rob Palacios (@DaRealKCPenny) April 20, 2017
You also need to be your own advisor. One of the things a manager does is help you keep your game in good shape and make sure you are doing the right things to be prepared to play well. You won’t have someone yelling at you to go bed, stop drinking so much while you play, or stay in good shape so that you can hold up during marathon tournament sessions. You have to do that yourself. And this is a spot where many players fail. You have to hold the reigns yourself and keep your bad habits in check while surrounded by vice.
You also have to be good enough to win. Which means that you have to be your own poker coach, too. Starting to sound like a lot of work? It is. Being your own coach means that you will have to study on your own. Reading books, enrolling in poker training courses, or paying for an actual coach may all be necessary. If you are keeping accurate records you will know what your win rate is and should be able to tell how much help you need. If you need it and don’t go out and get it, your coach (you) is failing to do their job, and you will fail. You need to be a very demanding coach to get good enough to make a living playing poker professionally.
So if you want it bad enough and envision yourself as a pro player, you need to wear many hats: you have to become a bookkeeper, a manager, a coach, and of course a good player.
Poker players tend to dislike anything that causes money to be taken out of a game. We all love a good, juicy game with a nice, low rake. By the same token, it is painful to see a large chunk of chips traveling from the pot you’ve just won to the dreaded rake box. In general, taking money out of the pots is no good for the players.
However, there are certain situations that I can understand and get behind, bad beat jackpots being one of them. Sure, some money is taken out of almost every pot to help build the jackpot pool and there is basically no skill involved in terms of who’s eventually going to win it, but in the long run bad beat jackpots should create a more +EV atmosphere in a poker room. Here, then, are three reasons why bad beat jackpots are good for poker.
Compared to other types of games found in a casino, the amount of money a player can expect to win at a poker table is fairly limited. Less experienced players might get have unrealistic expectations, but in general most people know that a hot run of cards at a poker table will hardly translate to an amount you’d take home after a hot run of numbers on a roulette wheel.
Once the bad beat jackpot is introduced, this changes. All of a sudden, in every single hand, there is a chance (albeit only a very small one) to win a huge amount of money compared to the stakes. For example, I recently visited the Duna poker room in Budapest, where they awarded a jackpot in excess of 12,000,000 Ft (approx. $42,500). Most games played in Duna are either 50/100 Ft (approx. $0.20/$0.40) or 100/200 Ft (approx. $0.40/$0.80), so the jackpot represents a HUGE amount compared to the usual buy-in of around 10,000 Ft (approx. $35).
Usually, bad beat jackpot rules stipulate that the losing player must have quads or better to qualify and must use both hole cards. Exact requirements vary from one room to the next, but the lowest qualifying hand I’ve ever seen the Aces full of Tens. So, whenever you’re holding two suited, connected cards, you might consider getting involved in a pot where you’ll either bad beat someone or be on the receiving end of the bad beat.
Obviously this isn’t how professional players think about the game, but recreational players tend to get very motivated to play as many pots as possible as the jackpot gets bigger to try and take it down. In this scenario, playing sensible and strategically sound poker will net you a bunch of pots that would never have materialized in the first place if it weren’t for the jackpot.
For many recreational players, chasing the bad beat jackpot isn’t much different to playing live or online bingo. Of course, bingo lacks the skill component that poker has, but the luck factor is precisely what draws recreational players to both games (especially in the UK). In other words, they’re there to have fun and also have the chance to win big money. As long as you have two cards that could potentially make the qualifying hand for bad beat jackpot, you’re in with a shot!
Many poker players have the required skills to jump into higher-stakes games but lack the proper bankroll, so it isn’t unusual to spend months playing lower than you theoretically should, simply because you aren’t rolled for the next level. If you’re a regular at your local brick and mortar poker room, you have as good of a chance as anyone to get the lion’s share or at least a small fraction of the bad beat jackpot.
READ MORE: The Moment a High Hand Jackpot Gives You A Bad Beat
Cashing in when the bad beat jackpot hits could be just the infusion you need to move up in stakes. If you put in a lot of hours at the tables, it isn’t all that unrealistic to assume that at some point you’ll be in the right place at the right time; especially if it’s a “room share” rather than a “table share” jackpot. You’ll need things to go your way and poker gods to show some favor, but at the end of the day, you’re in with a good shot.
At the end of the day, people who aren’t hardcore poker players often need an incentive to pay a visit to the poker tables, especially as there are plenty of flashy slot machines and table games offering their own temptations within the casino walls. Promotions like bad beat jackpots can be the thing that tips the scales in favor of someone deciding to put in a poker session.
Technically work-related cause I later became a pro poker player: but first time I played live poker I could have won 64k in a bad beat jackpot but I didn’t know that was even a thing so I mucked my quads & left in disgust that they’d been beat. Most embarrassing moment heh https://t.co/h9X2BJLMV5
— Annie Bellet (@anniebellet) November 20, 2018
So, all in all, bad beat jackpots are worth the money being taken out of the pots. They create a much looser atmosphere, they attract people who generally aren’t all that into poker, and everyone is as likely to win. As long as you stick around, your turn for a bad beat jackpot will come as well.
When that time eventually comes, you’ll finally get that return on all that money that’s disappeared into the slot in all those pots you’ve won, and of course you’ll continuing to enjoy the loose games filled with jackpot chasers!
When you first heard about the idea of playing poker professionally, maybe it was presented to you in great terms – huge money, flexible working hours, no boss, the opportunity to take a holiday at any time, etc. Although poker can really be a fantastic job, it’s not something that ought to be idealized. There many things to consider if you’re thinking about playing poker professionally. Like virtually every occupation, it has its pluses and minuses. In this article, we examine a number of pros and cons of making a living as a poker player.
In most 9-5 jobs, earnings grow slowly and people often need years of education before they can apply for positions to earn their first dollar. Although poker is not a get-rich-quick scheme, it gives you the opportunity to constantly and quickly develop, enter higher stakes games regularly, and earn more money than in the most fixed-salary jobs. In other words, a poker player has the potential to be properly rewarded from the very beginning of his/her career in line with skill, effort, and a quality of work.
“I Spent five years in college to work 3 weeks and quit. Now I play poker.” – @JasonKoon pic.twitter.com/unc1n17AlF
— Bay101 Casino (@Bay101Casino) June 26, 2015
Usually, the higher profit ceiling is associated with less stability. After all, how often do you hear from your non-poker playing friends that they sometimes come to work and lose money? Unfortunately, professional poker is a bit of a rollercoaster. In the long run, the results will surely come to those who work hard enough, but if you cannot deal with the mindset associated with the variance in short periods of time, you will surely not succeed. If you learn how to accept swings, this disadvantage of playing poker professionally will not matter to you.
Waking up when you want, playing when you want – poker gives you a lot of freedom. What’s more – have you ever thought about what would happen if you came to your boss and said “I’ve decided to leave for a month to the Caribbean and I’m flying out tomorrow”? Even if you run your own business and you are yourself a boss, usually stopping work for a month will have a negative impact on its functioning. In poker, you can take long vacations, but just remember that they shouldn’t be too long, otherwise your opponents will improve enough to surpass you.
At 9-5 jobs, you usually get fixed money, regardless of whether you have been more or less productive in a given month. On the other hand, unfortunately, the poker community knows many cases of players who have lost themselves in the flexibility, freedom that this game gives them, and burned the money by spending too much on “baller lifestyles.”
What’s more, working whatever hours you want is only partially true because the games are usually the most profitable in evenings and on weekends. However, it all depends on when recreational players from your local poker room are playing. The pros who are best at game selection will be the ones making the most profit; sometimes that requires sacrifices in terms of what schedule you need to keep.
Unless you’re strong, brave & decisive you’ll never know success. So challenge yourself often, do it, and so build self-discipline #poker
— Paul Phua Poker (@paulphuapoker) February 8, 2017
Poker gives people the opportunity to travel, which is especially attractive to players in their 20s and 30s who do not have a family or other commitments that keep them attached to their home countries. If you’re a sun-chaser and need endless summers, you can just hop over to a different spot on the globe and keep on grinding the game you love, whether from your laptop or at the closest brick and mortar poker room. Just a word to the wise – it can be tempting to try out all the weird casino games you’ll find in gambling houses around the world. Best to stick to poker if you really want to call yourself a professional.
If in your home country poker falls into a legally questionable grey area, or you have serious commitments, like children attending school for example, the life of a professional poker may not be for you. If you find yourself in a situation like this, it would be advisable to have a very good plan B, like another source of income, or to just play poker part-time. Especially if poker isn’t fully legal, the last thing you want to be doing is frequenting shady underground poker games or playing on online poker sites illegally where your future could be seriously jeopardized.
There are plenty of successful professional poker players who earn enormous amounts of money, but they claim that the game bores them. On the other hand, for the overwhelming majority of poker players, the opportunity to earn money on something that is just entertainment for millions of people is incredibly attractive. There’s a reason it’s called “chasing the dream” – an appropriate moniker for many people who wish they could play a game that they love professionally as a means of making a living.
It doesn’t really matter what other people think of your chosen profession, and you certainly don’t have to apologize for earning money by doing something you love. With that said, it may not be easy to explain what you do to your parents or your partner. Unfortunately, poker is seen by many as pure gambling and it seems that that perception and stereotype will not change too quickly. Furthermore, if poker in your country falls into a gray area, lying to random people about what you do for a living can quickly become quite difficult and very tiring.
Many people are worried about the future of poker but the game has an over 100-year-old history and it is not likely to suddenly wind up “dead”. Even with the skill of online poker players constantly rising, there will always be winning players, and as a professional player you would have to make sure that you work hard enough to be included in that group.
I am very concerned about this picture and the future of online poker. Without a sturdy handrail several online wizards may be in serious danger pads, sort it out! pic.twitter.com/ES1Btmev54
— MoreTBC (@more_TBC) October 15, 2018
This drawback is the main argument many people have against choosing a career in online poker these days. Beyond a constantly improving skill level of the overall player pool around the world, many are even afraid that online poker will be destroyed in a few years by artificial intelligence. The truth is that even if such a bleak scenario eventually comes to pass, live poker will always have plenty of profitable spots, and there are plenty of opportunities to earn on your poker knowledge besides playing online.
As has hopefully been made clear, there are plenty of pros and cons to consider if you’ve got a dilemma as to whether to pursue a career as a poker professional. Sure, the drawbacks can be dealt with, and the advantages are certainly worthwhile, but it doesn’t mean that making it as a professional poker play is easy. Fairy dust will not fall from the sky to magically make you a poker millionaire.
If the professional poker lifestyle appeals to you, just be aware of the potential pitfalls and adjust your expectations and outlook accordingly. And, of course, be prepared to put in a ton of study time away from the tables to ensure you can be a successful professional and weather the variance that is sure to come your way.
The Hendon Mob is unparalleled as the definitive source for tournament results and rankings in the world of poker.
If you want to take a look at the All-Time Money List, it’s there. The fascinating All-Time Inflation Adjusted Money List is also there. The 1997 Money List (topped by Stu Ungar), the Bellagio All Time Money List, and the Global Poker Index rankings (with more than 260,000 players) are all available at the Hendon Mob, as well as any other parameter for tournament poker rankings you could think of.
As intriguing as anything in this vast database are the Most Popular Player Rankings, featuring the players whose pages have gotten the most traffic from site visitors. Like anything else at the Hendon Mob, you can look at the All-Time rankings for this category, or break them down into yearly, monthly, and even weekly rankings.
Daniel Negreanu and Phil Ivey are, not surprisingly, at the top of this list. Phil Hellmuth, Antonio Esfandiari, Gus Hansen and Tom Dwan have been among poker’s biggest names for years, and you would expect to see these players on any compilation of poker’s most well-known names.
Taking a look at the numbers on the right side of the list, we see Negreanu is poker’s most popular player by a pretty wide margin over Phil Ivey, but what exactly do those numbers mean? Roland Boothby, Head of Poker Content at the Hendon Mob, gives us some insight on just how this list is created.
READ MORE: Meet the Hendon Mob Team
“There’s no formula for the popularity rankings,” Boothby says. “They’re simply based on unique hits for a profile in a given time frame. We measure all-time hits, and also year-on-year as well as last seven days, also tracking top movers, i.e., those with the biggest (percentage) increase in hits.”
Boothby continues, “It’s one of the most popular and interesting ranking parameters on Hendon Mob. Everyone has their own popularity ranking, not just the top names, so there are many levels of potential engagement. It was implemented by the site’s creators, so the current management can’t take credit for its creation!”
So now we know that fans of Phil Ivey can “take matters into their own hands,” as it were, but they have a lot of work to do if they want to see Ivey at the top of this list. Negreanu isn’t making it any easier to catch up either, as we filter to take a look at the 2018 rankings. Negreanu is at No. 2 for the year, with a not-surprising name at the top.
Justin Bonomo is No. 1 for 2018, and it’s easy to understand why. Bonomo rose to No. 1 on the All-Time Money List this year after putting together the best year of tournament results in poker history. With $25,428,935 in prize money, and wins in two Super High Roller Bowl events, and the $1 Million Big One for One Drop, Bonomo’s results for the year have to be seen to be believed. Clicking on Bonomo’s name in the database is mind blowing if you haven’t done it yet!
READ MORE: Top Five Poker Players on the All-Time Money List
“Anyone looking at the rest of the 2018 list would also note that while the ‘rest of the world’ players no doubt are gaining in popularity, U.S.-based poker players continue to maintain their popularity among poker fans,” says John Lathram of USA Friendly Poker Sites. Moreover, some of the best young players in the game have a strong presence on the list. Bonomo has been around forever but is still only 33, while “retired” phenom Fedor Holz is just 25, and players like Stephen Chidwick, Charlie Carrel, Daniel Colman, Doug Polk and 2018 WSOP Main Event winner John Cynn have all become big names and enjoyed surges in popularity within the last few years.
Of course, legends like Negreanu, Ivey, Hellmuth, Erik Seidel, and Patrik Antonius – the faces of the original poker boom in the early 2000s – maintain a solid presence of their own on the popularity chart, even now in 2018.
“Negreanu, Ivey, and Hellmuth will be hard to ever topple from the All-Time Most Popular Players top five, as they continue to enjoy cumulative hits over the last 10 years, and they of course remain household names (i.e., known outside of poker), with relatively few new ‘mainstream superstars’ emerging,” Boothby says.
He quickly adds, however, that “the emergence of a legit poker superstar CAN see newcomers climb to the top places, demonstrated by the fact we see Fedor in the top four. His first six-figure score was in 2015.”
His return to @TwitchPoker is imminent. 4th on the @TheHendonMob all-time money list @CrownUpGuy will be streaming the $5300 @partypoker Millions Online event live on https://t.co/mjT4ouW5dg!
Make sure you don’t miss this one. It’s going to be huge 🏆 pic.twitter.com/9V7gjCrLB1
— No Limit Gaming (@no_limit_gg) November 4, 2018
While Boothby said that he’s really not surprised by anything he sees on the current All-Time list, I was a bit surprised to see a few names that rank in the top 100. Names like Stu Ungar, coming in at No. 97, 20 years after his untimely death. 2017 WSOP Player of the Year Chris Ferguson remarkably sits at No. 62, one spot ahead of the undeniably popular Chris Moneymaker.
After Boothby’s explanation, however, the rankings make sense.
“It comes down to the pure grassroots popularity,” Boothby says. “Poker fans and enthusiasts visit the profiles of those they are most interested in.”
“These players, for varying reasons, all have personalities that the public are interested in. Also, Hendon Mob will usually be the top result on Google for a player name, so the most Googled players will usually be the most popular players on THM.”
Some other observations about the rankings, for all you stats geeks and hard core poker enthusiasts out there:
It seems that no matter what other players do, Negreanu’s popularity has endured from the original poker boom through the modern era.
“Negreanu will likely remain number one for a long, long time,” says Boothby. “Unless one of the other already-popular players does something insane like win the WSOP Main Event.”
Daniel Negreanu, the most popular poker player on the Hendon Mob
Quick, name for me three New Zealand poker players not named Lee Nelson.
Don’t worry; you’re not alone. While poker and online casino games are popular among New Zealanders at sites like Zodiac Casino NZ, the country isn’t well-known for having many big-name pros like the US, Canada, or the UK.
However, that could start to change in the near future. Several New Zealand poker players have landed big scores in 2018 or have gone on streaks that may be indicative of big things to come in 2019. Today, we take a look at four New Zealand poker players to watch in 2019.
Sosia JiangSosia Jiang has shot up the New Zealand All-Time Money List this year, currently seventh overall. Last year, she made headlines after taking down the HK$ 103k NL High Roller at the PokerStars Championship Macau for over $498,000. She followed that performance up with a stellar 2018 campaign that included a third-place finish in the WPT New Zealand Main Event and a victory in the A$ 20k NL High Roller at the 2018 Sydney Championships.
Just recently, Sosia finished 129th in the partypoker Caribbean Poker Party Main Event, giving her $266k in earnings on the year. Over the last two years, she has amassed over $790k in live tournament earnings and is now the top woman on the NZ Money List.
Despite having live scores dating back to 2012, the majority of her career earnings have come since 2017, and Jiang appears poised to have another big year in 2019.
Last month, the NZ Herald did a feature on Sosia where she spoke about her life and struggles in the game. She mentioned that she will be dedicating more time to poker in the future, so she is definitely an up and coming player to watch.
Neil Mcfayden is perhaps best known for his online tournament prowess. A two-time PocketFives.com Triple Crown winner, Mcfayden has been relatively quiet in the live tournament arena in recent years, but that all changed back in October.
Mcfayden won his first-ever live poker event when he took down the GUKPT Luton Main Event, earning a career-best $76,861. He then continued his hot streak at the Merit Poker Cup in Kyrenia, making three deep runs including a 12th place finish in the $5k High Roller Event.
While $97k in earnings may not seem that impressive, it is by far Mcfayden’s best year in live tournaments and may be indicative of things to come in 2019.
Tae Hoon Han had a breakout performance in 2017 after winning the PokerStars Festival Korea Main Event for $73,954. He finished the year with just over $80k in live earnings. In 2018, Han has continued performing well and has managed another career year with 14 live cashes thus far, which have included 10 final table appearances and a preliminary event win at the 2018 Macau Millions.
Photo credit: Long Guan, for PokerStars
While primarily a cash game player, Han has begun to show consistency in live tournaments and could be ready to move up to some larger scores in 2019.
Honglin Jiang joins sister Sosia as another player to watch in 2019. Presently sixth on the NZ All-Time Money List, Jiang had a pair of six-figure scores in 2018, including a runner-up finish in the EPT Monte Carlo Main Event where he took home $525,233. He also finished 9th in the partypoker MILLIONS Grand Final Barcelona Main Event for $185k.
Photo credit: Pokermedia.com.au
In 2018, Honglin earned $779k of his $847k in career earnings and looks poised to be a big name on the tournament circuit in 2019. He and Sosia could make an interesting sibling duo, and it would be fantastic to see the pair go deep in major events overseas or even travel to Las Vegas in the summer to try their hand at winning their first World Series of Poker bracelets.