http://www.pokernews.com/news/2015/0...nner-20201.htm

So the biggest winner of the year made $2.8M. That's sad.

Tell me another profession where the #1 in the world makes that little money (I'm talking about sports, law, medicine, business, finance, etc. Please don't answer waiting tables).

Not only that, 5 of the top 7 biggest LOSERS are Phil Ivey, Phil Galfond, Sauce1234, Viktor Blom and Gus Hansen. Some of the best players in the world (or at least the biggest names if you want to be nitpicky about Gus).

So one could argue it's all variance.

And the top 7 winners won a total of 11.3M while the top 7 losers lost 13.7M.

[Edit: I know the numbers from the page include one site per person only but you get the point.]

lock it up

confirmed dead career path when a lot of people still make 200k+ p.a. - cause dead, by definition, means that top players make less than top dogs in other careers.

real nitpicky to state gus isnt one of the best in the world as well. and surprise, in a negative sum game, the losers will lose more than the winners end up winning.

fwiw the most winning (tracked) player won more than 2.8million. not to mention those who opted out from tracking. zzz

Comparing poker earnings to a professional salary is a bit ridiculous.

Why is it ridiculous? My whole point is online poker as a career/profession which is what many here aspire to do.

And regarding Gus, I'm a huge fan of Gus that's why I mentioned *if* you want to be nitpicky about him being one of the best in the world.

Jungleman made the top list twice. Pretty legit.

Wait! You're telling me Dan Bilzerian is not the biggest winner?!

Just like the worlds top surgeon probably earned less than the worlds highest paid banker, the worlds best bus driver probably earned less than the worlds highest earning poker player.

That's life.

Well Amaya made more money in 2014 than pretty much any banker or businessman?

Op is trying to say that the career path doesnt yield alot of money when taken into consideration how tough the field of competition is, which is true. But for alot of people its just a hobby which yield extra cash, often more than primary work though.

Take up Ice hockey, there is some sick pay there for the best considering how ridicolously small of sport it really is.

how does this matter? because banks and bankers have a similar relationship as amaya and pro poker players? or what exactly are you trying to say

try making 200k+ a year tax free in your early twenties in any other career while having the highest level of freedom a job can offer. you cant compare apples and oranges, zzz

thats the highest winner that we know of OP, you are forgetting untracked euro sites.

but the list of people who have won 200k-2m is hugeeeeeee.

its apples to oranges things relate to talent. I could never be good at sales I am not good with people and none of the skill sets match up. A top sales person can easily earn a few hundred k If i worked hard considering my natural affinity for maths maybe i could make that in poker. some of these top sales people though have a terrible head for figures and many of the other skills related to poker. They simply could not compete there.

That's the thing. Are there really that many people making 200k+ from online poker year after year?

This is poker. It's not a career by definition. The comparisons you make are absurd.

the % is way higher than in a lot of other jobs, for people in their early twenties that is. i know several people who made 200-800k last year (and made 200k+ the previous year) but i also know a few people who have been broke all year and barely made enough money to live off.

anyways, poker has some pretty special percs and it has some big downsides as well. but at least you can work hard and make really good money if you're smart, without needing to acquire any degree or kiss butts for 5 years. also depends where you're from, cheap or expensive country (with low or high avg. wages) and on a lot of other factors/preferences one might have. but yeah, its not the most profitable and not the most sustainable career in the world obv.

well, what's many?

like others have said, top earnings in other careers come after 20+ years of investing in it (both money/education and time), top earnings in poker come after 5 years or so, and arguably with less long-term variance

poker as a way for smart, motivated twenty year olds to save up 500k in 5 years (which is HUGE) is still very much alive imo

idk if that's a career, but the number of people viewing poker as more than that, even at the highest stakes (with a different amount I guess), is small

OP your thread sucks

u can reach (close to) your top earning potential within 2 years if you go about it the right way and work hard, at least 2-3 years ago it was very possible.

also OP, something to consider with these nosebleed results you posted: jungle only played 90k hands to win 2.8million on FTP. the games at the highest stakes dont run regularly enough, midstakes full time pros could grind that volume in 1 month for example.

I don't know what games you are playing, but it's pretty hard to save $500k in 5 years, because you have to count your living expenses as well. You have to win AT LEAST $600k in 5 years, which means $120k a year, which is certainly possible, but I doubt many players actually make that much.

But yeah, it's a good dream, but tough one! (Especially making that from tournaments, what I play.)

to be fair, he said smart and motivated people, not the average lazy grinder. 120k$ p.a. isnt anything impossible to make in online poker. on the other hand, a lot of ppl make much less than that playing full time too but the thing is, it just depends on how smart you are and how hard you work - whereas that only partly matters in many other careers (and mostly when looking at longer terms). and as mentioned, for a lot of people its tax-free.

hope i dont sound like a dick but tourneys are one of the easier ways to make that kind of money as the games are much softer than in other formats (been playing tourneys fulltime for 2-3years myself fwiw).

decent msnl winners make 200k or something right?

This is terrible news OP.

After 10 years of doing this how am I going to break this news to my wife?

I'm going to miss my sick house in Thailand :/

Once I heard of HSDB, I began to think along the lines of OP: If the best player in the world is making chump change compared to Tiger Woods, then something is broken in the system.

I propose that the opposite is true.

In huge money sports like the New York Yankees, the "Ow, my knee!" game they play in Europe while kicking a ball around, and hockey in The Great White North, mediocre players can't make a living. Poker is more egalitarian. There are no leagues, and you win or lose according to your skill.

P.S. Ow! My knee! Please excuse me while I roll around on the turf until the referees make up their minds.

Edit: Chris Christie is a disgusting globule of human pus, revoltingly unfit to rule our nation.