There's like... 30 guys making 6 figures in cash games. Maybe a few more in sng's... And yet there's 90,000 people logged in to Pokerstars right now.

Is the whole industry just based around keeping up the illusion that this is possible?

And if that's the case, it's just a matter of time until that fades. Right?

Are all of the 'online poker pros' posting here just people that are stubborn?

There's probably a bunch of threads talking about this already I guess, but... what the hell is going on here? What are we all doing?

The situations bad but there is more than 30 guys making 6 figures in cash

Hopefully by some miracle it gets made legal in usa where they can all play us and all the us fish will appear again.

That is what we need a country with high internet penetration with a gambling culture with lots of people who are years behind

I pulled the number 30 from this picture:


Even if we're generous and say to account for untracked players or whatever, there's 60. Still... the point remains.

Even if it becomes legal in USA again, It's not like it would be like it used to be and things would be okay indefinitely. It would simply just buy us some more time. Right?

Perhaps those 90,000 players aren't taking poker seriously and are just having fun playing a game.

There are about 8.5 million people logged into Steam right now who aren't making six figures playing games.

Right, which is what poker IS, now. Just something to pass the time...

Ok. That's fine, then. Don't know why that 90,000 figure is such a problem for you.

It's not. Settle down. I'm not playing the role of "the end is near, poker is doomed" and threatening your paradigm of "poker 4 life". I just want to have a real conversation here.

Many more people won over 100k playing on-line poker in 2015.

Probably tons of people making less but still supplementing their primary income nicely. Poker makes for a great 2nd job.

Yeah? What do you think the number is? With cash games only, it can't be that much more than 30, right?
I don't think it's fair to include casual players that binked an MTT since it goes against the point which is why would someone be a person that takes the game seriously.

I see that. But to get to that point where they could use it for that, it would be hard to be a new player starting on the scene. That would probably be a bunch of players that started online at least a few years back, I think...?

I would guess it's over 300. (Rakeback + winnings)

Good point about the rakeback. Although, that is sort of down the toilet now with the changes Pokerstars implemented I think?

Most of those players are Starsbots and casual wannabinkers

You have to be nuts ( or super amazing) to pursue online poker as a career now sadly

i get sick of these threads isnt there a containment thread for this stuff. keep working on your game charlestonchew and youll see a profit. everything you need can be found ( pointed to) on or from this site somewhere. this should be in beginners forum.

It depends. Most of good cash-game pros win most of their profits pre-rakeback. A good portion of that is comming from NL400 to NL2000, wich isn't tracked in OP, if I'm not mistaken.

The players that will get screwed the most are hyper sngs pros.

How much time, effort, heart and soul would one have to put in to their game to see a profit that was significant?
The return for all of that life dedication seems like it wouldn't be enough to justify taking poker seriously in 2016, which is what this thread is about.

This isn't a beginner having a sook, and being pointed which way to go to keep blindly pushing on (on a journey that is based on a life that isn't real anymore.)

If you really wanted to help this beginner CharlestonChew, be real about whether it's even worth it for him to continue working on his game.

You really think 30 or 60 people that won $100k or more in online cash games last year? It will be in the many hundreds

I lost about 3 grand last year. I have zero expectation of making a profit unless I hit a jackpot in spin & go or some tournament.

I mainly play for fun, not for income.

Well I explained how I came to that figure, so yes I was really thinking that - although I am not attached to that thought, and one guy on here has given some reasons as to why he thought it would be somewhere around 300.
We're sort of guessing though.
I guess we can say it would probably fall somewhere between 100 and 1000 people in the world? Can we narrow down that guess any more?

Another point, the guy who sort of embodied the archetype of what many of us saw ourselves becoming has gone from this:

to this:


Not very encouraging... unfortunately

"over 300" or "around 300" ins't exactly the same thing. But whatever.

Answering as a recreational player with a reasonable non-poker income who plays online cash poker 75% @ PS & 25% elsewhere, at UK regulated sites only: I can only usefully answer the last part [as per the part I've quoted] & then only for myself of course

I play because I find it fun & exciting
I play because I profit & I have potential to increase my hourly - I want to find out what my ceiling is
I play because it's a challenge intellectually to adjust to the game as it evolves
I play because it's a good way for me to learn discipline [master my impulsive nature]

I am optimistic that online poker will always be available somewhere
I'm looking forward to exploring mixed games this year - learning something new & doing my best
I don't worry about rake back

It would be great if new non-segregated markets add to the pool - especially places with a high standard of living

I will stop playing if I start losing money consistently
I will stop playing where the games get too nitty

I would love to play on a site where people actually talk at the table video-style, but the one I've seen doesn't meet my other requirements

I think a grim future awaits those high/medium stakes online "pros" who can't adapt as the games come closer to being solved
I hope multitable grinders at all stakes find it increasingly hard to earn off the game despite their usefulness to sites as 'bums on seats' & rake churners

If the fun stops I guess I could try Bridge or Go or something

I guess I didn't pay enough attention to your contribution. I didn't mean to offend you. Thanks for your contribution