Pokeriad / Learn / Making money at poker
Can you make money playing poker?
Updated November 2026
Yes, some people do, but most players lose money over time, and the ones who win usually earn less per hour than they expect. In a study of 76.9 million online hands, only 32 of every 100 players finished ahead after the site's fee.
Nothing on this page is a promise that you'll win. Poker is gambling, and you should only ever play with money you can afford to lose.
| Blinds | Wins 5 per 100 | Wins 10 per 100 |
|---|---|---|
| $1/$2 | $3 | $6 |
| $2/$5 | $7.50 | $15 |
| $5/$10 | $15 | $30 |
Live, 30 hands an hour, after the rake. Big blinds per 100 hands.
What it's up against
How many players actually win?
About a third, in the best data anyone has published. Rogier Potter van Loon and colleagues went through 76.9 million online hands played between 2009 and 2010 and found 32 of every 100 players ahead after the site's fee. Without the fee it would have been 37.5 of them.
The authors note that the true number is a little higher, because bonuses and rewards give some money back. Many of the players in that count also played only a few hands, so a share of those winners were simply lucky.
Out of 100 players
What does a winning player earn per hour?
Less than most people imagine. A win rate is measured in big blinds per 100 hands, and 5 per 100 is a good result. At $1/$2 that's $10 per 100 hands, and a live table deals about 30 hands an hour, so it comes to $3 an hour, under the US federal minimum wage of $7.25.
Soft live games can pay better than that. A PokerNews column by Steve Selbrede used $20 an hour as its example of a very strong $1/$2 player and $5 an hour for a solid one.
Those were illustrations and not measurements, and even the top figure works out to $30,000 for 1,500 hours a year, before tax and expenses.
How much does the rake take?
A lot, and you pay it whether you win or lose. Selbrede recorded nearly 1,000 hands in four Las Vegas cardrooms and found the rake in $1/$2 games averaged $2.16 a hand with a $4 cap. At 40 hands an hour that's $9.86 per player per hour, rising to $12.40 with a $6 cap.
Nine players each paying about $10 an hour means nearly $90 an hour leaves the table. In his examples, the rake takes a third of what a very strong player would otherwise earn and two-thirds of what a solid player would. Most Las Vegas rooms take roughly 10% of the pot, up to $5.
$1/$2 rake, per player per hour
Why do most players lose over time?
- The table loses as a groupChips only move between players, and the house takes its share of most pots. So the players as a whole are always losing money.
- The rake beats a break-even playerIn the online study the fee cost players 16 big blinds per 100 hands on average. Someone who would break even without it loses.
- Mistakes are expensive and easy to missA bad call can win, so it feels fine. The ten most expensive mistakes have their prices next to them.
- Luck hides the truth for yearsA winning month can come from pure luck, and then people move up to games they can't beat.
What about tournaments?
The same pattern, with bigger swings. In Levitt and Miles's study of the 2010 World Series of Poker, the 720 players picked in advance as highly skilled earned an average return of 30.5% on entry fees. Everyone else lost 15.6%.
Those returns went to the people at the very top of the game, and they're averages over many entries. Most entries win nothing, and a tournament player can go a long way between real scores. That's why the usual bankroll advice for tournaments is 100 buy-ins or more.
Average return on entry fees
Could you do it for a living?
A small number of people do, and it's harder than it looks from outside. Take a strong player earning $20 an hour for 30 hours a week, 50 weeks a year. That's $30,000 before tax, with no sick pay and no guarantee of next month's rent.
Bad runs come for free. A real winner at 5 big blinds per 100 hands is still behind after 50,000 hands about 1 time in 9, and that's more than 1,600 hours at a live table.
You need money for rent during that stretch and a separate bankroll that can survive it. In the US, gambling winnings are fully taxable, so check the rules where you live.
30 hours a week, 50 weeks
What costs do people forget?
- TipsIn live games a dollar or two after each pot you win adds up, and it comes out of your win rate.
- Travel and foodGetting to the casino and eating there are real costs, and they don't show up in your results.
- Time spent learningHundreds of hours before you beat a small game, and it's all unpaid.
- Bad runsYou may play for months and earn nothing, and variance shows why.
So should you try?
Play because you enjoy the game, set a budget for it as you would for any hobby, and treat any profit as a bonus. Some people do make good money, and they tend to be the ones who study hardest, keep careful records and quit when the game stops being good.
If you find yourself chasing losses or playing with money you need, talk to someone. In the US, the National Council on Problem Gambling runs a helpline at 1-800-MY-RESET, and most countries have something similar.
A sensible approach
- Set a budget you can lose
- Start at the lowest stake
- Track every session
- Keep your job
Can you do the money math?
Twelve spots in three rounds.
Questions players ask about making money
How much does a poker player make a year?
Most make nothing or lose. A handful of professionals earn a good living, and there's no reliable public figure for the typical one.
Is online poker easier to win at than live?
Online players are generally tougher at the same stakes, but you can play more hands per hour. The calculator shows what that does to your hourly rate.
How much money do I need to start?
Only what you can afford to lose. Bankroll management shows how to choose a stake for it.
Can I make money playing poker with friends?
Occasionally, if you're the best player at the table. Friends tend to stop inviting people who take their money every week.
How the numbers on this page were worked out
Hourly figures are big blinds per 100 hands, times the size of the big blind, times the hands per hour divided by 100. Rake figures come from the PokerNews column linked above. The behind-after-50,000-hands figure assumes a swing of 90 big blinds per 100 hands.
Know someone about to quit their job for poker?
Send them the math.