Online poker is not the gold rush that it was 10 years ago. Also, in my experience the majority of people who get into online poker approach it like a hobby, not as a business. And this turns out to be their downfall.
So in this article I am going to discuss why online poker is still beatable and how to make it profitable for you.
Yes, Online Poker is Still Beatable
Let's get this out of the way first. Yes, online poker is still beatable.
If you don't believe me just open up PokerStars (or whatever site) and load up a bunch of random low stakes games.
At the very lowest stakes there is still almost always at least one really bad player who is clearly a long term losing poker player (a fish).
By the way, if you don't know how to spot the fish stop reading right now and go read this quick article I wrote on how to spot the fish.
As you move up the stakes it might be every other table or every third table where you find a really bad poker player. But this is just the nature of the game.
Whenever there is more money on the line, people tend to play better.
At the very lowest stakes there is still almost always at least one really bad player who is clearly a long term losing poker player (a fish).
By the way, if you don't know how to spot the fish stop reading right now and go read this quick article I wrote on how to spot the fish.
As you move up the stakes it might be every other table or every third table where you find a really bad poker player. But this is just the nature of the game.
Whenever there is more money on the line, people tend to play better.
By the way, if you're new to poker and you just want to learn my complete no BS system for exactly what hands to play in all situations, I cover this in extensive detail in my BlackRain79 Elite Poker University.
Memorize the charts. Stop guessing. Start crushing.
This is in addition to 17+ hours of advanced poker lessons, hundreds of step by step example hands and downloadable "cheat sheets" below every video.
If you're serious about improving your poker game, enroll today.
Get $100 OFF Use Code: ELITE100
What Two Decades of Playing Online Poker Taught Me
Now as a veteran of online poker (I started playing online way back in 2004), yes, let me tell you that the games are not as good as they used to be.
And I have no idea why I seem to be the only one in the poker industry who actually talks about this all the time on this blog and elsewhere.
It is important that newcomers to poker understand that online poker isn't the goldrush that it used to be. But seriously, this really should just be common sense.
This doesn't mean that there isn't still good money to be made though as I talk about in my latest YouTube video.
I put out new poker videos every week by the way, to get you quickly making consistent profits, so make sure you are subscribed.
However, we do need to keep things in perspective with online poker.
You wouldn't expect to get rich investing in Bitcoin right now for example. All the people who got rich got in early. Does this mean there is no money to be made in cryptocurrencies anymore?
No of course not.
But you have to be smart about how you invest now and you shouldn't expect the explosive growth that we saw a few years ago. The market has levelled out now.
And this is why it blows my mind that people get into online poker these days and think it's some secret get rich quick scheme that's just been waiting for them to "discover" it for the past 15 years.
No, the online poker market has of course matured as well. All of the people who got mega rich playing online poker got in very early like 10 to 15 years ago.
So yes online poker is still beatable but you have to be realistic about it. Players are better now, rakeback has gone down, governments have caused player pools to be split and so on.
You can beat online poker but if you think this is some sort of get rich quick scheme, do yourself a favor and just quit now.
Go to a casino and put it all on black, you will have better luck.
Are you struggling to beat the low stakes poker games? Do you want a simple step by step guide to show you exactly how to start winning consistently right now?
That is why I recently wrote this free little 50 page no BS guide to teach you exactly how to start crushing these games right now.
You will learn how to start consistently making $1000 a month (or more) from poker like I have as a 10+ year poker pro.
Enter your details below and I will send my free poker cheat sheet to your email right now.
So how do you beat online poker these days? Well, first things first you need to play in good games. And by good games I mean poker games with fish in them.
You know, people who play way too many hands, chase every draw and can't fold bottom pair to save their life. These guys are the lifeblood of the poker industry and fuel your profits.
In fact, as I mentioned last week, if you aren't interested in putting in the time and effort to find the fish, then you may as well go play bingo.
If you want to win at online poker then you need to be willing to put in the effort to consistently put yourself in advantageous situations against bad players.
So is online poker beatable these days? Yes, of course it is.
All you have to do is go load up a bunch of random NL2 and NL5 games right now on literally any poker site.
Anybody with even a passing knowledge of how to play TAG poker (and who has a little bit of tilt control) will do just fine in these games.
In fact I even wrote the book on how to totally annihilate these two games in particular, Crushing the Microstakes.
Now yes of course online poker gets harder when you move up to higher stakes with "real money" on the line. But this is inevitable. When significant money is on the line in anything in life, people take it much more seriously.
Also, online poker is not the gold rush that it was 10 or 15 years ago. Heck, the games aren't even as easy as they were 5 years ago!
But once again, this really should just be common sense. People get better, they study, they learn and the fish eventually go broke.
However, online poker is still easily beatable for somebody who takes this thing seriously and is willing to put in the time and effort in all aspects of their game.
And those are game selection, strategy and the mental game.
Look, the bottom line is that poker is a game played between people and so there is always going to be a pecking order. Some people simply want it more than others and are willing to work harder.
Poker also has this amazing built in element of short term luck so that all the amateurs can keep deluding themselves into thinking that their losses are all the result of their "bad luck."
Bottom line, if you really want it, then poker will always remain beatable for you.
If you want to know how to consistently make $1000+ per month from low stakes poker games, make sure you pick up a copy of my free poker cheat sheet.
Let me know in the comments below if you think online poker is beatable.
However, we do need to keep things in perspective with online poker.
You wouldn't expect to get rich investing in Bitcoin right now for example. All the people who got rich got in early. Does this mean there is no money to be made in cryptocurrencies anymore?
No of course not.
But you have to be smart about how you invest now and you shouldn't expect the explosive growth that we saw a few years ago. The market has levelled out now.
And this is why it blows my mind that people get into online poker these days and think it's some secret get rich quick scheme that's just been waiting for them to "discover" it for the past 15 years.
No, the online poker market has of course matured as well. All of the people who got mega rich playing online poker got in very early like 10 to 15 years ago.
So yes online poker is still beatable but you have to be realistic about it. Players are better now, rakeback has gone down, governments have caused player pools to be split and so on.
You can beat online poker but if you think this is some sort of get rich quick scheme, do yourself a favor and just quit now.
Go to a casino and put it all on black, you will have better luck.
My Free Poker Cheat Sheet Teaches You How to Make $1000 a Month From Poker
Are you struggling to beat the low stakes poker games? Do you want a simple step by step guide to show you exactly how to start winning consistently right now?
That is why I recently wrote this free little 50 page no BS guide to teach you exactly how to start crushing these games right now.
You will learn how to start consistently making $1000 a month (or more) from poker like I have as a 10+ year poker pro.
Enter your details below and I will send my free poker cheat sheet to your email right now.
1. How to Make Online Poker Beatable For You - Find the Fish
So how do you beat online poker these days? Well, first things first you need to play in good games. And by good games I mean poker games with fish in them.
You know, people who play way too many hands, chase every draw and can't fold bottom pair to save their life. These guys are the lifeblood of the poker industry and fuel your profits.
In fact, as I mentioned last week, if you aren't interested in putting in the time and effort to find the fish, then you may as well go play bingo.
If you want to win at online poker then you need to be willing to put in the effort to consistently put yourself in advantageous situations against bad players.
And sure, the fish are going to get lucky sometimes and perhaps cause you to tilt, as I talk about in my latest video.
But over the long run, if you can learn to keep a cool head against them, you will literally print money. This is why I see finding the fish as simply part of the job if you take online poker seriously.
The days of sitting down at a random table and expecting it to be full of fish waiting for you are long, long gone.
So this is why despite the popularity of fast fold games like Zoom, I actually do not recommend them for someone who is looking to maximize their poker winrate.
You simply cannot table select and seat select in Zoom poker and this takes away an absolutely vital part of your edge if you want to beat online poker.
Now don't worry though, if you play Zoom poker it isn't all bad. I think it is actually a good fit for a certain type of player. You can read all about that in my hugely popular guide to Zoom poker strategy.
The next part of beating online poker is using the right strategy. This is usually the part that 90% of people focus all of their energy on.
But I put it after table selection and seat selection because if you aren't playing in good games it really doesn't even matter how good your strategy is, you are never going to "crush" a bunch of good players.
Anyways, the best poker strategy for the lower limits in particular these days is still TAG. This stands for tight and aggressive.
And basically it means that you are being highly selective about which hands you choose to play before the flop, always being aware of your position at the poker table, and playing very aggressively when you choose to get involved.
I recommend playing roughly the top 15% of hands dealt to you in a full ring cash game and the top 20% in a 6-max cash game. You should also be raising or re-raising the vast majority of the time you enter the pot preflop.
If you need a refresher course on proper TAG poker strategy, Daniel Negreanu's new poker training program does a great job of explaining the basics of it.
The last part of making online poker beatable for you is having the right mental game. Once again, almost nobody focuses on this these days, all they do is study strategy.
But if you aren't constantly working on your tilt control then you are just going to end up blowing all your profits at the poker tables once the inevitable soul crushing downswing comes.
You are going to face a serious of bad beats and coolers at some point that simply doesn't even seem real. This is why there are so many people who think online poker is rigged.
They simply do not understand the variance that comes with this game. Most of them simply have not played enough hands of poker to understand it.
As somebody who has played 10 million+ hands of online poker I can tell you that you are going to go through stretches that just do not even seem real.
I don't care how good you think you are, you will have stretches where you lose for months on end even though you are making every correct play.
95% of people cannot handle this. That is why they are amateurs. Poker will always be a hobby for them because when the heat gets turned up, they crack.
So this is why as a professional I approach poker like it is a business.
So this is why despite the popularity of fast fold games like Zoom, I actually do not recommend them for someone who is looking to maximize their poker winrate.
You simply cannot table select and seat select in Zoom poker and this takes away an absolutely vital part of your edge if you want to beat online poker.
Now don't worry though, if you play Zoom poker it isn't all bad. I think it is actually a good fit for a certain type of player. You can read all about that in my hugely popular guide to Zoom poker strategy.
2. How to Make Online Poker Beatable For You - Use the Right Strategy
The next part of beating online poker is using the right strategy. This is usually the part that 90% of people focus all of their energy on.
But I put it after table selection and seat selection because if you aren't playing in good games it really doesn't even matter how good your strategy is, you are never going to "crush" a bunch of good players.
Anyways, the best poker strategy for the lower limits in particular these days is still TAG. This stands for tight and aggressive.
And basically it means that you are being highly selective about which hands you choose to play before the flop, always being aware of your position at the poker table, and playing very aggressively when you choose to get involved.
I recommend playing roughly the top 15% of hands dealt to you in a full ring cash game and the top 20% in a 6-max cash game. You should also be raising or re-raising the vast majority of the time you enter the pot preflop.
If you need a refresher course on proper TAG poker strategy, Daniel Negreanu's new poker training program does a great job of explaining the basics of it.
3. How to Make Online Poker Beatable For You - The Mental Game
The last part of making online poker beatable for you is having the right mental game. Once again, almost nobody focuses on this these days, all they do is study strategy.
But if you aren't constantly working on your tilt control then you are just going to end up blowing all your profits at the poker tables once the inevitable soul crushing downswing comes.
You are going to face a serious of bad beats and coolers at some point that simply doesn't even seem real. This is why there are so many people who think online poker is rigged.
They simply do not understand the variance that comes with this game. Most of them simply have not played enough hands of poker to understand it.
As somebody who has played 10 million+ hands of online poker I can tell you that you are going to go through stretches that just do not even seem real.
I don't care how good you think you are, you will have stretches where you lose for months on end even though you are making every correct play.
95% of people cannot handle this. That is why they are amateurs. Poker will always be a hobby for them because when the heat gets turned up, they crack.
So this is why as a professional I approach poker like it is a business.
Like a professional athlete, I realize that what I do away from the tables is actually more important than what I do on them.
Therefore, I make sure that I eat healthy, get regular exercise and sleep well. I also incorporate meditation before and after poker sessions.
I have even worked with poker mental game coaches in the past such as Jared Tendler.
Lastly, I also make sure that I am putting in the hours studying my opponents in PokerTracker away from the tables so that I have that edge over them when we do battle at the poker tables.
PokerTracker is just one of many poker tools and software I use by the way to make sure that I continue crushing the games and am able to multi-table and play long hours.
For the complete list of all poker tools and software that I use at the tables, click here.
In short, I know that I am putting in way more work away from the tables and taking this game much more seriously than my opponents. And this is why I continue to win.
They are going to lose to a better rested, more confident and relaxed opponent who has also studied their game inside out and made notes on how to beat them.
This is why online poker will always be beatable for someone who is ready to treat this game like a business and approach it like a professional.
Therefore, I make sure that I eat healthy, get regular exercise and sleep well. I also incorporate meditation before and after poker sessions.
I have even worked with poker mental game coaches in the past such as Jared Tendler.
Lastly, I also make sure that I am putting in the hours studying my opponents in PokerTracker away from the tables so that I have that edge over them when we do battle at the poker tables.
PokerTracker is just one of many poker tools and software I use by the way to make sure that I continue crushing the games and am able to multi-table and play long hours.
For the complete list of all poker tools and software that I use at the tables, click here.
In short, I know that I am putting in way more work away from the tables and taking this game much more seriously than my opponents. And this is why I continue to win.
They are going to lose to a better rested, more confident and relaxed opponent who has also studied their game inside out and made notes on how to beat them.
This is why online poker will always be beatable for someone who is ready to treat this game like a business and approach it like a professional.
By the way, if you just want to learn my simple no BS system for exactly what hands to play, when to bet, raise and bluff, I cover this all in my brand new training program, Play Fearless Poker.
Memorize the charts. Stop guessing. Start winning.
My new Play Fearless Poker training program includes 12+ hours of advanced poker lessons, 100+ step by step example hands and "cheat sheets" below every single video.
If you're serious about taking your poker game to the next level, enroll today.
Get $100 OFF Use Code: 100OFF
Final Thoughts
So is online poker beatable these days? Yes, of course it is.
All you have to do is go load up a bunch of random NL2 and NL5 games right now on literally any poker site.
Anybody with even a passing knowledge of how to play TAG poker (and who has a little bit of tilt control) will do just fine in these games.
In fact I even wrote the book on how to totally annihilate these two games in particular, Crushing the Microstakes.
Now yes of course online poker gets harder when you move up to higher stakes with "real money" on the line. But this is inevitable. When significant money is on the line in anything in life, people take it much more seriously.
Also, online poker is not the gold rush that it was 10 or 15 years ago. Heck, the games aren't even as easy as they were 5 years ago!
But once again, this really should just be common sense. People get better, they study, they learn and the fish eventually go broke.
However, online poker is still easily beatable for somebody who takes this thing seriously and is willing to put in the time and effort in all aspects of their game.
And those are game selection, strategy and the mental game.
Look, the bottom line is that poker is a game played between people and so there is always going to be a pecking order. Some people simply want it more than others and are willing to work harder.
Poker also has this amazing built in element of short term luck so that all the amateurs can keep deluding themselves into thinking that their losses are all the result of their "bad luck."
Bottom line, if you really want it, then poker will always remain beatable for you.
If you want to know how to consistently make $1000+ per month from low stakes poker games, make sure you pick up a copy of my free poker cheat sheet.
Let me know in the comments below if you think online poker is beatable.
