Where do the winnings come from?

[bags]

Ummm...just look at your pokertracker database. You'll see plenty of losers!

Actually you do see people who are winners on this site, but you have to realize that the number of people on this site compared to the number who play the game is miniscule. We are just a tiny tiny fraction of those that make up the online poker world. I'm not saying all of those who don't participate here are losers and I'm not saying everyone here are winners, but you can't take a subset of 2+2ers and assume that is an accurate sample of the online poker playing world.

We are just more important. [img]/images/graemlins/tongue.gif[/img]

[mutigers5591]

losing players like me! just lost br dont really mind, i definitely wouldnt have if i came to this forums earlier. i had a hundred dollar bankroll (miniscule to alot of you guys) but i was playing all sorts of 10 dollar sit and gos and 1/2 limit lol. pretty stupid i no

[AntonHeat]

Give me my $$ back.. Bastered...

[Equal]

I was wondering this same thing... millions are taken out of the poker econmy from rake by party poker and millions more are won byt the winning players... where does all this money come from?

I had my eyes opened by two cousins of mine. One's just a regular dude, who saw me qualify for the WSOP and WPT last year... every paycheck Friday he deposits a couple hundred and tries tournaments out... he donates 100% of the money he puts in. He's financially secure, has a house and car, so he doesnt care for that money, its entertainment for him.

My other cousin is a millionaire home builder. He decided one day to try online poker at Party... his only poker experience being home games and pub tourneys. So he tries out a few tourneys... like the $162 Supers and then moved to cash games. Well, what cash game does he choose to play as his first online cash game ever? Not 25nl, not 100nl, nope he started right at $400 NL, which was, at the time, what I was playing as a pro. Of course he gets stacked in his very first hand, and proceeds to donate the rest of the money he bought in for.

These two guys gave me a good insight into who the losing players we feed of might be.

[blueherondud]

I think winnings come from the -ve expectation held by most players. Whether they admit it or not, they view poker like blackjack or roulette and the hope of getting lucky is an integral part of their winning strategy. Look at it this way... If the legislated solution to 'legalize' intenet gambling results in a gaming tax that increases the rake high enough so that everyone who refuses to play if they have don't have a +ve expectation quits, would you be surprised if 75%+ of the players kept on playing? They'd still have their "If I get lucky, I can still win" mentality.

[SteveL91]

Poker (read: variance) is a deceptive thing. A good run of cards can permanently fool you into thinking you're the greatest poker player to ever grace the tables; on the other hand, a bad run can make even a winning player doubt his/her ability. The money comes from the delusions/illusions sowed by variance.

[bobbyi]

If you want to find out what losing players are really like and where the money comes from, just spend more time playing in casinos.

[kimchi]

I deposited $100 into Party last December, printed out a starting hand chart and never looked back. Grinded it up to $500 by the end of the month just playing micros a few hours a week.

It really isn't rocket science - just ABC poker. Printed off a couple of pot odds sheets a few weeks later to help with my drawing decisions.

I really don't understand how so many of the players on so many sites play so badly.

[wrschultz]

Lots and lots of small losers, and a few long term losers, and a very few long term winners...

[kimchi]

[ QUOTE ]
If you want to find out what losing players are really like and where the money comes from, just spend more time playing in casinos.

[/ QUOTE ]

Yeah - I'm sure lots of peoples' monthly budget takes account of the following:

-food
-rent/mortgage
-travel/car
-poker account re-loads
-entertainment
-misc