Question for people who play for a living

gmcarroll33 · #1 01-18-2007, 11:08 PM

It seems to me after viewing a website which I currently can't remember that listed the games and limits for each casino in Las Vegas that the limits where a person can make a living playing poker are in the Limit Hold Em and Stud areas of poker.

I noticed on this website that the highest NLHE game in Vegas was about 5/10 at every casino and that some didn't even offer the 5/10. Also noticed that as far as limit hold em was concerned, most of the big casinos offered up to 100/200-300/600 LHE, as well as stud games in those limits.

So is this how it really goes? If you want to play for a living, do you pretty much have to accept that your going to have to learn to specialize in LHE and Stud as opposed to pot limit and no limit games to move up to the levels where you can make a comfortable living? Is no limit not the way go for making a living?

CurryLover · #2 01-18-2007, 11:58 PM

You can make a fine living playing 5/10 NL Hold'em.

KingGordy · #3 01-19-2007, 03:13 AM

I don't know anything about live poker, but just from reading HSNL posts I'm pretty sure that there are higher games than 5/10 that go semi regularly. I think the Bellagio has a 25/50 uncapped game that runs sometimes. If you're really interested ask the HSNL guys.

Gonso · #4 01-19-2007, 04:34 AM

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You can make a fine living playing 5/10 NL Hold'em.

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QuadsOverQuads · #5 01-19-2007, 05:07 AM

The "5/10" in NL refers to the blinds. In limit hold'em, "5/10" refers to the betting structure. Significant difference there [img]/images/graemlins/smile.gif[/img]

When professionals say that you have to play 15/30 and above to make a living, they're referring to limit games (your LHE hourly is typically measured in terms of the upper betting limit -- ie: 1bb/hr equals $30/hr at 15/30). As for NLHE, a game with 5/10 blinds would usually involve buy-ins of $500-$1000, which is plenty of opportunity for a pro to make a solid living.

q/q

SplawnDarts · #6 01-19-2007, 12:26 PM

QuadsOverQuads is right - 5/10 is more than enough to play pro if you wanted to and were sufficiently good. A slightly conservative rule of thumb is that NL plays about 2 to 3 times bigger than a limit game with the same blinds. So a NL game with 5/10 blinds is 2.5 times as big as a 10/20 limit game (which also has 5/10 blinds) so it's more like 20/40 or 30/60. Ie. big enough to make a living on.

It's also worth noting that there is more skill advantage to be derived when playing NL than when playing limit. There are several 1/2 NL games in vegas that could make a person a reasonable living because the opposition is so damn soft.

Abbaddabba · #7 01-19-2007, 12:51 PM

[ QUOTE ]
QuadsOverQuads is right - 5/10 is more than enough to play pro if you wanted to and were sufficiently good. A slightly conservative rule of thumb is that NL plays about 2 to 3 times bigger than a limit game with the same blinds. So a NL game with 5/10 blinds is 2.5 times as big as a 10/20 limit game (which also has 5/10 blinds) so it's more like 20/40 or 30/60. Ie. big enough to make a living on.

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4x bigger is more realistic in my opinion.

The easiest way to simplify it is to use buy ins.

2/4LHE is the equivalent of .50/1NL and each have a standard buy in of $100.

SplawnDarts · #8 01-19-2007, 12:57 PM

[ QUOTE ]
[ QUOTE ]
QuadsOverQuads is right - 5/10 is more than enough to play pro if you wanted to and were sufficiently good. A slightly conservative rule of thumb is that NL plays about 2 to 3 times bigger than a limit game with the same blinds. So a NL game with 5/10 blinds is 2.5 times as big as a 10/20 limit game (which also has 5/10 blinds) so it's more like 20/40 or 30/60. Ie. big enough to make a living on.

[/ QUOTE ]

4x bigger is more realistic in my opinion.

The easiest way to simplify it is to use buy ins.

2/4LHE is the equivalent of .50/1NL and each have a standard buy in of $100.

[/ QUOTE ]

100 is a big buyin for 2/4LHE in my opinion, at least live.

But we-re quibbling about details. The point is that there are plenty of NL games big enough for a pro. Hell, I bet a solid & aggressive player could average +300/day playing 1/2 with good game selection, and that's 60k a year playing only 200 days.

Percula · #9 01-19-2007, 01:25 PM

When you are talking about earnings potential in NL games, average stack size/buy-in size is more of a factor than the blind structure.

For example... If I had the choice to play 5/10 NL with a max buy-in of $600 with the average player is buying in for $500 with the average stack of ~$500 versus a uncapped 2/5 NL game with the average buy-in of $1000 with the average stack >$1000 I am taking the 2/5 NL game over the 5/10 NL game.

As for higher limit NL games, the Bell regularly spreads a 10/20 NL game, the Wynn will have 10/20-25 on most busier weekends. The Bell will also get a 25/50 NL game going fairly often, the Wynn will get >10/20-25 NL games from time to time. But if you want access to lots of 10/20 NL and higher, you need to be in LA.

SplawnDarts · #10 01-19-2007, 01:46 PM

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When you are talking about earnings potential in NL games, average stack size/buy-in size is more of a factor than the blind structure.

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Depends on the type of opposition. Against poor players who are either very aggressive, or very lose, that's true. Against players who are bad, tight & passive, the blinds are key to forcing the action and allowing you to win a reasonable rate.