How Much Do Professional Poker Players Actually Earn
Let’s take a typical online poker player as an example. Assume he plays for 6 hours a day, 5 days a week, earning about $50 per hour. His weekly income would be approximately $1,500, and his annual income would be around $78,000. If he plays at a higher skill level, his annual income can easily exceed $100,000. According to a report by Poker News, players aged between 25-35 can have an annual income of over $200,000.
An advanced player mastering No Limit Texas Hold’em can win 6 big blinds every 100 hands. With each hand worth $200, his hourly income can reach $60. If he plays at four tables simultaneously, his income would be $120 per hour.
Playing at low buy-in tables might only earn $20-30 per hour, medium buy-in tables can earn $50-100 per hour, and high buy-in tables can earn over $200 per hour. A professional player, John Doe, mentioned in an interview, “His annual income is stable at around $150,000.”
A significant portion of online poker income also comes from “rakeback”, typically accounting for about 25% of the total rake. If a player generates a total rake of $40,000 per year, he can earn $10,000 through rakeback.
Income of a Typical Poker Player
A typical professional player plays for 8 hours a day, 5 days a week, usually choosing medium buy-in tables. With an average hourly income of $50, his weekly income would be approximately $2,000, and his annual income would reach $104,000. A beginner might only earn $20 per hour, while an experienced player could earn over $100 per hour. Players in poker tournaments typically earn between $80,000 to $150,000 annually.
Professional players aged between 20 and 30 often earn $60-$120 per hour. For example, a 25-year-old player playing 6 hours a day on 6 tables, with an hourly income of $60, can earn $129,600 annually.
A top No Limit Hold’em player can achieve an hourly win rate of 10 big blinds. With each hand worth $200, his hourly income can reach $100. If he plays for 6 hours a day, 5 days a week, his annual income would exceed $150,000.
Assume a player generates a total rake of $50,000 per year, with a rakeback percentage of 30%, he can earn an additional $15,000. Famous professional player Jane Smith mentioned in an interview, “She earns an additional $20,000 per year through rakeback, making her total income stable at around $120,000.”
How to Calculate Hourly Income at the Poker Table
The method to calculate hourly income at the poker table considers big blinds (BB), win rate per 100 hands (BB/100), and the number of tables played.
Assume a player is playing No Limit Hold’em on 6 tables simultaneously, with a buy-in of $200 per table. The player’s hourly income = win rate per 100 hands (BB/100) × hands per hour × number of tables × amount per hand.
Top players usually win 6 big blinds per 100 hands. Each big blind is worth $2, so the income per 100 hands is $12. One poker table can play approximately 100 hands per hour, and playing on 6 tables means 600 hands per hour.
Therefore, hourly income = 6 BB/100 × 6 × $2 = $72.
A player who plays 8 hours a day, 5 days a week (weekly income = hourly income × daily playing hours × weekly playing days) Using the above example, the income prediction is: Weekly income = $72 × 8 hours × 5 days = $2,880. Annual income = weekly income × 52 weeks = $2,880 × 52 = $149,760.
Players may experience “bad luck” in the short term, causing income fluctuations, and rakeback also affects hourly income. If a player generates $50,000 in rake annually with a rakeback percentage of 25%, this adds approximately $6 per hour, increasing the hourly income to $78.