Rich Poker Players Poor Poker Players
I have always watched the top poker players in the world online and offline and realize while doing this that poker usually (I say usually for a reason) is like anything you invest in on the earth. You have to have money to make money. Sure the poorer poker players can still make money but not nearly as much as those already rich.
There are the poker players who have made the way up the food chain from pretty much nothing dollar wise (or were rich in life already). These are the exception and why I say "usually". But lets face it, on any given day where you might make $50, $300 or there about which is withdrawn for those little extras or for paying your bills if you are semi pro, the richer poker players are making up to $20,000 sometimes more. Evident-ally it is easier for a rich poker player to make that kind of money, how can you (if you are a poor poker player) possibly make 20k in 1 day, unless from a massive MTT cash of course!
Pretty much when it comes down to the line between rich players and poor players this is what is required to dive above that line and be a rich player - a big MTT win will get you there, a few big MTT wins will definitely get you there. Its either this, win the lottery or grind almost every day until you can not grind anymore. The issue is with this kind of grinding are you really going to suddenly become a rich poker player? I think you can make a lot of money but certainly not enough to safely place $10,000 on a table any time soon.
To become a rich poker player is going to take a game plan. It is going to take the big bankroll boosters in the form of MTT cashes. It is also going to take a lot of study and patience and persistence. Not almost as much however as grinding cash tables from a micro level for the next 5 years, or I would think not anyway!
So, putting that plan in place is the big step for most of "us". I am far from a rich player obviously. How does one make a plan to combat the micros?
Firstly you can read my last post on free coaching, strategy etc - this is a good start. Hit the books! Study up on your MTT play, SNG play, hand ranges, Cash Games, whatever you may need to study and include in this your own game play! Betting patterns, unnecessary risk taking behavior, playing your hands correctly and also reading your fellow players. Remember to keep your games separately cash is not tournament and tournament is not cash. But you do need to keep in mind that you will have to play both. Cash pays for tournaments!
Set up your schedule, play your cash games, grind them to enable you to play the next thing you should as part of your rising.... Satellites or small guaranteed buy ins. The satellites will see you make your way cheaply into the large tournaments. The large tournaments if you play your cards correctly; again; are where you are going to make the bulk of your money. You can not be taking money from your pocket non stop - this is another unnecessary risk and bad for you in my opinion. Work on a certain deposit and stick to it, work your way into the larger payers.
Step by step by step is the way to go in my opinion. Study, play cash games to fund satellites or small GTD buy ins and hit the big money from here. I have been grinding cash tables for too long now to make ends meet and would certainly prefer to win a cool $1k in hours from an MTT that I paid $3 entry for. Of course, once my roll is a little more built up that 1k is easy on cash tables whilst grinding.
There are many ways that poker players have become richer players. But this is one pattern I have noticed which seems to work for the majority and is also the way I am "attempting" to do it. The only thing I personally have to do is be careful at the micro cash tables. Currently as i write this blog post I am playing a 25c/50c table and being smacked :-| Smacked with hands such as AKc vs K3os when they hit K3 on the flop. Makes playing higher stakes seem like the thing to do, I am sure there will be an availability to read players easier when they are not calling 4 x the BB raises with absolute junk! Hopefully in the weeks to come I shall be able to let you know!
