Part-time Poker Player: Cashing in a Little Extra Something

There are literally hundreds, if not thousands, professional poker players living solely from playing poker in the US alone. If you notice WSOP winners taking home millions of dollars, you should know that there are people making hundreds of thousands and even millions each day doing nothing but playing poker. But before you start to think about how good you are at poker and quitting your day job to be a professional poker player, you need to test the water and play part-time poker to make money.

Part-time poker player can indeed be very rewarding. Taking a little extra cash home could never hurt, right? More and more people are playing poker during their spare time, especially with the help of online game rooms highly available from the comfort of your homes. This means you have more opponents to play against, equals more money to be won if you know what you are doing.

The key to being part-time poker player as well as enjoying a professional career in poker is definitely wealth management. You need to make sure that you are making money in the long run. There is not a single poker player I know that wins every hand he or she played — it’s a game of fate and strategy, and folding or losing to another player will definitely hits you. The most important thing is to keep your games profitable from time to time. You can lose $1000 in one night while winning $750 and $850 for a cool $1600 total, and you are still profitable. Calculate risks involved and make sure you are only taking risks you can afford to handle.

This is why part-time poker is great, because you can test how good you are at managing your poker career. If you continue to maintain profitability you can consider a career change for sure.

On The Button

In poker, betting positions play important role in players winning strategy. Your betting position can be exploited to help you win the round. One of the best positions in a poker table would be the button, also known as the dealer position. Being on the button is as good as it may get because you will be acting last and you can adjust your strategy accordingly.

Not that I’m suggesting you to do this, but there are several occasions when I get to see the river with hands I usually fold because I was on the button. No one raise on pre-flop, checked the flop, and make a small raise on the turn. Half the time I actually managed to constructs a winning hand at the river by pure luck, and being on the button keeps my hand alive and playable. Should I be in other table position, I would fold the hand even before seeing the flop.

Being on the button is also beneficial if you are holding either a strong hand or a weak hand. Playing on the button with a solidly strong hand will allow you to increase the pot accordingly and eliminate unneeded competitions. Even with a good hand, decreasing the odds of one of your opponents constructing a better hand is always good. With a moderate hand, being on the button is the perfect place to bluff or probe bet. You already have enough information when it is your time to move, and you can make better judgment calls with such loads of information about your opponents. Of course, you can limp without risking much of your money if your hand is weak, and you can probably see the turn if not the river safely. When used properly, being on the button will surely be a great place to be no matter what hand you are holding.