Can You Still Make Money From Online Poker

You can still make money playing these games (and lots of it), but in the long run over thousands and thousands of games, the casino will ultimately win. Skill-based games, on the other hand, have no house edge. You can check it out for free, with 3 calculations per day, though aspiring grinders will quickly see the value in subscribing. Check out www.icmpoker.com now for the details of how it can make you money! Becoming A SNG Professional #5 – Make Sure It Is Right For You!

Consider Sit N Goes Profitable Enough For A Steady Income?
Then The SNG Grinder’s Life Is For You!

SNG Grinders are those high volume professional players who make regular profits by multi-tabling the lower to middle-limit Sit N Go tournaments. The best make many $1000’s each month. Many of today’s ‘pros’ cut their teeth as SNG Grinders, and many of tomorrows names will be building their bankrolls at the SNG tables right now. This article outlines some of the key factors involved in becoming a profitable SNG grinder – and highlights some of the expensive mistakes to avoid.

While no single aspect of learning to become a grinder is particularly difficult, the combination of skills and discipline takes some time to learn. Those players who end up with the profits are those who invest in their development as players by continually working on their games. Here we break the core skills down into 5 components.

Planet Mark's Recs: If you are an aspiring SNG pro who is prepaired to put in the volume, then cashback becomes a big boost. Second, you'll need to avoid those tables full of Eastern Euro nits, which are harder to profit from. I have recs for both US and International players with this in mind.

US based players should check out America's Cardroom. There is plenty of Sit N Go volume, and a progressive leaderboard, known as 'Sit N Crush'. This adds money for every game played, and distributes it among the highest volume players. You can find out more over at www.americascardroom.com

International Sit N Go fans will not find any softer games than those at Party Poker. This big site now offers between 20% and 40% cashback (paid each Monday, depending on your volume of games). You'll also get up to $22 in tokens along with your welcome bonus, depending on where you live. These games are super-easy to beat, a great way to build a bankroll. Checkthem out for yourself over at www.partypoker.com

PokerStars do still have the high volume of games... for me they are a little to 'regular infested' these days!

Becoming A SNG Professional #1 – Bankroll Management

If you are one of the many poker players who feel bankroll management does not apply to them then think again. Variance, the natural swings of fortune inherent in the game, will affect all of us at some point along the line. Ensuring that you are adequately bankrolled for the level you are playing at will protect you from long losing or breakeven runs.

The key factor to bear in mind is that you never want to be worrying about the value of money while playing at the tables. This can and will prevent you from making ‘optimal’ plays based on the situation presented. We have many articles on different aspects of Bankroll Management here at SNG Planet. Our Introduction To SNG Bankroll Management makes a solid starting point.

Becoming A SNG Professional #2 – Poker Site Selection

Headline bonus rates. Loyalty Schemes and Leaderboard Promotions are all factors to be considered when choosing where to base your SNG Career. In my experience the key factor is to counter-balance these with both the quality of the opposition (softer sites can easily add several percentage points to your ROI) and your comfort with the interface and gameplay.

If you play every game with 5 other pro grinders, your profits might be lowered so much that the bigger / better loyalty scheme does not balance this. While beating other winners might be good for the ego, the smartest grinders are those who take a more calculated approach - finding the softest games!

You'll find many articles and resources to help you find the best sites for your individual needs. Below are 2 solid recommendations for those looking to become SNG Pros, for further information check out our Best Site For SNG Tournamentsguide, which has been fully updated to account for the latest poker site closures and changes.

PokerStars - Still The Top Grinders Choice (+ Trick For 3 Welcome Bonuses!)

No other site has the volume of games which PokerStars can offer. In fact no other poker site comes close when it comes to your ability to grind different types of Sit N Go right from the micros to the mid-stakes. Combine this with the awesome VIP loyalty program and you'll soon see for yourself why this site are #1 for grinders. Follow the sign-up process below, and you'll get 3 'first' deposit welcome bonuses (100% up to $600 in total) to get your bankroll off to a flying start.

• Download the software from www.pokerstars.com
• Create Your Account - Choose 'Marketing Code' from the drop down list and add PSPxxxx in the new box which appears.
• Hit the big red 'Cashier' button on the lobby (you really can not miss it!)
• Choose your deposit method and use Bonus Code STARS600 for your first 3 deposits within 90 days.

It is as simple as that, 3 deposit bonuses, the best rewards and 1000's of SNGs kicking off every hour... if you are serious about becoming a grinder, then you need to check this site out!

Becoming A SNG Professional #3 – Learning To Multi-Table

This is a must for anyone serious about making a large profit from SNGs. The key factor here is your hourly rate, or overall dollars earned per hour. While adding 8, 10, 12 or more tables will reduce your profit per table, the additional tables will more than make up for this in terms of total cash won.

We break this subject down into two parts in our detailed guide to multi-tabling SNGs. Firstly we look at the math / ROI factors and show how you can expect your profits to escalate. Secondly we look at the practical issues, these include the debates on Sets vs Continual and Tiled vs Cascaded views.

Becoming A SNG Professional #4 – Push / Fold Poker

You not only need to understand push / fold poker to become a SNG Pro – you will need to have your ‘ranges’ and ‘equity based decisions’ down to a semi-automated level. That is to say you will need to learn Poker ICM and the math behind dollar equity based decisions.

This will involve going through your own hand histories and looking for spots where you could have improved your profits. Both in terms of your own behavior (pushes / folds) and the calls of your opponents with surprising cards.

I suggest that anyone serious about making many $1000’s from SNG grinding needs to invest in a tool to assist with this analysis. ICMIZER 2 is way ahead of the field when it comes to push-fold math, opponent ranges and showing you the most profitable moves in different common situations - it comes recommended for exactly this purpose! You can check it out for free, with 3 calculations per day, though aspiring grinders will quickly see the value in subscribing. Check out www.icmpoker.com now for the details of how it can make you money!

Becoming A SNG Professional #5 – Make Sure It Is Right For You!

Having the right expectations and the right mindset are as important as choosing the correct site and investing in the right tools. The excitement of poker will fade after becoming a grinder for any length of time. It is important that you are able to keep yourself motivated to put in the hours.

A Balanced lifestyle, taking regular breaks and making sure you have no distractions are all key factors – and will become especially important during those inevitable break-even or losing patches.

SNG Grinding can be hugely profitable, we wish you the best of luck and look forward to your feedback at: support@sngplanet.com

Related Articles

The legality of online poker in the United States varies according to your jurisdiction. Contrary to what some sources might have you believe, no federal law specifically forbids online poker. State laws, on the other hand, might or might not, depending on the state. Only one state (Washington) has a specific law explicitly forbidding online poker, while only Delaware, Nevada and New Jersey have legalized and regulated it.

Our goal is to provide the facts about where you can play poker online legally in the United States. You should know up front that our site isn't run by lawyers or anyone with any kind of governmental authority. If you need actual legal advice, you should contact an attorney. The information provided here is for educational and entertainment purposes only. We're not responsible for anything that happens based on your use of the information here.

That being said, the information here is accurate and reliable to the best of our knowledge.

Washington State

We thought it would be a good idea to get this out of the way right away. It is illegal to play poker online for money in the state of Washington.

The state of Washington passed a law in 2006 making online poker a felony. Full Tilt Poker and PokerStars responded by no longer offering services to residents of that state, but they continued to operate in the rest of the country. If you live in the state of Washington, it's a crime to play poker online for money. In fact, it's a serious crime. Our advice to poker players in Washington state is to not play poker on the Internet.

We don't know why the state of Washington has taken such a draconian stance against Internet poker, but if you live there, it's probably best not to play, even if you can find a site which would accept you as a player.

Games of Skill vs. Games of Chance

The amount of controversy surrounding whether or not it's legal to play poker on the Internet in the United States is strange, especially in light of the similarities between the game and the free market system, which is one of the cornerstones of the American way of life. Poker is even commonly called 'America's card game.' Expert players consider it a mind sport. Even the general public considers poker a sport; that's why it's the subject of televised events on ESPN, a TV channel that specializes in sports programming and reporting.

In August, 2012, Judge Jack B. Weinstein, a federal judge in Brooklyn, ruled that poker is predominantly a game of skill rather than chance. The reasoning is that the money doesn't flow to the luckiest players at the table, at least not in the long run. In the end, the most skilled players win the most money. The skills used in poker include reading other players, concealing your own intentions, and evaluating the odds that your hand is the best.

According to Judge Weinstein, 'The most skillful professionals earn the same celestial salaries as professional ballplayers.'

Of course, this doesn't mean that playing poker doesn't constitute gambling, at least not colloquially. What makes a game 'gambling' is the activity of betting money. Skill becomes a consideration from a legal standpoint, though. In many jurisdictions, contests of skill are treated dramatically different from games of pure chance.

You might be the best poker player in the world, but on any given hand, you face an element of risk. The same holds true for other bettors who use skill to get an edge. Blackjack card counters, expert video poker players, and skilled sports handicappers all sometimes lose.

The Interstate Wire Act of 1961

Does the Wire Act make online poker illegal?
The Interstate Wire Act of 1961, sometimes called 'the Federal Wire Act', was passed in September, 1961 in an attempt to thwart organized crime.

In 2005, the Justice Department sent threatening letters to Internet publishers and broadcasting companies, including Google, Yahoo, and Infinity Broadcasting. Their contention was that accepting advertising from companies involved in online gambling was 'aiding and abetting' illegal activities. They used the Interstate Wire Act as justification for this.

In December, 2011, The Justice Department reversed their position, stating that the Interstate Wire Act of 1961 only applies to sports betting, not to poker.

So the short answer, until the Supreme Court rules otherwise, is no, the Wire Act does not make online poker illegal.

The Unlawful Internet Gambling Enforcement Act of 2006

Does UIGEA make online poker illegal?
The Unlawful Internet Gambling Enforcement Act of 2006 (UIGEA) was passed as part of the Safe Ports act. The law made it a federal crime to accept payments connected with illegal Internet gambling. It did not define 'illegal Internet gambling', and since the Wire Act only applied to sports betting, no federal law makes it illegal to play poker on the Internet for money.

So the short answer again is no, UIGEA does not make online poker illegal unless state laws make it illegal (which they seem to do in the vast majority of the states).

As a practical matter, though, UIGEA has made life harder for online rounders. Some companies, including Pacific Poker, Paradise Poker, and Party Poker, stopped accepting real money players from the United States. Other companies, including Full Tilt Poker, PokerStars, and the Cereus Poker network, continued to accept players from the United States. Eventually, even those companies had to capitulate to the prevailing anti-gambling sentiment from the current U.S. governmental regime.

Black Friday

Did the events of Black Friday make online poker illegal?
In 2011, an estimated 2 million Americans played online poker for money on a regular basis. On Friday, April 15, 2011, The Justice Department eliminated most of this play when it shut down the three most trafficked poker sites (Pokerstars, Full Tilt Poker, and the Cereus Network) with charges of money laundering and fraud. The US government contended that the companies had violated UIGEA, but the poker companies operated under the understanding that online poker wasn't illegal and therefore didn't constitute a violation of the act.

The Department of Justice not only seized control of the websites for the three companies, they also froze the assets in 76 bank accounts in 14 countries. Both civil and criminal charges were filed. In July, 2012, the U.S. government dismissed 'with prejudice' the civil complaints, but not the criminal indictments. PokerStars and Full Tilt Poker settled without admitting wrongdoing. As part of the settlement, PokerStars bought Full Tilt Poker.

No, the events of Black Friday didn't make online poker illegal, but they had a chilling effect on the actual play. The industry still hasn't recovered, but there are reasons to be optimistic.

The Poker Player's Alliance

The Poker Player's Alliance (PPA) was founded in Washington D.C. in 2005 as a non-profit political advocacy group to protect the rights of poker players in the US. Their goals include overturning UIGEA and passing legislation legalizing and regulating poker on the Internet. From their about us page, their mission is as follows: 'The PPA's mission is to establish favorable laws that provide poker players with a secure, safe and regulated place to play.'

Multiple bills have been proposed in Congress to amend UIGEA with an exception for online poker and other skill games but none have passed. We encourage the civic-minded members of our readership to visit their site, consider donating, or use their other resources to write to the lawmakers who represent them in the government. If it is the will of the people, safe and regulated online poker can become a reality sooner rather than later.

Delaware, Nevada, and New Jersey

Three states, Delaware, Nevada, and New Jersey, have passed laws explicitly legalizing and regulating online gambling.

Delaware taxes the first $3.75 million of online gambling revenue in a year at 100%, which means that casinos need to generate a tremendous amount of activity to earn any money from online gambling activities. To legally gamble online in Delaware, a player must be of gambling age and operate their computer (or smartphone/table) within the state. The online poker market there is correspondingly small as a result, but state officials are confident that revenues from online gambling will grow as it catches on there.

Nevada has legalized online poker for two sites: UltimatePoker.com and WSOP.com. These two sites have exclusive rights to run online gambling in the state. As in Delaware, players must be of legal gambling age and operate their computer within the state. Nevada taxes online gambling revenues at the same rate (6.75%) as all other gaming revenue.

Websites offering online gambling in New Jersey are required to have a relationship with a physical casino within the state. They tax this revenue at 15% (compared to the 8% they tax their physical casinos). All gambling activities, including poker, are legal within this context, but revenues have been lower than expected. This disappointment is, at least in part, a result of credit card companies' lack of cooperation in processing these transactions.

These are not the only states where it's legal to play poker. They're just the only states to have laws on the books specifically legalizing the activity and regulating it. In the United States, an activity is legal unless a law prohibits it, so the lack of laws on the books in some states does not equate to the committing of a crime. At least nine other states have proposals to legalize and regulate poker on the Internet.

Can You Legally Play Poker for Money on the Internet in the US?

Can You Make Money Playing Online Poker Reddit

State laws vary. If you live in the state of Washington, playing poker online for money is a felony. In most cases, general state gambling laws make online poker illegal as well. To our knowledge, no one in the United States has been indicted or convicted of a crime related to playing online poker for money so far. This, of course, might change in the blink of an eye. We recommend that you only participate in online poker if it's legal where you live.