Poker is one form of gambling that seems to have consistently turned out winners over the years. In fact, that’s a little bit of an understatement since poker has actually turned a lot of people into multi-millionaires. And there’s a host of players worldwide who are all too eager to chase after the dream of becoming the next multi-millionaire poker star. Unfortunately, many of these players’ dreams end before they even get started, and these people often drop out of the game after realizing that poker isn’t a get rich quick scheme. The truth is though, the reason poker turns out millionaire players is because it is a game that can be beat through a combination of skill and patience. Oh, and there’s one other big thing that pro poker players need to do – know how to manage their money.

It’s hard for low level poker players not to get caught up trying to emulate their pro idols. After all, there are constantly stories about the hundred thousand dollar prep bets between pros, the fancy cars that they drive, and the expensive homes that they live in. The thing to remember, though, is that these poker professionals are blowing their money on lavish stuff because they have the cash to spend. And they’ve accumulated this money through years and years of playing in tournaments and cash games. Now, you might not have enough money to buy a fancy car or home, but you may have enough to buy a $3,000 watch. However, just because you won the $5,000 free roll last week doesn’t mean you should go and blow the money as quickly as possible. Instead, save the money and use it to build your bankroll so you can have more to work with.

Anybody who plays poker enough is going to come to the point where the limit that they’re playing at no longer suits them. This could either mean that the competition at the limit one is currently too tough, and they need to move down, or it could mean they are playing so well that a step up is next in line. But before a person makes the move to higher limits and greener pastures, they need to make sure that their cash flow is in line with the move. If not, it might take some more grinding at the current level to make the move more realistic. 

If you’re looking for a job and the hourly rate is way too low, you’re obviously not going to take the job. One should look at poker the exact same way and try to find a limit and poker variation that allows them to make the hourly wage that they desire. This is easier said than done though since it will take a lot of time and studying to become the type of player capable of being consistently paid in poker. But once one has put enough time into the game to become extremely comfortable, one should start keeping track of hours and the amount of money one is making. A good way to do this is to look at the rate for every 40 or 50 hours so that you get a range of time since poker can be a fickle game.

If you find that you are earning an hourly rate of $25, you’re probably at the point where you can consider poker to be something like a decent paying job. But if you think that making $1,000 in 40 hours means that you have a grand solely to add to your bankroll, then you’d be hugely mistaken. If you’re looking at poker like a job then it has to cover your living expenses too. This means that, out of the $1,000, you are going to have to figure how much you’ll need to apply to bills, entertainment, etc. and how much should be reinvested into your bankroll. Once you’ve got this aspect of poker money management down, you’re well on your way to managing winnings just like a poker pro!