Do 85% of players lose at poker?

[Ujimiflip]

I read it somewhere that 85% of poker players are losing players. If it's true then not many are doing this for a living.

My thoughts are It is a tremendously difficult game to win +bankroll long term because of the downswings, which actually feel like they happen 85% of the time.. all premium holdings lose no matter how you play them, usually when you get delt premiums on the big blind everyone folds, but next time your the big blind with 7 2 off the small blinds all ins you. I also notice on a downswing nearly every hand you fold would of won against the 2 or 3 players at showdown, then when you finally get something worth playing it ends in unbelievable disaster no matter how you play it.

I just play for fun, I'm guessing if I knew more of the math side of it I'd lose much less, also got a leak off snap going all in when I really shouldn't somewhere during the hand, but working on that.

 

[Iryna Stryzheuskaya]

There is a good way not to lose money - play freerolls

 

[primrose]

Well it doesn't matter how hard the game is (the game being "hard" isn't really even a well-defined statement). What matters is that (a) people play against each other, and (b) there is rake. These two things together mean that people, on average, lose more money playing poker than winning. This is completely inevitable, both online and offline.

Theoretically, this could mean that there are a few big losers and a lot of small winners, but like, why would that be the case. It's much more likely that most people lose. I don't know the exact number but 85% is on the lower side of the estimate. I doubt one in six players is winning.

(The exception to the above are freerolls because now (b) is inverted; instead of the house keeping a share, it gifts a share. But freerolls only exist if sites make more money with paid games than they give out on freerolls, so on the whole, the principle is still true.)

 

[fundiver199]

There is a big difference between playing poker for a living and being a winning player. Playing for a living is both difficult and stressfull, especially if your cost of living is high and you dont have massive savings. But having poker as a side income is not all that difficult. And while it might be true, that 85% (or more) are losing, this is only part of the story, because the winners AKA "regs" tend to play far more than the losers.

So if you are on a table with 7 other players, its quite possible, that 4-5 of those are actually long term winners. You can check this out for yourself by looking people up on sharkscope, if you play tournaments or on Statsname, if you play cash games. This is for online poker obviously. For live games there are no easy way to know peoples results.

 

[Lena M]

I read it somewhere that 85% of poker players are losing players. If it's true then not many are doing this for a living.

My thoughts are It is a tremendously difficult game to win +bankroll long term because of the downswings, which actually feel like they happen 85% of the time.. all premium holdings lose no matter how you play them, usually when you get delt premiums on the big blind everyone folds, but next time your the big blind with 7 2 off the small blinds all ins you. I also notice on a downswing nearly every hand you fold would of won against the 2 or 3 players at showdown, then when you finally get something worth playing it ends in unbelievable disaster no matter how you play it.

I just play for fun, I'm guessing if I knew more of the math side of it I'd lose much less, also got a leak off snap going all in when I really shouldn't somewhere during the hand, but working on that.

I think this is a realistic figure. I think that no more than 10% of players earn consistently. And I think each of us has a chance to be among those 10%. It all depends on us, our goals, our patience and discipline

 

[besttest11]

Start playing freerolls, then you won't lose money.

 

[Sparta77]

I'm right about what you write.Most of the players win and in many cases the good hand wins.And it is also true that when you roll the bad cards you can win...

 

[successlaw]

I would say max 5% of players are winning players in long run .

 

[Flyer35]

There is a good way not to lose money - play freerolls

Start playing freerolls, then you won't lose money.

That's my strategy - been a 'winning' player, or at least not a 'losing' player, ever since I stopped playing for real money.

 

[Cooking]

I thought it was more than 85% players..
But I think there are players that may be profitable, but with small profits..

 

[Ruslan L]

There is a Pareto principle. I think it is this principle that best fits the statistics of those who lose and those who make money. In general, it is 80/20.

 

[Vallet]

Interesting statistics. These arguments look like hopelessness. Whatever the players do, they will lose anyway. But if you think about it, it will become even more difficult to play.

 

[mr.fers_one]

You forget about the players who play +/- at zero... therefore, 85% is a slightly inflated figure...

 

[Iryna Stryzheuskaya]

That's my strategy - been a 'winning' player, or at least not a 'losing' player, ever since I stopped playing for real money.

In my opinion, this is a great way. We can enjoy the game and not be very upset when luck is not on your side on this day.

 

[mrfastflow]

85%? This "statistic" is just the payout structure of most tournaments

 

[dreamer13]

This is largely due to the fact that many players start playing without experience and skills, which leads to losses. At the same time, professional players with high qualifications can be successful and win consistently.You can work on becoming a better person. It just takes a lot more effort than the average person is willing to put in.Also, don't play with money you can't afford to lose. Poker is a tough game, don't trust guys who say it's easy. They probably have a lot of experience.

 

[Diman111]

Probably not. I've heard the figure is much smaller.

 

[TeUnit]

Its easy to see just sharkscope 10 random players in a CC tourney.

 

[ninocabral]

Most players are recreational and few are regular so most players will lose and this is normal

 

[gadaubac]

Freeroll tournaments are the top priority, followed by low-buy-in tournaments and pray every day. That's my point of view.

 

[emsea9o5]

It’s hard to consistently win at poker. Because there is always the luck factor. No matter how good you are it still comes down to the card runout.

Because of this poker pros and regular players go through huge swings. As a result you need a big bankroll to keep your wins more than your losses. There are many bankroll management videos on YouTube.

 

[alucaa]

Look, if you don't want to lose your money directly, play freerols and with that money play other tournaments that interest you, at least that's what I did, it's too slow to build a bank, yes, but at least you don't lose anything and you're practically playing for fun without putting a single penny out of your pocket, I'm not a professional player and I don't expect it, but if that's also your case, I recommend it if you have little time to play

 

[EarnDAStack]

Pretty much everyone is a fish to someone else.

If you're the 6th best poker player in the world and you're at the table with the 5 players who are better than you, you're losing heavily in that game.

Find the level you're competitive at and go from there. It doesn't matter what other people are doing.

But yes, a very very high % of poker players are and will forever be losing.

It's a competitive strategy game played for money, most people won't put in the effort required to develop their strategy but still want to play for money so there's room for lots of money to be made if you will.

GL

EDS

 

[Nemamiah]

As many have said, the vast majority play for fun and that's why the statistics seem sad. But for those who have money to spend, “losing” isn't exactly “losing”. Do you understand? Like, it's as if the person were just going in to distract their mind, losing 10, 20 dollars doesn't make a difference to them, it's in exchange for bread.
Now, who has little, like us, who give our blood, if you just look at each other (those who study minimally and always try to win, even if that means folding 10x) maybe the statistics are not so sad.

 

[LetsStudy101]

i've played for a liviong
we need a place with LOWER RAKE / THE FEES ARE NUTS TOO.
MESSAGE ME IF U AGREE AND LIKE TO TALK ABOUT THIS KIND OF THING THANKS