What percentage of players "consistently" win?

Im sure I've seen this post at least twice before, maybe someone can dig a thread up. The usual conclusion is about 7-8% but usually suggestions range from 5-10%.

Hope that helps

[ianlippert]

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7 or 8%. Seriously.

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Ya a while back one of the major sites said that 8% of their players were in the black. That doesnt really mean anything since a player who wins $10 a month at the penny tables would be included. I think that the number of players that make $1000+/month is probably somewhere between 3-5%.

[wadea]

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I think that the number of players that make $1000+/month is probably somewhere between 3-5%.

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My guess for this would be <1%. It would take a very good, logical, fact-supported argument to get me to believe >1% are making $1000+/mo.

About 7-8 percent sounds about right. Just thinking about it informally, if anyone is making a significant amount of money, then there must be a lot of people donating to the pot since I think most losing players don't lose very much (they simply quit playing or move to very low stakes). I do, however, think that 10% of those who try becoming winning players must be too low. It takes nothing more than a tiny amount of common sense and some patience to beat the micro limits. I can't imagine that anybody who wanted to be able to do this wouldn't be able to.

[UATrewqaz]

Consistent is a sticky word when it comes to poker.

A great player, one who posts big $ wins every single month can easily have a period of days if not weeks of all losing sessions.

Variance is very extreme in hold em.

Over the "long haul" the general accepted number is 10% or so actually win money (this factors in the rake). Without the rake this % would be higher, I've heard about 25%.

Hmm ... let us hope, that the remaining 92% do not realize this ... ?? [img]/images/graemlins/laugh.gif[/img]


(Damn 8% sounds low .. kind of scary, why then are all those people playing poker (at least ringgames, tourneys can fun, whether you win or not ... there is the lotto effect, hoping to get lucky one day and win BIG ... Ringgames on the other hand, they just suck you dry in no time, if you do not play well)

[12AX7]

Where are you playing 10/20 in Florida?

I would say 10%. No matter what, once you start to play poker as a beginner you will LOSE. Well there are some lucky people. But each and everyday you play you learn new things. When I first started, I thought I knew alot and I had to pay dearly for it.

According to my PT stats, 67% loser, 33% winners....over 100,000 hands. Simply win or lose, doesnt mean there are big winners or big losers.

The 7-10% figure is what I have always heard. I was a bit startled/discouraged when I first heard this, but I don't think the news is nearly as bad for a player who is willing to put in the time and learn the game.

First of all, I believe somewhere between 20-40% of the people who play have no interest in learning the game. They just treat it like any other casino game. Second, I think there is a fair percentage of people who would otherwise be winning players if they did a better job of game selection and controlling themselves. I'm talking about things like moving up to quickly or playing higher than you should because your ego won't let you move down. There's also the factor that a lot of poker players tend to be gamblers and that can cause all sorts of problems.

I believe that for a reasonably intelligent person with good discipline and decent logic skills who is smart with game selection and bankroll management it's not that hard to be a winning player. The reason there aren't that many winning players is because people usually fall short in one of these areas.