Poker FUNdamentals — Being A Poker Pro: Part 2

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For part two of my series on being a poker pro, I’ve decided to turn my focus to two different professional grinders, who both primarily play low-stakes cash games for a living in Las Vegas. They each play mostly $1-$3 to $5-$10 games, with $2-$5 being their main game. Both have ventured into stakes well above $5-$10, although rarely.

I decided to interview these players as they have a unique perspective about playing cash games for a living in Vegas, and I believe that their answers give a good insight to anyone looking to make the jump themselves.

Dustin Lee is a 35-year-old pro who has been playing for eight years in Las Vegas and many years before that in his home state of Hawaii. Despite being primarily a cash game grinder, he also plays tournaments and has made a World Series of Poker final table and has more than $400,000 in cashes.

The second player is Pat, a 29-year-old who has been playing pro for eight years as well, splitting his time between Las Vegas and Texas. He plays a mix of live and online cash, and some tournaments. Pat has two WSOP final tables of his own and more than $600,000 in tournament earnings.

Ryan: How long have you focused on cash games in Las Vegas?

Dustin: I moved Vegas in 2011 and have been playing in the cash games primarily to make a living. 

Pat: Have spent about two years just only playing live cash but now mix cash/mtts online and live.

Ryan: Can you talk about your general win rate? Have you seen that increase or decrease over the years?

Dustin: It was $60 an hour at $2-$5 for a long time, but it has decreased over the years due to games getting slightly tougher, and also because I have not been putting in as much time on and off felt, doing the work needed, and playing enough volume to realize my full win rate. So, lately it has dropped to around $50/hr.

Pat: Live win rates have always been much higher, in terms of big blinds per 100 hands (bb/100), although it’s hard to converge on exact numbers. Online has kind of capped out at 4-10 (bb/100) resulting in a slightly higher hourly online due to multi-tabling. Some friends have shown me ridiculously high win rates online due to extreme game selection, but I’m not sure how sustainable they can be.

I believe that live cash in Vegas has become significantly worse over the years, but the appeal is that there’s always multiple games running around town at weird hours and holiday seasons. And the quality of the games will increase depending on special events and conventions running in Vegas, so game selection and time of the year can impact it immensely.

Ryan: What changes have you noticed over the last year, three years, or even five years of grinding in Vegas?

Dustin: Wow! Changes have always been consistent in that each year I would see some of the grinders come and go, whether it be from boredom of the game, a leak in life, or just a change of passion or career. The game itself has definitely evolved, but not so much that it is unbeatable or unbeatable for a good win rate. But I’m only speaking of the lower to mid-stakes games. 

Pat: There are a lot more pro grinders from all over the world at all stakes, especially the last few years. Games can end up being pretty terrible day-to-day depending on how many good grinders are playing.

Ryan: Where are your favorite places to play?

Dustin: I would say I love all games in town. Wynn, Venetian, Caesars, or any place that holds a $2-$5 game is going to be good. However, my favorite place to play is Aria. I guess I am biased because I have always played there so I know everyone. Some would even call me “The Governor” there! (laughing) But in all honesty, it is due to the atmosphere, the exceptional staff, and the fact that they are the only casino still raking the least and providing high-end drinks and services.

Pat: I like the Wynn for general atmosphere and staff. The games are generally pretty good but can be worse due to deeper buy-in limits (higher cap buy-in limit compared to most other $2-$5 or $5-$10 games). I believe that recreational players don’t really care to play super deep vs obvious pros. There are some exceptions, and that’s why the games can be really good. I do however like the Bellagio as well due to the amount of games running as there is always a choice.  

Ryan: Would you have told your past-self five years ago to play cash games in Vegas?

Dustin: I still think cash, after playing tournaments consistently the last two years, offers a much more stress-free lifestyle. There are great things to tournaments in that; the game has much more dynamics, is much more enjoyable, and is a truer form of poker I believe. It is also possible to make life-changing money too. However, if you want a less stressful life, stick to cash games.

Pat: Definitely would have told my past-self to play. It’s a good environment to learn since you have to maneuver around seasoned pros while trying to battle for the easy money. There are not many other places to get that kind of variety of player types all playing at once, in my opinion.

Ryan: What would you tell someone looking to play $1-$2 or higher for a side income or for a living today?

Dustin: I would say that games around town are definitely getting tougher, since there is so much more knowledge being put out there for people to learn. However, people are lazy. Even I am lazy. So, it’s all about putting in time on and off the tables, and making sure your game can compete well against other professionals.

Pat: I would tell players looking to grind nowadays to just focus on the fundamentals, and overall, have a general game that is less prone to big mistakes. Everyone is getting better at punishing poor play, and that includes casual players even if they’re still much worse at it than pros. There are too many resources out there to not at least have a simple grasp on what it takes to consistently win. Also playing a lot of the right type of volume is essential to being successful. ♠

Ryan Laplante is a 2016 WSOP Bracelet winner. He has more than $4.5 million in tournament cashes with seven WSOP final tables. His website is PokerProtential.com, and he is a coach for Chip Leader Coaching