Poker FUNdamentals - Being A Poker Pro: Part Three

Card Player Magazine, available in print and online, covers poker strategy, poker news, online and casino poker, and poker legislation. Sign up today for a digital subscription to access more than 800 magazine issues and get 26 new issues per year!

Part three of my series on being a poker pro will look into playing online tournaments for a living, specifically for those who reside outside of the United States and have access to the regulated off-shore poker sites.

I asked the questions below to three different professional players who currently play online tournaments for a living. They all play between $33 and $215 buy-in tournaments as their main games, and two of the players regularly play $500+ online and $3,000+ buy-in live tournaments that they feel are a good value.

Patrick Tardiff is a 25-year-old poker pro and twitch streamer (@IrEgption on Twitter) living in Toronto, Canada. He was recently signed by PartyPoker as a site pro. He has been focusing on tournaments for the last three years and plays an average buy-in of $115.

The second pro is Jack Hardcastle. He is 22 years old, originally from the UK and currently living in Toronto, Canada. He has been playing tournaments for the last three to four years professionally and has an average buy-in of $40.

The third pro is Bob (an alias). He is a 30-year-old player from Germany that now resides in Malta. He has been playing tournaments for a living for more than a decade.
Ryan: How many hours a month do you work on average?

Patrick: Between 180-240 depending on the month.

Jack: I average about 250 hours a month if I’m exclusively playing online.

Bob: I work 240 hours a month on average

Ryan: What stakes do you play?

Patrick: I have a $115 average buy-in, focused on tournaments between $55-215$. I have also played as high as a $25,000 buy-in live.

Jack: I play mid-stakes, main games in the $22 to $109 region online, with occasional shots in good fields or a big online series. I will play anything up to $1,000 buy-ins on my own live, and have played and sold action for a few $5,000 buy-in events and the $10,000 WSOP main event.

Bob: I’ll play everything from $22 to $530 if it’s a good game. I have played as high as $10,000 before.

Ryan: What changes have you noticed over the last 1/3/5/10 years?

Jack: You see more people using PIO/GTO lines such as; betting small with entire range in some spots. Or c-betting (continuation betting) less and check-raising more as the initial raiser. Also playing low and/or paired boards very aggressively as the big blind.

Bob: In the last year I’ve realized that people are putting you in a lot more tough spots. Whenever you cap yourself preflop people will take advantage of you. The good players have gotten a lot better over the years.

Ryan: What changes have you had to make in order to stay competitive?

Patrick: None really, I started basically during the era of “sims” and programs so I’ve always kept it pretty similar in terms of the work ethic and habits.

Jack: I’ve been studying using GTO (game theory optimal) solvers, and using what they teach as a means to improve my game.

Bob: I’ve been studying multiple times a week. Back in the day you didn’t have to study. You would just show up and print (money).

Ryan: How do you study and keep up?

Patrick: I use a combination of hand histories (HH) with friends, HH reviews, RaiseYourEdge, PIO, GTO Solvers.

Jack: I am constantly discussing hands with friends of equal or higher skill in a focused group chat. So studying and reviewing by yourself, and with friends often.

Bob: I just want to point out that networking is the most important part. You’re only as good as the people who challenge you daily. Players like Ryan being one of them for me. Find people who play the opposite of what you do and learn from it.

Ryan: If you could speak to your past self of five years ago would you tell them to keep playing multi-table tournaments (MTTs) for a living?

Patrick: Well, I wasn’t playing MTTs back then, but considering lives on the up and up I probably would tell myself to continue down that path.

Jack: Five years ago, I was playing $2 no-limit! Now I play mid- to high-stakes tournaments and still enjoy it.

Bob: I would just tell myself to grind more while the games are still good.

Ryan: If someone wanted to start to play MTTs online as a side income would you encourage them to?

Patrick: I mean if you enjoy poker and love it as a hobby, why not? It’s a game after all.

Jack: I think for most people it is easier to make a side income from poker going to play live cash on Friday/Saturday evenings, but if you enjoy playing MTTs then why not?

Bob: I would never recommend to somebody to play poker for a living, especially tournaments.

Ryan: Whats the most you think a good mid-stakes+ reg could reasonably earn in a year?

Patrick: I’d say between $250,000 and $300,000 if they bink off something major.

Jack: I think the best mid-stakes regs can make early six-figures in a year, and a top high-stakes reg running at expectations could make $300,000 or more in online tourneys. ♠

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