These days, the online poker scene is getting very difficult in which to be able to find meaningful amounts of money. Sure there is money to be made at the lower levels for the simple reason being that these levels are populated by the very same uneducated unsophisticated casual gamblers that hopefully you used to be. But if you want to make serious six figures then this involves operating in a totally different way than you used to do.

Game selection and even opponent selection is getting critical in the higher stakes poker games, gone are the days when you can just sit down and play poker and win if you are a good player. If I set out to play high-stakes poker this time around at say the $25-$50 level like I did before then I would target specific opponents. These may even be world class players but I wouldn’t play these people unless I had spotted specific weaknesses that I could exploit.

Chances are of course that this level would be too high now in order to try and find real value unless you can immerse yourself in the game 24/7. I could do this in theory but the problem is that I would then be having to make a huge financial sacrifice and these kinds of things never sit easy with me and never have.

All players have weaknesses, some players tilt at certain points. If there was a six max game at $300-$600 and a certain player could be tilted by a certain other player on that table and had lost a few pots to him then there could be value in that game for anyone with the right game plan. If I had to play higher stakes now then I would definitely target individual players and not games as multi-tabling poker games at NL600 and NL1000 is very tough.

The problem with going back and playing the poker betting limits that I used to play last year which is $25-$50 is that these levels are populated by some of the best players in the world. These levels have the players who either do not have the bankroll or the desire to play at the really high nosebleed levels. You also have to remember that people like Brian Townsend dropped down to this level last year.

But if you can make a nice cool 10-20 buy-ins a month at this level then you are making $50,000-$100,000 a month. I am sure that the professionals at these levels mop up most of the shot takers as it is the shot takers who are the ones who are moving up and in all likelihood are under bankrolled. It would take a combination of extensive experience and a huge bankroll of at least $200,000 to survive at this level.

It also takes an awful lot of time as well as watching and learning about your opponents probably needs to be a constant and ongoing process. These are not levels to be messed around with these days or played in a half hearted way. They demand attention and intense motivational levels and if you are the least bit idle in your overall behaviour then there is probably nothing at these levels for you.

Carl “The Dean” Sampson

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