I Can Make $300k + Playing Poker...Should I Give Affiliate Marketing A Shot?

Andrew Scherer said:
Oh sheesh.

Please Google keyword leverage. It makes millionaires.
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I have a degree in economics, I'm well aware of leverage. I'm also well aware of temptations and frivolous spending when you're young and often single with no real responsibilities. And I've seen friends who bothered to invest blow through a lot more money than they were putting away and end up a few years later back at a crappy desk job commuting in traffic in a Camry instead of a Porsche. It's a lot easier to sell some shares than it is to bother to do a cash out refi on your home that you own.

And I can't think of anything worse than getting to 35 realizing that you flushed everything you once made down the toilet with nothing to show for it.
 


You should also consider staking people in poker. I've seen sites where you can front money for people to play for you. They get a % of the winnings and you get a % of the winnings. I have no idea how it's done so either party does not get ripped off.
 
The owner of my company and several of our employees (including myself) were all at some point in our lives pro or semi pro poker players.

I manage a poker affiliate network and have several publishers who have come to the same fork in the road as well. Some still play full time or part time while others have quit poker altogether to focus on AM (affiliate sites, training sites, and a few e book guys).

In my opinion, it really comes down to two factors :

Lifestyle: dealing with swings in poker as oppossed to having passive income (although not as much at first with AM). having your schedule revolve around when games are running instead of making your own schedule.

Personal/Professional Goals: Do you see yourself playing poker professionally in 10/15/20 years? While it still may be extremely profitable it may not align with the goals you have set for yourself.
 
Id learn to trade markets with that kind of cash lying around.

You can make a crap load of money "working" 4 - 8 hours a week trading. Thats what some of my mates are doing. crazy money.

But just like AM you have to earn it and that means loosing your shirt in the beginning.
 
Sonny Forelli said:
Were I you I wouldn't build a poker product, I'd figure out how to jump into niches with potential (ie don't try and fast-follow Acai at this point). Get diversified up front into 3-4 different areas and start grinding while applying strategy to how/what you're doing.
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Sounds like good advice. I think I'll be following it.
 
ThatSwissIMGuy said:
Oh yes, it's definitely related to your initial and also your continuous input. What I mean is that I can take a week off, and still generate income. I can also take a month off (off meanin checking stats every other day for 5 min and stopping the stuff that doesn't work anymore) but the income will increase somewhat depending on what niche your in.

In AM you can work hard for a month, then chill and just work little for 3 months and while your income will decrease, you'll still have quite a bit (obviously not before acquiring the skills, that period is a hard and long lerning experience) of income.

In Poker, if you don't play, you don't make money.
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Sweet. One of the main reasons I am considering learning affiliate marketing, which I forgot to include in the OP, is because all money made requires the input of time. If you don't play, you don't make money. This is of course the same with almost every job out there. The amount this is true just differs. I suppose that if you do all your work during the day, you're still making money when you're sleeping which is, of course, impossible in poker. If I don't play tomorrow I will not make money.
 
Garrett said:
If you can make $300k+ playing poker, you should just stick with that. It takes alot of time to get good at affiliate marketing - If you're willing to put in a solid year of learning about marketing, copywriting, and web design, then maybe you can do it.

It's not the most difficult thing in the world, but there are alot of things you need to learn/know how to do. Using the internet being one of them.
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Haha, well I'm already using the Internet so I might as well keep at it. But, I get your point. I think I am willing to put in a year, if the rewards stand a chance of being good. Because:

1) Sometimes I cannot play poker. So I need to fill this time as constructively as possible.

2) I think it would be fun to learn new skills. The more skills I can add to my brain that will keep me self-employed, the better I will feel. I want to work for myself forever. So, it would be exciting learning something new and more diverse than poker.
 
jessecooper said:
300k playing poker is nice.

Here's a thought, learn to live on 50k and invest the 250k in mutual funds in these four categories...

  • Growth
  • Growth & Income
  • Aggressive Growth
  • International
In a few years you will be shitting money.
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I do live cheaply. I'm currently living out of the country for a 330 out of 365 days in order to qualify for the $87500 income tax exemption. I'm moving to Tokyo in two weeks so hopefully I can make it last.

Most of my money that is not online is in index funds.
 
Lambo said:
Im pretty sure Cardrunners and Duecescracked have affiliate programs...you could start a blog or get a list going and push those training sites. Get a feel for the market, use the info to kill when you have your own product.

Also curious, do you focus on one game, i.e. NL Holdem, PL Omaha, etc. And do you make more from cash games or tourneys? What games & limits have you found to be most profitable for you?
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That's good advice about getting a feel for the market. When I try out affiliate marketing, I don't plan on focusing much on having any poker-related campaigns starting out. I just want to make sure the shit doesn't hit the fan in September. I'm diversifying, after all. I got a PM from an affiliate company that wanted me to promote their poker offer. Honestly, I'd rather not. But, if any reputable networks (C2M, A4D, Neverblue) are willing to allow me to promote their stuff with as of yet zero experience, go ahead and send me a message. Mods please delete this post if that request isn't allowed.
 
Lambo said:
Also curious, do you focus on one game, i.e. NL Holdem, PL Omaha, etc. And do you make more from cash games or tourneys? What games & limits have you found to be most profitable for you?
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I play NL and PLO cash games. I've played as high as 300/600NL and 200/400PLO but my norm is 10/20 and 25/50 (NL/PLO). I've been playing more 5/10 the last few months since I've withdrawn A LOT more than I normally do on the sites I play at. Every time I make a withdrawal I consider the money I have withdrawn to be not part of my poker bankroll. I have also been doing a lot of traveling these past 4 months. Morocco does not have the best Internet and I might have been hanged if I was caught gambling like that. (Not sure about that last part, but wouldn't be surprised. In the state of Washington playing online poker is the same class felony as rape, I'm pretty sure. That said, you can still do it.)
 
Sonny Forelli said:
Were I you I wouldn't build a poker product, I'd figure out how to jump into niches with potential (ie don't try and fast-follow Acai at this point). Get diversified up front into 3-4 different areas and start grinding while applying strategy to how/what you're doing.
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I agree that he should diversify into different areas, but to tell him to avoid the gambling niche is ludicrous.

The OP makes 300k a year playing poker, do you know how marketable that is?

1.PokerStars offers something between $45-75 Per lead. Other sites give you a portion of lifetime rake on leads.

2. Poker-related products, (Poker Tracker 3, Holdem Manager), all offer commissions.

3. Poker Coaching websites offer % of lifetime membership fee's.

The fact that so many post's in this thread are by former poker players turned affiliates serves to suggest that he can definitely use his previous career as an easy transition into successful AM.
 
Just out of curiosity, how do you make your money playing poker? Sit n go's, ring games, larger tournaments?

EDIT: Saw you answered this, sorry. Didn't refresh the page before I posted.
 
Also, there is a pretty gigantic gap between the stakes I play at, which are considered high, and the extreme high stakes, which consist of maybe 10-20 regulars. Games that typically run jump from 25-50NL to 500/1000NL (20 times the stakes, 20 times the bankroll needed) or 200/400PLO. A few years ago it was a lot easier to find games in between that ran pretty frequently, so it was easier to raise up in stakes. Plus, everybody was worse back then. Now you have to jump up to 20X the stakes and take a significant shot and risk. If you're prepared to take it, then fine. The people that are regulars in those games are extremely good, were extremely good a few years ago, took advantage of the then plentiful games, possibly took a lot of big risks and got lucky, have probably have run better than most overall, and have been able to stick at those stakes. Now they're able to lose $200,000 in a single hand and feel about how I do when I lose $5,000 in a hand, not great...but better than most.
 
patrick24601 said:
You should also consider staking people in poker. I've seen sites where you can front money for people to play for you. They get a % of the winnings and you get a % of the winnings. I have no idea how it's done so either party does not get ripped off.
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This would be extremely risky. The only practical reason someone good would need to be staked is if they wanted to take a shot at the huge games (the 500/1000 200/400 games I was talking about). That's a big enough leap to where it would make sense to borrow to get more capital. Otherwise you could spend then next ten years grinding to get an adequate roll. Whenever i have played 200/400 I have always had 100% of myself, but it's extremely common for players that respect each other to take percentages of each other and share the profit or loss. There are enough games running in between the lowest of the low .02/.05 to high stakes, for a smart person to be able to build their roll up themselves. Anybody that doesn't have the roll for 2/4NL, probably shouldn't be staked.

I also think that staking makes somewhat more sense in tournaments. I've played the WSOP main event before and some online tournaments. I was going to play again this year but it was later than I had planned, and was going to be out of the country. I play mostly online, but playing live is easier. Players are worse and older, lacking fundamentals. Not always, but there definitely a lot softer on the whole. It's just slower (people taking forever, shuffling not happening automatically) and you can only play one table. Also the rake can be pretty bad and you can't get rakeback. And in some games you have to or it's common to tip dealers.
 
The government wants us all to work 9-5 for 55 years, then die. That information on the port bill REALLY upsets me, as does all the affiliate shit we have to deal with. Its almost time to move.
 
Bevo54 said:
The owner of my company and several of our employees (including myself) were all at some point in our lives pro or semi pro poker players.

I manage a poker affiliate network and have several publishers who have come to the same fork in the road as well. Some still play full time or part time while others have quit poker altogether to focus on AM (affiliate sites, training sites, and a few e book guys).

In my opinion, it really comes down to two factors :

Lifestyle: dealing with swings in poker as oppossed to having passive income (although not as much at first with AM). having your schedule revolve around when games are running instead of making your own schedule.

Personal/Professional Goals: Do you see yourself playing poker professionally in 10/15/20 years? While it still may be extremely profitable it may not align with the goals you have set for yourself.
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Do you have any stories of guys that have been really or relatively successful in poker, still capable of making a ton of money, that have given it up or almost because they have found they were even more successful in affiliate marketing?

Your two points are great and exactly what I'm considering at the moment. I will always consider poker to be a money-making option for me, and see myself playing to some degree for the rest of my days. That said, it can't hurt to have a backup plan, especially with the uncertainty brought about by governmental meddling. I don't want to have to rely on any one way of making money. I want to have multiple ways of doing it.

How are you guys reacting to whatever is supposed to take place December 19? How is the poker affiliate world? I always hear about guys who made a ton of money signing people up for rakeback back in the glory days.
 
avMav said:
Id learn to trade markets with that kind of cash lying around.

You can make a crap load of money "working" 4 - 8 hours a week trading. Thats what some of my mates are doing. crazy money.

But just like AM you have to earn it and that means loosing your shirt in the beginning.
Click to expand...

Do your friends trade on their own account or do they have jobs with big firms. Poker and trading are definitely comparable on many levels. I've always been interested in trading, my dad is a trader. I was planning to be a trader until poker happened. I think it's a tough, stressful job.
 
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