Can you really make $1000 a month playing online poker? I used to wonder the same thing as a beginner. Eventually I figured out that a lot of this comes down to beating the stake you are playing, putting in enough volume, and playing on the right poker site.
Quick Answer: Yes. Making $1,000 a month playing online poker is realistic with the right stakes, win rate, and volume
Can You Really Make $1,000 a Month Playing Online Poker?
Yes, you can make $1,000 a month playing online poker, but it’s a lot harder than simply depositing money, sitting down at a table, and grinding a few hours every week. I’ve played online poker for years, and the biggest thing I’ve learned is that making consistent money is completely different from having a few profitable sessions.
If your goal is $1,000 per month, you need three things working together: a positive win rate, enough volume, and a bankroll that allows you to survive the inevitable downswings. And all of this takes a lot of sustained discipline and effort. I truly believe hitting this number is achievable so I will explain what this looks like.
How Much Do You Need to Win Per Day?
Couple of things to understand. First is that you don’t want to put a lot of pressure on yourself every single day you sit down at a table because you could have some losing days due to variance. What you need to do is hit daily targets of hands played. The sweet spot no matter what stake you are playing is getting to 1000 hands per day. Some days you might play less and other days you might creep up to 1500-2000 hands per day, it depends.
Over a 30-day period $1000 could mean some days you hit $50 in profit while others you might only squeeze out $20 or less. Depending on the stake you could also make $300 one day and then lose $400 the next. The key thing is that you’re putting in enough volume and the stake you are playing to hit the hands number per day I want you to focus on.
What Stakes Do You Need to Play?
This is where things get interesting. The nice thing about using $1000 as a monthly target is that you could play relatively small stakes and get there. The lower you play however the more you might need to grind. For example, let’s say you are playing 50nl where the blinds are $.25/$.50. If you are a 4 big blind per 100 hand winner, you’re making approximately $2 per 100 hands. Over 50,000 hands that comes out to $1000 in expected profit.
The thing you can’t really account for is skill level. You might be a better big blind per 100 winner at 6-8 per 100 hands which also changes the math. The lower the stakes the easier the games tend to be. So, hitting $1000 is still well within reach even at 25nl.
The Math changes Considerably at 100NL
100nl is where I see a lot of players start to figure out how good they really are at online poker. It’s not so much that the competition gets hard at this stake, but the player quality does get slightly better. However, I still feel this is a great stake to play because it’s not that hard to get an edge in these games and the volume and monthly target of $1000 gets considerable easier.
Let’s say you can get a win rate of 3 big blinds per 100 hands. So, $3 per 100 hands. Over 35,000 hands that’s around $1050. The problem for a lot of people is keeping a good win rate. But I still feel like players at this level are easy to beat.
Is 25NL Enough?
It can be, but I wouldn’t want to rely on 25NL if my primary goal was consistently making $1,000 every month. At a strong 5 BB/100 win rate, you’re making approximately $1.25 per 100 hands. That means you’d need around 80,000 hands to generate $1,000 in expected profit. That’s a serious grind. If you’re playing recreationally after work or on weekends, reaching that volume might be more difficult than beating the games.
This is why moving up in stakes can dramatically change the economics of online poker—but only when you’re ready. That’s why I think starting at 50nl makes the most sense for a lot of people. Plus, player quality isn’t much better at moving up from 25nl to 50nl. It’s generally a lot of the same players
How Many Hands Should You Play?
For somebody seriously trying to make $1,000 per month, I’d think in terms of monthly hands rather than hours. A reasonable target might look something like this:
| Stakes | Example Win Rate | Hands for ~$1,000 |
| 25NL | 5 BB/100 | 80,000 |
| 50NL | 4 BB/100 | 50,000 |
| 100NL | 3 BB/100 | ~33,000 |
| 200NL | 2 BB/100 | 25,000 |
These aren’t guaranteed results. They’re just examples showing how stakes, volume, and win rate interact. Your actual results can look completely different because poker has a huge amount of short-term variance.
The Biggest Problem: Variance
This is the part people underestimate. Let’s say you’re legitimately beating your games for $1,000 per month in expected value. That doesn’t mean you’re going to make exactly $1,000 every month.
You might have results that look more like this:
Month 1: +$1,700
Month 2: -$400
Month 3: +$2,300
Month 4: +$600
Month 5: +$1,100
Where Should You Play?
If I was starting today, I would play on Ignition Poker. I regularly put in between 30,000 to 50,000 hands a month here at mid stakes because there is a lot of traffic and the games are soft enough that getting an edge is not a problem for me. You can multi table 3-4 tables at a time, which is the perfect amount for hitting 1000 hands per day over a 30-day period. Plus, I really like the software which makes it easy to sit there and grind a few hours per day without it feeling like work.
Final Thoughts
I wouldn’t look at $1000 a month as the end goal. It should be the beginning after you prove concept and can hit this number. Once you do scale up slightly and get to $2000 to $3000 a month becomes more of a reality. It just takes a certain type of person who is willing to constantly improve, work on technical things, and keep their emotions in check when variance comes around. Not everyone can do this, but certain people are built for online poker. Maybe it’s time to find out if you are one of those people.
Frequently Asked Questions
Can you really make $1,000 a month playing online poker?
Yes. A winning player who puts in enough volume at stakes such as 50NL or 100NL can realistically average $1,000 per month. However, poker variance means you shouldn’t expect to make exactly $1,000 every month.
What stakes should I play to make $1,000 a month?
I think 50NL and 100NL are reasonable stakes to target. You can make $1,000 playing 25NL, but you’ll generally need significantly more hands. At higher stakes, you need less volume, but the competition also gets tougher.
How many hours of poker does it take to make $1,000?
It depends on your win rate, number of tables, and hands played per hour. Instead of focusing entirely on hours, I prefer tracking total hands and BB/100. This gives you a better idea of whether you’re actually beating the games.
Can you make $1,000 a month playing poker part-time?
It’s possible. A profitable player who multi-tables efficiently may be able to generate enough volume while playing part-time. Your results will depend heavily on your skill level and stakes.
Is it easier to make $1,000 playing cash games or tournaments?
I’d choose cash games for consistency. Tournaments can produce much larger wins, but they generally come with considerably more variance.
Edward Pao is an online poker and casino affiliate marketer with over 10 years of experience in the industry. He has referred over 30,000 players to major poker platforms and specializes in reviewing the best online poker sites and casino bonuses.