Easiest Games

By Wes Burns

Comparing different online poker games to find the easiest games & limits to make money.

New poker players often ask what are the juiciest poker games and easiest limits for making money. The answer, unfortunately, is that it depends. I wish I could tell you the easiest game and stakes for making money with poker but there is no one objective answer. It really depends on your skill level and playing preferences.

Some poker games are extremely easy but they don’t have a lot of money to offer because the stakes are so small. Other poker games offer enormous sums of money but you have to be extremely skilled to have any chance in those games. And to fuddle it up even further, it depends on whether you prefer ring games, tournaments or some combination of the two.

What we can do for you is explain how each game type and limit tends to treat its players. From there, you can decide for yourself which poker games offer the easiest money. No matter what type of games you end up playing in, remember that success in poker does not come easily. It requires work, a willingness to learn and a heart that can handle the ups and downs of poker.

Online Poker vs. Live Poker

The first decision you have to make is whether you want to play live or online. Live poker games tend to be the easiest games to beat but they limit the amount you can win per hour. Live poker games allow players to see about 30 hands per hour. Although live games are the easiest to beat, they move at a very slow pace.

Online poker games tend to be filled with stronger players but it’s still easier to win lots of money online than live. First of all, online poker tables can run through about 60 hands per hour. On top of that, online players can play multiple tables at a time. Even though the games are harder, it’s easier to make more money through online poker.

Winner: Online Poker

Tournaments vs. Cash Games

Tournaments are regarded by most players as being significantly easier to beat than cash games. The problem with tournaments is that big wins come far and few between. It requires hundreds and thousands of tournaments to even discover your true win rate. Even so, dedicated tournament players can make a lot of money.

Cash games offer players a more steady income but they are filled with more skilled opponents. The good thing about cash games is that skilled players can make much more money than they could in tournaments. The top cash game players in the world bring home six figures a month.

Winner: Cash Games

Low Stakes vs. High Stakes

The easiest games are always going to be at the low stakes tables. But does that mean they are the juiciest games? Not necessarily. Low stakes games are easy to beat but they don’t offer players a whole lot of money. It requires a ton of volume to make any meaningful money in low stakes poker games.

High stakes games offer players the prospect of much bigger wins but they are much harder to beat than small stakes games. No matter which format you play, you should probably start out at small stakes games and work your way up. There’s almost zero chance that any Average Joe can just walk in to a high stakes poker game and become a long term winner.

Winner: Small Stakes Games

Final Verdict

Picking from the winner of each of the above sections, we can see that small stakes online cash games are the best bet for the easiest games to beat. Out of all the options listed above, I feel that online cash games offer players the best chance to make money with poker. It’s important to start out at low stakes so that new players don’t lose a lot of money during the learning curve. As your skills improve, you can move up in stakes.

That’s just my recommendation, though. Remember that the final choice always lies with you. It’s important that you base your choice of games on the types of poker you enjoy the most. If you like the game, you’ll do well with it.