Playing poker is one of the most fun and interesting ways to make money while living abroad.

Playing small stakes games is relatively low-risk, and above average players ear decent money at it. Plus, mastering cards isn’t too tough. In fact, I think it’s a bit easier than investing in stocks or profiting off BitCoin.

So, if you’re looking for a unique way to make money this article’s for you.

In it, I’ll explain some basic tips and tricks for playing winning poker.

When Living Abroad, Online Poker Offers The Best Return On Investment

($60 Pot In A Low-Limit Online Game)

Outside the USA poker clubs kind of suck. They’re great for networking and meeting new people, but many brick-and-mortar cardrooms are plagued by questionable business decisions.

Case in point, I live in Vietnam. Poker clubs here charge an insane rake fee (in poker the casino makes it money by taking a “rake,” or portion of each winning pot). In America, this charge is usually between 5% – 10%. So the casino takes $5 out of every $100 won.

In Vietnam, the average is 20%. So if you win $100, you’re paid $80 while the casino takes the other $20.

Not good!

Other countries do this too, and some of them are even worse.

Additionally, in most Asian countries, players only like high-stake games. As such, many tables have a minimum $20 – $50 bet.

That’s way too high.

Especially since many professional poker tournaments only start in the $10 – $20 range.

Instead of playing in a physical cardroom, I’d recommend joining a reliable online site instead.

There are several to choose from, and each offers its own advantages depending on what you want.

However, my three suggestions are:

• PokerStars (the biggest online cardroom).
• Party Poker (fairly popular around the world).
• America’s Cardroom (the easiest site for US players to deposit to).

Each of these offers a wide variety of game types (though Hold’em is always the most popular) and a ton of different stake limits. You can wager any amount from $0.50 games to $100 extravaganzas.

Play Poker Daily While Building A Bankroll

If you’re new to poker, start small. Either play at the “free chip” tables (where you aren’t betting real money), or throw $100 into your online poker account and grind the $0.50 games.

Play at these ultra low levels until you’re a consistent winner. Once you’re turning a profit in every session, move up to higher stakes. The competition won’t be much different, but you’re earnings will increase greatly.

As I’ve mentioned before in a previous article, you can easily earn $15+ an hour just by playing $2/$4 low-limit Hold’em games.

At an hour per day of playing, you’re making $450 a month.

Read “The Classics” And Train Hard

(Here’s A Sample Of My Collection)

First off, I want to mention that the best way to improve at poker is through getting in the trenches and playing.

Even friendly card games (no betting), or free sites will help hone your skills.

That said, practice alone will only take you so far.

A lot of self-taught players (even the good ones) overlook key strategies that will easily double or triple their winnings.

Don’t make this mistake.

Instead, invest a couple bucks into high-quality poker books and start learning from the masters as soon as possible.

Here are my recommendations:

• Get The Edge At Low-Limit Texas Hold’em – Very easy read for the complete novice. This book walks you through all aspects of Texas Hold’em, showing you how the game is played and how to profit off it. Reading this title and following its advice will easily put you in the top 70% of all players.
• Strategies For Beating Small Stakes Poker Cash Games – No-limit cash games are very lucrative. Whenever playing them, I average about $40 an hour in winnings. With one good hand, you’re easily earning $30 – $100. This book explains how to play small stakes no-limit games for maximum profit. And, it’s written by a World Poker Tour champion Jonathan Little. Definitively worth a read.
• Doyle Brunson’s Super System – This is a huge book (600+ pages) for intermediate to advanced players. If you’re playing consistently, invest in a copy of Super System. Each chapter is written by a different poker champion, and you’re given high-level tactics for crushing any opposition. An excellent tool for demolishing your competitors and winning massive pots.

Honestly, those three books are your best starting places. Coupled with daily play, they’ll supercharge your game.

P.S. If you’re more of a visual learner, check out the Crush Micro Stakes Online Poker course. It’s a complete walk-through to playing small stakes Hold’em online.