Can you realistically earn $100,000 a year playing poker in 2026? According to British poker professional Charlie Carrel, the answer is yes, but most players attempting it will fail.
In a new YouTube video, Charlie Carrel examines six routes to a six-figure poker income, comparing earning potential, competition, bankroll requirements and the risks players rarely consider. His top choice might surprise anyone who believes the future of professional poker is online.
Who is Charlie Carrel?
Charlie Carrel is a British professional poker player, coach and content creator who progressed from low-stakes online games to some of the world’s biggest tournaments. Born in Jersey in 1993, Carrel became known online as “Epiphany77”, developing a reputation for aggressive play, unconventional strategy and an outspoken personality.
His breakthrough came in May 2015 when he won the €25,500 European Poker Tour Grand Final High Roller in Monte Carlo for €1,114,000. Two years later, he claimed approximately $1.2 million by winning the 2017 Spring Championship of Online Poker Main Event.
In 2019, Carrel captured the £50,000 Triton Poker Super High Roller in London, collecting £1,321,000. His recorded live tournament earnings exceed $9 million, although tournament cashes represent gross winnings rather than actual profit after buy-ins and expenses.
Away from the tables, Carrel has established himself as a poker educator through YouTube and his coaching platform, Elite University. He frequently challenges conventional poker thinking, advocating exploitative strategies, opponent analysis and careful game selection rather than relying exclusively on solvers.
His latest video examining six ways to earn $100,000 annually reflects years of experience competing against elite professionals and wealthy recreational players, alongside his concerns about poker security, excessive rake and the realities of making a living from the game.
Charlie’s 6 Ways to Make $100K Video
Charlie’s 20-minute video is an info-packed guide to making money at poker from start to finish. The six chapters are followed by a round-up, and you’ll want to watch them all to become profitable. Here’s are the chapters and full video.
Chapter 1: Online Cash Games
Online cash games offer flexibility, consistent availability and opportunities to develop technical skills. Carrel recommends them for players looking to improve their postflop decision-making.
“Another good thing about online cash games is it helps you get very good at poker very quickly,” he explains.
However, the competition presents a significant obstacle. Carrel considers online cash-game specialists among poker’s strongest players.
“Online cash game players are by far in my opinion the best players in the world,” he says, adding that reaching the highest stakes requires extensive theoretical study.
Carrel also raises allegations about bots, real-time assistance and security failures at major operators. These are his criticisms rather than independently established findings.
For aspiring professionals, beating the rake and an increasingly sophisticated player pool makes six-figure profitability exceptionally demanding.
Chapter 2: Live Public Cash Games
Carrel sees greater opportunities in traditional casino cash games, where recreational players regularly join tables.
“There’s a lot of recreational players that just love to play. The casinos themselves bring in gamblers.”
He uses $2/$5 No-Limit Hold’em to illustrate a possible six-figure career.
“So, I just did the math and it would take 140 hours a month of play every single month at $60 an hour to be making 100k.”
That produces $100,800 annually before expenses and taxes. However, sustaining $60 hourly is far from guaranteed.
Bankroll management is equally important.
“Please have at least 20 buyins when you’re doing these things. Probably significantly more.”
Carrel identifies inconvenient playing hours, location and the migration of wealthy recreational players into private games as further challenges.
Chapter 3: Live Private Cash Games
Private games are Carrel’s preferred route to serious poker wealth. He believes the combination of enormous stakes and weaker opposition creates opportunities rarely available in public games.
“People are playing for hundreds of thousands. People are even playing for millions.”
Access requires more than poker ability. Relationships, networking and playing an entertaining style can determine who receives invitations.
“You have to kind of find a style of poker which is winning on one but also very pleasant to play against.”
Carrel recommends studying opponents and hand-reading rather than relying exclusively on solver-based strategies in these environments.
However, security is a major concern.
“You can get cheated very easily. Second, you can get not paid out very easily.”
He also warns about physical dangers, questionable organisers and exhausting lifestyles. Players must establish that a game is legal, secure and capable of paying winnings before considering potential profits.
Chapter 4: Online Poker Tournaments
Carrel has personal experience of online tournaments producing extraordinary results.
“In fact, I won over a million dollars in a Starbucks. That was a really cool thing in Mexico in my pajamas.”
He believes the format remains viable, highlighting successful professionals such as Patrick Leonard, although today’s fields require considerable study.
Variance is the biggest problem. A skilled player can spend years without the major tournament victory needed to transform annual earnings.
“Some people won’t even realize their equity for three years. They might not have a big score for 3, four, 5 years.”
Carrel also emphasises choosing operators carefully.
“I would really recommend choosing them based on their security, amongst a few other things.”
Tournament schedules matter too. Living in a suitable time zone can prevent sessions regularly extending into the early morning.
Chapter 5: Live Poker Tournaments
Live tournaments offer potentially life-changing prizes, international travel and fields containing plenty of recreational players.
“I used to love playing live tournaments. It’s where I made most of my money. I was making seven figures a year.”
However, Carrel acknowledges the enormous variance created by playing relatively few events compared with online grinders.
He discusses selling action as one method of reducing exposure. For example, selling half of a $1,000 tournament entry for $600 at markup leaves the player retaining 50% of any winnings while personally funding just $400.
Carrel also highlights the physical demands of long tournaments.
“However, it gets exhausting. It can be so exhausting playing day in day out.”
Players seeking consistent earnings must account for travel costs, accommodation, tournament expenses and extended periods without significant cashes.
Chapter 6: Private Online App Games
Private poker apps potentially combine online convenience with softer opposition. Carrel knows players who have earned significant money through these networks.
“There are a lot of weaker players in these online app games, especially if you get in good ones.”
However, he stresses that finding reliable agents and trustworthy organisers is essential.
“Are you even going to get paid out? That’s a big thing. Like it I can’t understate how much of an issue that is for people that are playing these types of games.”
Excessive rake is another major concern. Carrel warns that organisers may change fees and rewards with little transparency.
“You need to know what the rake is. You need to know what the rakeback deals are.”
Despite the potential earnings, Carrel strongly cautions against entering these games without understanding their security, payment arrangements and risks.
Chapter 7: Carrel’s Final Ranking
After reviewing all six options, Carrel ranks them from most promising to least promising for reaching $100,000 annually:
- Live private cash games
- Live public cash games
- Live poker tournaments
- Private online app games
- Online tournaments
- Online cash games
His lowest-ranked option is online cash games.
“They’re oversaturated. People are very good at poker and it takes so long. You have to be so talented and intelligent to get to the top where you’re making six figures a year.”
At the opposite extreme, Carrel believes private cash games offer an earning ceiling unmatched by other formats.
“However, this is where the real money is in poker these days.”
He suggests some private-game professionals earn seven or even eight figures annually, although those claims reflect his experience rather than verified industry-wide earnings data.
Crucially, he ends with another warning.
“There’s so many scams. There’s so many people trying to cheat you. There’s so many people trying to take your money.”
For ordinary players, regulated public cash games may provide a more accessible route. Ultimately, sustainable poker income depends on proven win rates, responsible bankroll management and choosing games where winnings can actually be collected.
