The short answer to the question is yes. It is still possible to earn enough money at the smaller stakes to live. By live, I of course mean pay your rent, bills, have money for food. Generaly being able to pay for everything someone working a decent 9-5 job can pay for.
In the last decade, it has become harder. I remember turning 21 in 2006. By this time, I had a good grasp on many popular card games. I was also finally able to walk into a casino. Sitting down at a casinos Texas holdem table I remember a few things surprised me.
First of all, I thought I would be outmatched. I thought there would be many grinders and more than half the table would be people who play for a living. This was not true. Most of the table were people between the ages of 35-60. Most seemed to have good high paying careers. They would re-buy for $200 over and over.
After a couple hands, I noticed I was probably the best player there. No one knew how to handle chips like the pros on tv. Many didn't understand the math of poker. This became clear when they tried to talk about the previous hand. I thought they might be acting. After a couple hours I was up over $300. The other players were not acting. They were bad.
Now, making that much money in a couple hours playing a game I love was unreal. Most of my friends had to work all week, at a job they hate, at a job they had to drive to and from everyday, to make that much.
I remember driving home that night. Super happy. I felt like I played well. At the same time, I thought maybe it was "beginners" luck. I was no beginner, but new to the casinos.
Poker is a numbers game every which way you look at it. Most important, if you consider yourself a winning player, is to put in the hours at the tables. Anyone can win once, good players can lose 4 or 5 times in a row. A good player will win more than he loses, so you have to get the hours in.
Going back to the casino time after time since the first night, I was again surprised. The dynamic of the table was the same. Recreational players, deep pockets, easily pushed around.
Through the years, the average table changed. More people like me showed up. They read a couple poker books. They talked about weird hands with friends. They put in the hours.
Instead of swimming with 9 fish, most days now, you're in there with a couple sharks. Even the recreational players have started to do a little homework. They understand poker math. It is harder to force them to make a mistake.
What a change a decade makes. These days there are more things to take into account if you want to remain profitable. If enough people find this interesting, I will write a 'part two' type thing where I describe a couple recent nights at the casino and what I do to remain profitable. Things I didn't really have to focus on ten years ago.
Let me know what you guys think!