Jared Hubbard’s job demands that he spend hours at a time intensely concentrating on four computer monitors simultaneously. Is he an air traffic controller? No. He wagers large sums of money daily. Wall Street broker? Guess again.

Hubbard, 23, of Winona, Minn., is a professional online poker player — one of the few people who actually make a living at it.

Poker’s popularity has skyrocketed in recent years, with the growth of online poker rooms and TV coverage of poker tournaments.

The consulting firm Christiansen Capital Advisors, which specializes in analysis of professional gambling, projects that Internet gambling revenue may total $18 billion in 2007.

While the National League of Poker estimates that thousands of people nationwide are profiting from online play, the average player is more likely to become a gambling addict than he is to suddenly roll in the dough. A spokesperson for Gamblers Anonymous said that 3 to 5 percent of gamblers are known to eventually become addicts, and the actual number may be three times as high.

Among the few online poker players who stay in the black comes an occasional wild success story like Hubbard’s. Ranked as the world’s No. 1 player in the six-man single table tournament (“sit-n-go”), he belongs to the top poker site Pokerstars.com’s Supernova Elite club, a ranking so difficult to achieve that it currently has only four members.

Hubbard’s success is no surprise to friend and fellow poker player Brandon Misfud, who has followed his pal’s career closely.

“He is one of the two best sit-n-go players, and without question the best six-man sit-and-go player in the world,” Misfud said, citing Hubbard’s top ranking on Sharkscope.com, a site that ranks online players based on total profit.  “It takes dedication, commitment and a lot of practice to be as good as he is.”

Having the nerve to lose

The dark-haired Hubbard’s medium-size build and quiet, serious demeanor belie the sarcastic wit and determined mentality that those close to him are familiar with. He also possesses a deep knowledge of his career, gained through intense study.

Hubbard credits his success to the ability to apply what he has learned and to adjust to the sometimes unpredictable world of online poker: “No matter how much money you make, losing $8,000 in a day is going to suck. You just have to get used to it.”

While he doesn’t necessarily have any idols, the player he respects most is Phil Ivey, who has won five bracelets in the World Series of Poker events.

“He can play virtually any two cards profitably in many spots,” Hubbard said.

 Hubbard began playing poker in high school. Like many players, he was intrigued by the poker movie “Rounders,” starring Matt Damon. When an injury took him out of sports, he began playing poker online.

A former business administration major at Winona State University, he began to play seriously when he found out that he was being laid off from his college job at Bay State Milling, where he worked loading flour trucks.

 In the fall semester of 2006, Hubbard was  making about $100 an hour playing poker. He decided to postpone his last semester to play full time — and hasn’t looked back since.

“I love the game, the money and the freedom,” he said. “I mean, find me another job where I can enjoy what I’m doing, make around $200 an hour, have the freedom of making my own schedule and take as much time off as I want, whenever I want.”

Winning over Mom and Dad