Continued: He knows when to hold ’em — and cashes in

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

Hubbard’s parents were skeptical of his new career path at first. His father, Glen Hubbard, was unhappy with his son’s decision to forgo his last semester. But once Jared’s success proved more than a fluke, Glen accepted his decision.

“I don’t know how he can keep his head on straight, playing that amount of games at once,” Glen said. “The fact that he made more money than I did last year makes his decision a little easier. At first I thought it was just a fad that he and his friends were going through, but he is really dedicated with the time he puts into actually playing and studying the game.”

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