Alright, everything I'm gonna say has probably already been said but it doesn't seem you would change anything about it so it's a good time to recall.

I think that you're a good player in the stakes you're playing, or better said - in the stakes you should be playing (due to skill and BR). The real problem is not in your technical abilities as I think that you know where the money comes from in poker and you're capable of exploiting weaker players.

The real problem of yours lays in your character qualities and these are pretty much garbage. They are what keeps you from accomplishing what you've stated as your short- and longterm goals.

They include:

low patience - when variance goes the other way you're trying to catch up on it as fast as possible with some other type of gambling. Being it playing higher stakes, trying some "inventive" strategies and so on

low endurance - you're even not able to walk fuc**n 10 minutes to the casino to move forward with your goals. You say that you're going pro and since then you exclusively play videogames.

making excuses - everytime something gets even just a little hard you quit and look for another thing to concentrate on.

justifying yourself - everytime you do something stupid (not going to casino when you're pro, playing drunk etc etc) you're trying to come with a logical reason why that happened to make it look like nothing bad happened. Sometimes you say that you get that it's bad and you shouldn't do it. But time goes on and after two weeks it happens again. When someone asks you why you did it again you come with some new logical sh*t to justify it and after that you think like the problem has been solved and you can do it again and again


All in all - don't be such a p*ssy and behave more like a man. Have a purpose and go for it at all costs. Be honest with yourself. When you say you're going to do something, then do it and no excuses. Don't be lazy and stay always active.

If you do this and still fail, well, ok, at least you tried. And you tried your best.
But you're not even trying, you just somehow want something a bit, you want it NOW and you want it without any effort. And that is NOT going to happen.

Op can post about "nodelocks" but does not know what an upswing or downswing is.

mlud, the defence rests

Nice refusation hehe

Anyway, this part made me think of a pretty good point I saw on Upswing the other day.
https://upswingpoker.com/quick-poker...84ba5d3aff767a

Tilt and mental game

Today I was playing a session of 50nl online and I ran extremely bad. I managed to lose 6 buyins through a combination of 2 things:
1) Running below all-in EV: getting it in AK vs QQ pre and losing, getting it in on a semibluff and bricking out, etc.
2) Always picking the wrong decision in marginal spots: sometimes I'd be in a tough river spot where I'm not sure whether to call or fold. In the heat of the moment, I call and get shown the nuts. Other times, I have a hand which I'm not sure whether to 3bet pre or fold. I ultimately choose to 3bet, and either get called by a better hand, or face the 4bet. It just felt like I was doing an exam with 2 multiple choice options, and I'm tossing up between which option to choose, and whichever option I ultimately choose ends up being the wrong one.

I tilted for a bit and began to play some blackjack. After losing about $200 there, I quickly realised I was tilted, said to myself "what the f**k am I doing" and closed down the app. I started watching Family Guy clips on YouTube instead to cool myself off for a bit.

Then 10 mins later, I reopen the app and start playing more 50nl, roulette, blackjack and baccarat. I run hot this time and manage to win back most of my losses. Again, I close the app suddenly and say to myself "f**king stop, you're tilted, close it down now".

So now I'm watching more Family Guy clips on Youtube, another 15 mins goes by, and I open up the f**king app again. I'm barely even stuck money by this stage. I just open it because I'm bored. I start playing 200nl and a $60 spin and go. They go badly. Then I play blackjack, betting $50 per hand now, and go on a downswing. Before I know it, I'm $700 down now. That was 70% of the money I had in my online poker account.

It just annoys me how I was disciplined enough to close the app when I recognised that I was tilting, yet I would always reopen it a short while later. I felt like a meth addict staring at the pipe saying to myself a hundred times "I'm not going to smoke it, I'm not going to smoke it, I'm not going to smoke it, I'm not going to smoke it", but eventually, I give in and smoke it. Then I put it down on the table, stare at it again, and repeat the cycle. Like I knew it was a mistake to reopen the poker app, but it was just sitting there the entire time, waiting to be opened, and I eventually gave in. I could close the app and stop myself in the middle of a tilt session, but I'd always reopen it a short while later.

Ughhhh... I don't even know what to f**king do anymore. My bankroll is pretty much at a catastrophic level. $300 in my online poker account and less than 4k to play live with. When I need run good, it doesn't happen. I'm on a huge breakeven stretch at the casino, and whilst I was winning money online before, I'm back to breaking even after today. Just feels so sh*t.

You need to scroll up to post #2551 and read it, over and over again, until you can quote it verbatim. After that you need to soak it in and change what you need to change.

Sent from my LGMS631 using Tapatalk

From what we've seen in the past, I think the only thing to do here is to make more promises to the thread that you won't keep

Yeah, exactly. It's fascinating how OP is honest and open-hearted with some unknown guys on the internet but lies to his very own self all the time.

You can be the most skilled player in the world.. if you tilt it all away you're not a winning player. I can give you my advice like many others have given theirs. I can only hope you take it, but that's up to you. There's no judging here, just some honest advice since I can feel what you're going through.

My thoughts are that if you can't stay away from -EV activities (that includes other forms of gambling, or changes in your poker playing, such as playing higher and/or playing differently, etc.) that will be there tempting you while playing, then this isn't the time for you to be trying to go pro as a poker player yet. Notice I said yet. If you work at the things holding you back, then by all means, try a shot later.

I would suggest finding a job ASAP now. If you need to use any of your bankroll for living costs in the meantime do so. Play online at 2NL. Start at the bottom and grind it out. And do not play anything else. No blackjack, no higher stakes. Just 2NL. Once you play a substantial number of hands and reach a solid bankroll for NL5, move up. This will help you work on your discipline, and also help you improve your game without you feeling worried about the money. Plus, it will give you more confidence in your game. If you have the discipline to stay away from other distractions/gambling choices and find yourself being able to move up several stakes (the proper way), then maybe give going pro another shot. If you can't, then just keep poker as a recreational hobby. Nothing wrong in that either.

POTY

So are you ready to start taking advice yet OP?

If I were you I would go back and read this thread from start to finish but this time pay attention to all of the free advice that all of the accomplished players gave you but this time actually think about it and take it on board.

Also try to read the thread a bit more objectively, try to see it through the eyes of others, imagine you were reading another players blog and think about the advice you would offer him. You probably don't realise it but this latest episode comes as no surprise to anyone that reads this thread. Everyone has seen it coming and so many people have tried to steer you away from disaster. Well, it's almost disaster time, the iceberg is dead ahead. Are you going to sail right into it because of your arrogance or are you going to let others show you how to steer away from it.

If you were an expert in every game then I would agree so what's best for the situation. But you're not. You also aren't rolled for some of the games you play like PLO or even 2/5 NL.

You really should master one game before moving onto others. It's fine to play one game become an expert and branch out. But you haven't mastered anything or even come close. You're semicompetent in a range of games and just want to hop around because you vastly overestimate your skill level and it's more fun to do so.

Why is it stupid to stick to one game? If somebody (like Mike) crushes a particular game like 2/5 NL for instance and isn't bored with it there's no need to go start playing PLO or big tournaments or whatever.

I did say you're probably not ready for 50NL...my guess a lot of these coin flip decisions actually have correct answers but you have no clue how to find them. A 6BI downswing in a few hours is pretty serious negative variance for a strong winning player so you're probably not a strong winning player.

Also...Jesus christ dude. You have serious gambling problems beyond what I expected. I thought you were just donking off money when drinking but being home, bored, and having to endure the agony of losing AK to QQ tilts you so much you go into full degen mode and burn off 70% of your online roll in a few hours playing games you KNOW are -EV.

I assumed the one advantage of playing online poker for you is you could avoid the temptations of the casino, the drinks and pit games etc. But clearly this isn't the case. You feel the call of action wherever you are.

I have new advice for you. Give up on poker for now. Find a job before you're completely broke. Deal with your alcohol and gambling problems. Nothing to prevent you from trying again later when you have it together. Right now you're a freaking trainwreck. Not trying to be overly harsh, but you just do not have the right mindset or discipline to succeed.

How is the total for the year now? Saw ur goal are to make 10k at nl50 and 10k live

Maybe it's time to get a real job? Might be good for your mindset to have reliable income source outside of poker.

Shai is absolutely correct. Its just the harsh reality, but you are a trainwreck at the moment OP. Going pro is a project that you have exactly _zero_ chance of succeding with at the moment.

You need to get your life together regarding drinking,gambling and lack of discipline towards anything.

We are lot of posters who have known bustoville is coming the way you handle yourself,your roll and poker- and its just a matter of time you are totally broke if you dont change course asap.

Its been obvious for most of us for a long time and it should be obvious to you now also. You have a gambling addiction. You're not a poker player.

Just like alcoholics cant just have a drink or two, they have to give up alcohol forever....you need to give up poker. Nothing has ever been so clear as the fact that you cant handle poker, gambling, the lifestyle of a pro poker player or anything that comes along with it.

OP - now you realize why I said online is way tougher than you think (although you didn't listen, as usual).

Edges are tiny online, unless you table select against clear and obvious fish (which I doubt you did). With your tilt and mental game issues, it's really easy to go on big downswings online and it's extremely difficult to win that money back, given the lack of fish like there would be at 1/3 live.

Tilt is part of your overall win rate and if you can't control it, you're clearly not a winning player. Even without your tilt, you're probably still worse than the average online reg in terms of technical ability.

My advice is to go back to your previous job. Or get a new job. You need a stable form of income, some sort of security net. Grind poker on the side in your spare time. Then later on, once you've built up some decent savings and got your entire mental thought process in order, you can go pro at that point.

Hey man,

Another Aussie here,

First of all I want to say I admire your ambition to "make it". However I think you are going about it the wrong way and need to be a little realistic of the situation. At the moment I see you have motivation, passion and some fundamental skill to be at least break even. However you lack discipline. Someone above actually made some good points and I think you should strongly look into developing them.

Discipline is the no.1 attribute that will lead to you being a successful player. Do not worry about what %freq you need to defend rivers etc etc. Focus on building discipline. This comes from off the table. I.e. waking up at like 5am every day. Completing certain amount of tasks a day. Or having a cold shower in the morning despite it being super cold. Go to the gym x amount of times a week. Don't be late to appointments (whether it be professional or friendly) These are examples of things you should do to train your brain to get into good habits. These are not just habits of good poker players. These are habits of successful people in any discipline (professional athletes, military, business or gaming).

I am not an amazing player by any means. I have worked hard on my game but not to the point where it takes over my life 100%. Therefore I have accepted the fact that I will never become the "best". The "best" work at their game 100% of the time. However I have worked super hard on my discipline and mental endurance. I have already clocked 500k hands and consistently put in serious hours everyday despite going through multiple (5 or 6 downswings already).

You also need to be realistic about the situation through your goal setting.

I just started playing poker "professionally" (at the beginning of 2018) and
personally for me I have given myself the entire 2018 to determine whether this is for me or not. I gave myself monetary and non-monetary goals that need to be completed by the end of 2018. If I do not reach these goals then I will fall back onto plan B - getting a job. 7 months in and I have realised it is not as easy or dreamy as what it is made out to be. Fortunately for me I have been somewhat successful in the online scene and therefore my lifestyle is a little less rigid (i.e. do not have to go and sit at casino for countless hours). Therefore I have been able to allocate quite a bit of time into other aspects like investing and business, I have other options to fall back on. If I do fail, at least I can say I had a go and hopefully have developed many life skills along the way.

Maybe you should do the same. Consider your goals for the next 3 months and start to decide when you need to call it quits. You should also really have no desire to be playing non poker related games of chance (blackjack, roulette) because that might stem from a deeper issue...

I really hope you read this post and think about what I and a lot of others have said. I really want to see a fellow Australian succeed but at the same time it is painful reading this thread and seeing you chase your dream in vain purely because you are being naive to your off table traits.

Feel free to private message me if you need someone to talk to about your situation, as I too, am learning what its like to be a "professional".

Totally agree with Shai..... except for this point. This is definitely not true. 6 buyin "downswing" is normal (online anyway). Everything else is definitely worth considering

Everyone wants to be a pro athlete until they have to run up and down hills at 4am.

+1....nice analogy

6,

You should be grinding out $15-20/hr putting in a bunch of hours playing solid ABC poker in the 1/3 at the casino.

Unfortunately your ego and desire for action are both too big to do that.

You have $4300 now. $3800 after your holiday expenses. $1400 after a month of expenses. Maybe $1800 if you eat leftovers sometimes.

What’s your plan?

Maybe girlfriend can put in some more hours at work to help out?

Do you receive any welfare/benefits from the government?

Can you self-ban from the casino and sports betting at the online sites you use? If so, you should do that.

Because of the astronomical winrates available at live low stakes, a 6 bi downswing is a bit troubling. 10 is approaching major concern territory.

I finish each session of $25NL up or down 5 bi. They just arent comparable.

It's easy to know what to do, but much harder to actually do it.

I know that blackjack and roulette are -EV games. I know that tilting is bad and destructive. I'm sure that a fat person knows that they shouldn't be eating those greasy burgers from Macca's. But to actually do these things in practice is hard. You might go 29 days without doing them, then crack on day 30.

I went several months without playing any -EV games like blackjack or roulette. It was only recently that I started playing those games when tilted. The stress and all the bottled up emotions must've just gotten to me, and I cracked suddenly. And sometimes, I honestly wonder whether this thread just contributes to it all, with everyone telling me that I'm destined to fail and that I don't have what it takes. Those aren't the words that I need to hear when I'm going through a downswing, or running significantly below EV.

There's no chance that I will get my old job back. I will search for a new job if I go bust. The moment I start searching for a new job is the moment I start back from square one, with nothing again. You can see why I'm very hesitant to do that. I want poker to work out. I'm not ready to give up just yet, despite the struggles I've been through recently.

People say I should "fix my gambling problems", but last time I went to Gambler's Anonymous, there were a bunch of 50 year old pokies degens telling me how gambling is evil and how they found Jesus or some bullsh*t like that. I can't take those people seriously when they don't even know what the word EV means. Here's the thing: I don't want to quit poker. I want to quit tilting, I want to quit blackjack and roulette, I want to quit jumping stakes, but I don't want to quit poker. So I'm not going to look for any sort of gambling help where the person in charge tries to get me to quit gambling altogether, including poker.