Helooooo tasty people. This is my 2nd thread that i'll update weekly. I'm a pro MTT mid stakes player and a coach from the UK, living in Mexico.

I know a fair few players playing professional poker. Mainly mid stakes guys, some high and some low stakes. Some of them are beasts, some of them monsters, some of them I wouldn't mind sitting on my tables, some of them I'd definitely prefer not to. The main thing that I'm seeing though his how almost every one of them seem to miss such crucial concepts in poker, and thus within life. I'm constantly looking and looking, mainly to find role models. It's sad to say, the harder i look, the harder it is to honestly find. You know what I'm after: people who I can clearly see that are crushing life. That is the ONLY thing that matters!!! Sooooo many guys playing professionally seem to miss this, getting completely lost in their world of poker. What started as their dream jobs quickly turns into a monster that unconsciously swallows them up -- they end up working like a slave to the pressures that they put on themselves, which does get them better at poker. That's the trap. They achieve their goals, but have missed the mark so much that their goals only seem to push their life in a more restless direction. Many don't realise how much this costs.

I relate massively to anyone who recognises this. I can write so easily about this problem not just because of the amount of people I know, but because of how much of this was me. That constant unease. The constant want for more and the mindset to chase what we don't have. Absolutely exhausting. I noticed mainly through my receding hairline (laughing face). It's 100% not hereditary. Stress stress stress. The stress of our "dream lifestyle" that everyone assumes we have. The worst (or best) part is, we do have access to that lifestyle, it's just hardly anyone lives it.

For the record, the best poker players i've seen are semi-pro players. They use poker much more as a vessel in life. Of course their standard isn't as high, but how they interact with life through poker is lovely too see. Very honest. Many amateurs too have a lovely relationship with poker. They crush it. Their life is considerably better as they use it to socialise, network, grow through others and enjoy a hobby. They want to play and enjoy poker - that's it. Through that they improve their life. The amount of regs I know that wouldn't think of playing for nothing is a deep shame. Poker was so fun when you started.


So gone should be the days where we look at the 'best players' in the world as role models because of the wins they make. Your success in poker is only as good as however much it improves your life. So once you can look after, feed and shelter your loved ones, what do you want? Only to enjoy life as much as possible. To be content, and then happy, surely?

However many see Apestyles as a role model - he might be a monster at poker, but is hiring PR assistants to cover up a miserable home life. Or PADS, where you see his lack of joy and restlessness in him, covered up by the distraction of poker. Does anyone want their lives really? I DO NOT. I used to, but I found out what that really takes from you. Poker becomes life, rather than bettering it. How good are you then?


So i'm writing to all you regs out there, or those aspiring to take poker seriously; figure out how poker allows you to crush life. To all of the fun players, or semi pros, do exactly the same. How good you are at poker is exactly what you get from it. That is personal to YOU, only! Know what that is, or will be, and you answer "How to crush poker?".


Achieve only your goals, from as honest place as possible. Don't chase the goals of someone else, please, because the influence of anyone out there that uses poker in a healthy way, or lives life in a healthy way can have more impact to the world than you'll ever know!


As always, lots of love. Dan xxx

P.S. please let me know of anyone who you think is crushing life with poker, whatever their level. We need real role models <3

I like your outlook. I too figured out way late in my career that I could sacrifice a little bit of equity for a lot of life satisfaction and honestly it's working out great. A funny side effect of getting out of the "all gambling all the time" lifestyle is that I stopped a lot of my self destructive gambling habits and am actually banking more now than I did when I was profiting more at the tables.

I'm curious, what does your week look like? What kind of poker schedule are you grinding and what kind of life schedule are you working it around?

Here's a couple of things that I'm somewhat wrestling with at the moment, maybe you can share your thoughts? In 5 years, do you see yourself ideally having a similar (poker) schedule as now? And what does "retirement" look like for you?

so you think coming here pointing the finger to x and x is the best way for you to find happiness

The point is clearly missed brother. Good luck either way

@evolvedsavage Thanknk you my friend. I appreciate your comment and wish you the best of luck!

At the moment my week is cetered around looking outwardly within poker, rather than see it as an ATM that trades time for $. It's so capped that way, as I have felt for many years, regardless of results. I've seen the mid and high stakes boys that are "succesful". At the moment my time goes into psotively marketing, and starting a poker coaching business that aims to help others with really solid fundementlas (any player level). Mainly making videos and seeing how to reach as many people as possible. As you can imagine, it's a lot of work. I basically want to know that when I play poker, i'm set up to grow in the background, with honest foundations.

I play all Sundays, and some Fridays -- a drastic change from the last months when I played 6/7 days a week (mid stakes MTT $15 - $100 buy ins, - ABI $35-45). That has been a normal grind throughout my career (Tuesdays break to recover), but felt off because I didn't really have an end date to this. I was just taking from players and not giving anything back because playing and studying poker takes up so much time. I would reccommend to set up fundementals so you know playing accomplishes more than just $ (as long as you're stable financially), and you're moving towards a direction you're honestly in line with that moves forward as you play or moves when you sleeep (in poker or any industry).

Progess can only go so far when you trade time for $ and look inwardly with what you're doing. In my opinion, if you believe in poker enough to commit all/most your time to it, why not scale that with whatever suits your skill set to help others as much as possible?


To answer your first question, no. I think my schedule in 5 years will be very different. The more success I have within poker, the more I will use poker as a vessel to support bigger projects. At the end of the day, it's a game filled with potential to develop mentally and personally, and is very entertaining (in the right hands), but a sum 0 game at heart. When you have resources and strong skillsets building business/projects you have so much potential to positively influece, and that is what I will do. This inspires me over the last year to play and get results from poker, which is paradoxical almost. I think when you see poker's objective limitations, you see clearly it's strangths also, which helped performance for me in the short term.

As for retirement, good question. When I first went pro at 22 (with 0 financial help from anyone and 2-3k bankroll that I grinded from SnGs haha) , I wanted to get to high stakes and retire by 35 at the latest (yes, ambitious, but doable with enough sacrifice). That again was looking inwardly. I don't want to sit on a beach as a trade for working my ass off. I want to enjoy life as much as possible - that's it. In retirement and working life.

So retirement is a tough one. My goal is to merge working life and personal life as the life I want. It's no longer work VS time off. Once my income pays for my yearly expense roughly, retirement can be achieved, but I don't WANT TO WANT to slow down because that is the case. I hope I have explained that alright - it took a few tries . Of course I invest and plan for the future with a family etc, which I realise may change perspective, but the fundemental ideas I m happy with.


Good luck brother xxx

How to crush poker any stakes:

1) Figure out what your reason for living is. Yes. Deep. But surely that's the point of what you do everyday? What do you want to happen when you wake up in the morning? What version of yourself are you moving towards? What does that guy actually look like? What does he/she do? How does he feel? The clearer you can see this person - get close to them, understand them -
the clearer from my experience you utilise the things, like poker, in your life. For most guys reading this, I imagine poker is a decent part of their lives. May as well figure out at least how/if it moves you closer to the dream life.

That can look like anything at any level. It can be the guys that use it as a fun game to socialise with friends wo they otherwise wouldn't. It could be the game that allows you to pay (partly) for your education, it could be your main income, or perhaps source of community. However, the main things I want from life are simple at heart. To be content and grateful, to spread love, to pursue a deep curiosity, and to help others. Almost all of the things I want in my ideal life happen before poker, and then poker props them up way more if I focus on adding these factors into my life. Slowly, sometimes with difficulty. But with purpose no matter the progress. For so many, the life they want to move towards starts with characteristics money can't buy, or at least features these factors. And, once you know what you need money to buy, you get better at making it (hence get more out of poker results wise, even if that's not $. that could be networking, for example)

From every pro or reg I know that has dropped out of poker (which is a lot of guys actually, some very close friends): who grew to get bored of the game, developed a negative relationship with poker, or let what once was a hobby turn into a beast that takes over their life, I saw that to some
extent they were lost. Poker can help you find your path. That's why I love it. Mentally, financially, socially, through networking with its lovely and highly capable community. Many ways. But it doesn't if you don't know what you want from it, and most players I saw drop out, never cracked this. Leaving poker doesn't let you find what you want.

Taking the time to know what poker does in your life IS it's value, and hence is your success.

Part 3: How to crush poker at any level.

I guess by this point you've guessed poker is just a metaphor for life. Poker, for anyone tht aplays it, is a vessel used to improve the life of the player (ideally). If that is not the case, it's certainly the aim. Even if you were to realise poker was bad for you and could not be imporved upon, this would improve your life. That's the only aim, right?


So, the next tip is ask what you are grateful for, as well as what you want to be greatful for in an ideal world when playing poker. If you know what you are grateful for now, you concentrate your efforts, consciously and un-consciously, on these factors that make you crush life, which has a rippling effect because you look to sustain them and improve upon them. Pretty good right? If you fail, who cares? Start again. But you have to come back to what you actually want to keep in your life for the foreseeable future. It's too healthy to ignore once you start this process with at least some sustainability, even if that's far from perfect.

Next, you have something siomilar to my last post. What do you want to be grateful for? Ideally - in a your perfect state. Firstly, when you know what that is, and act as if you have that in your life ALREADY, you give yourself way more of a chance of it coming true. Again, it focusses on giving you a purpose for your day. That's why I do the visualisation excersises in my morning. I set myself up to move towards a purpose. Not someone else's, but something close to an honest life. Again, who cares if we get there or not? Moving with purpose is what matters. Here, I suggest having gratitude as if it has already come to you. Like you have it, and FEEL it in your life, even though it is not yet there. This is practiced by MANY crushers at life, with the idea being that once you can recognise the feeling of being grateful for what you want in your life but do not have yet, you attract it to your life quicker and with some familiarity. I know, it sounds like bullshit, but it works. Some things are slower than others, but on a monthly basis, it works! However, as with all things, consistency is the key. The more you do it, the more steps you take towards what you want. The more honest your desire, the more is at stake for your life, and hence the more steps you take again towards it coming true. If that's love, contentment, abundance, peace. Doesn't matter. To relax more in a poker session. To socialise better whist playing with friends once a week. To find a pathway to self development. Up to you.


"There is nothing more practical than developing a vision. It's not some pie in the sky excercise. Without a vision you're chaotic and fragmented and dissapointed. Someone can stop you by putting up a single obsticle... You have no forward movement. Your life is a sequence of dissapointments and tragedies and you're a leaf blowing in the wind. That is not what you're called to be. You're called to be a visionary constructor of the paradisal vision. Really. That's who you are. As terrible as it is to apprehend. We already will lose everything we have to lose in this life. We're all in in this game. Whether you want it to be this way or not, you are betting everything on your life." Dr J Peterson.


As always, I hope this helps as many people as possible, and with you all nothing but love and success in Poker and life. Thank you, lots of love, Dan xxx .