The question (and what i responded to) isn't whether or not a 50 year old can be better than a 20 year old- of course they can.
Lots of 20 years olds are awful at poker but that doesn't mean the 50 year old won't diminish skills wise as they age.It's the same as sports. Just because Arod is better than some 25 year old players doesn't mean his age hasn't worked against him. Obviously poker players peak at an older age than baseball players, but I'm pretty confident that comes sometime well before 65.

Can a 50 year old beat a 20 year old is a totally different question than at what point your age works against you. So highly skilled a elite 30 year olds have a big advantage over players a lot older than them as they tire less easily,think faster and it's easier to learn and adapt at a young age.Just because someone may be 60 or 70 years old and still be a good player doesn't mean there age isn't a detriment. All things being equal they would be better off if they were a lot younger.

Paging @MeleaB

My cash game has transformed with age..Even with less energy and less brain cells, I'm better now at 50 than I was at 25..

I feel like I peaked at around 30 years of age for tournament poker..Cash games are a different story..I know I'm more effective now than Ive ever been..

1)Maybe as you get older you figure out that there are better things to do than sitting inside around a table for hours on end day after day.

2)Take the money they made younger and make money other ways.

3)Have family's and find so much life away from a poker table

4)25 year olds (plus / minus) are the play station stay indoors generation.

The older I get, the less interested I am in the game.

This is also very true,I think most people from the boom realized there are ways to make more money, with less work, combined with less stress. The rec guys will always have a beer and play 1/2 on weekend to escape work/family life.

indeed, i never heard of anyone who is 125+ and crushing poker.

The best online summary of the eventual negative correlation of age against ability,

which is " a hard M*****f***ing truth":

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BEdUuuKYZ4k

So after 25+ years of playing poker you feel that you are better?

it's not possible to know atm because the current old players are exclusively live players, maybe 40-50 yrs old players will be on par with the new 20 yr old players in a while given they study as much with solvers and what not

I'm gonna go with... you have no clue what you're talking about.

If you're 25 today, play as a pro for 10 years, do you believe you would be a better poker player today or in 10 years?

Young people are stupid and overconfident and lack patience and discipline, but you have to be old before you realize this, and by that time you lack the energy to exploit it or you just don't care, because you have clearer that the goal is to get with a lot of women while you can.

Motivation and time are a bigger issues than mental acuity. For me, I'm always in a time crunch that would have never been an issue in my 20s.

Ya and I'm actually surprised by it..I was a great player at 25 who could play massive sessions..Now fast forward 2 or 3 decades..even being on top of my conditioning, I'm always feeling tired out after 4 or 5 hours..Plus I lack the desire/focus I had at 25...Yet here I am at 50+, better than ever..

Pretty much, nearly every pro athlete is basically done at their sport by 40. We peak physically and mentally in the 20's and it's all downhill in a straight line from there. Poker or videogames or whatever will always be dominated by 20 somethings but without the physical component as much and hte luck factor, you can be alright but you will at best struggle to improve compared to the top level competition.

"real" jobs are far easier because for some reason, it's completely backwards. The old guys are in charge and get the $ despite declining skill/ability. Unless you're crushing it's probably best long term EV to go that route instead. You won't be able to just get a job if you grind awhile by then because at that point, robots will have most of them and the people in charge aren't going to fire themselves.

you do that and pretend that because some 50 year olds are better than some 20 years that means age doesn't matter.

i think I'd be better in 10 years. And if I played for 20 years I'd probably be better at 45 than 25. But I don't think if I was a pro for 40 years I'd be better at 65 than at 45.

Learning gets harder the older you get after a certain point, you don't adapt as well , usually don't embrace new technology as well,tire easier etc.

LOL, Warren Buffett is a far better investor now than he was when he was in his 20s and 30s. One Hint: Senior level jobs in almost every discipline require almost no fast twitch skills and no extraordinary physical endurance.

And LOL at robots taking away jobs, we've automated away most jobs from one hundred years ago and somehow have as many jobs as ever.

i am sure i dont play as well as 40 years ago but still when i sit in a game i am usually in the top three players.

the reason when you get older other than losing some thinking power is you lose the desire to make more money. the good older players have plenty of money and adding some more is less important than having fun while playing.

i dont pay attention as much as i dont care how much i win as it wont ever matter to me.

as far as competing in the absolute biggest games with those on top of their game. why bother even if you could.

i spend more time worrying about what new boat or car i am going to buy.

and when i move in on you, try putting me on a tight hand range like you do online with robot players. that doesnt work so well playing very deep with experienced players.
the older players that are good players will know whether you are ready to call or want to fold and bet accordingly.

but there becomes a point where anyone loses it enough where they wont beat any game they play in. we just hope we make it that long.

It depends how you age. It's contingent upon genetics and lifestyle choices. Some guys can be in great shape, full of energy and sharp as a tack in their late 60s, others can be totally washed up at 30.

Poker players tend to be bums. Spending your life in front of a computer screen eating pizza and drinking aspartame laden soft drinks is a recipe for physical and mental degeneration. Add to that the unfortunate fact that a high proportion of grinders tend to be on psychotropic medication of some kind and it all starts to make sense. Finally factor in alcohol and recreational drugs, and voila - we have our diagnosis.

If the above profile fits you, fear not. All is not lost. Hit the gym, eat paleo, cut out drugs and alcohol, read 2 books a week, challenge yourself mentally with new skills and projects. Cut off your wifi. No more procrastinating on the internet or fapping over porn. Soon enough the brain fog will lift, testosterone levels will rise and energy levels will be restored.

Time makes fools of us all. --E. T. Bell

Also - in the case of poker - the longer you play, the bigger the chance that people realize you're just a cheating scumbag.

Maybe at 25 they realized they wasted their time on a boring, mindnumbing activity and decide pussy is better. Besides I see something like playing starcraft competitively being the new chess and it's actually fun. Chess was fun when they still used abacuses.

Your response to the fish symbol guy had nothing to do with what he was saying and his point was more than valid. Your opinion is rubbish since you are speakng from zero experience. To say learning is slower at 50 and that is why, is the height of arrogance that would only come from someone too young to know better. There are other reasons that are valid but you have no clue what they are.

Best post itt