First off, let me start by saying that I am down lifetime in poker.

That being said, I am confidently a winning 25nl FR player (most of the money I have lost comes from playing 50nl/100nl), and I have beaten that level a couple of times over a decent enough sample (50k hands). Nothing fancy, just making moderately sensible decisions.

Everytime I end up taking shots at 50nl, I end up losing a bunch and eventually tilting my roll down to bare bones. It's happened lots and lots of times and it's literally the story of my poker life. THIS IS UNQUESTIONABLY A MENTAL GAME ISSUE, and not the one I am asking about in this thread...which is the following:

Everytime I'm underrolled to play 25nl (at the very least) I move down to 10nl. However, I just cannot play any game under 50/25nl with any level of focus whatsoever and just end up getting bored > tilting very easily, particularly if I lose a few BI at those stakes. This subsequently means I am unlikely to grind my way back up to 25 or 50, and just wait until I am minded to re-deposit. Then the same thing happens over and over again.

A part of me thinks: "I should just deposit $3000 and play 50nl with 60BI". I am quite sure that I would be a lot more focused in terms of playing and more motivated for studying were I to do this...but of course the fact that I have lost so many times at 50nl discourages me from doing this, as I feel I would be donating my money to sharks.

I realise that my game (if I am going to actually be able to play the game properly) needs a lot of change and possible investment. However, I am unsure where to go.

Hey JP, tbh if you tilt easily and have most your losses at 50 and 100nl, i really wouldn't advise anyone just depositing $3k for a 50nl roll.

I am one of the very worst people to comment on the mental game of poker however, I don't know exactly how much i've made from poker but i've always struggled to move up stakes through being a huge money nit and can empathise with some of your issues here.

I was never able to control certain parts of my emotions at the beginning of my poker career and tbh i have still not found a suitable way to control them now. hopefully someone else can post their experiences with improving it cause no matter how much tendler et al. i read/listen too, it just doesn't work for me.

gl finding a solution though, i may have to come back here for more ideas.

in the short term though, i think it is obvious that if you can not learnt he discipline to grind up a roll from 25nl for 50nl, then you should also then almost certainly not deposit $3k (if this is a meaningful sum of money for you).

Haha thanks for responding so soon.

I agree. I guess what I forgot to add to that was "another part of me realises that depositing 3k would be stupid."

I think I need to deposit something, or just quit the game. Alongside depositing though, I think I need to have some sort of study plan and/or coach.

Hey man,

Mental game issues are horrible.Its the difference making it and not making it.It doesnt matter how much talent you have,if you have mental game issues you will never succeed.

I say this as someone in the past had huge mental game issues for years until i finally started to do something about it.Im with Flux stables and one of my mentors recommended a girl called Alessandra Farley from mind sync consulting who does mental game coaching.Just google her or if you want to pm me and talk about what she does then i would be happy to do that.I have no affiliation with her i just got some sessions and they were awesome.

She is amazing,she did wonders for my game.I was extremely skeptical going into the sessions but i cant praise highly enough what she has done for me.

I play full ring 25 NL and am moving up to 50 NL in next few days.I f you want to pm me to chat about anything just do.

Good luck man..

hard to really know what is going on with you just based on short post but here are two thought that come to mind:

no need to think of 50NL as some big new level. the skill gap between 25 and 50 isn't that big and the amount of money isn't that big. i would just think of adding some 50nl into you playing when you are feeling good/playing good and when you can find good 50NL tables to sit. instead of thinking of yourself as a 25NL guy or 50NL just think of yourself as poker player. that is don't get hung up on some mental construct about stakes. for example i play a wide range of stakes depending on my mood and what games are available

second thought is if you haven't had success at 50NL in the past you need to keep working on your game. i believe that really confidence only comes from putting in the work - both in mental game and poker strategy. it is really impossible to disconnect the two so i think you are likely best served by working on both

play half and half 25nl and 50nl at the same time. Or 25% 50nl, so you can slowly get comfortable with it, and it'll feel like 25nl.

How does your game change when taking shots at 50NL and is it a different form of tilt to the lack of focus when playing 10NL?

Are you becoming more aggressive or too conservative when moving up?

It changes because I am more concerned about the money and my lack of technical ability. It doesn't happen at first. At first I play fairly well and increase by BR by 1/5 or whatever. However, as soon as I lose a pot or two I tilt.

When I move back down to play at the stake below (25nl), I don't like it as I am by then used to playing a little higher, then I'll end up losing a few pots there. Eventually, and even when I've left it for a period of time, I come back having to re-grind and I'll just hate it. Then I'll end up moving down again, to 10nl...and by the time I'm there, and my roll is down to (say) $250, I just can't bear it anymore and start taking small BI shots at 25 or even 50nl. Then eventually I'm down to $100...you see where this is going?

Then I think about all the money I've lost since I started, so I can start all over again mentally (and work back to BE) but because I don't know an exact figure, even that starts to bother me.

Thanks dude, will PM you.

You're right. Because of my day job, I can never really find the time to create a decent study plan, and that bothers me. This is why I spoke of investing properly into my career, by getting a coach and a training site membership so we can work out a good study/play plan.

I am in two minds as to whether I should deposit again, or just use my current BR, and the training materials/coach to work back up from where I am now.

This is a good idea, I'll try it next time I play there.

Seems like you should stick to 25nl for awhile though, and make it a point to not have to move down to 10nl. 25nl is 2.5x higher than 10nl, so you're giving up a lot of money playing 10nl. Also like you said you can't focus at 10nl because it feels like an easier game, or the money doesn't matter enough etc. Not moving down to 10nl is more important to prevent than moving up to 50nl.

training sites are super cost effective way to work on your game. getting a coach can also help speed the learning curve. but both require a time commitment

mental maybe it will help if you change the game from trying to win money to trying to learn and practice playing great poker no matter what the stakes. if you really do this the money side of things will take care of itself