Hey guys, this is a serious question. I play PLO and posted this on PLO forum.

I need to make money from poker to pay for serious things in my life.
Never before in my life I had this pressure from poker, ofc I had losing days/months but whatever, and I have my own money from my job.

I never needed money from poker, I bought things for me with it, a trip or whatever in the past, but never something "serious". But things changed and I depend on poker money to add to my monthly income at least for a few months.

I had a first month pretty good (I play since 08 casually, but this is the second month that I NEED THIS MONEY), played REALLY well and was fantastic for me.
But now seems like I'm playing 25% of what I can play. I feel the pressure, I sit in the table with people with 70% or 80% vpip and making huge mistakes and for some reason I cannot beat them. I am tilting a lot more.

I'm losing focus really fast and sometimes I have a hand preflop and I'm like: I probably should fold this hand, but I feel like i'm gonna call here and it is gonna cost me a lot.
And I call, and I loose a lot LOL. Feels like my mind is sabotating me.

I read more books, watched more videos, had more coachings, I have more experience than everyone in my table. Last month was excelent, but this month it hurts me a lot to see bad players winning money and having 10bi on the table and I keep losing stacks.
The problem is that I have to play and this money is really important to me.
I have a busy life with my job and family. I can play poker from 6pm to 10pm at best.

Sounds like you can't handle playing your A game while under financial pressure (no shame, it's not easy). Beyond generally working on your mindset, you might consider a less stressful/risky and lower variance way to earn the money you're depending on.

If you're really depending on poker money to live for a bit, that at least makes you a semi-professional player. Do you think any successful poker pros sit at the table thinking "ehh, I shouldn't play this hand, it's a -ev play, **** it let's call here anyway" ??? That's a recreational mindset and one you just can't afford if you're trying to play seriously.

Money not lost is just as good as money earned, if you know you're going to tilt and spunk away 10 buy ins, self exclude for 24 hours and consider yourself to have won ten buy ins

Probably your determination helped you succeed at poker but you fell into the trap of overthinking things.

When I feel like I don't wanna play and probably will lose but I have to do this I just decide to play more tight so not to make hard decisions and not losing chips in marginal spots because it only makes you feel even worse. And against players with a large VPIP it seem like a right way to play.

I tottally agree with this. But the problem is that I'm "grinding" on PPPoker, where I can at maximum play 3 tables, and the software is slow. So I get really bored easily and tend to play more lag and more variance.

It doesnt sound like youve set youself up in a very good spot to succeed if youre being forced to grind even when you dont want to. I get what you mean about becoming bored or unfocused quickly, especially when you arent having good results but as a professional that just cant happen. You calling hands in spots you know you should be folding is the equivalent of doing half-assed work at a real job which probably isnt gonna lead to much success. It needs to be taken seriously.

Do you still enjoy playing poker? If you do, it shouldnt be too hard to focus on the games. Create a game inside the game, watch each street ask yourself what you think your range looks like in this spot, what does villains range look like? Do you agree with the bet sizings being used? Try to guess peoples hands when they get to the river. Take notes. Also give yourself a few minute breaks from time to time, maybe go outside for a quick walk to refocus.

It sounds a bit like youre inside your own head, maybe play some lower stakes to get back in the swing of things. Poker can be pretty savage, realize its not something just you are going through, remain positive and just continue to work on your game.

You could always also play on a reputable site at the same time?

The advice I give you here is the same I would give my two sons (25,23).

Give up poker and get a second job that is reliable income. Particularly if you are a marginally winning player. If you were killing the games, I would still give you the same advice....but expect it wouldn't be followed. If you are a marginally losing player...OMG GTFO, are you nuts??!?

It appears you are under a time constraint. There really isn't time to develop new strategies to deal with your "I'm playing with scared money" syndrome. The BEST cure for that is to have a huge BR for the stake level you are playing.....and it sounds like you need every nickel to live on.

Ditch the poker and get a second job. Hugely less risk-of-ruin choice to take.

Have you actually kept records when you were a casual player? High probability you were never a significant winner and the fact you play PLO and somehow plan to rely on this money doesn't give me the impression you have a good understanding of variance.

There is a lot of good comments here already ...

1) Where does your bankroll sit? I'm guessing that you've never really had a bankroll to 'lean' on when you hit a downswing. A 'proper' bankroll also should allow you to play 'normal', without the fear of losing.

2) One thing about rec v reg/pro ... rec Players play way too many hands since they are there for the entertainment value, not solely as an income. With your 'bored' comment I think you are starting to see poker in a different light. All the other Players are in there having fun and you are left waiting to play 'correctly'. Definitely address whether poker is still fun.

3) Putting a time limit on poker is a difficult task. Most jobs have an expected income per hour/week that poker can't match as consistently. Poker can be great one week and nasty the next. Putting added pressure to 'earn' $X per session wont go well IMO. On the flip side, if you do hit it well quickly in a session with high variant opponents then you better be willing to pull out early and book your wins.

4) The 'other' job is a good idea. You can lose money in poker which typically doesn't happen in other jobs. Pizza delivery guys may lose 'time' if things are slow but they typically don't lose money. You also risk ruining something that you have been enjoying for almost 10 years. If playing 'serious' poker doesn't go well, you may end up needing to step away from it completely. GL