Hey guys, this is a serious question.
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.

you have been playing since 08 so theres not much I can tell you that you dont already know, but I can tell you some of things that have helped me

-think the worst case scenario through and realize that everything is going to be okay: if you lose the money that will suck, but you will make more money, you will try again with the knowledge you've gained

-you are not alone, everyone who takes that leap of faith and plays poker for money ends up in this situation (unless they started w some $)

-FIND the right line/decision with every hand, regardless of emotional status.

-detach yourself from the gravity of the situation/money. TRY to have fun while you play if possible. FUN=PROFIT

-corny idea but: every hand you play is the first hand of the rest of your life, every hand is an isolated event, the past is just a story and it does not have to have any bearing on the next hand

-Pat Macnamara quote "when you let go of the NEED to have something, often times you will be able to perform at a higher level, a level that allows you to achieve that thing you need"

Sometimes it takes discipline to take a break from poker when not playing your best. Or push yourselves on doing things outside poker like better food/excercise/mental health that will help you make good decisions at the table.

Finally, it's ok to play tighter than optimal for any number of situational reasons - playing too tight in cash should be a pretty small concern in most games.

If you're thinking like this at the poker table then you have no idea what you're doing and probably shouldn't be playing cards at ALL, let alone for a living. The reason you're scared about money is because you are uncertain about the game.

This exact mindset is why anyone who wants to "go pro" is always recommended to have X amount of months worth of living expenses saved up, so that they can avoid the ups and downs of poker.

There is no guarantee that you will win in a given month. The fact that you depend on winning to meet your expenses puts more stress and burden on your mental state, than before. Now you're not just losing a stack, you're losing a meal, clothes, heat, etc.

You have to be able to disassociate the two, or else you're never going to get past it. Its pretty easy to rely on poker money when you're winning, because there is no stress in winning. The only way to combat this mentality is to either save up a small amount of money that can help smooth out the bumps, or figure out how to convince yourself that everything will even out if you just keep playing your game.

I would recommend the following:
- take a step back and refocus. This means not playing for a day, two days, or whatever you need to calm down.
- reduce the number of tables you are playing. If you can't play optimally at 1 table, playing sub optimally at 4 tables would be terrible.
- accept the fact that winning in poker is not guaranteed, like an hourly wage. A poker players graph at the end of the year is filled with a ton of ups and downs. Stop assuming you're supposed to win.

Keep playing your best, that is all you can do. Right now you are playing with scared money. Just assume that doing the right things will even out in the long run. Lets just hope your long run happens before the end of the month.

Best of luck, you can do it!!!!

In a dubious situation preflop, if I go with it, I am going to play it extra carefully. Those are not all situations where I feel I am likely going to lose a lot of money, like after getting 3-bet and getting a feeling that calling and calling isn't likely the best move. If that's the likely scenario preflop already, it makes sense to tighten up a bit preflop in some ways.

I am not exactly sure of what is the best move there, or there are some charts for what is good enough and how deep it needs to be to be profitable, but the range of the opponent is the main issue here and then the situations post flop.

Feeling it is going to be a losing session, losing (still more). I know the feeling, not sure what you mean, though, but in such a case, I think the mindset is not healthy and one should doubt one's mind and double check what it suggests (as it is tilted). That has at least somewhat helped me so far but needs more experience.

If you suffer from this you're not focused enough on each hand. Money shouldnt really bother any thinking player. No offense meant by this but if you're distracted by short term swings then you've lost focus on what it takes to win long term and you shouldnt play at all. There's already more than enough information to focus on besides the fact you're up or down in the last few sessions. If short term losses are in your head at all you're just autopiloting and have either lost the ability to evaluate your own decisions or never had that in the first place and are purely relying on luck.

How did yesterday go?

Best advice I ever got: when you are on a downswing and/or doubting your play.. play less tables.