For me it is super clear that you all are right, to beat 25nl and lower (afaik), you have to play a solid fundamental poker, vbet properly don't bluff too much, fold, fold and fold, hand read well and aply it etc. all the fundamentals are enough to beat those levels.

the thing is: when I play my A game I crush, I am not talking about running good, or bad, I am talking about playing to win the max and lose the min, but overall I am breaking even in a small sample (like 30k hands) at 25nl, and most of my losing sessions, are 100% tilt and spew, my C game, the worst I can play while still thinking -but steaming-.

This makes me realize that the difference between me and a 100nl reg, might not be all about the game, of course, a 100nl reg is obviously better than me at poker, but maybe the biggest difference is the mental stuff, playing the A game as much as possible, and lopping off the C game every possible oportunity.

What do you guys think?

Obviously I'd have no clue, but this seems like it makes sense.

think you should play 100nl

trolls gonna troll

There are lots of differences, but I do agree that focus and stopping tilt / minimizing spew / maximizing value are a huge part.

ya. i tried to soulread the op and failed.

to op: you are a better poker than you were when you started. think back to that time, and how you viewed the game. and then think about how you wouldnlt have been able to conveive what you no now. it just keeps going up like that.

Sit out on all tables and close them everytime you spew and know that it was bad. Come back later and do the same, that helped me to keep playing my A game longer....

I agree that the mental game is a big aspect of poker. I had a long stretch of break even and noticed that for every cooler or hand I was sucked out on I was tilt spewing equally as much.

+1 Same here. Realizing this really changed my win rate.

I'm having the same trouble, I start playing my A game and crushing the limit, doing great calls, bluffing when I know they can fold and I'm representing a good hand, 3 betting and hand reading properly but then when I start to lose concentration and start spewing, playing looser and doing bad calls, not even try to put opp on ranges and I´m losing a lot because of it.

I do really need help on that but yeah I think the mental factor is a huge part of the game.

Annnd the point of this thread is?

Honestly, the biggest thing I have noticed is that higher level players use the fold and raise buttons more. There bet sizing is much better as well. Very very few 25 regs can bet size for crap.

Seems pretty obvious to me what the point is, it's to discuss the difference in mindset, approach to the game, and the other tangible and intangible qualities that separate the successful midstakes players to those that get stuck at the micros.

First of all there's obviously a big skill difference between a 10nl reg and a 400nl reg, but it is going to be difficult to comprehend how big this difference is until you actually reach the level of the more skilled player. It's much easier to look back and realise all the things you now know but once didn't than it is to look forward and see all the things that you currently don't know but hope to in the future. (edit, i don't know if that makes much sense... another way of saying it is that a 400nl reg can easily look at a 10nl player's game and see the things that the 10nl player doesn't know with regards to strategy, but a 10nl player can't watch a 400nl reg play and understand the strategies that he is using)

Mindset is also a huge factor though. It's much easier to lose a stack than it is to win one and if you're constantly losing big pots due to identifiable mistakes (ie spew) then no matter how good your A-game is, you're never going to progress. Also, as I wrote about in my 4k post, the edges we deal with are very small. Winrates and EV are very low compared to the amount of money you put into play, and if a +EV player fails to concentrate and apply himself to every single hand he plays then it is very easy to turn into a -EV player.

There are also many other mindset issues such as recognising and dealing with tilt, dealing with the inevitable downswings (and also as strange as it sounds, continuing to play well during an upswing), managing your bankroll and the stakes you play at etc. Most people are very good at talking about these things, rationalising them and coming up with the perfect strategy, however most people are also terrible at putting those strategies into place.

Hmm yeah, maybe the big difference between the micros and the more successful players is that it is one thing to know what to do, but another thing entirely to put it into practice every single day. We all know that we need to work harder on our games, but how many of us actually do that? We all know that we should shut down all our tables as soon as we feel the first onset of tilt, but how many of us do that? etc....