And Poker Stars , Fuck you too !

Nobody likes losing, but in poker it's inevitable. Even the best players lose nearly half of their sessions. You have to CONSTANTLY WORK on your GAME and MINDSET and try to figure out WHAT WORKS FOR YOU.

It's no surprise that this post didn't get many replies. Maybe it didn't deserve them. I mean it was probably written out of rage tilt, and if you read it later with a clear head it's obvious you were merely venting your frustration out to the community, which is understandable but not a.. let's say... constructive approach. I can guarantee though, that some people related to this post even though they didn't reply (I know I did... going through the emotions of a rough patch at the moment).

I have started to believe that I am just stupid and that I cannot
understand the game. I was never good with games anyway.

Every single person in the world is too stupid to play poker optimally. It's just too complex. Think about that. There's literally no-one playing even close to perfect strategy. Poker is hard as fuck. It's hard strategically and mentally. It's up to you how much you are willing to sacrifice to get better in it.

Then I sit down and try to understand myself. YES I am emotional
after a bad hand and yes I put a limit to sit out every single hour.
Close the client. But it keeps coming in the next session.. no profit
at all. getting even .. graph goes up +10bi because I had a good
session for 1 day and then for 4 days it destroys me.

It's good you're trying to understand yourself. I'd also challenge you to try to understand yourself as a poker player? I mean, really try to understand it. What are you trying to achieve? What are your GOALS? Why do you play poker? Is it for fun? Is it to compete? To make money? To escape? To justify feeling bad? Trying to be better? Is there a certain way you think poker should be played, and why?

Try to be as honest as you can to yourself.

If it's really the case that "Poker makes (you) miserable" and you just can't understand it; I think the best thing you can do is to quit right away and find something better to do with your time.

i Feel you bro i was recently crushing my stakes for whole month when i played good poker....but sometimes i just dont know why and i do fancy plays that kill my winrate i just feel like every reg is super abc trash that dont even think about the ranges which is demotivating for me ebcause i want a challenge when i play thats why i always played games to beat other good players....if im beating some random guys who arent even trying i feel like i havent acomplished anything and sooner or later i get bored even if im printing money(i had 11bb 70k hands this month on NL25 zoom).Guess we both need to work on the mental game....cuz the day just happens randomly man 2-3 spots where i run into top range or if they call me down with bad blockers and stuff i get easly emotional and it wrecks me.I feel like everyone who can control their mental game can crush any limits daily thats the only thing that drags me down

I don't know. I've read about 35-40 BI downswings of winning players over large sample sizes. 200K hand BE stretches happen. See here: https://forumserver.twoplustwo.com/117/medium-high-stakes-full-ring/what-your-longest-downswing-break-even-stretch-proven-winners-only-1734026/

And it's also important to remember this is not 2003-2009. The game is tougher. Players in the micros are studying, range constructing etc. "Printing money" does not quite have the same meaning as it used to. Poker players are looking for sponsors, running games, streaming, starting training sites because (I think) it's easier than making millions in today's games. Scary stuff.

This year, I'm up 21K in live tournaments and down 19K in mostly live cash. It's brutal. All you can do is keep studying, keep optimizing your life so life tilt doesn't become poker tilt, make sure you're rolled...

Poker doesn't "make" you anything, it just amplifies what is already there.

I think the best thing you can do is develop a method for improvement. Personally, having people to discuss with and to point out flaws in my logic is tremendous. it’s hard to see our own blind spots.

For a long time I recorded my online sessions or would have a friend who is a winning player sweat me and question what I was doing. This was important to my development as a player

Writing down any situation you are even questioning and getting feedback from a community of winning players is helpful too. Many many times and every current session I’m always seeking feedback on anything I’m not confident about. And even some of those things I’m
Confident about in time may be wrong. Think it’s important to develop an objective method and just be open about things with people
Who know their shit

Also, I think it’s important to know what’s important to you. What do you want out of poker?

I played professionally last year, and that completely changed my perspective on playing poker as a career. I like aspects of the game and plan to continue playing, but it also made me realize I want to do a lot more in life than just play cards. Taking time to consider what was important to me helped me develop a better relationship with poker and it’s place in my life, and am actually enrolling in uni to develop a different career.

just see that there are only 15% percent of time seeing a flop for every zoom even in the smallest stake, so you know how hard, nitty, and aggressive in each zoom stake.

Hello Fidelinos! It's been a long time since you wrote this post, but I also want to express my thoughts and I hope they will help you and other players to understand the problem.
First, poker is a very complex game that requires thousands of hours of training, analysis of your game and work on mistakes. Without this, it is simply impossible to achieve the optimal result.
Second, always try to control your emotions and play sensibly. It is normal to lose, try to take a break from poker after a series of defeats, analyze what exactly prevented you from achieving the result and try to play in a new way next time.
And don't call yourself stupid, stupid is not the one who makes mistakes, but the one who doesn't analyze them and doesn't draw conclusions.
I hope my thoughts will encourage you at least a little. Good luck to you!

I feel you, and you doesn't seem to be stupid for this game. You need to try one more time to make sure that you can handle with it. Good luck

Long time no see

A few months ago, I made the decision to get back to poker after a long break. I was eager to see how much I had evolved, but soon found myself revisiting familiar struggles.

I remembered an old post of mine where I had talked about these exact feelings. Here I am, once again, facing the same challenges.

But this time, I’m trying a different approach. I'll be focusing on what I believe is my biggest leak—the mental game. In one of my next posts, I’ll outline my strategy for it.

For now, my goal is simple: play, then sit out and write down my emotions as they unfold.

Today's Session:
First 15 minutes: I called three small bets against a recreational player—a mistake. Instantly, I felt the negativity creeping in. Almost simultaneously, I lost a flip at another table. Both situations left me confused, and I could feel myself starting to tilt. I stopped to jot down how I was feeling. Noticed my speed of clicking had gone up, a clear sign of losing focus.

10-minute break: At the end of the hour, I lost another flip—this one I may have misplayed by 4betting when I should have just called preflop. Immediately after that, I caught myself wanting to loosen up and play more recklessly, but I didn’t give in. Recognizing this pattern was key—it’s something I need to work on.

Goal for today: Simply observe my emotions and thoughts during the game, nothing else.

Second hour: The entire session felt like a grind. I tilted during one hand trying to bluff a rec, which left me frustrated with myself. In another hand, where I was very strong, my mind became foggy when the pot grew large, and I ended up playing too fast again.

Main takeaway: Slowing down my pace is crucial. It’s one of my biggest goals moving forward.

By keeping this focus on my mental game, I believe I can start turning these patterns around. This time, it's not just about improving my technical skills—it's about mastering my emotions at the table.

Started a new session with a plan: 1 hour of play, a quick 10-minute break, then another hour before calling it. In hindsight, sitting down to play instead of resting was a poor choice—I was exhausted and it showed in my game. Played poorly, felt the fatigue, and thankfully decided to quit early.

Starting a new session: planning to play for 2 hours with a 10-minute break in between.

Break: Feeling down—haven't won a single hand, and every board feels dry, offering no value. Hesitated to bluff a hand, and after losing a couple of big ones, I played the next few hands too passively, almost on autopilot. Admittedly, there's sadness while I'm playing.

Second Hour: Ran poorly, down about 5 buy-ins. Felt a deep sadness mid-session but gradually recovered while playing. Kept catching myself thinking, “I can’t win a single hand.”

Now, feeling better as I wrap up and head to bed.

GL all!

adding a graph

Sounds like poker might not be for you. However, if you really want to try and keep playing maybe, instead of jumping into trying to play again, you need to make time for the game away from actually playing. And by that I mean study. Study as much possible as first. maybe take 1 day a week to play at most. But the time you have for poker you should study. And when you do start playing again, play lower. Yes the rake is higher, but the players can be substantially worse even moving down a single level. And you might not feel the loses as harshly.

Most of all putting the time in studying, starting with the absolute basics, will give you piece of mind when you do lose. You're doing all you can, and sometimes you're just going to lose no matter what.

I'd recommend getting the "From The Ground Up" course here on Run It Once for your chosen game and hit it hard.

The last two days have gone quite well.

Yesterday, I chose to play at regular tables. The slower pace allowed me to focus more and take my time with each move—a crucial part of my process. I played with clarity and didn’t encounter many tough decisions, which likely contributed to my stable mindset. Or perhaps my mindset was already in a good place, allowing me to approach each spot with composure.

I also had a moment of self-reflection: At the start of a session, I held back from 3-betting KQs (SB vs. BTN) and instead chose to call, partly to include the BB, who seemed like a high VP player. The real reason, though, was that I didn’t want to risk losing the blinds I had just won in the previous hand.

Keeping this journal has been helpful in recognizing moments like these—it allows me to observe my decisions and mental state more closely.

Lastly, I stuck to my plan and took a break by sitting out, even though I was tempted to keep playing.

Today, I tilted hard. I found myself calling down in spots where I knew I should fold, almost out of self-pity, feeling like the game is always stacked in favor of the villain. I’m overwhelmed with sadness right now. During one particular hand, I kept telling myself about all the value hands the villain could have, knowing he wouldn’t shove worse, making it a clear fold. And yet—I clicked call. What the hell is wrong with me?

Right now, the pressure feels crushing, like I won’t be able to make it, and it’s eating me up inside. I don’t understand why I can’t just hit that fold button. Fuck…