I'm not sure if i should post this here or in the guide section... seems more relevant here...
Why take my advice
I'm a profitable player, but my earnings/stats aren't high. The reason is, i'm not going to grind super slow micro stakes while being limited to 1 table on torn, i could honestly make around the same flying without spending hours playing. there's a reason i haven't moved up in stakes yet, which i'll cover later in the guide... But my point is, there is no reason for anyone to trust that i know what i'm talking about, take it with a grain of salt. or ignore it.
About this guide
This won't be a guide about poker strategy, there's enough of those that already exist and far better than what i could create...
I have told people, with the implied equity of a table full of fish and 0rake... you can shove all of your premium hands on ballsy and pound it and have positive earnings, the people i told this too said the strategy doesn't work, and that's what this guide will be about... "why" winning poker strategies fail some players. The things this guide will be about are considered basic, and often referenced in other guides, but rarely ever go into much detail and are usually overlooked by newer players.
Guide...
I think tilt and addiction go hand in hand, when i was younger i had trouble with gambling addiction, and tbh i still do, i just avoid the triggers, which i think is esp easier to manage with poker...
I don't think people have addiction problems by gambling for fun or entertainment value, or by grinding in poker.
It's the rush of chasing big wins or chasing your loses, or hitting a big win and wanting more... the grinder's movie for example "one big hand that doubles you up every hour is the goal" or something like that and the reality is that it's not really like that, the mindset you should enter with is winning a few big blinds every hundred hands on average.
I think the built-up expectations a lot of players have, set themselves up for tilt, and the rush of spiraling from that tilt causes gambling addiction.
This portion of the guide covers what is referred to as "bankroll management" and imo it is something that must be learned to avoid addiction. Or to make it simpler... A sober, past alcoholic can drive a truck to deliver beer "without" it being a trigger. you can play poker "without" gambling and making coin flips.... the entire point of poker is to not "gamble" and if you're not gambling... gambling addiction isn't really an issue.
I said above that micro stakes aren't really worth playing for me, and i had reasons for not moving up.... this is that reason.
A lot of people will tell you that 20 buyins are standard, but i'm personally not comfortable with that... 5% becomes 10%, 10 becomes 15 and at that point i'm tilted way before i can play through the variance... there is no magic number, everyone knows themselves well enough to know what they're comfortable losing. I think this bit is the most valuable advice is this guide..... don't do bankroll management with what others are comfortable with, do it with what you're comfortable with that will allow you to play through the variance.
Another thing i personally do... is i haven't played real poker from my main source of income in a decade, this significantly lowers my chance of tilting, if i want to play i do extra work i wouldn't normally have done to fund it. And i think this could apply to a lot of people on torn, buying donator packs to fund your gambling instantly creates a bad habit. Using your bank investment might create tilt before you even hit the tables... Those who know they lack self-control, i think would be better off doing something like using the profits from their investments instead of risking the investment itself
Patience is another important thing, aiming for 4-5 big blinds every hundred hand with a full table like ballsy, is more like 300k per hour, in reality it's likely more, but for me becoming impatient due to boredom is just as tilting and could lead to losing more. most of the time i can't motivate myself to play when my expectation is earning less then i would flying, and when i force myself to i make made decesions.
when i first got into poker i viewed it completely differently, i'm going to describe how i view it now.
A few years ago there was a btc site, people invested in the site, and the site allowed people to run their own casinos with their bankroll. Owners were given something like 0.5% wagered on the site they ran... The site that did this ended up losing tens of thousands of bitcoins from investors. And the reason was that the owners could use certain betting strategies that generated more "wagered" than what was lost to the house. This is the only example i can think of where the house has a negative edge.
That's how i view poker now, imagine betting with 50/50odds with 2.01x payout, you're going to make a profit.
The way i viewed it when i started was kinda same, but placing max bets, you're still going to lose.
And that's all that learning poker really is, strategies, charts, positions, even bluffing. it's learning to estimate your odds and choosing what odds you take... anyone can learn these things and still not be a profitable player.... that's why gto wizard hasn't destroyed poker, despite some people believing it will... The reason winning players profit from losing players, is that they exploit losing player's weaknesses... not just in their gameplay itself but their lack of patience, lack of self-control and awareness.
This isn't as much of a guide as it is me just sharing my experiences, what works for me might not work for everyone else, and others may not view it the same way as i do, but the main point wasn't to list a bunch of things to do that will make you better, it was to give insight on the importance of these things that are often overlooked... If i could go back and teach myself poker... it wouldn't be any strategy for my gameplay , it would be these things.
And i think that's what a lot of people on torn really need to hear when they ask for advice relating to poker or gambling addiction in general.
To sum it up the actual advice in this guide...
1.Play with what "you're" comfortable losing...
2. Have realistic expectations, real poker isn't what you see on wsop
3. If you have poor impulse control, try generating an additional source of income dedicated to gambling, don't swipe your card, or risk what you've worked towards.
4. you can tell you're getting tilted before you actually are, listen to the voice in your head and avoid ever getting to that point
5. Be patient, or have at least have a interest in playing, don't force yourself to play when you're not feeling it...