Couldn't beat NL2 in 8 years, Will beat NL10 in a year
Hello, i usually don't use social media but i think creating this account may be very +EV in the long term.
I will shortly recap my story. I fell in love with poker when i was around 14, i obsessed with it, i loved it, i respected it, Poker was all i talked and cared about. I decided i was gonna become a professional poker player, that was my "destiny", that is what i wanted and what i worked for. A game where you can make money by studying and making decisions. For 3 years, played with passion, I started on playing play money games, moved to crypto sites, made little money, money enough to buy me food and computer.
After 3 years, I got depressed for some irl event. started to take it less seriously, for the last 3 years i played but i played really bad, didn't take it seriously, i lost, couldn't even beat NL2 and NL5. I have said that many times in the past, "i will take it seriously, i will start, this week/year", but this time for real(have said this time for real many times too).
Here i am standing 21.5 years old, feeling old af. discovered poker 7.5 years ago, yet can't even beat NL2. Shame, Shame.
I currently play on GG NL2 rush cash. My goal is to move up to NL10 and beat it for 4BB/100 pre rake back over 200k hands, in a year. I will spend every single minute studying/listening/watching poker. Instead of listening to stupid lessons at university i will be reading poker books/watching poker videos. Instead of listening Lex Fridman at gym i will be listening poker videos. Instead of watching dumb "movies" while i eat, i will be watching play and explain videos. watching movies is not the most +EV thing compared to watching poker videos. I will also try to invest in poker tools etc.
I will ask everything, i will try to understand and learn everything, no shame, whatever it is the most +EV way to get better i will do it, don't care. I am not afraid of being called dumb, i am not afraid of asking something stupid, i am not afraid of saying something stupid. I shall speak and learn.
I will be playing around 70k hands/month, will play less tables and think better during the hands, quantity over quality. Caring about studying more than playing, will be spending 1-2 hours of quality study time per day.
I will be reaching my goal even it means i have to sacrifice things. I already cut a 8 year old friend(he was dumb anyways) for not believing i can win in poker(even though i explained to him, but he was too dumb to understand). Gently put, things that prevents me from reaching my goal shall be removed and i shall do whatever it takes to reach my goal(except cheating ofc). And i will, whatever it takes.
Some may say "uhh 4bb on NL10, that is easy, omg can't believe this is your goal, you play poker for 8 years lmao, such a loser", well, i would not say anything about that, i should have been crushing NL50 by now, but some mental problems like i mentioned.
So what if i can't win this time too, well well well, i will think about that if i don't, i don't have to worry about it a lot since it won't happen, will win for sure.
I will be journaling my journey, writing something every day, i will be posting monthly updates here based off my journal, and will post graph. I feel like weekly updates becomes irrelevant, so longer monthly it is. I will also not be sharing hand histories etc, i saw a few people doing it, but i think they are irrelevant. I may create a nicely structured single page website. I may also create a shorter summaries of the months.
Recommendations and questions welcome.
I am relatively new to social media, i only have discord and i try to use to in most +EV way. Do you guys have any recommendations what is the most +EV way to use this platform, any recommendations welcome. Also is there like a list of toxic and dumb people i can block?
The most +EV thing to do is to get a coach or join some kind of CFP/coaching group and do exactly what they tell you. It's the fastest way to improve by far, 10-100x (not kidding) faster than trying to be "self-taught". If you actually listen you can get way past 10NL in one year.
The most +EV thing to do is to get a coach or join some kind of CFP/coaching group and do exactly what they tell you. It's the fastest way to improve by far, 10-100x (not kidding) faster than trying to be "self-taught". If you actually listen you can get way past 10NL in one year.
What a horrible advise! If you aren't capable of beating NL2 on your own with the available free content, Poker might probably not be something, what you should consider as source of income. Also playing Fast-Fold-Poker isn't a really good idea as it attracts REGs and level of play is much higher than on regular tables. As you are obv a native of my country, take a shitty job and when you come home, try the Poker-thing. It may be recreational - because you enjoy it - or it may turn out to be your source of income, but below crushing NL50 every f****-job at McDonalds pays you more.
Dude, if you're not capable of beating 2NL after what you describe as years, i just dont think you have what it takes to make poker a career.
i play recreationally NL10 on GG, and based on the GG stat tracker, i could beat NL2, NL5 and NL10 at basically 20BB/100 before rake on RnC over around 90k hands, and ive basically done zero training.
Having said that, from your post and how you explained it, i sounds more likely that you were just to life and psychological tilt, so good luck. You might still make it.
What a horrible advise! If you aren't capable of beating NL2 on your own with the available free content, Poker might probably not be something, what you should consider as source of income. Also playing Fast-Fold-Poker isn't a really good idea as it attracts REGs and level of play is much higher than on regular tables. As you are obv a native of my country, take a shitty job a
> If you aren't capable of beating NL2 on your own with the available free content, Poker might probably not be something, what you should consider as source of income.
My gaol is to get better enough to beat NL10, then i will think about it.
> Also playing Fast-Fold-Poker isn't a really good idea as it attracts REGs and level of play is much higher than on regular tables.
My goal is to get better enough to beat NL10 Rush Cash , Need to play against regs to get better. For building bankroll, yeah may be to build bankroll.
Dude, if you're not capable of beating 2NL after what you describe as years, i just dont think you have what it takes to make poker a career.i play recreationally NL10 on GG, and based on the GG stat tracker, i could beat NL2, NL5 and NL10 at basically 20BB/100 before rake on RnC over around 90k hands, and ive basically done zero training.Having said that, from your post and ho
can u explain wdym by "what it takes to make poker a career"?
The main reason i couldn't beat for all those years was mental problems and the fact that i focused on wrong things like reading harrington on holdem and watching doug polk
The most +EV thing to do is to get a coach or join some kind of CFP/coaching group and do exactly what they tell you. It's the fastest way to improve by far, 10-100x (not kidding) faster than trying to be "self-taught". If you actually listen you can get way past 10NL in one year.
No
2-weekly update
I will write a short update. Well first week i couldn't play much, i played more this week. I feel like i won't be reaching my goal of 50k hands/month, i can if i want to but it will hurt my study, like i will be studying less. I feel like i am playing bad when i force myself to. I should be playing to get better, to see if i am implementing things i learn, not to hit some goal like 50k hands/month.
Yesterday was really bad, i punted hard and lost 4 buyins, i would have lost like 0 or +1 buyins if i didn't punt.
I think the main reason i am not succeeding is because of my mental game, or problems in general, i can't focus well. I feel like i should work in that. gym/cardio/yoga/meditation i guess.
There is school, there is gym. School takes too much time, although i tried to make it so i am productive at lessons, like i try to read poker book etc at lesson, but it still is bad. Not only it takes time but also mental energy, it is something that lives in my head and have to care about.
There are things i realized and i am doing differently, points i wanna make but i will be making them in my monthly post, i will also be sharing my graph in my monthly post. I want this blog to be nicely structured and not too random. May even make an external website.
I feel like i should be investing tools like gtowizard, GTO+ etc. I don't think i can make it in poker without investing in such tools.
I will reply any questions. Any advice is welcome,except telling me to work at McDonald's. Keep it positive.
I have only played 17k hands so far, and there are 12 days left to months end, i decided that i will be reaching my 50k goal, i will have to play like 4 hours for the next 12 days. I hope it won't interfere with my study and exploration time. I played like 4 hours today which is record in like past 2 months i think.
I mean i should care about studying more than playing at the moment, as someone who can't beat micros, but i think not playing 50k hands/month isn't very ideal, i wanna have a sample size.
(written yesterday (2025-09-24))
How exactly is there 12 days left until months end? 😃
in
I was playing today, trying to reach my goal of 50k hands / month, there is 10 days left till first months end, 50k/hands month realistic for me but I was very lazy so I had to grind, I actually thought I won't care but then decided I wanna have 50k hands/month. sample size.
So I was playing, tired but just playing to reach a goal, little sleepy. I was playing but I wasn't thinking clearly, I wasn't playing productive, I also punted off a little. Just forcing myself so I can reach my goal. Then I thought, no, just no, what is the point. What will happen if I play 50k hands instead of 35k hands, there is no difference. I am not playing well when I play long hours.
I know I set a goal and should be reaching it, but my main objective is not to play 50k hands / month, it is to get better. Grinding tired just clicking buttons is not gonna make me better, I shall play to improve and put things I learned into action. I actually wrote something like that 2 posts ago but then decided that I will be reaching 50k hands/month even though it was gonna take me like 4.15h for next 12 days, which is a lot considering my schedule.
I feel like one of the reasons why I have been so unsuccessful is because of putting mindless grinding over actually studying and improving. This time I am patient. I will move slowly, of course I will be playing as long as I feel like I am playing at least my B game.
Patience, calm.
As you play on GG Poker, I'd recommend you 2 tools: GtoWizard and Hand2Note. GtoWizard the free features should be enough to get you started. Use it to understand Preflop-ranges and then use Hand2Note's population-analysis to see, where you want to deviate from GTO.
Dude, the most +EV thing for you is to stay in school and get an education. Its not that big of an investment compared to life outs you get if the poker thing doesnt work out, youre basically freerolling it
As you play on GG Poker, I'd recommend you 2 tools: GtoWizard and Hand2Note. GtoWizard the free features should be enough to get you started. Use it to understand Preflop-ranges and then use Hand2Note's population-analysis to see, where you want to deviate from GTO.
Already have GTO wizard free, and i am familiar with the rfi and vs raise nodes. I am actually thinking about paying for basic sub for a month and see if it will be helpful, but i am not sure.
I heard hand2note was a subscription software , i really don't like subscription software. The thing you say shows how much people are open raising etc from your hand history right, i wonder if is there something similar in PT4?
Thanks
Dude, the most +EV thing for you is to stay in school and get an education. Its not that big of an investment compared to life outs you get if the poker thing doesnt work out, youre basically freerolling it
You don't know what kind of country i live in, what kind of university i go, or what i study. Also i didn't say i am thinking about quiting school anywhere.
Even if i decided to quit school for poker, i do whatever i want. You are not at a place to be able to give me advise about my life. Like i said in my post only advice about reaching my goal is welcome, "dude".
You don't know what kind of country i live in, what kind of university i go, or what i study. Also i didn't say i am thinking about quiting school anywhere.
Even if i decided to quit school for poker, i do whatever i want. You are not at a place to be able to give me advise about my life. Like i said in my post only advice about reaching my goal is welcome, "dude".
Germany or Austria?
H2N is subscription and it's really not cheap, but their population-analysis is outmatched. Play +150k hands on GG, be aware of GTO-ranges and then get the beginner-subscription (which still is 200 bucks), compare population-stats for spots to GTO, then adjust your gampe-plan accordingly. GtoWizard shows you perfect play against perfect opponents, on the Micros you don't play against perfect opponents. See where the pool deviates from GTO, adjust accordingly and then just grind it out. Focus on preflop first. Being solid preflop will certainly will certainly lead you past NL10 if you don't do blunder completly postflop.
My advice as a qualified player:
- stop poker
or
- come and battle in plo5 cards on CoinPoker in midstakes
H2N is subscription and it's really not cheap, but their population-analysis is outmatched. Play +150k hands on GG, be aware of GTO-ranges and then get the beginner-subscription (which still is 200 bucks), compare population-stats for spots to GTO, then adjust your gampe-plan accordingly. GtoWizard shows you perfect play against perfect opponents, on the Micros you don't play a
I will take a look into the feature set in free trial to see if it would be worth it, or whether there are any other alternatives. I really dislike subscription based software, for service, like gto wizard subscription is fine since it is a service but for software idk, not like it. But will look into it.
I will be blocking everyone who says negative or toxic stuff here. By negative i don't mean like "you played this hand bad", i mean more like "quit poker", "can't win at poker" etc etc. (I didn't apply this to first two person whom replied, it is like from now.)
Also outside of this thread, i will be blocking people who claims poker is rigged, who complains about bad beats or toxic. I don't think there can be anything to learn from such people.
>
My goal is to get better enough to beat NL10 Rush Cash , Need to play against regs to get better. For building bankroll, yeah may be to build bankroll.
This is not necessarily wrong, and beating regs (or not losing too much vs them in a very high rake game) is important, but the actual cash will come from recreationals. There are recreationals playing fast fold formats, thankfully, but it is not possible to have a positive winrate, there or even in regular tables, if you don't know how to maximally exploit recs. If you never saw MDA data about how recreationals actually play, it's quite possible that you might have all the wrong impressions. A lot of the advice that people gave about them over the years was garbage tbh.
Other than that, GL with your goals, I will be following your journey.
This is not necessarily wrong, and beating regs (or not losing too much vs them in a very high rake game) is important, but the actual cash will come from recreationals. There are recreationals playing fast fold formats, thankfully, but it is not possible to have a positive winrate, there or even in regular tables, if you don't know how to maximally exploit recs. If you never s
I know that there are more money in regular tables compared to zoom but like i said i am playing NL2 right now and i playing too improve and how much $ i won doesn't matter. I may only play NL25 reg tables if i beat NL10 and decide to move to NL25, i will move to reg table instead of RC. since the dollar amount is like impactful, i mean the money you make is money in NL25.
I also have little personal reasons why i wouldn't play reg tables, like i like getting up and taking frequent breaks and it is hard to do that in reg tables. Also i hate it when two people sit with 20bb-50bb stacks, annoying, i have to manually keep switching tables. But like i said if i beat NL10, i will consider moving to NL25 reg tables instead of rush cash
If you never saw MDA data about how recreationals actually play, it's quite possible that you might have all the wrong impressions.
I think it is a very good advice and you are right. I was like "recs don't bluff" "recs don't fold" or "people don't do X at NL2". I came to realize that these are not very true(by watching other people play NL2). Some guy on discord gave like 2 week access to his MDA product, but idk how to use, i should probably take look into it. What would you recommend i study in terms of MDA if i only have 2 weeks?
Thank you, good that there are serious people giving serious advice
Actually, what the MDA will give you, and this is valuable, don't get me wrong, is the vision over what is actually happening, if you need to see it with your own eyes. I had to. I ended up doing it myself at the time in H2N3 as there wasn't any of these products around that time.
Let me just give a disclaimer here that I felt important to state it (the previous paragraph) because the true impact on your winrate will come from the strategy you develop to capitalize on all the leaks, which by the own nature of the game will almost always be multi-street. This is way more complicated and you might end up having to reach outside help, one way or another, eventually.
Anyway, as someone that tries my best to come up with the simplest possible strategy, let me give you an example of how I think about MDA, and you might use it to get as much info as you can in your 2 weeks trial:
For the ?-?-B line (any line up to the river, where the alias bet), my database of fishes (30M hands of 50nl pokerstars) says they have 45% bluffs, including low pair, for an average sizing around 0.4x-0.6x pot. Balanced is 25% bluffs for this sizing. A 20% overbluff on average any time you face a river bet. Now, if a fish overbets, let's say 1.5x pot, it drops to 34% bluffs. Balanced is 37.5%, they are underbluffing when they overbet, on the average river bet scenario. See a pattern emerging?
You might look at more details, like what if it's a continuous aggression, or discontinuous. If they are the PFR or PFC. SRP or 3BP. But look for patterns you can turn into heuristics would be my advice on how to get the most out of your 2 weeks.
Cheers!
Actually, what the MDA will give you, and this is valuable, don't get me wrong, is the vision over what is actually happening, if you need to see it with your own eyes. I had to. I ended up doing it myself at the time in H2N3 as there wasn't any of these products around that time. Let me just give a disclaimer here that I felt important to state it (the previous paragraph) beca
Thanks for the reply. I will be looking into it. Will try to save some spots. Although the product i was given free trial have hands from NL50 upwards and i play lower, there must be similarities and things i can learn. I will look into river bet spots like u say. I will also look into preflop 3b and 4b stuff, feels like i am not 4b bluffing enough thinking people aren't folding enough.
You are right i mean most the of the money will come from maximizing vs fish instead of losing less vs reg. But i think i should focus on trying to understand basics at first, like why do we bet, why do check, range advantage etc. There are a lot of things that i don't know. I feel like MDA should come later in my journey, i think that's what usually happens, i don't think losing/break even players dives into MDA and become winning player, but rather people who already has good theoretical understanding of the game use it to maximize their winrate. I do definitely see the future value in it but i think directly going MDA without having some theoretical understanding may not be very optimal.
