From Broke and Tilted to NL500: My Poker and Life Reset

I mean this in the nicest possible way, but it sounds like you have a long history of being a problem gambler. Normally I don't tell people what to do with their money, and I'm a poker pro myself, so I can't judge others for choosing to gamble or pursue poker. But based on the info you provided, I really believe the best course of action you could possibly take is to quit gambling completely. If your goal is to make/save money, live a healthy lifestyle, and retire early and happily, then any form of gambling including poker is the last thing you should be doing based on the history you provided. I wish you health, happiness, and good fortune in the years to come, regardless of what you decide to do.

I understand what you’re trying to say, and of course you are right in a certain way.

I know my history doesn’t look good, and I’m not trying to pretend that everything was fine. Over the last few years I lost myself a bit, and I made a lot of bad decisions. But I’m also the kind of person who finds it very hard to give up. I want to fight my way back to the person I used to be.

For me, this is not just about poker. It’s about discipline, structure, and changing my life. I want to become a fighter again, not someone who keeps running away from problems or making excuses.

Arda Saatci’s challenge really motivated me. It showed me that if you truly work hard and stay consistent, you can achieve a lot more than you think.

So I’m going to give this everything I have, and we’ll see where it leads. But one thing is 100% clear: I will never allow myself to be in the negative on my bank account again.

Thank you for your words. I really appreciate that you took the time to write them.

My two cents would be to take a step back from all the gambling aspects and clean up your life first then start grinding. If you have that stress hanging over your shoulder then you will never play your A game.

If I were in your shoes then I would pay off all the debt first, then create some emergency fund then start grinding. I wouldn’t grind Micro since the rake is too high. Instead, get a second job to accelerate income. I would enter at 50 NL+ and prioritize studying/research. Make sure to prioritize bankroll management which is the crucial to poker success IMHO. More important than all the solver work!

I was in similar shoes before then I took few months off for self reflect and cleaned up my life. If you don’t deal with your addiction, it will grow stronger and stronger. Your description sounds like you were in constant cycle which most addict can relate. Work on yourself. No one is coming to save you.

I have day job just like you. I hate or dislike it as much as you do. But I have the option to quit now since my finances are in order and I have poker as my income.

You have to put in the work. I am now grinding 200 NL & 500 NL and hopefully 1k+ NL soon. My main stake currently is 200 NL and I feel like I am better than most regs because I studied more than them.. If I can do it, you definitely can do it as well. Don’t give up, be persistent! Good luck in you journey 😀

PS: Lol.. you can subscribe to my thread for my journey! 😉

Thank you for your words, I really appreciate it.

I’ve already thought a lot about everything, and lately I’ve also been putting a lot of time into studying. I’ve learned quite a few things along the way — not only about poker, but also about myself.

I’ve realized that I’ve developed certain behavioral patterns that I’m currently trying to unlearn. For example, tilting and then jumping into Spin & Gos or similar games. That’s exactly the kind of thing I want to work on.

My financial situation should be much better in about two months, so I’m not too worried about that right now. Also, poker is not money that I’m planning to use right now to pay off my debts. I want to get away from constantly chasing money and putting that kind of pressure on myself.

My biggest goal at the moment is simply to learn consistency and discipline. That’s why I’m starting at NL2 without any pressure. I want to work with the €10, take it seriously, and just see what I can build from there.

Thanks again for your honest words and encouragement.

The last three days have been really good, even though I’ve been running above EV. I also hit a BBJ, which obviously helped a lot. Still, I’m currently $22 away from reaching my NL2 goal.

My bankroll management plan will be:

NL5 shot starting at $150 — 10 shots
NL10 starting at $300 — 10 shots
NL25 starting at $1,000 — 10 shots
NL50 starting at $2,500 — 20 shots
NL100 starting at $6,000

The only exception will be if I don’t feel confident enough yet to move up to a certain limit. I don’t want to force anything just because the bankroll technically allows it.

Up to NL25, I think my current skill level should definitely be enough. After that, I’ll put a bigger focus on theory and structured studying.

Moin moin.

Viel glueck!

Das hier klingt doch sehr bedenklich:

Now I’m 27 years old, and I hate my job. I currently work as an electrician . But because of my gambling behavior, I’ve never really had any money. This month I will actually end up around €1,600 in the negative on my bank account.

Wenn ich noch fuer ein online casino/ pokeroom arbeiten wuerde und so etwas lese wuerde ich dein konto umgehend permanent schliessen.

Es ist hart sich sowas einzugestehen und du siehst es noch nicht so aber dass ist kein warnsignal sondern das resultat davon ein problemspieler zu sein.

That’s exactly what this journal is about.

I already know a lot about myself, my patterns, and my mistakes — probably more than some random person can judge from a single post. I’ve already admitted a lot of things to myself, and that’s why I’m writing about it openly here.

I’m aware that this is not just a small warning sign, and that I seriously need to work on certain behavioral patterns. But I still believe that everyone is capable of working on themselves and changing, as long as they are honest with themselves and willing to put in the discipline.

If you see it differently, that’s okay. Then I honestly feel sorry for you. I believe people can achieve things if they are truly willing to take responsibility and work on themselves consistently.
Hope u stay tunded
See u

Maybe it was too harsh to say that I hate my job. It’s not that extreme — it’s just not the job I want to do for the rest of my life.

hey , this that i want to say you is that if you dont face your addiction gambler problem, this will also be there and maybe it come when you dont wait it. i f i were you i would ask the opinion of the expert . Sometimes maybe its good to do a step back. dont leave your job. Good luck whatever you decide!!

I don’t plan on quitting my job anytime soon or anything like that.

Maybe my plan wasn’t clear enough from my post, but right now my main focus is to work on my bad habits — including my gambling addiction patterns — by facing them, understanding them, and slowly unlearning them.

I’m not too worried about my financial situation at the moment. I have a stable, well-paid job, and I have money coming in every month. Within the next two months, I should be back to zero debt by the end of the month.

I don’t know if that wasn’t obvious from my posts, but apparently it wasn’t. I’ve already admitted my problems to myself, and I’m actively working on them. That’s exactly what this journal is for: to document everything for myself and stay accountable.

I understand that this might not be the mainstream way to deal with this kind of problem. Usually, people would say you should go to an expert, quit completely, or take a more standard route. I get that. But I’m different, and I want to go my own way with this.

You can see it as me not wanting to admit my problems if you want, but like I said, I already have admitted them to myself. I’m just choosing my own path to work through them.

I have a clear plan that I’m following right now. I have fixed goals that I’m working toward. I simply want to use poker as a way to confront my problems, deal with them, and build discipline.

The “NL2 to NL500” part is mainly just a title and a long-term goal. It’s not the main point of the journey for me.

I say it sounds like you're turning things around in your personal life. I always hear the saying "winners make themselves winners, and losers make themselves losers" it's wise wisdom that works in life and in poker.
For you to get better i recommend you start reading "no limit hold em theory and practice" by sklansky and harris.

Then you play, read, play, then read some more. Usually any problems you find in your sessions that book will help with answers, since you wanna play to go pro. Your main goal is not to win every pot but win the most money at least in cash games. When you do lose, there's two mental tricks you can use to help with tilt.

1. Tell yourself you played the best you could, and a worse player wouldve lost more that session.

2. You are clocking into your work shift when you play on the tables winning or losing doesnt matter, youre there to work and to grind and every job has its problems.

Short Update
Now I’m finally done with NL2 for now.
Of course, I was a bit lucky with the BBJ, but I still think I beat NL2 very convincingly overall — even though there were definitely some spots where I was just clicking buttons braindead.