Why Can't I Break Through?
Every one of us is at a different point in our poker journey.
But the one thing we all have in common is that we haven’t reached the highest level of our potential.
Many players feel that their skill level is higher than their results have shown. They feel that they belong at higher stakes, but they just haven’t been able to break through for one reason or another.
So, what might be holding you back from moving up to that next buy-in level?
I sat down to write this with some specific issues in mind, but I then realized that there’s something more important to talk about first:
What many people think is holding them back.
So, next week, we’ll dive into my initial ideas. Today, we’ll begin with some excuses.
Excuse #1: Bankroll
“I could beat games so much bigger than the ones I’m playing in, but I don’t have the bankroll. Those players aren’t even that good. They’re just lucky they have the roll to play those stakes.”
This is the 2nd most common delusion that I hear in poker.
Is it possible that you’re good enough to beat bigger games than your bankroll will allow you to play?
Of course.
This is true for some people, but not for most who say it.
Even if it’s true for you… so what?
Your bankroll is your bankroll.
The less time you spend focused on blaming your circumstances, the more time you can spend growing that bankroll.
On a long time horizon, your current
bankroll isn’t that relevant.
Where you end up in ten years depends much more on your future skill level than your current bankroll.
Grow your skills, and the bankroll will come.
Excuse #2: Bad Luck
“I would be crushing $10/$20 if I didn’t run so bad.”
This, of course, is the most common delusion.
The variance involved in poker makes it a game that even great players gamble on against each other, not knowing where they stand.
It’s the core of what makes poker work as a game people play for money.
It fools even the strongest and smartest of us.
Have some people been luckier than others?
Undoubtedly.
Have you been less lucky than average?
Maybe!
But guess what: Variance is here to stay.
Your past poker results may have been impacted by bad luck, and your future results might be, too.
So, you have a choice.
You can complain. You can go into each session with a negative mindset. You can throw your hands up and relinquish all responsibility for your results.
Or, you can find a way to succeed in spite of it.
A Mindset Shift
50% of people are luckier than average, and 50% are less lucky.
In most areas, we can have a rough idea of where we stand.
I have led an objectively fortunate life. Most of you have, too, given that you’re alive and able to read this, though some have been through many more hardships than others.
In poker, I have no idea whether I’ve run above or below my expectation, and neither do you.
Your circumstances may have made getting to where you are today much harder than it should have been.
You may, on average, “deserve” a better outcome than you’ve gotten.
But focusing on that blame isn’t going to help you. In fact, it’s only going to hold you back further, multiplying the impact of whatever unfairness has taken place.
You get to choose between a victim mentality and taking ownership of your outcomes.
Your outcomes will get better if you choose the latter, but your ego will look for opportunities to choose the former.
Within poker, those opportunities are everywhere because of the variance involved.
Poker allows each and every one of us to consider ourselves unlucky if we choose to fall into that alluring trap.
Success in the Face of Bad Luck
So, how do you set yourself up to succeed in spite of (potential) bad luck?
Simple:
Be responsible with your bankroll
Grow your edge
The frequency and magnitude of downswings you experience are directly related to how big your edge is at the table.
Growing your edge enough can make
long-standing downswings virtually impossible.
So, dismissive as it may sound, my advice for those of you who are unlucky:
Get better.
Sick of seeing some players have all the luck?
Be good enough to win without their luck.
Frustrated that your bankroll isn’t big enough to play the games you want to play in?
Get so good that reaching that bankroll is an inevitability.
Maybe you’re as unlucky as you think. Maybe you’d be ten times as successful if you caught the breaks your friend did.
But maybe your fixation on that has left you blind to your own leaks, and you’re exactly where you’re supposed to be.
Either way, the universe doesn’t care.
Whether you’re playing this video game on easy or it’s stuck in hard mode, your actions will determine where you end up.
You can sit and complain, or you can take your next step.
