6 Keys to Improve Your Online Poker Results

The times we are living in now are very uncertain.

A recession is looming.

No investment looks safe.

The job market is also bad during these periods. Not that this matters much, who wants a job anyway?

In contrast, I’ve always seen poker as a very good way to make money in a recession.

You sit down, play, make money. Enjoy the rest of your day. Repeat.

Use the money to invest and set up a good life.

Done.

It’s very simple, but not easy.

The solvers did a great job of leveling the field and finding an edge has become very hard.

With more tools and resources than ever, the biggest problem I see in poker players is confusion.

It’s very hard to make sense of everything and know what to work on.

We have an entire generation of players trying to copy solver outputs. How is that working out?

I know from my own experience how frustrating and costly it can be to remain stuck in your poker progress for a long time.

• You realize you’re not getting any younger

• Experience in the traditional work force is not being built up

• Gaps in your CV.

• People close to you worrying about this ‘gambling problem’ of yours

The poker dream we are all here for

No point in sugar coating it. Poker is hard as fuck.

But when done right, it still brings a lifestyle that’s very hard to beat.

I’m not even going to talk about myself. You’ve probably seen some of my vlogs or instagram posts.

I’ve seen it in students: one of them is now in Miami, hanging out with friends, enjoying the wonderful beaches, playing some soft high stakes games. The insta stories make me a bit jealous, won’t lie.

I’ve seen it in poker friends: one bought a $650k house 2 weeks ago.

With the hope of making this poker dream easier for you, in this article I will lay out 6 keys from my experience and people I’ve worked with.

1) Single minded focus

This deserves an entire article, but if you are stuck, increase the importance of poker in your life. Build your entire day around it.

Prioritize 8-9h of sleep. I know you know this, but this makes a few bb/100 difference in my game.

Eat clean and exercise regularly.

For improving, instead of spending 12h a day on poker, make it easier for yourself.

Spend 6h/day on poker and use active rest (exercise, walks, daydreaming) to give your subconscious time to solve the poker problems your conscious brain couldn’t.

This is not some woo-woo shit.

So many times when I am fully immersed in poker, I get great ideas just doing unrelated stuff around the house, taking walks etc.

2) Quality over quantity

Stop autopiloting and start focusing on how poker works.

Instead of blindly copying solvers, start asking yourself why you are making this play.

Understand the difference between playing deep vs playing wide.

Playing deep: trying to get every edge possible in a hand

• GTO solution is only part of your thought process

• manage your range

• play your range vs his range

• population reads

• player reads

• timing tells

• sizing tells

• 4 tables

• zero distractions

Every decision is perfect.

This is how every successful high stakes player approaches his sessions by the way.

Playing wide: autopiloting

• Making a lot of ‘standard’ plays

• not thinking decisions through

• distractions on the side

• not trying to exploit

• 6+ tables

3) Learn to love improving

With how fast the game is changing, being obsessed with improving is crucial to build and keep an edge.

There are so many ways to improve.

• Solvers

• GTO Trainers

• Training Videos

• Talking to friends

• Imitating good players

You don’t have to be good at all of them.

Stop forcing yourself to work on your game in ways you don’t enjoy.

Bet on your strength and find the best improvement approach for you.

Which means the one you enjoy the most.

Because that’s the one you can do over and over.

I love solvers. I started using PIO from the day it came out. I probably have over 7000 hours in PIO alone.

My friend MMAsherdog learned differently. He still does solver stuff, but I noticed he is always looking at the top players and trying to deconstruct their plays.

Take a few moments to reflect on what style of improvement you enjoy most.

4) Discuss poker with others

Look to test your thought process with outside influences.

Very important to be vulnerable and open to changing your mind through reasonable discussion.

It’s not about who is right. It’s about improvement.

Having peers to network and grow with is so good: in a society that rejects poker as a way of life, you find a sense of belonging and community.

Show your brain that playing poker is actually cool and normal. Get it on your side.

Flying over to Brazil, chilling with other pros, and eating good food, made me very grateful for doing this for a living.

If you want access to a community full of other passionate pros, join my discord: https://discord.gg/wwVTNrW

A quick tip on making poker friends: you need to bring value first. It doesn’t even have to be poker.

My high stakes coaches in Malta chose me to move in with them while I was playing lowstakes, probably because I was a cool guy to be around and they saw potential in me.

5) Get more out of your solver work

Most people fail to understand solver work by itself is training you to be defensive.

It’s about not being exploited.

Is your opponent who is mass-tabling, and watching porn on the side, going to exploit you?

Give me a break.

This paranoia of ‘Oh but if I do this, I can be exploited!’.

Unless you are playing NL2000+, stop this right now.

Instead, start using the time you put in the solver to find ideas for attacking other players.

Look for possible exploits.

What GTO reaction is counter-intuitive and your opponents are not doing?

Attack. Attack again.

6) Get coaching

If you are doing a lot of the above and you are still stuck, or progressing too slowly: it’s ok.

I was working very hard, poker was my life and I was still stuck at 100NL. For 3 years.

My breakthrough was when I started getting coaching from my now friend MMAsherdog, an established high stakes reg.

It took 3 years to get coaching because I had a pleb mindset.

Instead of seeing it as an investment in my game, I saw it as an expense.

I didn’t ask myself ‘ok, am I getting my money back? After how long? How much money will I produce afterward with a superior skillset?’

Find someone who is where you want to be with your game, playing the games you want to play. He can give you clarity on what to work on, open your eyes to concepts you didn’t even know about, save you a lot of headaches and wasted hours, days, months.

I know a good coach is not easy to find, so here are some extra tips:

• Being a good player is important, but not all good players can also teach well.

• You need to resonate with his approach and style.

• You need to trust his abilities.

I can personally vouch for coaching as a top key for getting unstuck because, like everything else in this article, I’m talking from my own experience.

But on this specific point, I’ve also seen additional confirmation from student transformations.

Conclusion

At the end of the day, beyond all the GTO and concepts, we are talking about living a better life. Free and independent.

Poker is still a great way to do that.

Take some time to reflect on these 6 keys.

How can they help you live the life you envision for yourself through poker?

Are you lacking in some area?

If coaching is one of the areas you are interested in, I’ve recently opened up my specialized coaching program to the public.

I’ve been perfecting my methods for over 7 years, working with 100+ students.

If you want to accelerate your progress through a tailored improvement path, check out my website: https://highstakespokercoaching.com/

That is all for today.

Take some reflection time.

Daniel,

ShowOfForce