How do the pros do it year after year?

[jonlama]

Playing poker is like any skill: playing a musical instrument, sports, being a surgeon. Becoming a successful player has nothing (or very little to do) with catching good cards. It's playing your range vs. your opponents range, and knowing when it's appropriate to be aggressive, and how aggressive. Everyone knows how to calculate pot odds, and play AA or AK on the button. Watch D Neg 3 bet out of position with 5,6 suited and steal a pot where he didn't connect with anything at all. Or Durrr playing any two cards at all from the Hijack or the cutoff and just out play everyone at the table. I'm not saying you can't make an extra 50k a year playing a few nights a week, but the reality is that you are playing against 6 other people who are thinking the exact same thing, and 2 that are sitting at the casino 60 hours a week and calculating what they are making an hour and logging it in a ledger when they get home. Doing anything really well just takes a shitload of dedication, friend.

 

[Dailon Arroyo Blandon]

I agree ... to always be at the highest level year after year in poker ... it takes a lot of work, a lot of discipline and having the conviction day after day to improve and win all the tournaments that are played. .!

 

[frnandoh]

i dont think those pro's learn't their skills online........real live poker is completely different to online...............

"completely" is too much completely. poker online has some discrect differences to live.

 

[Bozovicdj]

I bot agree and disagree with above statements.

First of all, many of these pros that you are all referring to, have been playing since before poker started being popular. That means, they were there when the game was different, they were there when it changed and most importantly, they were probably the initiators of changes in the game.

Up until today, all they did was adjusting to huge variety of players and strategies and playing accordingly.
All that being said, it is easier for Negreanu, Hellmuth et.al. to remain profitable because they basically went through every possibility, game strategy and have really seen it all. At the same time, it is very hard for a newcomer to become a profitable pro player, even with all the studying, because they lack the experience pros are holding in.

Do not get me wrong. I admire pros that are grinding for so many years constantly, and their ability to adjust and change strategy, but at the same time, you have to realize there are very few of such players. Most of them come and go in waves and last only a couple of years.

 

[frnandoh]

There's an invisible game in poker and that one can see will thrive. If you are not profiting instead you have made a big effort, that is sign that you couldn't see the invisible game yet. To be a winner in higher levels as much as possible in long term implies learning and knowing and mastering all knowledge data base at least a minimum enough. It's hard because we can't find all the information that we need in you tube, forums and etc, they are very fragmented there. So we have to compile all information that we got and use it not underestimating the game or opponents. It's not easy, otherwise, everyone would draw. a
It's hard even to pro's. All that glamour is fantasy.

 

[det0nate]

i some how think real pros are not going to tell us their major secrets lol -

 

[heeyjean]

They are disciplined, thats all. People use to believe on fairy tales and forget the one and only thing you should do if you want to be good on something is to train hard.

Be tough with yourself, study, meditate, be happy and calm. Here is the thing i most like on Poker: all the qualities that you develop WILL be important in the rest of your life.

 

[Matt_Burns88]

Good evening everyone, I like mostly everyone on here played enough to experience ort fair share of wins losses bad beats etc. I've posted a few times on here about my bad luck and depressing lifestyle and had helpful feedback on ways to improve in all areas. What I want to know is how did Ivey, Negraneau, Dwan, Bloom, and several others get so good? I mean we all know a royal flush, two pair, all in bets or raises. I mean damn I go an entire year or two with such negative results and no matter what I do it's just a disaster.

I really was one of them guys who wanted to grind 1/2 nl for a side gig making $1,000 a week then do it for a living. I probably didn't make $1,000 in 10 months and that's being serious. Before answering "many years experience, or they've been staked and got lucky in a big tournament" I would think it HAS to be something else that makes them appear at final tables much more than the average players, or making 1 million dollars minimum a year which takes me probably 250 damn years at my little job SAVING EVERY PENNY.....i just don't get it, I'm 34 and wasted so many years but don't want to give this up, I seen 19 years old make more in a month online than I did in 15 years, damn i sick. HOW DOES IVEY DO IT!?!?!?

These players are the elite, the very best of the best. I believe they are wired differently to most humans.
They are able to look at a hand or a tournament as part of the bigger picture. It doesn't matter to them if they bust 10 tournaments in a row, because they're able to say every time, I made the right plays and if I do that every tournament I'll have a 30+% ROI.
When we bust, we invariably berate ourselves for making a bad call, or scream at the complete donkey that called a 3/4 pot bet on the turn and hits his two outer on the river.
Their ability to detach themselves from the swings of variance and suck it up is what I think makes them the best in the business and why they can cope with playing at that level for so long.

 

[kley126]

It really is about having constant discipline and above all a lot of work and desire to overcome and correct the mistakes along the way for each day to be a better player

 

[recerveau]

Good evening everyone, I like mostly everyone on here played enough to experience ort fair share of wins losses bad beats etc. I've posted a few times on here about my bad luck and depressing lifestyle and had helpful feedback on ways to improve in all areas. What I want to know is how did Ivey, Negraneau, Dwan, Bloom, and several others get so good? I mean we all know a royal flush, two pair, all in bets or raises. I mean damn I go an entire year or two with such negative results and no matter what I do it's just a disaster.

I really was one of them guys who wanted to grind 1/2 nl for a side gig making $1,000 a week then do it for a living. I probably didn't make $1,000 in 10 months and that's being serious. Before answering "many years experience, or they've been staked and got lucky in a big tournament" I would think it HAS to be something else that makes them appear at final tables much more than the average players, or making 1 million dollars minimum a year which takes me probably 250 damn years at my little job SAVING EVERY PENNY.....i just don't get it, I'm 34 and wasted so many years but don't want to give this up, I seen 19 years old make more in a month online than I did in 15 years, damn i sick. HOW DOES IVEY DO IT!?!?!?

Dear friend, they have a lot of experience, playing time, and knowledge about all the variants that involve poker, from hands, odds, position, psychological information etc.
This makes them make the best decisions in a moment and, consequently, they are closer to the victories.

 

[ritz_avalanche]

Some people are just more talented than the rest

 

[LedZeffelin]

Never stop studying. When Tiger was the best, did he stop practicing?

 

[chattydb4567]

Pros

They are professional for a reason in the biggest moments for most money they are in control of their emotions

 

[chattydb4567]

Great

The great players are obsessed with the game always trying to stay current and ahead of the masses on game play

 

[mar_dragan]

The answer is very simple - all these people (which you have listed) live poker and put a lot of effort into becoming a strong player! in poker you don't need talent - in poker you need a desire to work hard on yourself, discipline, perseverance and a little luck))

It's true,hard work pay off,years and years of experience,discipline and of course they all have a lot of money from tourney,so they can bear the loss.

 

[iismaeii]

Unlike most of us here who only play online, they probably became what they are or do what they do because they actually play the game where it’s supposed to be played — in casinos or anywhere where there is poker — live. They get to know the right people and are able to promote themselves. I’m not saying that you can’t learn anything by playing online poker, but live games are definitely different. I don’t know. I’m just saying things I know nothing about.

 

[manolo salazar]

I think they stopped asking to everyone how the top players are the top players and decided to work really hard on their game.

 

[sewieu]

professionals play on tables where no one plays with weak hands all in