Slow Growth Poker Life: Crushing Mid-Stakes

Hi guys,

I'm not a fan of new years resolutions, however I do believe one year is a nice timeframe to measure your progress. So here I am opening a blog about my slow growth turtle poker life. Enjoy 😉

Yesterday...
My professional poker journey started in August 2014 with a 60k CFP Challenge. I finished my contract within 1 year, working my ass off 12 hours a day, 6 days a week, with probably no more than a 2bb/winrate.

Not a sustainable approach to poker and life, turned out later. Not understanding myself yet, nor my place in the world, I just went along with the poker sharks, aiming higher and higher. Not knowing what it actually takes to be a professional poker player.
I mean... You are young, wild and the best poker player on earth, right?

Nevertheless, I'm very proud of that first year as a poker pro, as it showed me that with the right spirit, in the right environment you can achieve extraordinary results. My mind was blown.

Afterwards I cruised aimlessly through the poker landscapes for years, following well-meant advise from poker friends. Never really reaching the productivity and fulfillment levels I had during that first year.
2017 was a fun year, with 3x 30k months in the China streets and a WSOPE main event participation.
I believed I was successful, while simultaneously not being really honest with myself about my somewhat degenerate behavior.
I struggled with burnout, the adaptation of a growth mindset, learning routines, a big ego, organizing myself and managing my money responsible and I used poker as a form of escapism.

But it all went so well, so why the **** should I care about your advise, right?!

Then 2018 came and my bankroll got wiped out, because in my mind I was fighting some temporary variance, while in reality I was playing against Chinatown colluders for 6 months straight.

Emotionally draining times, burning myself out completely and this was the time I really got to know myself... As a consequence I needed some time off to fully accept this phase in my life. In the end, I came to the realization that I never truly established a solid foundation for my poker career, and it was only a matter of time before I fell apart like a house of cards.😉

But like Ed Latimore said:

"Prodigy stories are boring and uninspiring.
They're basically the tale of someone who got lucky with nature, nurture, and exposure.
Real inspiration is found in the stories of late bloomers, underdogs, comebacks.
Life's about who makes it not about who makes it the fastest."

This message fits my turtle philosophy perfectly. If my poker journey taught me some things; it is that we should be grateful for what we have and that our results at the poker table shouldn't reflect our self-worth. It can become very unhealthy. My ego death was arguably the best thing that ever happened to me, as I finally got the message to get my **** together!

Today...
I follow my own path and live a more peaceful life in the countryside of Italy. Where the games are juicy and tax-free, plus the weather and food are even better!
Life is surprisingly affordable too, so I can move forward at my own pace.

Now I have loads of time to question my beliefs and come up with solutions for the most intriguing question:

"How can we create an optimal environment to excel as an online poker player?"

It got me studying about psychology, business, money management, investing, poker strategy, performance, mindset and finding our inner-motivation to make the best out of our days.

Based on what I've learned through the years I developed sustainable systems to crush mid-stakes and now I share them with poker enthusiasts like me at my learning platform Team6max.
The goal is to learn and grow with likeminded poker professionals and improve our poker results, health and wellbeing together.
It's a small and cozy group right now. And just like a group of turtles, we will continue to make incremental steps forward over the coming years. Every person at his own pace.

I used to blog about my progress in our private discord server and on my website. But for 2023 I like to share my poker insights on this forum too.
I want to leave my footprint, lead by example and don't bother too much if I step on your toe. After all, turtles suppose to have strong shells!

So here's my plan for...

Tomorrow...
Similar to my challenge in 2014, I put a new goal for the coming year, except I will put my focus on the quality of my hands, not the quantity. You want to be able to execute your routines for multiple years to come and if you are constantly close to burning out, your systems are not sustainable.

For 2023 my playing goal will be to:

Grind 400.000 hands on mid-stakes with a 10bb/100 winrate in EV.

I believe a good goal is formulated SMART, but more importantly it should be challenging yet attainable for the person who executes it.
Every person needs to determine this goal for himself, but for me the above target seems to hit the sweet spot.
Only when I maintain a really good focus and table-select very well I believe I can reach this goal!

As for the stakes I mainly play 200nl, and if I do not have enough profitable tables I add 100nl. Then later in the year when I'm up a bit more I can add 500nl, or even 1000nl if the tables are really hot.
But in general there's no need for big variance games or proving myself on the highest stakes, after all I represent the turtles and I live a simple life in the countryside of Italy.

Since 2021 I'm pretty sure I had 8bb+ winrate across mid-stakes. But there's untracked sites and I played on different pc's, so the exact number I cannot give you.
However, on the pc I'm writing this blog I have a reasonable 180k handsample with a combined winrate of 8.36bb/100 on the stakes I will being playing.

Secretly I hope to bump up my winrate to 12bb/100, that would be really epic. But I will be very happy if I finish this year with an 10bb winrate.
Any winrate below 8bb I officially consider a fail, but let's not judge our results too harshly, have a lot of fun and focus on the process.

I estimate I play my A-Game 60% of the time. My B-Game 30% of the time. My C-Game 10% of the time.
My biggest challenge is to keep executing my routines in a healthy way: day in, day out, through the entire year.
This includes daily meditation, workout, study & session reviews, taking enough breaks, sleep, eat and drink enough and get quality social time outside of the office.
In theory easier than in practice for me, as I can get distracted easily.

The last years I'm pretty happy with my overall performance already, but I still can improve in terms of consistency.
What if I could eliminate my destructive C-Game entirely and play my A-Game 80% of the time? And what if I really executed every study, meditation and workout session from A to Z that I put on the calendar?
Every day I need to identify as the most professional guy I can be, instead of the kamikaze poker player from the past. Once you believe something is possible, the only thing that's left to do is taking massive action towards your goal.

Blog
In 2019 I started journaling about my life, to better understand myself and to process my emotions. Turns out writing is very good for your mental health!
Now I'd like to share my ideas with the world on the topics of poker, health and self-development.
I'll turn my personal experiences into learning lessons for myself and my readers.
This blog also functions as an extra layer of accountability for me, while hopefully inspire you to take your poker life in your own hands too.

I preach simple systems, so I will just update my blog once a month with a plan and a review.
I'll leave out the money aspect and stuff that only satisfies the ego and I will try to paint an honest picture of the life of a mid-stakes grinder.

Thank you for reading and don't forget to...

Do the turtle!!

Bas - Team6max

Ps. For constructive conversations about how to optimize our poker lives please add me on discord bas_poker#5043