You need to add something which is worthwhile in your life. My guess is that you don`t have close family, no kids and no love in your life. Your self esteem never receives any positive recognition unless it`s you feeling good about a good run on your trading/poker.

You don`t know were to start to change things. One step is followed by another Moonbeam, if you can be self sufficient financially then realise that this is one of life`s comforts because millions of others are staring at a big clock on a wall for 8 hours a day wishing they were elsewhere.

Do a short course in something you are interested in, do you have any disabilities? there is always something you can do Moonbeam to balance the postive and negative. What are your interests? art, film, history, cars, nature, animals??

the norman tebbit approach may not work for everyone, what works for u may not work for moonbeam.
However, it does sound like you need something to look forward to, and  self esteem is in need of a big lift.
Id enrol at some kind of college to do something totally different, something you've never tried before, only gamble as a leisure activity and not hour after hour if that's what u do now.
You may find something else youre really good at, something which may even offer some form of future employment, always remember youre a special person within your own right, no matter how u may feel at the moment, this is only a temporary situation, it will get better....btw I know exactly how u feel.

but it is virtually my living , it just doesn't seem the same anymore , no fun at all , no edges to exploit , just seem to lose at everything i try lately Sad

Is it just variance & i'll grind it back bit by bit or should i just quit betting altogether & stick to joke poker to pay the bills Confused

I am a smart gambler/trader but i just feel the actual game has changed , sport's just no fun anymore , big money deals , bots etc have all but taken over Blush
_____________

Ok moony lad - listen ,
i'm in the same boat as you right now,that could be me writing that  .

I think gambling on here is coming to the end of the line ,sharks v sharks battling it out -don't be food.

The temptation is to keep plodding along taking more risks - we must learn .

Last year i was in a similar situation and then went into turbo mode taking risks and making a fair chunk mar- may - then the long summer of no football .

It's been pants since the season opened  -

I would seriously consider a back up plan , maybe investing somewhere else ,renting a property or even work for a while to see how it goes .

I'm treading cautoiusly at the moment making enough to mpay the main bills -but i don't like what i see ,there is a distinct lack of fresh food for us atm .

things may well imporove in time again  -but i can't see this place surviving ,no new players coming onto the exchange .

just as well (we) put by some savings 

other than that you have to listen to what the other folks say on here and enjoy what you have got .

maybe now you own the place youre in apply for a normal job , just do 20 hours a week  and give up the poker .


you should only need 200 a week to survive with no mortgage and that will be tax free .


make sure your property is somewhere nice ,consider moving ! yopu cvan buy cheap places in fairly nice (not expensive and pretentious)areas if you are canny

25 hours*

I made a decent living playing online poker for about 4/5 years but I stopped 18 months ago because it was just getting harder and harder to the point where I had no longer enough of an edge to make it pay. I had to look for an edge in other things to make some money.

Often  when i played poker I would play ten hours at a time and 12 tables at a time. But every few weeks I would take a break and every few months I would book a short break to have something to look forward to. I like history and cities so I went to lots of cities in Europe for a few days at a time.

I think he needs some other things he enjoys doing away from gambling more than a poker coach. If he does not enjoy those other things even when he does win he will still be unhappy - just a slightly different kind of unhappiness, an unhappiness which you don't see at the time but when you look back its one where the currency of money is pretty meaningless.

It's hard to give advice when your personal circumstances are complex, unknown and unique to you.  Speak to your doctor, ring the Samaritans, look for some charity work, buy a bike and get some exercise, enroll on a course, go on a working holiday.  You need to do something to kick start it, even if it's something small it will at least get you in motion.  I'd say you should probably quit gambling

Maybe you need to spend all your cash (as wisely as possible) and claim benefits.  At least then the government will give you some help.

I think he needs some other things he enjoys doing away from gambling more than a poker coach. If he does not enjoy those other things even when he does win he will still be unhappy - just a slightly different kind of unhappiness, an unhappiness which you don't see at the time but when you look back its one where the currency of money is pretty meaningless.

Nobody likes losing and it drags you down, especially more so for McMoon as it's his only source of income. It's definitely a mental game issue that he needs to sort out. I think it would help him if he talked with someone who plays at his level ($50+), maybe like that video I posted above. At such high stakes the edges are even smaller than at the level I play, you're basically playing for the VPP profits and trying to make any sort of positive ROI.

Poker is such a buugger at times, you can play well and lose to the luck element (variance) or you can play badly and donk the Sunday Million. McMoon doesn't use any software but he should really download a trial of Holdem Manager or Poker Tracker and get someone to go over his stats. Something as simple as not raising enough or raising too much can cost you chips long term. Without talking his game with someone that knows as much if not more than him then any mistakes being made will keep being made. It's important to keep working on your game because there is someone that is always better than you in the game and ready to take your money.

I honestly love the game but it does get to me at times. Slippy's probably correct and to take a break but it will still be the same game when he returns so if your losing it would be much better to look for the reasons why you lose rather than thinking things will improve by themselves.

Either that or just go for a 9-5 and give up.

I get the feeling he gambles because he finds those kinds of relationships a disappointment in reality.

go and lie on a beach with beer and women

Beer Yes, Beach Yes, Fit women? Now you may be able to click your fingers and these women magically appear but why do you think its so easy for the person you're giving advice to?  I sure if it was he'd alraedy be doing it. 

Why not just tell him to cheer up.

Actually I screwed up...I moved 2175 miles (just checked it out). I live in Canada...moved from Ontario to Alberta.

On the subject of poker I came up with a great idea a long time ago which I am surprised no poker site has ever adopted.

It only applies to cash games. When players are all in every player who is all in can click a button to split the pot there and then based on how much equity they have in the pot at that time. Obviously every player who is all in needs to agree to the same thing or there is no deal. No more need for any bad beats. You get paid on who well you played the hand to the point there is no more betting.

Nobody likes losing and it drags you down

"its not what you do when your winning its what you do when your losing"

When it isn`t happening have break for a week,works for me.

Moon - you seem to be very like my best mate. He has been depressed for quite a while, all different factors - no job, so therefore no money, divorce etc. I have given him some advice over the years, but although he agrees they are good ideas logically, he is so stuck in a cycle that nothing improves. If you can just take the smallest step to change things, however small it may seem then you can break the cycle you find yourself stuck in. Of course, as some other posters have said seeing a professional would be a great help. Combine that with things you can do yourself and you may see things improve immensely. Things are never as bad as they seem, our minds cloud our judgment. Good luck!

Thanks for all your replies guys
It's amazing how accurate you all are & seem to understand a lot more so than any stranger would you guys are like friends to me in that regard so Thanks

You need to add something which is worthwhile in your life. My guess is that you don`t have close family, no kids and no love in your life. Your self esteem never receives any positive recognition unless it`s you feeling good about a good run on your trading/poker.

Yes you're very right Angel , No i have nothing worthwhile in my life at all

You don`t know were to start to change things. One step is followed by another Moonbeam, if you can be self sufficient financially then realise that this is one of life`s comforts because millions of others are staring at a big clock on a wall for 8 hours a day wishing they were elsewhere.

Yes that's some small consolation , but at least they have homes, families & Lives to return to


If you don't look forward to other things than gambling you might as well be betting with peanuts because money is a useless currency for you if don't use it for other things which give you enjoyment and all you do with it is gamble.

Exactly paddletoe  , and what point is there wasting my life even further trying to better myself again when i don't enjoy anything

You must have some other interests and dreams. Don't waste away your life with gambling as its obviously making you unhappy.

Not really , i used to , i like art & love nature/animals etc but my interests were more like watching the stock market & housing market & trying not to end up homeless

It's amazing how accurate you all are & seem to understand a lot more so than any stranger would...

Nobody can understand another gamblers mindset like other gamblers. I played poker non stop for a long time and it was doing me in.
Book a holiday McM, get a suntan, shag a few birds and come back fighting fit next year

Cheers for your replies Coach!

other than that you have to listen to what the other folks say on here and enjoy what you have got .

maybe now you own the place youre in apply for a normal job , just do 20 hours a week  and give up the poker .


you should only need 200 a week to survive with no mortgage and that will be tax free .Wink


make sure your property is somewhere nice ,consider moving ! yopu cvan buy cheap places in fairly nice (not expensive and pretentious)areas if you are canny


I know it's not easy it hasn't been for a long time now , poker's diminished just the same over the last couple of years as paddletoe etc knows , though i can still pay bills etc , as  others like liam say sometimes you have to be happy at that

I'm glad for what i have made but as you say i should have a nice property in a nice area instead of a cheap(overpriced flat) & work from there as i'd feel a lot better about myself for it


Clydebank is pretty much spot on also


It's hard to give advice when your personal circumstances are complex, unknown and unique to you.  Speak to your doctor, ring the Samaritans, look for some charity work, buy a bike and get some exercise, enroll on a course, go on a working holiday.  You need to do something to kick start it, even if it's something small it will at least get you in motion.  I'd say you should probably quit gambling

Maybe you need to spend all your cash (as wisely as possible) and claim benefits.  At least then the government will give you some help.

Yes Angel i'm like a shadow nowadays , i very rarely go out & go to the shops in quick bursts usually late at night
I've been so fed up today (have an ear infection) that i've slept on the sofa all night until 9pm