To paraphrase the legendary Russian writer Leo Tolstoy, every happy poker player is equally happy, but each discipline faces its own unique set of challenges.
Cash game players face the perennial challenge of selection and high rake.
Spin & Go players are forced to endure variance and wait for big multipliers.
MTT enthusiasts depend on long runs and final table wins.
The problem affects even the most theoretically savvy. You can make the right decisions, maintain discipline, and accumulate volume—and still spend months waiting for that one crucial win. Being a good player isn't enough. The distance is long, swings are inevitable, and the results of a month or two don't always reflect the quality of your decisions.
Using examples from blogs and Telegram chats, we explore what worries modern MTT players most.
You Need Something to Live On
Here's a fundamental problem for any player who decides to make poker their profession.
Let's say you've already learned to win at your small ABI. You don't give away chips early on, have established a home routine and schedule to sustain a sufficient amount of play, and even show a solid 15-20% ROI at your normal stakes.
But if you have to withdraw a significant portion of your winnings every month to support yourself, moving up in stakes immediately becomes significantly more difficult. Even renowned high rollers aren't immune to this, as we heard from a GipsyTeam forum member.
The reason for such colossal debts is my previous insane level of infantilism and overconfidence, plus an underestimation of the potential scale of variance. A factor was the exorbitant level of living expenses, which were constantly being taken out of my bankroll, thereby constantly lowering my expectations, even with the crooked and hyper-aggressive bankroll management I was using.
Another forum member had this problem in a more down-to-earth form:
I'm on a steady streak, currently BR 3,850-3,900. I want to lock in some of the money to protect myself. This will actually push my goals back significantly, but I think it'll keep my mind in check. I'll put aside the money I need for teeth; I was just trying to recoup that expense with poker, and I earned it in a little over a month and a half plus to cover the split.
I've already spent some of the money on teeth: screws and an expander, and braces are next.
I want to leave 1k in the BR and have a cushion for three months to live on. Of course, this might be stupid, but I feel like my game has been slipping since the New Year, and I need to get back into shape and gain confidence. I'll subtract some from my bankroll every month for expenses + some for a safety cushion. The rest will be left in the BR.
MTTs offer less stability than cash games, so you can't count on the next tournament bringing you life-changing money. It's easy to get caught in a vicious cycle where constant withdrawals force you to lower your ABI and, as a result, earn even less.
One player asked what they should do, if they don't have a bankroll or winnings:
Everyone unanimously says that you pay 50 percent of the profit for training and that this is overpricing.
How do we evaluate the money you get for playing? What percentage? To earn an ABI of 20, you need at least 10k+ and a six-month cushion so you don't have to take money out of your BR to live on. What do you do if your BR drops by 150-200? It's a common situation: lower your ABI? There's nothing to replenish your BR with.
ABI 50 is at least 25k. ABI100 is 50k, but more likely 70-100k. How long will it take to make that much money on ABI2? Don't forget, we still have to live on something.
Another player wanted to merge MTTs with a bit of Spins, feeling pressure from birthdays and expenses:
In September, I was desperate to play MTTs. I absolutely loved every session. I only had 100 buy-ins for ABI 10, but I still managed to cash out $300. It's pointless to say it was aggressive bankroll management—it's all clear, I understood everything, but I was hoping that ABI 10 wouldn't fall apart and was consciously hoping for a breakout, so I could start playing MTTs.
I can't play $1, $2, or $3 tournaments. I just feel sorry when I know I'm beating tournaments significantly higher. I wanted to combine MTTs with Spins, but I couldn't bring myself to play Spins. I looked forward to every free day to play MTTs. I haven't enjoyed the game this much in a long time. Even after skipping last week, I ended up playing almost 500 tournaments, and I still have more to play today and tomorrow. But I won't be playing.
Right now, all I have is 450 euros on Winamax, and two birthdays are coming up: Olya's on the first, Sasha's on the second. I'll probably cash out 100 euros and start playing Spins.
You Could Go On a Downswing
Even the best players experience long losing streaks.
This isn't just bad for your bankroll: it's easy to get overly defensive and make suboptimal decisions, and dropping stakes is often (even if unconsciously) perceived as a defeat. It's even worse when debt sets in: being responsible for someone else's money and having to "get out of debt" never motivated anyone, unless you're RomeoPro.
Popular streamer Beriuzy advocated for strict BRM:
Early on in your career, I'd advise sticking to a "hard" BRM. Until you get your footing, build a foundation, and realize that poker is what you want to do for the next few years. I'd also recommend loving the game. You should be as passionate about it as possible.
Let's say you're a young 20-year-old guy or girl. You're ambitious, ready to spend time playing, grinding, learning, and developing. For me at that age, financial support wouldn't be that important. But if you have a family and a solid life, you need to approach poker more meticulously. Even when it comes to choosing a game. If you're sticking with MTTs, I'd recommend playing low-ATS tournaments to build your bankroll. Even then, swings in both directions will be frequent, so financial stability is important. But you need to play smart, not rely on that "safety net." You need to put in a lot of effort and clearly understand where you're going, what you're signing up for. Because not everyone will start winning money in a couple of weeks or a month or two.
One player was profitable for two months, but on the third, he hit a downswing and started losing motivation:
I'm losing heart, comrades, I'm losing heart. First, I lost the desire to learn anything new, then I lost the desire to analyze my own database (I used to analyze it with a coach once every 15,000 hands), and now I'm starting to lose the desire to play and get my hands in (with any hand).
Even top regs at the highest online stakes aren't immune.
In the pre-final of the GGMillion$ phased tournament in November 2024, Dmitry Kravchenko, with offsuit on a board, bet-bet-shoved into Alex Kulev.
He explained his highly exploitative play in a post-mortem breakdown:
We're knocking out the queen on the river; we have no bluffs in our line. Plus, as far as I know, Kulev is currently in makeup, which significantly narrows his calling range.
Kravchenko ultimately won the tournament, with first place receiving almost one and a half million.
GGPoker is also running satellites to this year's World Series of Poker, and they claim to be sending at least 1,000 players through their platform.
Register through GipsyTeam for the best conditions, fast support with deposits or withdrawals, and help with any issues you're facing.
Scoring in MTTs Without Stability
Even a favorable outcome, like a big win that allows you to feel comfortable and move up in stakes, carries a significant risk. Unlike cash games, with their more predictable returns, MTTs are a much crueler mistress.
A player named I-can-Win described his MTT journey at lower stakes:
I quit my job and decided to make a living playing poker professionally. I withdrew both my winnings, leaving a total of $5.5k. I used the winnings to upgrade my car, pay off most of the mortgage I had at the time, buy a ton of stuff, and take a trip to Cuba.
I'll say right away that things didn't go well from the very beginning; I expected much more than I ended up getting. No, I didn't lose right away, of course, but I didn't win much either... Since then, my poker career has been nothing but ups and downs.
So, after 2 months of pretty tough competition, my bankroll was about $150. I was almost in despair, but then 2 wins came to the rescue.
Thus, my bankroll and self-confidence were restored, and I continued playing. I would like to immediately note that not all the money went into the BR; about 30 percent had to be withdrawn for living expenses, since the money was already a little short.
So it went on like this for another month, I filled up again, raised another $3k, dropped again, this time there were already about $50 left on the account, and then another hit...
The ups and downs weren't easy for another:
Here's a quick flashback: when I quit my job, I spent a long time seriously proving to myself and my parents that I could do it, that I was better than all those fish :). Naturally, my parents didn't fully accept my resignation, but they resigned themselves to it, and there was one stipulation: I had to actually produce results.
Yes, I won tournaments and such, but I could only afford the bare necessities, and never made a huge profit—what I call a "hit." And I really wanted to hit the big time, to prove to both my parents and myself that I CAN, so I played all the Sunday majors: CM, Brawl, Warm Up, and more. As a result, it wasn't uncommon for me to lose 1-1.5k in a single Sunday with a 5k bankroll.
In general, problems began in life: with my parents, because they put pressure on me, hoping that poker was purely luck. Since I play so much and still have no super-big success, it was very difficult for me mentally to endure such ups and downs. After all, nerve cells do not recover.
At the beginning of the new year, I realized that yes, I really do need to look for a job because I don't have stability. I don't want to give up poker right now, but I don't want to turn it into an obsession. I don't want to get hung up on it; I don't want to be completely dependent on chance.
Realizing that the next score may be a long time coming can be difficult. The result is a brutal confrontation with reality. Andrey KOT_Spartac Kotelnikov predicted an end to this scenario:
A man often falls under the influence of his mistress, who, upon seeing your fortune, wants the high life: bags, dresses, vacations in the Maldives and other fabulous countries, preferably in five-star hotels. Not many try to explain that the big win isn't your monthly salary, but an incredible success, perhaps your last one for a while.
In return, you certainly receive a powerful monetary boost, but that's not certain. This happens especially often in relationships where you're not planning a family or a home anytime soon, don't have a big financial goal, and don't know how to say "no." I'm not blaming the fairer sex in any way; their behavior is perfectly understandable and even rational. It's more about a weak man with no financial limits easily starting to support someone else's pretty picture, and then expecting to see it himself, but in tournaments with $15 entry.
But even if you're not prone to gambling addiction, big spending, are single, or have a smart wife who saves every penny, you're still not completely safe.
Another player (who many might relate to) doesn't lose money, but can't force themselves to work harder:
At the beginning of the month, my BR rose to $38,000, but by the end, it was down to $27,000. I had to remove almost all $250 tournaments from my schedule and register for all available $25 ones. I like the fact that if necessary (to fill up my BR), I can lower my limits. I've also set myself a schedule: I'll start the new month with a good selection of tournaments for morning and afternoon sessions.
I don't feel like counting negative ROI, but in total, I've spent $52,321 towards tournaments this month.
I've played 22 days out of 30, and that seems to be ok. I'm taking a day off today, too.
What are my conclusions? It's not that there's room for improvement; there's always room for improvement in poker. The meta changes, new things are invented, and old things return. It's about forcing yourself and overcoming it, establishing the right daily routine with training and sessions. In this regard, staked tournaments aren't so bad, where you'll have people above you who will point out your mistakes and beat you with a stick to keep you from being lazy. As the saying goes, a person needs a person.
What To Do With All of These Thoughts?
You can try to overcome these challenges alone, or you can seek outside help from friends, individual backers, or poker funds. But many are reluctant to join a fund due to a reluctance to share (even if it's just theoretical profits).
A couple of years ago, a forum user named Nikitanikus proposed a thought experiment:
Imagine you're playing ABI up to $30 in a pool you really enjoy.
You win the $1 million bounty jackpot, money that will change your life forever.
Do you give half the jackpot to the pool? Or do you keep the million? Or do you give a portion, say, 10% or 20%?
77% promised to honor the agreement, while another 14% suggested seeking a compromise. Twenty-three players, however, honestly answered that they wouldn't give up anything: they only have one life.
Profit sharing isn't the only reason for leaving backers.
A player named Behappy left their poker fund after two weeks due to the heavy workload. Twenty tournaments a day weren't compatible with his wife and daughter, and playing in other people's tournaments wasn't exactly the most comfortable situation:
When I played, and my makeup grew, even if it was just by $100-$200, I felt like it was starting to put pressure on me. I became constrained in the game, unable to play interesting lines or do stupid things, knowing that the coach would hold me accountable later.
If I were younger, without a family or commitments, I'd grind like crazy without a second thought and, within a year or two, be a confident mid-stakes reg. The school had all the ingredients for that: a team, coaches, training, and money. But in my case, it didn't work out for me.
We asked Azerbaijani GPI Player of the Year and WPT champion Agharazi Babayev how to combat downswings and find happiness in poker:
I've been playing poker for eight years. I've had my fair share of downswings during that time, the worst being when I went from an ABI of $150 online and an ABI of $1,500 live to a $200k+ loss. It was incredibly difficult to get through that period: I felt like I'd gotten so deep into a mess I'd never get out of, I beat myself up for my aggressive play, kept thinking "if only I'd done this, it would have turned out that way," and I refused to accept that not everything depended on me.
It helped that I always had something to do: football, travel, various projects within the ecosystem, spiritual development, reading, movies, etc. And later, when I began to look at downswings more maturely, I no longer cared what the number was, as long as my EV was good and I was happy with my game. Frankly, it doesn't matter what makeup I have. What matters is how I feel when I play my favorite game.
It was very helpful that I was training and applying my management skills to develop the fund.
I've often thought about how difficult it is mentally, financially, and technically for a professional player to be without a financial cushion. It's mind-boggling just thinking about it. I think if there's a way to resolve this issue, life and playing become much easier and more peaceful.
I'd advise anyone who wants to pursue professional poker and doesn't have players above and beyond you, who is willing to constantly improve, to join a foundation. It's very difficult to grow in poker alone, but with a good team, it's a real boost. As a mid- or higher-stakes player, I'd look first and foremost at financial stability. If you don't have your own capital or a financial cushion, peace of mind about your family's financial stability is practically your top priority. I can't imagine how you can survive a downswing without stress, when you don't have enough money to provide for your family comfortably for 6-9 months. And if you constantly worry about it, it will definitely affect your game.
Agharazi Babayev is currently part of the Final 9 project from the international school POCARR, which has been providing online and live poker coaching and backing for over 10 years.
The project was created for players who are stuck at stakes or progressing more slowly than planned: in six months, Final 9 will help them reach an ABI of $80–$100. Development is possible with financial support—variance will not influence decisions.
In Final 9, you can receive:
Financial stability and a sense of confidence: You don't have to worry about variance and can still play at your best even during downswings. During difficult periods, you can always ask for an advance payment, and the backing conditions won't deteriorate. You receive a share of future profits.
Systematic and structured: The project's analysts and coaches are committed to your growth, so the emphasis is on the quality of training.
Individual approach: There's no one-size-fits-all approach to stable growth at Final 9: each player starts from their own starting point and moves up the stakes according to a specific plan.
Transparent terms: The rules and structure of cooperation are agreed upon on the spot. You receive a plan that can be adjusted as progress is made, through discussions rather than unilateral decisions.
For more information, visit the Final 9 website. Apply if the conditions appeal to you, receive feedback, and potentially boost your career in just a few months.
