Poker Stakes Psychology

A story about Shaan's experience playing online poker and the psychological challenge of returning to lower stakes after experiencing higher ones.

"I used to play online poker pretty aggressively back in the day. Sometimes I would go from the 10¢/25¢ table with very low blinds up to $1/$2, up to $2/$4, up to $3/$6, $5/$10, $10/$20. At the $10/$20 tables, on any given hand $20,000-$30,000 could be swinging left and right - massive swings for a 19-year-old at the time.

But inevitably, because I wouldn't manage my bankroll properly, I would crash back down and have to go back to playing the 10¢/25¢ or 2¢/4¢ tables - the lowest stakes offered on Full Tilt or PokerStars. It was the worst feeling when you went back, not because of the regret, but because it's really hard to get excited about winning $20 when that same thing could have been $20,000 and you've tasted $20,000.

Rewiring your brain to go back and be humble enough to play low stakes again was really tough but really important. But I did learn one thing - once you taste higher stakes, it breaks your frame. The only reason I would say I would rather have gone up and down, even though emotionally and mentally it's harder, is the value in having your frame broken and thinking bigger, thinking differently, and not limiting yourself in some way that you previously thought was some limit for you."