Benefits to playing tough games · Real Poker Players Skool

Benefits to playing tough games

**Why Playing Tough Games Is the Best Thing You Can Do For Your Poker Game**

*By Wolf | The Real Poker Players Skool*

Most players think the path to getting better is grinding soft games, stacking easy money, and building confidence against weak fields. I get the logic.

I've preached game selection since day 1 on this skool.

But I'm here to tell you it CAN BE backwards. The three years+ Ive spent playing high stakes limit mix, specifically $100/$200 and $400/$800, did more for my poker game than anything else I've ever done.

When you play against the best players in the world, mistakes disappear.

The regulars at those stakes are so tight, so balanced, and so fundamentally sound that you can go entire sessions without seeing a glaring error from some players.

Nobody's calling you down with garbage (unless they're right)

Nobody's stacking off with second pair (unless you are bluffing)

The game is disciplined and brutally honest. That environment forces you to find edges in places most players never look.

Then something interesting happens when you step back down.

I played a $400 Big O tournament recently and it was like somebody turned the lights on. The mistakes weren't subtle. They were everywhere.

Players overvaluing weak rundowns. Calling too wide on the flop. Misreading their equity in multiway pots.

Stuff I'd stopped seeing at the higher stakes because nobody was doing it up there. But down here? It was a masterclass in what not to do, and because I'd been playing against elite competition, I could spot it instantly.

That's the real benefit of playing tough games. It calibrates your read on the game.

When your baseline is elite players making near-optimal decisions, average mistakes become obvious. You don't have to think twice about whether a line is bad. You just know.

There's also a mental component that doesn't get talked about enough.

Playing tough games builds a kind of resilience you can't manufacture.

When you've been ground down by world class competition, when you've had to fight for every half bet and justify every decision at the highest level, dropping into a softer field feels different. The pressure is lighter. Your decision making becomes more automatic.

I'm not saying abandon your winrate.

I'm not saying shot-taking without the bankroll is smart.

But if you're serious about leveling up, you need to put yourself in rooms where you're not the sharpest player at the table.

Comfort is the enemy of growth, and soft games, while profitable, can make you lazy in ways you won't notice until the game finds you unprepared.

Play the tough games. Learn what elite play actually looks like. Then bring that standard back down with you.

The money gets a lot easier when you do.

Until the next article,

Wolf 🐺

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