It always amazes me how people only see the $10 million and think:
“Wow, he will never have this opportunity again.”
Maybe.
But you have to look at the next 30–40 years, not just one hand.
Winning $10 million creates challenges most people are not prepared for. Ego. Complacency. Taking success for granted. Many players have had one massive score and lost millions in the years after.
A brutal knockout like this can also become one of the most valuable lessons of your career.
You learn how unforgiving poker can be. The next time you have a huge stack, you remember what happened. You stay more focused, punt less often and protect your opportunities better.
That lesson could generate far more than $10 million over an entire career.
Maybe he wins $1 million next year. Then $2 million the year after and so on... Maybe this becomes the fuel that turns him into an absolute dominant force for years.
I am not saying losing is better than winning.
I am saying both outcomes come with different battles.
The weak mentality spends years blaming the bad beat:
“If I had won that hand or tournament, my entire life would be different.”
Of course, a winner will also feel broken and frustrated for a while. But eventually, he understands that it was another knockout. Painful, brutal, but also motivation to work harder and get back there.
When I bubbled the final table of the WSOP Online Main Event in 2023, I was devastated. But I told myself:
“One day, I will get there.”
The next year, I made the final table and finished 8th.
Again, I told myself I would work my ass off and come back stronger. Again so close to win 3-4mio, which is insane for online Poker.
The year after, 2025, I won it.
Success after hardship often has a better chance of lasting (that's why lottery winners lose it often very quickly)
You appreciate it more. You protect it harder. And you become much better at controlling the voice inside your head telling you how amazing you are.
He should not be happy about what happened.
But there is meaning in these moments. And very often we don't see the them right away.
That's a moment where many will break. And dwell in blame and resentment. Or long lasting champions are born.
I got plenty of DMs of people "If I would have won this Tournaments years ago.. I would have ..." Those people made their choice. Staying in the weak, loser mentality.
You either dwell on them, blame everyone and stay resentful for ever. Always blaming your circumstances.
Or you use them as fuel to improve and try again and ultimately build a consistent long lasting career and making shit ton of money.
Stay strong.
my favorite line in all of live poker (this is overpowered)
cbet flop, check back turn, bluff catch river.
it’s made me more money than anything else.
if i’m in position and get to the turn with showdown value, i almost always check back.
why? because my opponents tell me what to do on the river.
they stab small? call. they’re overbluffing.
they stab big? fold. they’re underbluffing.
they check? consider value betting super thin, they’re almost never trapping.
easy game.