Why Chasing More Money and Wins Will Never Make You Happy in Poker

22 Aug 2025

Beginner

This material is for beginner players

The World Series of Poker has just wrapped up, and once again I watched thousands of players scrambling, all chasing that one big score and the glory that comes with it. It reminded me of a joke I love: A husband and wife are on a long road trip. After a while, the wife asks: “Honey, are we lost?”. The husband replies, “I don’t know, but we’re having a great time”. That’s exactly what I see in the poker world — a sea of players who don’t realize how lost they are in terms of where they’re going and what they truly want.

What I’m about to say will sound controversial to many. But if you understand this one idea, you’ll achieve everything you claim to want — the money, the success, moving up in stakes, and improving your game. And you’ll get there much faster.

Here it is: the things you say you want in poker are not what you actually want. Most players, if you ask them, will give standard answers:

• “I want to win millions of dollars”.
• “I want to win bracelets”.
• “I want to be the best in my game”.
• “I want to move up in stakes”.

If you dig deeper, they’ll say things like:

• “I want financial freedom”.
• “I want to provide for my family”.
• “I want to never worry about bills”.
• “I want to travel the world”.

Money, recognition, and success are never the end goal. They are means to something else.

It’s Always About the Feeling

Look closer and you’ll see that behind every goal is a feeling you’re actually chasing. You don’t just want the bracelet. You want the respect and admiration it might bring. You don’t just want the money. You want the safety, freedom, and peace of mind you believe it will buy. 

If you don’t understand this, you’re lost. You might be working incredibly hard, but like that husband on the road trip, you’re racing in the wrong direction. Imagine winning the WSOP Main Event. You take home millions, your banner goes up on the wall, and you get all the admiration that comes with it. Now ask yourself: what’s the real reward? The feelings you picture — pride, deep satisfaction, fulfillment, happiness. That’s what you’re after.

When Success Feels Empty

Now imagine this: you actually win the WSOP Main Event. You walk away with the money, the bracelet, the admiration. But instead of pride, joy, or fulfillment, you feel… nothing. Worse than nothing — emptiness, dread, anxiety. Suddenly, you don’t even know who you are or what to do with your life.

You wake up with no sense of purpose, no reason to get out of bed. This isn’t rare. Many people climb all the way to the top of the mountain only to realize it’s not what they imagined. And when that realization hits, it often leads to depression, self-sabotage, and destroying the very money and success they worked so hard to achieve. You see it everywhere: billionaires, pro athletes, and yes, professional poker players. They reach the top, and it doesn’t feel how they thought it would feel.

The Real Truth Behind Every Goal

Everything you think you want in poker is actually tied to a feeling. That feeling is the real thing you’re chasing. Now, imagine if you told most aspiring pros the truth upfront: “Sure, you can win all the money, success, bracelets, and rings. But here’s the catch — you’ll be miserable the entire time. You won’t enjoy it. You’ll live in constant anxiety and self-doubt”.

Do you think they’d still say, “Sign me up?”. Of course not. And yet, countless players pursue the professional path because they believe money and success will automatically deliver that specific feeling they crave. When they don’t get it — which happens to most — they become disillusioned.
That’s why the poker world is full of unhappy professionals. They were chasing the wrong thing all along.

Here’s the bottom line: it was never the money, the trophies, or the recognition you truly wanted. It was the feeling you thought those things would bring. And no amount of external success can guarantee that feeling.

If you don’t already have a healthy relationship with yourself, and you’re not consistently on a path where you experience joy, peace, and fulfillment even without having “made it” yet, then all the money and titles in the world won’t fix that. In fact, they’ll only highlight the cracks.

If someone has a poor relationship with money, they can burn through $5 or $10 million shockingly fast. No amount of success will matter if you don’t know how to respect money, hold onto it, and grow it into something lasting.

On the other hand, if you do have a healthy relationship with money — if you make smart, consistent decisions with ease — then you don’t need to win the Main Event. You’re already experiencing the feelings you thought winning would give you. That’s the real secret.

The fastest path to success isn’t to desperately chase external achievements. It’s to separate your desired feelings from the results themselves. If you’re already working daily on being happy, fulfilled, content, at peace, excited, and motivated, then you don’t need to win a tournament. You don’t need to move up in stakes. You don’t need your bankroll to hit some arbitrary number. And that’s when the magic happens.

When you no longer need the result, the pressure disappears. You sit at the table with freedom instead of fear. You play loose, creative, and at your absolute best — because you’re not weighed down by anxiety, expectation, or the desperate need for validation.

Most professional poker players bring a heavy burden to the table every single time they sit down. It sounds like this: “I have to win. If I don’t, I’ll never move up, I’ll never feel the way I want to feel”. But approaching the game from that mindset guarantees disappointment. Even if you reach the milestone you’ve been chasing, it won’t feel like you imagined.

When I work with players, yes, they absolutely make more money. They win more, they collect more trophies. Just this past year, my clients brought home six WSOP bracelets. And yet, hardly anyone even knows my name compared to the noise of the broader poker world. The point isn’t about recognition — it’s about results. Six bracelets out of a hundred awarded is no small feat.

But here’s the real difference: when my clients win, they don’t feel that hollow “I thought it would be different” emptiness. Instead, it really is amazing. Why? Because they didn’t dump all their emotional weight into the outcome. They’ve been doing the real work: asking themselves, “How do I want to feel?”, and practicing that every single day, win or lose.

You cannot keep dragging around the belief: “I must get there in order to feel good. If I don’t, I’ll never be happy”. That’s the heaviest burden a player can carry, and it will crush you over time.

Poker Doesn’t Burn You Out — You Do

Players often blame poker itself for burnout. But it’s not the game. It’s the conditions you’ve placed on yourself: “I can only be happy if I win this, move up in stakes, or achieve that”. Living with those conditions is exhausting. And that truth doesn’t just apply to poker — it applies to life.

I recently saw an interview with Scottie Scheffler, the world’s top golfer. He went on a five-minute monologue about how he’s the best in the world, living the dream he always wanted — and yet, it feels empty. He constantly questions: “Why am I doing this?”. This is one of the greatest athletes alive, making more money than he ever imagined, winning major tournaments. And still, the feeling isn’t there.

Stop Chasing, Start Feeling

So if you’ve been struggling to bring your best performance consistently, or if you’ve achieved great results but they don’t feel the way you thought they would, understand this: you’ve been lost. You’ve been chasing the thing instead of the feeling. 

The shift you need to make is simple but profound — decide that what you want most is the feeling itself. Make it your priority to find, enjoy, and celebrate that feeling daily. Be present with it, whether or not you’ve won the tournament or moved up in stakes. When that becomes your highest priority, something magical happens:

• Your performance improves;
• The pressure lifts.

And when you finally do achieve the external goals, they finally feel as good as you imagined.

If today’s message resonates with you, it’s about time to take the next step. The truth is, you don’t need another strategy video or hand breakdown — you need to work on the part of the game most players ignore: the mental and emotional side.

That’s exactly where Getcoach.poker comes in. It’s a platform built specifically for poker players who want to develop the skills that truly move the needle — not just technical knowledge, but mindset, focus, and presence at the table.

What you’ll find on our poker platform:

• 1-on-1 coaching with experienced mentors who understand both the technical and psychological game;
• Practical tools to reduce tilt, manage pressure, and stay present in every hand;
• Structured programs that help you build long-term consistency instead of relying on short-term motivation;
• Community and support, so you’re not grinding this path alone.

Why it matters:

• You’ll play with more clarity and freedom, without the constant weight of “needing” results;
• You’ll enjoy the game again — the way you imagined when you first started playing;
• And when the wins and trophies come, they’ll actually feel good — because you’re already in the right place to enjoy them.

Visit Getcoach platform today, explore the programs, and take the first step toward building the version of yourself that can handle both the highs and lows of poker — with confidence, resilience, and presence. Because the real win in poker isn’t just the money or the bracelet. It’s being able to fully enjoy the game, moment by moment, without needing a certain result to feel good. And have a nice weekend everybody!