From 10NL Purgatory to High-Stakes: One Pro's Journey Out of the Grind

Let's be real, we've all been there. Staring at a screen, four-tabling 10NL, and feeling like you're stuck in some kind of poker purgatory. You watch videos, you read articles, but your bankroll just isn't moving. It’s a feeling that can make you question everything. For one high-stakes pro, Patrick „Freenachos“ Gerritsen, that purgatory lasted for five million hands. Five. Million. Hands. It's a number so huge it’s hard to even wrap your head around.

So what gives? How does someone go from being that monumentally stuck to crushing high stakes for over $650,000? Was it a lack of focus? Some critical flaw in his pre-flop ranges? Turns out, it was something much more human, and a lot more relatable.

The Wall We All Hit: Stuck in the Grind

Looking back, the reasons for being stuck were a messy cocktail of problems many of us face. His confidence was shot. Every time he tried a new direction, he'd second-guess it. More importantly, his learning process was totally random. He was just wandering around, watching videos here and there without any real structure. In those days, there wasn't the wealth of tools we have now—no solvers, no Hand2Note, just a few videos on sites like CardRunners without a cohesive framework.

What’s fascinating is what changed things. It wasn't a poker coach, initially. It was going back to school. That experience taught him how to structure a study process, how to be disciplined, and how to actually follow a plan. It’s a great reminder that sometimes the skills we need for poker come from completely outside the game.

He developed one of the most powerful tools in anyone's arsenal: the ability to 'fake it 'til you make it.' He realized discipline wasn't some innate trait he lacked; it was just doing the things you planned to do, even when you don't feel like it. He just faked being a disciplined person, acting first instead of getting lost in self-doubt, and eventually, he became one. As he puts it, your feelings typically follow your actions, not the other way around.

Discipline isn't an innate trait; it's the simple act of doing what you planned, even when you don't feel like it. Act first, and the feelings will follow.

Mindset, Method, and the Modern Toolkit

This shift in personal discipline laid the groundwork for his poker explosion. When COVID hit, he was a full-time teacher who had long given up the poker dream. With schools closed, he had time. He joined a coaching for-profit group, and with his new structured approach, he went from 50NL to 2000NL in just eight months. He was making so much more from poker that quitting his teaching job became the logical next step.

But what if you're starting today? What's the better path: a coach or a solver? This is a tough one. He admits that while a hand-picked, high-quality coach might be the ideal choice, they are incredibly rare. Many mid-stakes coaches are just players who are good at marketing, not necessarily at teaching. So, his final answer? The solver. You can get stuck with either, but with a solver, the power is in your hands, even if there's a risk of wasting time on unimportant details.

And what about the boogeyman of modern poker, AI and bots? He's actually more optimistic than most. While bots are a problem, AI is also getting better at detecting them. Plus, most bots play an exploitative style to maximize their earnings, which means they have patterns. And if they have patterns, they can be studied and countered.

We are in a golden age for students of the game. With the resources available, if you work hard and stay humble, you can still outpace the field.

Higher Stakes, Same Shenanigans?

So you grind it out, you study, and you finally move up. What's it like? Do they suddenly start respecting your raises at 1k NL? According to Patrick, a resounding no. In fact, he feels like he gets more 'FU calls' at higher stakes. The dream of everyone neatly folding to your 3-bets is, sadly, just a dream.

The real difference between stakes isn't always about a massive leap in skill. The jump from 50NL to 100NL doesn't mean the regs are twice as good, but the money is. A huge part of the climb is softened by the decreasing rake as you move up. You face fewer fish and tougher regs, but you also pay less to the house.

Perception is a funny thing, though. He tells a great story about playing 50NL on an old site and facing a reg named 'SirWattson.' At the time, he felt this guy was on another planet, always a step ahead. Looking back now, he chuckles, realizing SirWattson was probably just a solid, slightly more aggressive regular. The real pressure wasn't the player; it was the discomfort with the swings at a new stake. It’s a classic case of not knowing what you don’t know—a theme that he believes is the biggest misconception in poker. It’s so easy to think you have it all figured out, but even the best in the world know almost nothing compared to the true complexity of the game. Approaching poker with humility is what keeps you moving forward.

The biggest misconception in poker is thinking you have it all figured out. True progress comes from humility and the understanding that even the best in the world know almost nothing compared to the game's true complexity.

From Theory to the Felt: A Few Tricks

Alright, let's get practical. If you could only use one exploitative move in a low-limit game, what's the money-maker? It comes down to two things.

1. Against recreational players: just call down more. It's that simple. They aren't bluffing with the perfect GTO frequencies, and your curiosity will often be rewarded.
2. Against regulars: learn to identify when their range is capped. A huge hint is when they are out of position and have the chance to bet but choose to check instead. On certain board textures—like when a flush comes in or the board pairs—it's very difficult for them to have a monster after checking. That's your green light. Apply pressure with bigger bluffs and thinner, larger value bets. You bet more when they show you weakness.

The Never-Ending Grind

So, is poker's time in the sun coming to an end? Will it just be a side hustle in a few years? He doesn't think so. The game will keep changing, for sure. Five years ago, PokerStars was king. Now, the high-stakes action has migrated. Maybe in another five years, the deep-stack ante games that are popping up will be the standard. The key is to adapt. If you were a Zoom reg on Stars and refused to switch sites or formats, you’d be out of a job now.

For him, the journey continues. He's moving back to the Netherlands to focus more on playing and studying. It all comes back to the three things he sees as essential for success: a genuine love for the strategic side of the game, discipline, and a growth mindset. Everything else, you can learn. Without that love for the puzzle of poker, it's just too hard to put in the work required to get far.

Success in poker boils down to three essentials: a genuine love for the game's strategy, unwavering discipline, and a growth mindset. Everything else can be learned.