Stoicism: why Epictetus would Insta-Fold 72o

[Manjerica1]

I used to think philosophy was for dudes with elbow patches and no ROI.
Like, what the hell does some dead Greek know about bubbling the Sunday Storm after 4hours of peak play?


Turns out: a lot.


A few months ago, I hit a rough patch. Variance was raw-dogging me daily. Back-to-back FTs gone wrong, setups, suckouts, all of it.
I wasn’t just losing money — I was losing myself.
One night, in full self-pity mode, I saw this quote from Epictetus on Twitter:

“It’s not what happens to you, but how you react to it that matters.”

And something just clicked.
That’s literally poker.
You don’t control the cards. You don’t control villains. You don’t even control your own dumbass clicking JTs from UTG sometimes.
All you control… is how you show up.


So I started treating poker like a Stoic.

• Cooler? Meh. It was never mine to begin with.
• Bad beat? Part of the game. Next hand.
• Suckout someone? No ego. Just math doing its thing.

I even put a sticky note on my monitor: “Amor Fati.”
Love fate. Accept everything. Play anyway.


Now, I’m not gonna act like I’m Marcus Aurelius reincarnated. I still rage sometimes. I still scream internally when fish spike rivers.


But the bounce-back is faster.
The ego’s lighter.
And ironically — the bankroll is healthier.

---

So tell me: you playing like a Stoic? Or still trying to beat RNG with pure emotion?

 

[pentazepam]

Stoics are great bluffers:

 

[Toruk Makto]

I have no idea 🤣🤣

 

[amonlima]

Congratulations bro, this is very important, taking care of your body and mind, especially the mind, which is the most important part in poker.

 

[MK_]

.... I think this is one of the hardest lessons.. so many people argue with fate, complain about variance, it's so unfair blah blah blah, it's poker, the cards fall where they may, have a good whine if you must and shake it off.. sometimes you just gotta get out of your own way 😎👍

 

[Alex Houngan]

Really felt this. Poker is brutal sometimes, and trying to fight variance with emotions never works. Playing with a calm mindset changes everything.

 

[Mag_P1e]

Very cool post! I hope you really "found yourself" in this. I found this truth for myself in the book: "The 7 Habits of Highly Effective People: Restoring the Character Ethic" by Stephen R. Covey. In it, he also advises dividing our environment into a "sphere of concern" and a "sphere of influence" - so poker just minimally falls into the sphere of influence and still remains more of our "concern", the outcomes of which we cannot influence.

 

[dannystanks]

That’s a great post! The Only thing you can control in poker is yourself. Once you learn that and let go of the silent killer in poker called your ego, you will level up!

 

[dorsk]

Fine post. Stoicism is a sound perspective on life. But to me existentialism is superior. Also in poker since it’s more contextual agile.
Soren Kierkegaard: To dare is losing yourself for a while. Not daring is losing yourself for good.

 

[s0ftdumps]

I used to think philosophy was for dudes with elbow patches and no ROI.
Like, what the hell does some dead Greek know about bubbling the Sunday Storm after 4hours of peak play?


Turns out: a lot.


A few months ago, I hit a rough patch. Variance was raw-dogging me daily. Back-to-back FTs gone wrong, setups, suckouts, all of it.
I wasn’t just losing money — I was losing myself.
One night, in full self-pity mode, I saw this quote from Epictetus on Twitter:




And something just clicked.
That’s literally poker.
You don’t control the cards. You don’t control villains. You don’t even control your own dumbass clicking JTs from UTG sometimes.
All you control… is how you show up.


So I started treating poker like a Stoic.

• Cooler? Meh. It was never mine to begin with.
• Bad beat? Part of the game. Next hand.
• Suckout someone? No ego. Just math doing its thing.

I even put a sticky note on my monitor: “Amor Fati.”
Love fate. Accept everything. Play anyway.


Now, I’m not gonna act like I’m Marcus Aurelius reincarnated. I still rage sometimes. I still scream internally when fish spike rivers.


But the bounce-back is faster.
The ego’s lighter.
And ironically — the bankroll is healthier.

---

So tell me: you playing like a Stoic? Or still trying to beat RNG with pure emotion?

This hits hard.

I’ve definitely been in that “variance is personal” headspace — like the deck has a vendetta. Tilt used to sneak in disguised as “just being passionate.” But yeah, the moment you realize the only thing you can really control is your response, the whole game shifts.

I’ve been leaning more Stoic too. Less “why me?” and more “next hand.”
Started journaling sessions like a philosopher in the arena. What went wrong in my process — not just the outcome.

 

[Dzill_230]

I just started reading the Stoics and I'm not disappointed!! It's not so much related to poker directly - it's more about the attitude towards life, and if poker is a part of your life, then it influences it.

 

[fernandofcp]

The important thing is to have control over yourself and your emotions when faced with adverse situations. If we cannot control the external events that occur around us and that are beyond our control, we must at least have control over our emotions and not act rashly. Poker is, above all, about patience and self-control, and this precedes technique and strategy.

 

[bodil19982]

bcs it is worst hand in game?idk)