The biggest leak at low stakes isn’t bad luck, it’s inconsistency.

The biggest leak at low stakes isn’t bad luck, it’s inconsistency. People play solid for 10 minutes, then start chasing losses, over-bluffing, or calling too wide. The winrate usually disappears right there, not in some “unlucky” session. Am I wrong?

That's a large part of the problem . But for me, both online and at brick and mortar casinos in my area , one of the biggest factors is the house rake ! I seldom see it discussed as much as it should be . Some of the poker sites are taking 6or 7% rake in the cash games . At my local casinos they may take 6 or 7 dollars in drop + 'for player promotions '. That's in a pot as small as $60 . Let's figure you but in 25 of that .... so you're only winning 29 bucks when you do win the whole pot . In a limit omaha 8 game ($3/6 or ($4/8 ) the result is even worse if the pot is split .

You're not wrong at all. Variance gets blamed for a lot of leaks that are actually caused by poor emotional control. Most low-stakes players know the basics; the difference is who can keep applying them consistently after things stop going their way.

OLDMONEY said:

The biggest leak at low stakes isn’t bad luck, it’s inconsistency. People play solid for 10 minutes, then start chasing losses, over-bluffing, or calling too wide. The winrate usually disappears right there, not in some “unlucky” session. Am I wrong?

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Am a victim at times

I think the biggest leak is open limping.

Bad luck is not something, we can control, so it obviously can not be a leak. Which I also dont think is commonly claimed. But its true, that people tend to blame their losses on bad luck or other external factors rather than the things, that actually cause them:

* Poor emotional control
* Lack of skills
* Bad game selection
* High rake

Its very common to hear poker players claim, they are "on a downswing", when the harsh truth is, they might be losing, but it has other reasons than just bad luck.