Running Bad; Take A Break Or Move Down Limits?

One thing i never really understood was people saying you should move down in stakes when running bad.

Would it not be more profitable to just stop playing to clear your head, because if you move down you will actually negatively affect your hourly rate, as an example you make $20 per hour at 100nl and would on average make "only" make $15 at 50nl.

Whereas if you just stopped playing your hourly rate isn't affected and you can go back straight to 100nl and make $20 an hour.

But the other side of it is if you are in a negative variance "spot" you should play where you on average loose less; AA vs KK or bad beats in 100nl will cost you more than at 50nl. It this the right way of thinking about it becaseu surely it all evens out? You cant play your "good luck times" at higher limts and your "bad luck times" at lower limits consistantly can you?

Note that i know that each poker probability is seperate from each other, but as we all know varinece goes in bunches, so how should this concept be approached.

Also would people reccomend moving from SH to FR or diffent sites instead of going to lower stakes?

Anyone got any views on this?

Again BR managment.

If your loosing streak dictates that you move down a level to maintain good BR managment then thats what you should do.

If you simply take a break and return to the origianal level then you arnt practicing good BR managment (20 -30 buyins).

BR managment is often seen as the key to long tern successs

I play other games when I'm down-swinging.

I think the recommendation for moving down comes when you find yourself at your bankroll limit for the stakes you normally play at and you have lost some confidence in your game. It that spot I move down to the lower limit that I was previously successful at because at one point I concurred that level and will hopefully build my bankroll back up that much easier and can move up to take another shot at the higher lever again after some confidence is gained at the lower level again.

But what about if bonk roll wasn't an issue i.e. you had enough to continue to play at your normal level? Should stop all together or just play lower limits or different games

Keep the answers coming!

Thanks

I think the move-down thing is just to blow off a little steam, play games where it's obvious you have a huge edge, rebuild some confidence. If it's just a normal downswing and you're not tilting or getting frustrated with it and have the BR, you should just continue at the limits you're playing.

I think that you might have to take a short break and move down when you return. If I get into a bad streak I even Exclude myself from playing for a day or two.

For me, taking a big break during a d/swong isn't really an option, sure it can help, but I have other goals. Like making VPP's/FPP's, so I either move down or change games for a bit of variety.

I think though taking a break will help players who aren't that fussed about rake/VPP's etc.

I suggest you take a long break for about 5 minutes and come back at the lowest limit you can tolerate to get you poker mojo working again.

the most important thing is to not go on tilt, if ya unhappy about what's been occuring then you need to stop for a while. the best way to clear yaself mentally is to do something physically. when you start playing again, you won't feel so bad, but even have some hope

running bad is part of the game....it happens....i suggest taking a few days off and then coming back to the same games you played before....the biggest thing with poker is always mixing up your strategies....you have to mix things up because their isnt one recipe for winning poker tournaments....and sometimes its just meant to be or it isnt.....i have played many tourneys where i was near the chip lead and then lose with a big pp and then get another great hand and lose to a flush or something.....its just the way it goes...but taking a break does help

I would say do both. Take a break from poker to avoid going on tilt. And, when you come back, consider moving down levels depending on your bankroll.

But what do you do when you get a chink in your ego? Is it just me or do a lot of players get the feeling that they should move up the stakes to make up the money that they lost? It happens to me a lot and I end up losing it all or I win, get greedy, then end up losing it all, lol.

I think it's a personal preference based on a number of factors.

Moving down limits is good for bankroll management and a reduction in the skill level of your opponents does wonders for that bruised ego. But one thing I find is that occasionally the ego boost can overshoot a bit and you don't give as much credit to your opponents once you return to your normal limits. Maybe a bit silly, but it did happen to me once

One thing to beware of when moving down limits is that say if you go down to 0.05/0.10, it can breed a few bad habits if you stay there long enough to change your mindset. Say, a lot of the time you can probably win with top pair top kicker in 0.05/0.10 (because people play with Ace-crap), but this may not hold true to your usual limits.

Walking away I find usually does a sufficient job of getting rid of the "running bad" mentality. It mostly helps if you get yourself clear headed and remove the mindset that you are running bad.

It's probably a good idea to move down if your bankroll is in dangerous territory though.

Hope that helped

P.S. daguksta, I think someone once wrote something on chasing losses to do with how when you lose half your roll you lose 50% but to get it back up you need to make 100% of what you have remaining. Think it was under managing tilt or something.

That is the difference from a gambler and a poker player. The advice on this thread is excellent and should be heeded. If you find yourself doing this you are a gambler and believe me there is a huge difference. Gamblers lose and poker players win.