Superstitions....testing your luck

OK. Look. The more I play this game the more I see how luck plays a factor. Like everyone here I have had my rushes and I've had my coolers. Up swings...down swings.

Analytically I know that each hand in completely independent of another. Each hand is mutually exclusive. There really is no such thing as 'luck' it's all variance. For all you math/probablility freaks I'm sure your nodding your head.

Now comes reality.

I have been playing with FTP points and I have been playing with 'play money' what I have noticed is that when I run bad it doesn't matter what table or buy-in I am at. When I run bad....I run bad. Conversely, when I run good...I run good.

Sometimes I start off with FTP points to 'see how I run' then switch to real money if I'm running good....and not even venture into real money after I have lost 10 straight and can't hit the side of a barn.

Does anyone do strange stuff like this? Just curious.

No, I don't do things like that. The only thing I would do is not play for money if I was very tired, or had been drinking alcoholic beverages. I don't think superstition has much relevance to modern life.

I think superstitions will do nothing but get you in trouble. Thinking that "luck" is something that you can influence or control will make you do things that aren't right. You'll make calls when you think you are running hot, that you just shouldn't make. Just realize that in the long run, everyone is just as lucky as everyone else

Ive never paid much thought on the way I run, cash games vs. play money, I do however know that when I am on a down swing it is better to stop playing then try and recover your loses, and yes it took a lot of experience to realize this, lol

anyways, just to stick with the running cold theory, I found that when I am on my downswing, I tend to overbet marginal hands, or play more hands which lead to greater loss, then of course the conspiracy's can start in your head.

Overall I find, walk away, then play another day, short tem memory is good, like a pitcher in baseball, pitch that home run in the 1st, then go out there the next inning and pitch like it didnt happen.

Played in an 18 person tournament. Threw away 24 straight hands. Made some of the players at the table really upset. But when you run bad (took a nice hit on my BR) the last thing I'm gonna do is play trash hands. For awhile I was wondering what a pocket pair looked like. I was wondering if Aces and Kings are actually in this deck. But what do you do? Junk hands are junk hands. I'm still playing tight (yes I do throw away AJ on UTG). I've tried the $1-2-3-7-11 tables and FTP satellites for the Daily Dollar and.....couldn't hit the side of a barn today.

Maybe losing all those Daily Dollar Satellites should have told me something.....but NOOOOOOOO. 'Each hand is an independent event that is mutually exclusive' Whoever came up with that I'm gonna punch in the nose!!!!

only way I play is if the recently lat 3 or 4 pokerstars found in our galaxies are all lined up and if the moon on jupiter has the same position as our moon in relation to the sun and the shape it portrays at a spot on jupiter conversely to ours. It's a complicated process and requires expensive equipment, but when I play I ship teh monies...

I think it has a lot to do with confidence. If you follow your superstitions and go with your superstitions then you will play a lot more confident and relaxed. If some "ill omen" or something that you believe in just occured and it gets to you, then you will probably play scared and will lack the confidence...which will lose you money. So in effect, if you believe in superstitions, then I would say that they definately affect your play. For those of us that don't believe in them, its not going to be a factor.

funny thing is I used to do the same thing as you! lol
I would start with some play money games to see how I felt and if I was playing good I would switch to the real money tables. If I was playing bad I would stay with play money lol. I don't do this anymore though.

Throwing away 24 straight hands is alot? I've played a 180player and played nothing prior to Hand#51. None of the other players on the table got upset, lol. Some began to laugh at me though. I told them to wait & see. They called me donk.. fish... moron.. etc. On the final table when I KO'd the last of them, I said "Thank-you...great game. Did you happen to learn anything?" I actually placed 2nd in that one but there was only one player left on the final table from my earlier tables (the former C.L. lol).

I watched my wife play a SNG tonight on Stars. She blinded down to less than 1100 chips, played 3 hands and when it was bubble time she was sitting in 2nd on a nice stack. She won!

As far as basing my choice of playing in regards to whether or not I'm on a good run or not..... I never ever do this. Anytime I play poker I try to go in there with my best game period. If I'm not up to par (at least 90%.. mainly being whether or not my head is clear or not and I don't have anything emotional, troubling or bothersome weighing me down) I just don't play. Otherwise.. I play as usual.
IF I'm running bad 'AND' I let it get to me, THEN I just stop playing (this is in reference to MTT & SNG play which is mostly what I play).

I don't believe in any of that superstitious stuff. Well . . . except for some reason I don't like to play 13 tables at once. 14 or 12 is OK, though. Go figure.

As orifice stated throwing away a lot of hands is necessary often enough.
The qualifiers for the daily dollar require some patience too, but the blinds grow very fast.
Take your time and note the range of your opps more - you'll see horrible hole cards.
Pic your places and nail them.
If you're down to 4 players start stealing - most of the others will tighten up.

IF I'm running bad 'AND' I let it get to me, THEN I just stop playing (this is in reference to MTT & SNG play which is mostly what I play).

+1 In essence - the exact right way to handle running bad.

I almost think if you studied the cards on some of these sites you would know what flop is coming up next how many times have you seen your hand on the next flop or 3 people in and u all have the same card thats on the flop do you really think this could happen in live poker I am really beginning to guestion it seriously tell me I am wrong pleaseeeee.

You are wrong

omfg dood, i do the exact same thing

I want some of what he^ is on