Don't Fall Into This Trap

I , originally, wasn't going to write about this, but it's driving me crazy!

To say, "I'm running bad" means that I can see into the future, and can tell you that I'm going to lose (X amount) of hands in a row. I can't see into the future (if you can, then disregard this post), and I'm never RUNNING bad! I have lost hand after hand, day after day, but I'm still not running bad. To say that I'm running (X) is to say that I'm currently losing (X), when the only thing that I can lose is this current hand.

What took me over the edge today, was player on my right... Two limpers to him (LHE), and he only limped w/ AdKd, saying, "I can't raise this. I'm running so bad." No he's not. Yeah, he's lost (X amount) of hands in a row, but he's not RUNNING anything, and still MUST raise this. We're either +EV, -EV, period... In limit, we're going to win more than our fair share, and have to win as many bets as possible when we've got the best of it. NL may be different, whether we raise or not, as we could be deceptive, and snap stacks. No matter the game, play each hand for it's current value, rather than focusing on the losses in the past, or the possible beats in the future.

He did the same thing later w/ JJ... just ridiculous. I hear sooo many players complaining about "running bad," when there's literally no such thing.

"I've run bad in the past" may be true, but "RUNNING" means we're currently doing...

We're currently playing these cards, that's all.


-Dayne

100% true, good post.

Would "I have been running bad" be correct or incorrect?

Why look in the rear view mirror, at all?

Because hindsight's 20/20 and you can't correct mistakes until after you've made them.

I had a bad run.

Great post, and I think that this is probably one of the toughest things to master in poker. I for one had a lot of trouble with this while learning how to play last year (I am always learning though). I would go on tilt from a bad beat, bet more losely, lose more, then tighten up completely cuz I thought I was in a rut and couldnt hit anything.
I've definately improved but could still do with a bit more improvement still. One thing that I've found is that in most cases, if you just play enough hands, you'll even out. Case in point, yesterday I started off horribly in my usual $.25 NL Omaha Hi-Lo ring games on PS. The cards I drew were so bad that my VP$IP was running at about 10% (I am usually at about 20%). Even when I got good hands, nothing was hitting and those that did were usually beaten. Went down almost $40 within 2 hours and a couple hundred hands. BUT... instead of getting pissed and getting out of my game-plan, I just continued to grind with what I know will work over a long period of time. Finally, by the end of the night, I was down only $5 after about 1200 hands. Previously I would have never recovered to this extent, but staying consistant and waiting for the numbers to catch up usually seems to work. Can't remember the last big losing sessions I had when playing at least 1000 hands...

Great job! You said "play enough hands, and it'll even out..." but obviously, play the CORRECT hands, and it will even out.

It's definitely tough to remember (due to all the emotional crap we feel), that each hand is completely separate from the next, win or lose. Take away the emotional connection we feel w/ the losses, and "running bad" can't exist. Losing, bad luck, bad beats, etc. will always exist... but never running bad.

Players fail to raise AK, not because it's a bad hand... but because they don't want to feel the disappointment of losing w/ a premium, AGAIN!

"I have lost in the past, I've gotten super unlucky time after time in past sessions, my opponents keep snapping me w/ inferior hands," are all true, but...

Not "running" anything. The word, running, means you're doing (X) now, but the only thing you're doing now is playing this hand.

Playing scared after getting punched so many times... probably my biggest fault (one of the many).