Staying Positive

I think everyone here knows what it feels like when it seems like you cant win a race or your always falling short of the money, getting two outered alot or just plain running bad, I was just wondering what you guys do to keep a positive mind frame when your running bad.

You just need to accept a situation as it is.
If it's a bad beat - it's a bad beat.
If it's the wrong move - Learn and improve from it.
Try to do better next time if it was your mistake.

I think the best advice I was given and learned is to take breaks from poker. Give yourself time to relax and not dwell on your bad beats or your downswing. I wouldn't go as far to say as stop playing but ease up a little ask yourself did my stradegy change. Play some free rolls or play money untill you feel like you have gotten things under control again. I wouldn't reccomend playing through your bank roll on a downswing. You might find yourself tilting everytime you log on. Not everyone is the same and this is just an opinion. Good luck at the tables. PEACE

Try Try again.

Ive taken breaks from poker before but not because i was runnng bad but i really wanna start playing on a serious level so i was just wondering how to stay in a positive mind frame when i do go through the downswings?

You need to figure out if you are playing well or not. Go over your hands and study. I don't really believe in running good or running bad. What does that mean, anyway? It certainly has nothing to do with any future play unless you let it. Cards are random; if you play well, you will win in the long run. It doesn't matter if bad players beat you sometimes. If it's all the time, then I think you need to worry about your own game.

Be happy if you have the best of it and someone sucks out on you. You played well. That's what matters, not the short-term results. If you dwell on the idea that you're currently being lucky or unlucky, it will affect your play negatively.

I get just as frustrated as you Thrash, if not, even more so. I usually am on the short end of the stick like yourself in a race situation, and alot when I have a statistical advantage once the cards are turned over. I vent for a few and try to realize that I had my money in with the best hand and best odds to win it. Poker Gods didnt see it my way though. I cant tell you how many times I had a dominating lead only to see the 15% chance hit rate to pop up on the river. I thought I was a good swimmer at the lake, but when it comes to the river, may need to go to the Red Cross and get some swimming lessons for the river to help keep me afloat!!

Im not sayin it happens all the time just when you do hit those downswings where it seems like nothin is goin right i was just wondering what other people did to stay on they're game and no get down on themselves. For example drop down in limits take breaks if so for how long, etc.

Even the best players have downswings, it's part of the game. If you have too many of them you are doing something wrong and need to look at your game or have someone you respect look at your game.

Yes drop down in limts if you are losing.

Yes take a night off and do something different.

The poker tables will always be here

Id suggest you play another game ...like Razz, Stud etc that require more skill and playing your "cards" rather than "the player" like you do in poker.

In poker you may have the best pair or a AK and still lose....or some idiot goes all in with nothing and you fold and waste your chips.

it could just be you havent found the best game for you..

take a break if you have to, always concentrate on the hand you are playing forget about the bad beat you had earlier

Yea i final tabled a a couple small tourneys last week for a profit of $400 and then i lost $170 in a matter of five days at the tables a couple hands i played bad and a couple bad beats so i think im going to stick to sit n gos and small tourneys cause thats what i seem to do best in, my cash game play is erractic, i play good some days and some days im totally off but im still a learning player. The stacks at the tables i was playin at were .10/.25

i play alot of hold em but im also pretty good in omaha and omaha hi/lo and i do like 7 card stud, but i mainly play the first three.

I agree with holy. Sometimes just take a break. A lot ppl will become obsessed. There is no question you will have bad beats. Your online so you see so many more hands than live. As well, i think that bad beats happen because of bad play. We ALWAYS hear "AA gets CRACKED ZOMG!!!!

What happened man?? Well i limped in with AA and.. WHAT YOU LIMPED IN!!!


Santa Hat?