Lost 25% of my year's profits today

I don't know what to do....

I can't win a pot.

Really, if I flop a straight, someone will draw out with a flush, if I have KK someone has AA, even my sets are not holding up.

I don't think I can handle the swings in poker. No bankroll could ever be big enough that it wont pain me to lose money. I have almost 14k hands, so I know I am winning long term (20.58 big blinds/100 hands), but I can't handle losing that much at once.

I was at the table with the perfect fish. Huge stack, plays every hand, never raises.... vp$ip 85.14%, pfr 3.61%, post flp aggr 0.02, 3.5x the table buy in in front of him.

But I just can't win.

Help. I don't want to play anymore.

I really don't think I'm mentally stable....

dont sweat it. the other day i had a -400bb swing. was getting coolers left and right. aa/kk flopping top sets and getting it AI on the flop and getting sucked out on like no other. flopping Qhigh flushes when someone else flops the Ahigh flush. just chill out, cut back on how many tables you're mulititabling. read an article or brush up on a section of a poker book. watch a few HSP episodes on youtube. if you're properly rolled then all it is is a swing. improperly rolled and you're ****ed.

-534bb over 724 hands.
I'm sick.

Hey Alien, you're not the only one. just a few nights ago, I had QJ, limped, flopped fullhouse QQJ, slowplayed. turn brings an 9 clubs and river 7 clubs. There's a flush on the board now. one of the 4 limpers goes all-in, I called, counting the amount I would win, only to see him with a straight flush.

AA set, got all-in on the turn and villain rivers a straight. I lost 3 buy-ins on that table to beats. Don't lose heart.

here's a website for you, it's some good stuff, nothing about poker strategies... just some poker stories and stuff.

the worst beat ever
tommyangelo.com

The best thing you can do is to just take a break. Some days are going to be like that. Just shut it down for the day, or even a few. Come back refreshed, and with more cash than you would have if you continued your streak of beats.

Hey bro, it´s poker.. you can win, you can lose. I think when somebody is involved in a bad moment, is good take a break from poker. Anyway, i feel your pain.
Good luck.

It happens, AG.

Like Joose says, the key is BR management. That way it's just an annoyance, not a disaster.

Oddly, I'm on a downer at the moment too. Had a miserable day yesterday at bodog and lost three buyins in situations just like you describe, where I had great hands which freakishly came up second best. After the third time, I turned the PC off and gave it up for the day.

I still feel upset about it now, but because I am always very careful about money management, it was less than 10% of my roll at that site. So, I know it won't be a problem long term and (once I have chilled out and don't want to put my fist through the monitor any more) I know I can go back and win it back again.

aliengenius said:

-534bb over 724 hands.
I'm sick.

Click to expand...

Please, just take a break. It's that simple, trust me.

A day or two, or even a week if you think you need it, and then you'll be fine.

Ya its break time, even if its just a few days, it does miracles sometimes to take a day or 2 off,,>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>> buck

Coming off your BIG win too. Just feeling a little pressured I guess. Just take a day off and come back ready to play. Don't dwell on the past, it's history!!!

take a break dang it. don't quit now!! you have vegas coming baby!! we all have faith in you. you are an excellent player and have all of us to lean on. everyone has ups and downs. such is the life of a poker junkie.

aliengenius said:

-534bb over 724 hands.
I'm sick.

Click to expand...

hahahahahahahaha this is wrong hahahahahahaha

-534BB

= -1068bb hahahahahahaha

***throws up in bucket...

I would highly suggest a few days relaxation of smoking doobies and relaxing, reading, just focuse on yourself for a few days, not about making money, come back refreshed, hang out with some freinds, and you will be back on you feet in no time. trust me it happens to the best of us, its how you manage those bad beats, that makes a good poker player, into a great poker player. Trust your gut instincts, it is usually right.

I would have to agree with the majority here. Just step away fro a few days. Recharge the batteries, and you will be fine!

Alien,
Since I did pretty good in the OFC freeroll saturday, I too have hit the skids.

Clearly the OFC was incideously rigged!

ill post my PT graph from last week. it was bad. i took a day off and am back to where i was before the swing, even after another day of coolers the day before yesterday.

Dont bother taking a break, go on OMgxz tilt, tighten up only play like AA ALL-IN P/F, undervalue your starting hands, go weak tight, and PM me the next time your going to play

Was checking the old Gus Hansen rumours this afternoon. Rumour is that he lost a couple of millions in the fall of 2005 on the open tables in Vegas.

So how does that effect aliengenius?

Some mental coach blogging on a poker site explained, that one particular strenght was the ability to look at your chips like tools of the trade instead of money. He said this removed a lot of pressure from certain game situations and freed up mental reserves better used actively at the tables.

I know this isnt a quick fix, but perhaps you can train this ability? I know i have been trying. Its hard, but it helps - both when you're playing tight as hell and when you're pumped, decided on havoc and letting all hell break loose on some innocent table.

Maybe if you can find this state of mind at just one game, you can regain your footing and get past a bad beat period?

tenbob said:

Dont bother taking a break, go on OMgxz tilt, tighten up only play like AA ALL-IN P/F, undervalue your starting hands, go weak tight, and PM me the next time your going to play

Click to expand...

TB is soooooo mean.

Dang eh...well look on the bright side...you're still up 75%!!!!!!!!!

Cheers :beer:

Ok, everyone, thanks for encouragement.

Clearly some of this loss was due to bad play on my part, likely induced by the beats, and by being tired.

I break it down into three parts:

1. Bad beats. Got my money in good, they sucked out with very minimal outs. I am fine with these up to a point... then it just gets ridiculous.

2. "Misreads". I correctly figured out that a guy was weak and made a play, but incorrectly figured his ability to fold, felt I might have had the best hand but folded anyway, etc.

3. "Meta-mistakes". Played too long, got tired because I didn't want to leave the table while Mr. Fish had all that money in front of him .

And the worst:
4. Donk play by me. I paid off the flush on the river when I knew I was beat, tried to railroad some hands that didn't connect w the flop, etc.

So, the question becomes, how does one avoid this situation in the future? Does anyone utilize a stop loss of some sort?

Two bits of advice for you. Play lots of play chip tables now and focus on these pictures.

Stop-loss hey. Yeah I use x% of my total br for each session and then I have an x% cutoff for the month, which is predefined at the beginning of any month of playing. If I stop-out for the month I do some in depth analysis as to why that happened. Bad beats or bad play.

The figures are around 5% per session and then 15% per month. The 5% per session then dictates what limits I should be playing based on buying in for the max.

Risk tolerance is quite a personal thing though, so it depends on your threshold.

I then have a few playing rules:

1. I sit down at a game and mark how long I'll play. I can vary this depending on game conditions but will take a break every hour of play.

2. If I'm tired or aggitated I wont play at all.

3. If I'm angry and yelling at the idiots at my table, it's time to go to bed.

Limit your time played during when you feel most alert/awake. Also taking a day or two off and doing something outside helps clear the mind. Best of luck in turning things around.