SnG Slumps

I am having a huge slump lately playing sit n gos. In 3 weeks I won 200 dollars playing almost exclusively $5 and $6 turbo single table SnG tournaments. Over the past week and a half I have lost almost half that. It doesn't matter what I do it seems like, I just cannot win with any consistancy any more. I have had my pocket kings run into pocket aces all in preflop atleast 8 times. I absolutely dread seeing them right now. Either I get absolutely no cards and I pretty much fold fold fold fold until I am low stacked and have to push all in with something, or I catch decent hands like AK, AQ, I raise with them and never see any cards on the flop. If I toss out a C-bet I almost always get raised. I really dont know what to do, I am so frustrated. Any SnG players out there have any real long slumps like this and what do you do? I am thinking about pulling all my money out for a little while and then redepositing it in a week or so, maybe at a new site. I really need a change, and an initial deposit bonus wouldnt be too bad to go after, ive never deposited enough to get a decent one.

Bummer

sorry to say that i havent gone that long without cashing. sounds like 20-25 sng's with no return? Patience is always key, focus on those things that got u to win. Most of all position, position and position! AA under the gun will make ya broke, only like 30% or so favorite in 4-way pot right, Not the odds ya want so pick your spots more carefully. Also bodog has Beginner sng's that pay top 5 of 10 so you may want to build yoer confidence back up. Good Luck ( if there is such a thing) and keep strong!:smile:

Take a break. Sign of a good player, is to know when you just running bad and no longer playing your own style of poker. Once you start playing "scared" poker, because you think you're 2nd nuts are against the nuts or that you'll get out drawn, you're not playing your style. Even if you think you are, you just aren't, and after that big of a downswing for that long, then you just need a break.

I've had some big swings, up and down though the long-term result is nicely positive.

The trick to riding them out is to acknowledge that they are normal part of playing SnGs and you can't avoid them. You need to be able to stick to your A game even when you've been outdrawn in the last 6 on the bubble.

You also need to accept that the really good runs are also merely a product of variance rather than something sustainable. I've finished in the money in 8 in a row (10 seater $55) and failed to money in 23 out of 26 (10 seater $33).

Downward swings of 10x the buyin are common and happen at least once every hundred buyins for me (this is while getting a 20% ROI) with between 35 and 40% in the money.

However before you decide it's a swing rather than a hole in your game you need to have enough info. How many SnGs have you played? What is your ROI% (return on investment)? And what is your % finish in the money?

If you don't track these I've a spreadsheet you might want to use here,

[old link~tb]


In summary though, analyse your game for holes (as you shoud whether you are running bad or good) and try not to let the downturn affect how you play.

Its not that I havent won in the last 20-25, I have won a couple and placed in a couple more, but they are few and far between. Just lost 3 in a row in about 2 hours, KK vs AA preflop and my AA got cracked by 5s to cripple me in another one. I am still up 257 dollars in the past month and a half or so, but I was up to 320 at one point. So, my %ROI is still positive. I kind of got lazy and stopped keeping track of my SnG before my downswing started happening but these were my stats before the downswing:

# of Tournaments Played: 49
Total Buy In: 235.70
1st Place: 9
2nd Place: 8
3rd Place: 8
Didn’t Place: 21
Total Winnings: 412.00
Profit: 176.30
%ROI: 74.80%

I started keepin track again the other day only for 5 dollar SnG, and I am positive %ROI by for my last 7 tournaments, but the 6 dollar turbos have been absolutely killing me, havent placed in one in about 8 tournaments in a row now. Think I gotta ditch them for awhile.

btw, this is my eCash statement from bodog for the last 31 days:

Total credits $1,646.39, total debits ($1,469.10), net activity $177.29, ending balance $257.29. Thats with a 20 dollar cashout

So, in hindsight, wow I guess I shouldnt be complaining too much. I guess I was just used to that 50 tournament stretch with 70% ROI which is very unrealistic, just seems like I am losing a ton when really, I am very good for the month still. I think I just need a break for a little while (Might be hard though since I have a break from school and I am just sitting at home most of the day).

You need to be thinking in terms of groups of a least 50 buyins and looking for trends over 100s. Until you have 200+ at a level you can't begin to form an opinion that you are beating it (as an indicator it is generally considered that any ROI over 30% is great and that anything over 35% may not be sustainable). Your numbers have yet to settle down I'm afraid as it's not a big enough sample.

Train yourself to lose 3 in a row due to bad luck and not let it cause even a ripple of reaction.

It's Zen baby.


Right I'm officially talking gibberish and knackered and going to bed now.