Mental Breakdown -- Advice?

Hi,
I recently jumped from FR to 6max. I decided it would be good for my game and probably more fun (how ironic) than staying a nit at FR. Right now I've played 50k hands on 10NL and so far I've been running 25 BI's -EV. I'm up to the point where I feel like somehow I'm the perceived fish at the table as I cannot even achieve a positive (yup, after 50k hands I'm a pretty big loser) decent winrate at 10NL (10NL ffs!!), whereas at fullring I was able to maintain a ~6bb/100 from 10NL to 50NL.
Although I feel like - besides the negative allin-ev - I've also been insanely unlucky on tons of turns and rivers, I think the worst part is I'm still trying to adjust and learn the game of 6max but since I've been running horribly since hand 1 in chapter 6MAX I'm never getting any confirmation I'm actually playing accordingly. Even worse the confidence in my own game is sloping downward which leads to bad calls and probably stupid laydowns because more and more you start getting doubts on your game when you keep folding rivers over and over again when another villain bombs it for the 5th time in a row when you barreled twice otf and turn with TPTK. I can't even tell how many buyins I lost because I thought it could NOT be possible they had outdrawn me again, I guess everybody's got a breaking point. And for what it's worth, it's not the money loss. It's the fact you put so much effort in elavating your game by reading/studying etc, building confidence. And then variance takes a visit and treats you like a kid pulling off the wings of a suffering fly.

I guess I could need some advice on how to recover both my confidence as my drive/motivation to keep playing poker.

EDIT: Also would like to hear how to deal with tilt in these downswings. Already bought the book The Mental Game of Poker, hope that can help me out a little bit. Because to be honest after 10k hands I was basically an intoxicated tilt machine (which also cost me a new mouse lol)

well it may not be the best advice as it will be counter-intuiative towards optimal poker but what i'd do is start only playing to the nuts and keeping pots as small as you can in some tricky hands until you re-build your confidence back up and take it from there

thx tootsy
Anyone else got some advice?

Try dropping down to 5nl for starters.

Post some hands in cash game strategy section.

gl gl

does anyone have like a good article or instructional video about 6max especially blind play? I suck at blind play. Obviously could get away with that when I was playing FR by just folding alot OOP.

Like Poker Orifice said, post some hands in the cash game analysis forum, you will get better advice here than you will on a video.

Post hands here ----->https://www.cardschat.com/forum/cash-game-hand-analysis-50/



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1.) Include a stop loss of 4-6 buyins per session
2.) Eat, Drink, Sleep and Socialise enough
3.) Realise that fear is now controlling you and pay attention to it. If you start having swings of feeling overly excited then out of nowhere tantrums of aggression followed by hopelessness then it has taken over you on a biological level and you should have a few days rest.
4.) Remember-- In the end, POKER IS JUST A GAME! If you feel like you aren't playing well at 10NL because of fear then do something crazy... drop to 2NL for a bit or even play facebook poker or playmoney poker. Learn to remember it is just a game and you can play it for "fun".

Danjwarburton said:

1.) Include a stop loss of 4-6 buyins per session
2.) Eat, Drink, Sleep and Socialise enough
3.) Realise that fear is now controlling you and pay attention to it. If you start having swings of feeling overly excited then out of nowhere tantrums of aggression followed by hopelessness then it has taken over you on a biological level and you should have a few days rest.
4.) Remember-- In the end, POKER IS JUST A GAME! If you feel like you aren't playing well at 10NL because of fear then do something crazy... drop to 2NL for a bit or even play facebook poker or playmoney poker. Learn to remember it is just a game and you can play it for "fun".

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I dont feel like fear is controlling me. I more feel like I must play, I must make volume to overcome this. At the second part of 3 u really got my attention. What do you mean by "on a biological level".

Drop down to 5NL. Join our study group. There's a whole free section on blind play in polished poker if you can afford the asking price... free.

I know xactly where your at.Its 3;00 pm and have played for the last 15 hours trying to get confidence back.It didnt work,i got beat like an old rug.The positive side though is,propably 75% of hands lost i had the best hand flop n preflop.Most hands lost were to short stacks n all ins.I do believe right now,poker is the hardest its ever been online.It doesnt seem to matter if you play your hand correctly or not.There is always that one player that calls a 3x raise out of position with 9-5 off,8-4 off,10- 7off etc.etc.and somehow end up winning.I frequently have to remind myself,Its not my play sometimes just terrible luck, and that the cards will change.They always do you just gotta wait,and dont assume its your play or something your doing wrong.If your play was succesful in past it will be again.Highs n lows,karma,what goes around comes around etc,etc.Hang in there

I mean, u should`ve known that is really hard to break even in poker, variance is a b*.
And what about real life? People giving their best everyday and still most of them got no money, no job, no hope.

And you are complaining about your "motivation to keep playing poker".

Don`t play poker. That`s my advice.

go back to full ring .....get your confidance back and read up on 6max strategy....its a different world

John A said:

Drop down to 5NL. Join our study group. There's a whole free section on blind play in polished poker if you can afford the asking price... free.

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John,

I am interested in hearing more about your study group, but am unable to PM you because I am so new to the site (under the required post amount). Feel free to try to PM me! Many thanks!

His study group is here. https://www.cardschat.com/forum/cash-games-11/polished-poker-vol-i-study-group-227214//

swingro said:

His study group is here. https://www.cardschat.com/forum/cash-games-11/polished-poker-vol-i-study-group-227214//

Click to expand...

Giant face palm for me! Lol His threads at the top of the cash game sub forum and I'm all whereeee is this study group!? Thank you- I'm clearly new here

The more short handed you play, the more marginal hands you will be playing and the greater your decision making will be tested. I would recommend going back to 10 handed and building up your bankroll and confidence. If you are determined to keep playing 6 handed, you should really focus on using position to your advantage and playing pots where you are the aggressor, not the caller. It will really help your game to not play any pots out of position against more experienced opponents. Good Luck

Try not focusing on whether you win or not. Just play and have fun. If your opponent wins all your money be happy for them and try to learn from them. It sounds corny and stupid, but it will make you play better. When you care less about the money in the middle and more about making correct decisions you'll be more likely to make money. If it weren't for bankroll management reasons, I would advise you to cover up the amount of money you have in the display. Oh and don't worry about what other people are thinking about you behind their computers. If they all think your the fish than so be it. If that same guy keeps 3-betting you don't focus on his opinion of you and just focus on his tendencies and how he'll react to you.

Who knows, maybe you won't make money, but do you really want to live your life being upset by downswings of poker. Here's something you probably hate hearing, but should still consider an option. Perhaps you should just stop playing poker if it is making you miserable. Honestly ask yourself, "Is this making my life better or worse." Then come to a conclusion.


Another thing that I like to do when I feel like I'm losing a lot is switch to other games or just take a break altogether. When you come back you'll feel rejuvenated and refreshed.