Dealing with Poker Swings

Theromeo2k

Theromeo2k

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Hello there,

Having downswings in the game of poker is natural-- everyone goes through them. Bad beats, tilt, hot streaks, cold streaks, etc. are all part of the game and a good poker player understands these factors that can affect one's game. However, the hard part is overcoming these hardships and keeping your head up in order to stay focused and avoid huge losses. Overcoming adversity is especially tough when the downswing continues after you have taken measures to cool it off...

I've been playing poker for quite some time and, I have gone through the normal swings of the game (both the ups and downs). When I'm experiencing the Ups, I try to prolong my sessions to take advantage of being on my A-Game. Conversely, when I go through downswings I take some time off the tables and review my hand history to see how I can fix leaks and improve my game so that I can try to manage the downswings.

However, after having done extensive study and putting in the extra work, the downswings seems to continue. Right now it seems like it's not going to end for me and it's taking away a lot of motivation and passion for the game. When I'm involved in tough spots and gather enough information to make a reasonable decision during a hand, and it turns out the I made the right decision but somehow I end up losing- it gets really detrimental and frustrating.

So, how do you deal with Poker Swings? How does swings affect your game? Do you play the same way regardless if you're winning or losing? How do you adjust?
*Any advice/feedback on how you deal with downswings will be highly appreciated. ")
 
Mr Sandbag

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Downswings can be tough, but they can't be avoided. The best thing you can do is learn to stay off tilt.

Put your downswings into perspective. I've mentioned it a few times throughout this forum; one of the most helpful things I've ever done was to keep track of my larger, most costly mistakes. During a downswing, I started to write down how much money I was losing due to poor decisions. The difference a few decisions would have made in my profits was astounding, and it helped me realize that in the grand scheme of things, coolers just don't matter. If you played a hand well and you still got stacked, it happens. Brush it off and move on. But if you have any regrets about how you played it (just don't be results oriented), learn from it.

If you want a more detailed example, check out my Grind Up thread. I made a post on Dec 7 detailing the cost of my mistakes. It should illustrate my point a bit more.

Staying mentally strong and balanced, like anything else, takes practice.
 
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jj20002

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i keep playing the same, yes i do stupid things too, like playing more loose, tend to say stupid things, get in bad mood (just for a moment), somtimes when i hit three or four times by bad beats (different tables sometimes) i go mad, so i check the lobby, and see how long it takes for the next break that i need to try to put myself all together again and cool off, but is not easy when one loses so many times in a short period being ahead in the hand and just defeated in the river mostly
 
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cotta777

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I have a theory for cash when on a down swing.
My long term focus is in cash but I play mtts also.

Table selection can aid you through a downswing and the reason why?

Well this is it.
You will always encounter someone on a bad run or playing their C game or playing a style of poker better suited to your style of poker. This in effect will transform your losses on a positive extent we cant gaurantee to win but we can gaurantee by taking ourselves out of games until we find a seat in a good position on a better table will bring us smaller losses (providing we can ourselves avoid playing awful)
This is harder to do if you play 8-10 tables or more ofcourse.
But on a smaller scale there is no harm dropping to 4 tables if your running that bad and focusing on finding the good tables.

Table selection as absoloutely key in maximising profit and we should all be aware of what types of players we play well against and we should be able to analyse what situations are likely to come up for us based on the playing styles of villain and position on the table
 
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Frankie6636

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Never gamble more than you can afford to lose.

I also take a couple days off during my bad downswings. I am mainly a PLO8 player so I dont have much of them.
 
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ph0n3_j4ck

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You have to continue learning and never doubt your own skill. Definitely evaluate some hands after the session is over in order to see whether or not you're playing well.
 
ccocco

ccocco

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to me sometimes that happens to me, but good long spells bad part of the game and life .. in poker when I game losing streak micro limits and sometimes change games, play omaha, omaha hi / lo, and so regained confidence and some money .. and the bad times in life, you have to smile at him whenever it rained at some point to
 
zegaum

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The oscillations will always happen, because poker will always be a game of luck, regardless of whether enhancement level. The important thing is to always keep improving it and find their own ways to avoid tilt.
And whenever something bad happens, viewed as a stumble along the way, which is always part.
 
nitulbhatia

nitulbhatia

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Never gamble more than you can afford to lose.

I also take a couple days off during my bad downswings. I am mainly a PLO8 player so I dont have much of them.

+1

Solid advice in my opinion. This is a rule i will never break, expenditure always within income, and knowing ones limits are important in life and poker.
 
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sleepymike

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I continue to play my style of game, if after review I find it's the variance that has caused my downswing. Lowering the number of tables I play or maybe I just call it a day (or a week).
Long ago I would try to power my way thru a downswing, (two can play that game! -- not a good choice for me as it turns out)
 
rock0001

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quit playing after a long downswing if you are going tilted and cant play well or lower the stakes you are playing in order to keep your bankroll safe. It wont be bad for your bankroll if you are losing in for example 10 dollar tourneys, and then move into 1 or 2 dollar tourneys, as the bankroll wont decrease a lot even on a bad run in those limits.
 
Mr Sandbag

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Only take a break during a downswing if the downswing itself is affecting you mentally/emotionally. A break isn't going to end a downswing. True, meaningful results in poker are only achievable through volume, so taking time off every time you aren't running great isn't really going to help your game in the long run and can in fact make a downswing seem even longer.
 
Arjonius

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The first thing I try to do when my results are running below expectation for a while is to determine the extent to which I'm contributing by not playing my usual game. This mainly means looking at more hand / tournament histories, and doing so even more critically. The latter is important because quite often, I'll find that relatively small or subtle leaks have crept into my game - things I'd be less likely to spot if I wasn't as critical.
 
Theromeo2k

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Thank y'all for sharing your comments, experiences, and perspectives about the topic. I have read them all and have found them to be really useful. I took a couple of weeks off from Poker since I posted this thread. So, sorry for the late response.

Taking a break helped me ease my mind from the tough variance of the game but it really didn't improve my game directly. So I decided to take some coaching/advice from different Professional poker players. They all have different styles and ways of winning in poker, but I realized that their opinions/views meet at the end of the road... They don't fear or hate variance, they embrace it. This realization has changed the way I see poker and it has clarified the importance of making the right decisions on every street in order to come out as a winning player in the long run.

I used to focus on winning every session I played, but that's just not going happen. As Mr Sandbag said in his first comment, downswings can't be avoided and it's important to stay mentally strong and move on. After all, poker is more about the long run results and, so is life. Life is one long session...

@Mr Sandbag I've read your old posts/threads as you referred to and I can totally relate to what you were experiencing and I'm now feeling better since I'm not the only one who has gone through those hardships. I also agree with you on your second comment when you mention the correlation between volume and positive results. I appreciate your help!
 
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