Working throught the down turn!!!!!!

3

32SpittFire

Enthusiast
Silver Level
Joined
Oct 2, 2006
Total posts
37
Chips
0
Been on a real bad down turn the last 3 days, just trying to find a way through it.

Play .10/.20 FL Holdem about 3 hours a night or 300 plus hands which ever comes first and the last 3 days have been horrible. Cards are bad and the solid hands AA KK QQ and so forth are being crushed by river runners. I know I need to play through this but man is it hard.

Anyway trying to hit my 10,000 hands and hoping my bankroll will make it through this down turn of events.

Mostly just venting but any comments are welcome.......going to go read one of my many new books now.:banghead:
 
N

NJ08512

Rising Star
Silver Level
Joined
Apr 18, 2007
Total posts
22
Chips
0
MY comments on down times...

I have been playing for about a year. During the year I have had several periods of "bad luck". But I have not had one recently.

This is not to say that I have not been getting runs of bad cards. In fact, most of the cards I have been getting are bad. But what is different is my understanding of how I played a hand.

In the beginning, I played my hand and did not pay much attention to the other players. When I lost a pot I attributed it to bad luck.

What I was missing were messages from the other players via their betting. Once I recognized this fact, I was able to get out of hands before I lost a lot of chips.

When I lose a pot at showdown, 80-90% if the time it because I was not watching the table action, calculating pot odds or being agressive enough. It is only a small percentage of the time that someone sucks out on me.

My game needs lots and lots of improvement, but I no longer attribute a run of losses to "down days". My bad playing is usually the reason.

I find that you have to be in the right mindset for poker. Playing at a time when there are other things going on in your life can have an visible effect on your playing.

I now blame my "down times" on my poker skills, or lack of same, and look to learn from my mistakes.

Of course, you might be doing everything right and have just been getting bad luck....
 
R

Ranger390

Rock Star
Silver Level
Joined
Dec 4, 2007
Total posts
217
Chips
0
I agree with NJ08512 regarding losing hands at showdown...with me it's usually a result of not being aggressive enough early int he hand. But, it's tough to be aggressive when you can't hit any cards or see your good hands getting beaten buy a good player (non-donkey) who simply draws out.

But, as 32SpitrFire said, it's really tough to sit and fold hand after hand after hand, waiting for something to play. I've been in a similar slump lately...I can't get two hole cards that are even 1st cousins. I know things will turn around eventually...so here's what I do. This makes absolutely NO SENSE mathematically, but it seems to help mentally. I will go to the play money tables for a while. If the cards turn around, fine. If not, at least I haven't lost part of my BR. If that doesn't "work," I will sometimes play lots of hands of solitaire. It's almost like I am trying to "get the bad cards out of my system." When the cards improve, then I'll go back to the money tables. Like I said, this "remedy" makes absolutely no mathematical sense, but it does seem to improve my mental state when I see the cards start getting better.
 
Boltneck

Boltneck

Rock Star
Silver Level
Joined
Nov 1, 2007
Total posts
246
Chips
0
If you were consistantly making a profit before this recent run, the chances are that you are a decent player. Let's assume that you haven't suddenly become a bad player in the last 2 days. What is the only conclusion that you can reach?

The answer is easy - you suffering from the variance that hits everyone that ever played poker. Don't take my word for it, just look at the graphs in the "Lets Build Some Bankroll" thread. Chris Ferguson's graph is there, and if downturns are good enough (or bad enough) for him - then they sure as hell are good enough for you.

Be patient, carry on playing as you did before the down turn, review the hands that you are loosing to confirm that you couldn't have done things differently, DON'T TILT and things will improve.
 
S

soonerdel

Rock Star
Silver Level
Joined
Sep 14, 2007
Total posts
195
Chips
0
play through the bad times and remember that poker has downswings when you dont think you will ever win another hand.. keep playing solid, dont tilt, dont panic over the downswing..
 
Tobmeister

Tobmeister

Rock Star
Silver Level
Joined
Oct 26, 2007
Total posts
140
Chips
0
They say that you should never play poker if you HALT.

That is Hungry Angry Lonely or Tired, i definately agree with the angry and tired not sure about the hungry, but if there is something big going on in your life, then it could be affecting your game.

Maybe this is the poker Gods way of telling you that you need a break for a day or two.
 
Top