Robochick
Legend
Silver Level
If you play poker for any amount of time, no matter how good you are (or think you are); eventually you are going to get a run of bad cards. People who aren’t regular card players might say things like: “You knew poker is a game of uncertainty when you started playing, you signed up for this,” or “Why then don’t you just quit?” But when you get a really bad run of cards for an extended period of time or when your bankroll drops rapidly despite all your careful bankroll management… you might just find yourself asking the same questions of yourself.
Usually people’s advice runs along these similar lines:
1. Take a break. I always wonder how long of a break someone should take. Could a day or two doing Duolingo or hiking in the forest do it for you like it does for me? If you are a bit more tilty (yes, that is a word, because I said so), do you need to take a bit of a longer break? Does a longer break mean you will come back a bit rusty? I suppose this one is going to depend on your level of frustration and how long it will take for you to come back feeling like you have a good perspective and ready to play optimally.
2. Relax baby, grind on and grind through. Sometimes it is easier said than done, and it depends on what type of person you are. For some people, this is a recipe to break your bankroll rules and lose it all. But to the logical and statistically oriented person, if you know your game and have had success consistently in the past; you can expect to get running well if you just play your game and don’t let yourself go on tilt.
3. Play tighter. Seems the natural thing to do, and sometimes when a player is short stacked that is a strategy in a single tournament. But a player who is short stacked often alters their style drastically, we are really talking about a multi-game run of bad cards. While I do agree reinforcing the principals of your playing style is good and maybe assessing whether you have strayed from your usual play is good as well; if you find that it is not the case, it doesn’t make sense to me to alter your play if it has been successful in the past.
4. Read some strategy articles or books. I think you should be doing this on a regular basis anyway, so as a cure, I don’t really see it. For me, this might prove to be more frustrating. But if you are reading this post and thinking, “she keeps saying that this if for people that have been consistently successful in the past, that might not really be me;” then I would say a bit of reading might be in order.
5. Learn a new game. Mixing it up can be a great idea. From my own experience, during my last bad run of cards I had, I learned how to play HORSE. I found it kind of did all of the previous suggestions to a minor degree. I took a break from my main game, I kept playing, since I was learning I naturally played a bit tighter and I read a lot. For me this seems to be the choice.
6. ??? You tell me… I would love to hear what you think.
As always, good luck at the tables.
Usually people’s advice runs along these similar lines:
1. Take a break. I always wonder how long of a break someone should take. Could a day or two doing Duolingo or hiking in the forest do it for you like it does for me? If you are a bit more tilty (yes, that is a word, because I said so), do you need to take a bit of a longer break? Does a longer break mean you will come back a bit rusty? I suppose this one is going to depend on your level of frustration and how long it will take for you to come back feeling like you have a good perspective and ready to play optimally.
2. Relax baby, grind on and grind through. Sometimes it is easier said than done, and it depends on what type of person you are. For some people, this is a recipe to break your bankroll rules and lose it all. But to the logical and statistically oriented person, if you know your game and have had success consistently in the past; you can expect to get running well if you just play your game and don’t let yourself go on tilt.
3. Play tighter. Seems the natural thing to do, and sometimes when a player is short stacked that is a strategy in a single tournament. But a player who is short stacked often alters their style drastically, we are really talking about a multi-game run of bad cards. While I do agree reinforcing the principals of your playing style is good and maybe assessing whether you have strayed from your usual play is good as well; if you find that it is not the case, it doesn’t make sense to me to alter your play if it has been successful in the past.
4. Read some strategy articles or books. I think you should be doing this on a regular basis anyway, so as a cure, I don’t really see it. For me, this might prove to be more frustrating. But if you are reading this post and thinking, “she keeps saying that this if for people that have been consistently successful in the past, that might not really be me;” then I would say a bit of reading might be in order.
5. Learn a new game. Mixing it up can be a great idea. From my own experience, during my last bad run of cards I had, I learned how to play HORSE. I found it kind of did all of the previous suggestions to a minor degree. I took a break from my main game, I kept playing, since I was learning I naturally played a bit tighter and I read a lot. For me this seems to be the choice.
6. ??? You tell me… I would love to hear what you think.
As always, good luck at the tables.
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