Depression and poker

vadimcs1495

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I write a lot on various forums about how to deal with depression, but I myself cannot overcome it. ;)

I play in three poker rooms : pokerstars , partypoker, 888 and for the last two weeks of the session more likely negative than vice versa.​
The strangest thing is that I play very carefully but bad beats cannot be avoided. In almost every tournament I get to ITM and something happens.

Am I winding myself up and soon everything will pay off or does something need to be changed? ...

Give advice;)
 
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JordanH

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If you're fighting depression my advice is to quit poker entirety. You're going to lose a lot regardless of how good your starting hands. That's the simple reality of the game. You'll find tons of posts here at Cardschat attesting to that. It takes a lot of confidence and optimism to keep going back for more of that day after day. You need to be able to make many, many decisions with no emotional investment in the outcomes. That type of mindset does not fit well with depression.
 
Phoenix Wright

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JordanH is right; poker is tough enough already (especially mentally). However, part of it might be that "bad beats" aren't as uncommon as you think. The cruel thing about poker is that the element of chance can lead losing players to chalk it up to "bad luck" when (although bad luck and variance is possible) in fact they are simply not playing as well as they could be (opponent's better, exploiting strategies, your own mood, lack of food, lack of sleep etc.)

I recommend checking out the 30 Day Course on CardsChat. It might include some new information for you and maybe even highlight some things to improve on to get better results at the tables. If nothing else, at least it will be good review and a good way to sort of take a break from poker without actually taking a break, if that makes sense ;)

Here is the link to the CardsChat course - it says "30 Days" but you can take it at your own pace. 30 Days would just be one "lesson" per day :)

https://www.cardschat.com/become-a-winning-poker-player/
 
vadimcs1495

vadimcs1495

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If you're fighting depression my advice is to quit poker entirety. You're going to lose a lot regardless of how good your starting hands. It takes a lot of confidence and optimism to keep going back for more of that day after day. You need to be able to make many, many decisions with no emotional investment in the outcomes.


I understand what you are talking about, but I have been playing poker for 10 years. I'm not saying that everything is so bad that you need to quit this business;)

I made myself a challenge to make 1000 $ for the new year.

Two weeks later, I can only see how my opponents manage to buy all the outs with weaker hands.

For 10 years I got used to this, well, for 1000 hands, 3% is a bad bit. But not 30%;) per session.

Something like this ...

Thank you for the answer
 
vadimcs1495

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JordanH is right; poker is tough enough already (especially mentally). However, part of it might be that "bad beats" aren't as uncommon as you think. The cruel thing about poker is that the element of chance can lead losing players to chalk it up to "bad luck" when (although bad luck and variance is possible) in fact they are simply not playing as well as they could be (opponent's better, exploiting strategies, your own mood, lack of food, lack of sleep etc.)

I recommend checking out the 30 Day Course on CardsChat. It might include some new information for you and maybe even highlight some things to improve on to get better results at the tables. If nothing else, at least it will be good review and a good way to sort of take a break from poker without actually taking a break, if that makes sense ;)

Here is the link to the CardsChat course - it says "30 Days" but you can take it at your own pace. 30 Days would just be one "lesson" per day :)

https://www.cardschat.com/become-a-winning-poker-player/


I played hyper-turbo tournaments for a very long time, maybe because of this, after I switched to a slow tournament mode, becoming the chip leader of the tournament I do not have enough endurance and perseverance, and closer to itm I have 10-15% of the stack

I am planning to read books and videos. I hope this helps me
 
YenRodriguez

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The first thing would be to persevere, I know it is difficult but I am telling you from my experience. I lost all the games for two months, then everything got better and I started reaching the final table. in a month I had 5 final tables
 
Mati532

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Lately I've been on a very negative streak to play, but it's like everything, everything comes sooner or later. Discipline and calm play is everything in Poker. I know the good times will come!
 
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When you start to get depressed that's when you should not play anymore. Beats happen but if you love the game and don't get down. You will find a way to win.
 
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Poker comes with highs and lows and sometimes very big swings and not the greatest game for someone dealing with depression. Build yourself up, take a break, and come back to the game.
 
marvinsytan

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if you are dealing with depression, combination with poker is a bad idea

you will lose more than win so get your laser focus not to get depress
 
Alex70793

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I now have a situation that can be called depression.
I lose too often, I play well, I play strong hands, but I'm not lucky, my set is interrupted by the senior set, two top pairs are interrupted by a set from a small pair, my flush is interrupted by the senior set, in general, I get into one cooler.
Yesterday there was such a hand, I have pocket QQ, two opponents put all-in against me, both have AK, a good hand to win with QQ, but no, the king comes out on the flop.
I understand that I am playing correctly, but I am catastrophically unlucky, I also understand that everyone has such moments in poker, you just need to wait out this time.
 
lukovnikofff

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I write a lot on various forums about how to deal with depression, but I myself cannot overcome it. ;)

I play in three poker rooms : pokerstars , partypoker, 888 and for the last two weeks of the session more likely negative than vice versa.

The strangest thing is that I play very carefully but bad beats cannot be avoided.

In almost every tournament I get to ITM and something happens.

Am I winding myself up and soon everything will pay off or does something need to be changed? ...

Give advice;)
To play poker you need nerves of steel and a cool head in order to make the right decisions regardless of the unsuccessful outcome, it's just that many players, after having made a decision and lost, think that it is wrong, but this is not always the case! You need discipline and at a distance, if you make the right decisions, everything will return to you and you will begin to notice that everything is not so bad! Maybe you just need to take a break from poker and not play for a couple of months, maybe you are just tired! I wish you not to lose heart and not lose faith in yourself, everything will work out for you! Good luck at the tables and in life! All good!
 
vadimcs1495

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I will definitely listen to all your advice.


Thank you all for your support !!!
 
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1984

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I write a lot on various forums about how to deal with depression, but I myself cannot overcome it. ;)

I play in three poker rooms : pokerstars , partypoker, 888 and for the last two weeks of the session more likely negative than vice versa.

The strangest thing is that I play very carefully but bad beats cannot be avoided.

In almost every tournament I get to ITM and something happens.

Am I winding myself up and soon everything will pay off or does something need to be changed? ...

Give advice;)



I can't give advice, as i don't believe in made up "psychological" things like depression and the 100+ new wave mental illness bullsh*t what they've found out and advertise 24/7 in the last 1-2 decades, just selling some life-shortening drugs, put you in useless treatments, could put at least one for anybody for destructive reasons, if they want to pull the given person out from life, ruin her/his. Meantime they let the psychopatism - what sure exists and dangerous - became totally natural part of the daily life.

Anyway, what you described in the first and later posts, sounds more likely simply disappointment of the long run "bad beats" or negative side of the variance, getting tired going on without result - especially if you play 10+ years, or something like this.

1., Looks like you play on micro level, maximum on low. Most of the hobby players play there, too. So, in my opinion, if you can't deal with these long weeks, months, avoid big field tourneys, (hard on ps) avoid play (too much) in the weekends. Stuck in 1 buyin - even within buyin levels, if you play 1-5$ tourneys, play only 1$ ones or 3$, don't mix it, if you play in 3 rooms, you can always find enough, dont mix with sng or cg, definitely dont mix it with any huge field stupid freerolls. (didnt play on ps long time, but they had that kind of nonsense freerolls......) If you want to play on higher buyin levels, separate few bucks for satties, everyday, the partyp had good micro satties - cant play on 888, probably they have it, too -, there you can do it 2-4$ max for satties, everyday, that cannot mess up so much the regular tourney variance, if takes some, will give some, too.

2., Variance: i read few books regarding poker, based on my experience, about the online tourney variance most of them wrong, the variance is much wilder how they advertise. There are even high stake players, who think the same way.
The one, who I watched, listened for a while and pretty much match with my experience, says for an average 1000 reg tourney field on slow, normal speed you need 200 buyin bankroll, on turbo 400, on hyper 800. The negative series - if you play weekly 200 tourneys - averagely runs for 1-3 weeks, his longest one was 8 months, mine 5 months.

Being disappointed, angry, feeling crap etc. because of that, something doesnt work how it should, pretty normal, but it is part of the poker, you can take break, doesnt mean some long, negative run will stop. Obviously, annoying to spend, play long days, weeks - even months - without result, especially if you know you didnt make more mistakes than in your profitable periods.

Still not advice, but in this case i prefer to play the smallest fields, between 100-300 players, anyway very rarely play over 1k reg tourneys, it reduce the variance, so less long run negative periods, on the other side, no chance to hit the "jackpot" with 1 tourney. (It's a good test anyway, if you play, lets say 1000 tourneys on an average 250 player pool on 1 or 2$ buyins, and if you don't make profit (or at least not on brreakeven), something is not okay with your game...)

The only advice:
If you can't beat the small field no peak hours micro tourneys, then find something else instead of poker, especially if it is like that for 6 months+ paralelly in 3 different networks/rooms. (or you can try a different one, sng, cg or plo, but i doubt that will work, if the micro holdem not....)

GL!
 
Zapahlohotrona

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You’re not depressed, you’re just in a bad mood. And if it’s real depression, you have to figure it out, look for reasons and sort out what to do.
 
vadimcs1495

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You’re not depressed, you’re just in a bad mood. And if it’s real depression, you have to figure it out, look for reasons and sort out what to do.


Most likely need a break from poker
 
MishkaZL

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Remember that your patience is the foundation for your further development, growth and success. Don't worry about the short-term downturn, just work hard and keep improving your skills. Good results are sure to come with time.
 
danoscar

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Hello. There are two things online you are dealing with tha you do not live:


1) Player Elimination Algorithm - Software setup for you to lose to usually a larger bank. For example, you have $1k, he has $2k. You have a pair of aces and lose to his Q7 offsuit.

2) Software Selected Player - Software selects a specific player for unknown reasons. That player usually has thee largest bank at the table. No ,matter how good of a hand a player has the particular "selected" player continues to win and continues to eliminate players with whatever hand he may have. Another way software eliminates folks.

These do not exist with live play.

Remember this. Watch out for the obvious. When a player has a large bank and seems to win no matter what, do not go against that. Instead you try to be the one with the larger bank.

Another point. When you are at a table that has several players in front raising, most likely it's a software setup for one and sometimes two players to be eliminated. Usually you will see the smaller banks gone. Beware of two raises in front. It can be a software trap to eliminate players. This falls into the 3 player scenario where you see one having JJ and other two having QQ and KK.

Lastly, in the beginning of a tournament, watch out for the aggressor going all in. I have seen many times where the player first pushing wins.

These are observations I have noticed with online play. These observations are important to me. I truly believe that "PEA" and "SSP" exist. I watch for all these when playing MTTs. You see, not only are you playing against very skilled poker players that would fare better live, but you are also playing against the software traps.


So the reason for bad beats. Folks believe online and live are the same. They are not.

Off my horse now. Good luck with your play.

Dan'O
 
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I've always read that you should not play poker if you're depressed and I think this is so true. I had depression a few years ago and there were times that I used poker as escape for sadness, but usually when you're depressed, you don't play your best game, so, many times I ended up losing and being even more depressed. My advice to you is to seek help first and never see poker as the solution for your depression.
 
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i get depressed from all the bad beats.i seen some bad one's and i'm sure a few people on here have too
 
Rockyfour

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I write a lot on various forums about how to deal with depression, but I myself cannot overcome it. ;)

I play in three poker rooms : pokerstars , partypoker, 888 and for the last two weeks of the session more likely negative than vice versa.

The strangest thing is that I play very carefully but bad beats cannot be avoided.

In almost every tournament I get to ITM and something happens.

Am I winding myself up and soon everything will pay off or does something need to be changed? ...

Give advice;)

First of all, playing very carefully, is also known as playing very badly. You will never win playing scared or overly tight.

Second of all, just play the lowest stakes, and enjoy playing the game. Don't try to make a living from it. These sites charge so much rake, you really gotta be next level to even make a small profit.

Thirdly, at the end of the day, playing Poker is still gambling. You can't tie your emotional stability, in with a game of chance. You are destined for failure in all aspects of life if you let this become a reality.

I think you should take a break, and just play baby stakes, and have fun in your spare time. If you lose $20, who cares, if you lose $2000, not so much.

This game is addicting, highly competitive, and probably not worth a significant amount of your time. Relax, try to remember that, and have fun, or don't play. Lots of other fun activities to do.
 
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First of all, playing very carefully, is also known as playing very badly. You will never win playing scared or overly tight.

Second of all, just play the lowest stakes, and enjoy playing the game. Don't try to make a living from it. These sites charge so much rake, you really gotta be next level to even make a small profit.

Thirdly, at the end of the day, playing Poker is still gambling. You can't tie your emotional stability, in with a game of chance. You are destined for failure in all aspects of life if you let this become a reality.

I think you should take a break, and just play baby stakes, and have fun in your spare time. If you lose $20, who cares, if you lose $2000, not so much.

This game is addicting, highly competitive, and probably not worth a significant amount of your time. Relax, try to remember that, and have fun, or don't play. Lots of other fun activities to do.



This guy is from Ukraine, not from the western dreamland - means have 100 times more chance to make living from poker than legally from everything else... he doesn't live in your reality - how most of us - so shouldn't write downgrading things. 20$ is an average daily salary for him, and 2000$ is a monthly good one. (Sorry, but for most of the world, people, it just sounds really crazy talk ("20$ who cares 2000$ not so much...."), even i know how much money the west burns for insane things, much more addicted and destructive things like poker....)

Poker is not gambling, poker is in the card/table games category, or if you wish, okay poker is gambling, then chess is gambling, too, how stock market etc., etc. where you can back up with math probability the game, or applying previous parties, patterns.

In my world any betting, lottery, bingo, these stupid scratching cards, slots are gambling. And the only thing what about i could argue is roulette, even if it is a table game.....

And the 'fun' part not worth to comment...... just laughing on the idiocracy - cannot be more polite......

Sweet dreams!
 
recerveau

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I write a lot on various forums about how to deal with depression, but I myself cannot overcome it. ;)

I play in three poker rooms : pokerstars , partypoker, 888 and for the last two weeks of the session more likely negative than vice versa.

The strangest thing is that I play very carefully but bad beats cannot be avoided.

In almost every tournament I get to ITM and something happens.

Am I winding myself up and soon everything will pay off or does something need to be changed? ...

Give advice;)
The first thing is to control resources. Don't risk what will impact your well-being.
With regard to the game, several things may be happening. I think a self analysis is the best thing to do.
We control some things and not others. Analyze the ones you control and find the misunderstandings.
 
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correlation

If your poker playing and depression is correlated, that's not very good odds. Statistically, poker is designed for you to lose, especially if you have multiple opponent, that's just the nature of large tourneys.
Your poker playing, it sounds like you've been on a downturn, happens to all players.
Just make sure you get over any depression before you do anything, for your own sake.
Please take depression seriously, and take any and all measures; you're more important than any game.
 
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