Multi-tabling loosing streak

[WannaGoPro]

Just curious: for those of you who multi table what is your worst loosing streak. My current record is a loss of 360 BB over a month period playing 4 tables at a time at Party.

What's yours?

[GuyOnTilt]

Before this month, my worst streak was 200 BB's over 2 weeks playing full-handed. Now it's 290 BB's over 5 days playing mostly SH (3-5 handed).

GoT

[Tosh]

My worst that I can think of is approx. 200BB over about 7k hands, full handed.

[Ponks]

Currently on a 240 BB losing streak over 2 days, maybe 6-7 hours worth of play.

8 tables, full ring limit play

Ponks

[dogmeat]

I've gone 200BB a few times at micros, and small limit I've had a 10-day period where I was down 165 BB at $2/4. It happens, keep our head on straight. The good streak always follows /images/graemlins/smile.gif

Dogmeat /images/graemlins/spade.gif

[1800GAMBLER]

400bb in 15/30. In the same week i also was down in $2k nl. I think i lost about $20k that week.

[KingSix]

I three table 3/6 or 4 table 2/4 and I'm down $1350 over the last 6 days, most of it at 2/4. 338/BB at 2/4 and 225/BB at 3/6.

It is the good stuff too...flopping the nut flush and losing etc..

/images/graemlins/smile.gif

King

[cnfuzzd]

Wow. This thread now gets bookmarked just so i can read it when i feel bad that my winrate is "down" to .5bb/100 hands over around 9000 hands. Also, for whenever i run into what sounds like is going to be a fun time in my life.

peace

john nickle

i cant wait to lose 20k in a week. Thats awesome.

[barrett]

[ QUOTE ]

i cant wait to lose 20k in a week. Thats awesome.

[/ QUOTE ]

It builds character. /images/graemlins/crazy.gif

[Losing all]

I've got character coming out of my ass, I don't need 20K more of it.

btw- that is awesome to lose 20k in a week. You've got to be a real man to shrug that one off.

[arkady]

thats why his name is 1-800-GAMBLER.
real men with real problems.

[davidross]

In terms of BB's my worst is 220 BB's at 5/10 6 max. I've had 5 or 6 200 BB losses in 16 months.

In terms of dollars it's $5,100 at 15/30 (170 BB's)

and in terms of time, it's 4 weeks of losing poker (down around $500 for the 4 weeks).

[1800GAMBLER]

Ha. yea. Prefontaine/Spirit rock is currently 9-0 down in $5k tournaments at the moment. So that's $45k in one sitting.

[KingSix]

[ QUOTE ]
I three table 3/6 or 4 table 2/4 and I'm down $1350 over the last 6 days, most of it at 2/4. 338/BB at 2/4 and 225/BB at 3/6.

[/ QUOTE ]

My bloodbath continues. Another -42/BB today at Party.

Only another -3066BB at 3/6 to catch 1-800

/images/graemlins/grin.gif

King

[KingSix]

I do have to say that as bad as party can be, it can bring a smile to my face every now and again.

Party Poker 3/6 Hold'em (9 handed) converter (http://www.selachian.com/tools/bisonconverter/hhconverter.cgi)

Preflop: Hero is BB with K/images/graemlins/spade.gif, J/images/graemlins/spade.gif.
UTG folds, UTG+1 folds, MP1 calls, MP2 folds, MP3 folds, CO calls, <font color="CC3333">Button raises</font>, SB folds, Hero calls, MP1 calls, CO calls.

Flop: (8.33 SB) 3/images/graemlins/spade.gif, 6/images/graemlins/spade.gif, 2/images/graemlins/spade.gif <font color="blue">(4 players)</font>
Hero checks, MP1 checks, CO checks, <font color="CC3333">Button bets</font>, Hero calls, MP1 folds, CO folds.

Turn: (5.16 BB) 7/images/graemlins/heart.gif <font color="blue">(2 players)</font>
Hero checks, <font color="CC3333">Button bets</font>, <font color="CC3333">Hero raises</font>, Button calls.

River: (9.16 BB) 4/images/graemlins/club.gif <font color="blue">(2 players)</font>
<font color="CC3333">Hero bets</font>, <font color="CC3333">Button raises</font>, <font color="CC3333">Hero 3-bets</font>, Button calls.

Final Pot: 15.16 BB

Results in white below: <font color="white">
Hero shows Ks Js (flush, king high).
Button shows 5c 6c (straight, seven high).
Outcome: Hero wins 15.16 BB. </font>

King

[Blarg]

I three-table and was ahead something like 6.67 BB/hr at $1/2 at about 15k hands, and a few thousand hands later I was actually in the negative. /images/graemlins/tongue.gif Last week I shot down 130 BB in a single evening.

Now I'm back in the black at .94 BB/hr, but it's been brutally slow. It's taken me another 5,500 hands of on-again, off-again nightmares, and the whole process has been pretty trying. Amazing how just a day or two of bad luck, bad play, bad karma or whatever can take your stats and pretty much throw them right out the window.

Scary when you start to wonder if it's not just a few bad days that were the fluke, but all the rest of them.

I've definitely had worse streaks in live casinos though. The action I've seen online is usually pretty tame compared to live action, where people come to party and drink and shout, and crazy things happen to everyone's money.

[Blarg]

Wow, David, being down for four weeks but only down $500 is almost like winning! /images/graemlins/cool.gif

[TimM]

[ QUOTE ]
i cant wait to lose 20k in a week. Thats awesome.

[/ QUOTE ]

I've done it, but not in poker...

http://chart.yahoo.com/c/5y/_/_ixic.gif

[Billman]

[ QUOTE ]
I've got character coming out of my ass, I don't need 20K more of it.

btw- that is awesome to lose 20k in a week. You've got to be a real man to shrug that one off.

[/ QUOTE ]

You should have worked in the dotcom biz. I've seen people's net worth swing more than that before lunch :-) The guy I used to work for lost $750 million.

[Jimbobobb]

Negative 152 BB in a day (about 5 hours of play).

[lefty rosen]

Hey does anybody two table anymore? Or is that too Joe Dirtish......

[Joe826]

I usually two table 5/10 6-max. Once I'm more comfortable with it i'll probably add a 3rd though. FWIW, I'm just recovering from my biggest slide, which was about 280 BB in 10 days or so.

[TrickyTree]

[ QUOTE ]
Hey does anybody two table anymore? Or is that too Joe Dirtish......

[/ QUOTE ]


Yes. I two table. Its as much as my brain can cope with to be honest. Plus i can watch TV at the same time without missing much.

[Mark H]

Wow thanks. I just started 3 tabling. I just cant wait for that 1st 300 bb loss
Mark H

[mplspoker]

If you found a way to lose over 300+BB in 2/4 on party..... you might have bigger problems than just "bad beats" FYI... The 2/4 is very soft on party...

[Equal]

I lost just over 200BB at $15/$30 in late-May-early June. Did not enjoy it at all, since I had just quit my job for poker.

I have recovered though - +700bb in the last five and a half weeks!!! Woooooooooooooo!

[BigBaitsim (milo)]

I must really suck. My biggest losing streak has been about 140BB over two weeks at 3/6 (a feat I've managed twice).

-milo

[Blarg]

True, but it is an extremely volatile limit there.

[Joe826]

[ QUOTE ]
True, but it is an extremely volatile limit there.

[/ QUOTE ]

heheh

[Boopotts]

After about 450,000 hands (this dates back to 1998) my worst losing streak is 167 BB's, which happened this last Jan-Feb. My biggest slump also happened in that time (about six or seven weeks, ranging over 45,000 hands and stretching from sometime around Christmas to sometime just before Valentines day) after which I was about 900 BB's below expectation.

Before that run I never really knew how bad it could get-- and now that I know, I'm forever humbled.

Also, I've been reading some of the responses and personally I don't think these 200+ BB downswings are normal. Yeah, it's possible that I've just had a relatively swing-free 450,000 hands, since I've also never booked a massive winner in that time (by massive I mean a 75+ BB session). But when you're dumping 200+ BB's I think it's better not to just chalk it up to the evil doings of the bitch goddess of variance, and instead start taking a close look at your play.

[BigBaitsim (milo)]

For the most part, I agree with you, but having looked at a graph randomly generated based on my mean and SD, it is possible to drop 200+BB by chance alone. That having been said, most of my downswings have been a combination of random chance and poor play. Anytime I'm down 75BB or more, I assume it's me and start looking for holes. Sometimes I find 'em and sometimes it is just random chance.

[boring chris]

right now I'm in the midst of a 167BB downswing on party poker (this is my worst downswing ever). i've been 4 tabling at 3/6. It has been a huge hit to my BR, so im gonna take a break for a few days and move down to 2/4 again till I regain my footing. is this the best way to deal with a huge downswing?? can anyone offer other advice?

-chris

[BigBaitsim (milo)]

If your BR will no longer support 3/6, then yes, you should move down. If not, stay at 3/6, but either way you need to look at your play and try to find holes/leaks. It may just be random variance, but you may also be losing because of bad play. Are you playing scared? Are you trying to win it back and chasing?

The Psychology forum has lots of info on dealing with downswings.

[boring chris]

A lot of it has been random variance, but I am sure that has resulted in my play becoming slightly worse. Yes, I am playing scared. And in some instances, I am trying to "win it back." I have noticed these flaws and that's why I'm going to take a break.

What is a good BR to support 3/6?

[BigBaitsim (milo)]

[ QUOTE ]
A lot of it has been random variance, but I am sure that has resulted in my play becoming slightly worse. Yes, I am playing scared. And in some instances, I am trying to "win it back." I have noticed these flaws and that's why I'm going to take a break.

What is a good BR to support 3/6?

[/ QUOTE ]

If you are playing often or multitabling, conventional wisdom is that you need 300 BB in your BR, whatever the limit. It is my understanding that pros often keep BRs of more like 500 BB.

Most importantly, you say you are both "playing scared" and "trying to win it back." If this is the case, no BR is sufficient and you need to stop immediately, or drop to a level at which you feel comfortable. I got creamed at the 3/6 and took two weeks off. I've since returned, but play the 2/4 and in a much more healthy manner.

Post in the Psychology forum.

[boring chris]

cool, thanks for the advice. that's exactly what I was thinking, actually. I started off with a bang at 3/6. my first 15 hours or so were phenomenal (up about 150 BB), and then I had a terrible 5 hour run, and I'm down 50 BB from where I started. I'm going to go back down to 2/4 for a while, and play tight and smart. Thanks again.

-chris

[wayabvpar]

Review your play. I recently came out of a two month funk where I lost almost every session I played. At first, I wrote it off as a run of bad cards, but it continued. I started playing less often, and was at a loss as to what to do.

Then I got SSHE. After reading the first 50 pages or so, I played again. And starting beating games again. It wasn't so much that SSHE changed my life (it is a great book, but not the focus of my post)- it was just that I had slipped into some bad habits, and a refresher course got me thinking again.

Take a night or two and reread your favorite poker book. Think about how you are playing each hand. If you multi-table, cut back to one table and really pay attention to the decisions you are making. It doesn't take long for a couple of bad habits (ie leaks) to steal any advantage you may have an turn you into a break even or losing player.

[stealthcow]

[ QUOTE ]
cool, thanks for the advice. that's exactly what I was thinking, actually. I started off with a bang at 3/6. my first 15 hours or so were phenomenal (up about 150 BB), and then I had a terrible 5 hour run, and I'm down 50 BB from where I started. I'm going to go back down to 2/4 for a while, and play tight and smart. Thanks again.

-chris

[/ QUOTE ]

This is going to be a total newbie question but what does BB stand for?

[BigBaitsim (milo)]

[ QUOTE ]


This is going to be a total newbie question but what does BB stand for?

[/ QUOTE ]

Welcome to the boards. Check out the Beginners Forum for these answers (and boatloads of others).

BB = Big Bet (the bets on the turn and river) or Big Blind, depending on context. In this context, it means Big Bet.

[Boopotts]

"It doesn't take long for a couple of bad habits (ie leaks) to steal any advantage you may have an turn you into a break even or losing player."

I'm not sure I agree with this. Of course, it depends on what the leaks are, but as long as the leak isn't pre-flop it can--and usually does-- take a long, long time for the leak to manifest itself. I've known players who have holes in their post-flop game that have been beating the game for years. They'll eventually come back to Earth, but it could take a while.

The reason most people on these boards suffer through these dramatic downswings is because they overplay their hands. Or at least that's my position. If you insist on three betting early position raisers with pocket 8's, or AJo, I think you can expect to take it in the shorts to the tune of 300-400 BB's every now and then. In the end, limit hold 'em is basically about showing your opponents' the best hand at the showdown. All the rest of it-- the tricky pre-flop manuevers, the semil bluff check raises on the turn, etc.-- ends up wildly increasing your variance while perhaps adding a marginal increase to your profits.

[wayabvpar]

[ QUOTE ]
"It doesn't take long for a couple of bad habits (ie leaks) to steal any advantage you may have an turn you into a break even or losing player."

I'm not sure I agree with this. Of course, it depends on what the leaks are, but as long as the leak isn't pre-flop it can--and usually does-- take a long, long time for the leak to manifest itself. I've known players who have holes in their post-flop game that have been beating the game for years. They'll eventually come back to Earth, but it could take a while.

The reason most people on these boards suffer through these dramatic downswings is because they overplay their hands. Or at least that's my position. If you insist on three betting early position raisers with pocket 8's, or AJo, I think you can expect to take it in the shorts to the tune of 300-400 BB's every now and then. In the end, limit hold 'em is basically about showing your opponents' the best hand at the showdown. All the rest of it-- the tricky pre-flop manuevers, the semil bluff check raises on the turn, etc.-- ends up wildly increasing your variance while perhaps adding a marginal increase to your profits.

[/ QUOTE ]

As you said, it depends on what the leaks are. As a developing player (only playing 'seriously' for about a little over a year now), my game is far from perfect. When I play my best game, I can beat the limits I play fairly easily. However, when I start overplaying hands (a leak), loosening up preflop (huge leak), or playing weak tight after some bad beats, my perceived advantage over the average player is gone, and I am down to the whim of the cards, over even worse- being outplayed.

In the long run, all but the best and brightest don't have a huge advantage over the norm. Any leak that consistently costs me money erodes my expected rate. If I develop more bad habits, it gets even worse. Toss in a bad run of cards, and you have disaster.