Help! need some motivation...

[tlow]

hey guys,

I know there have probably been 100 posts like this already but I will throw it up anyway...So I can honestly say I've been playing the best poker of my life. Before my negative run I was averaging 3.07bb/100 hands. The last 4000 or so hands its been at -2.3bb/100 hands. Because of this my bankroll has obviously dwindled down next to nothing. Checking some stats, I've been killed on runner-runner straights and flushes. My 3 of a kinds, when I have pocket pairs have only been winning 65% of the time. I lost a 2 huge full houses to straight flushes. Anyways, this sucks...i cashed out a little while ago so now i am playing with next to nothing and have to wait for my next paycheck to get a good roll going. I have been mostly been playing 5/10 but sometimes 10/20. This probably sounds more like a gripe so sorry...but I am getting [censored] sick and tired of losing great hands to fuckers chasing. I know in the long run i will win, but is this the norm? Possibly go a month or two without winning?

[Nightwish]

You are down 92 BB and your bankroll has "dwindled down next to nothing"? Sounds like you're playing way higher than your bankroll allows.

Take a week off, then move down in limits and start rebuilding your bankroll.

[Mons]

It sounds like an unfortunate down swing but it isn't unheard of. If you truly are a winning player you'll bounce back eventually.

[dogmeat]

I'm sorry you had to "throw it up anyway", but that is probably how you feel after getting some good hands beat. That is poker.

That said, the idea of a 300 big bet (minimum) bankroll, as is so often stated, is for a winning (100,000 hands) player, who is not moving up to a new limit. That is the minimum amount that will allow you to keep playing at the same limit and only have one chance in 20 of busting out.

3.07 BB per 100, or 1.8 BB per hour is a very respectable win rate for $5/$10. Good for you. You will probably be a long term winnier. I hope you are not going too far into the $10/20 games with a small bankroll. For online play I would suggest at least 500BB and that would be $10,000 for the $10/$20 game, and IF you are already an established winner at that limit. If you can't handle losing "great hands to fuckers chasing", you will not.

Dogmeat /images/graemlins/spade.gif

[Blarg]

I hear that, at least at Party, 10/20 is one of the hardest levels, harder than many higher ones. If that's so, you can probably expect to have a much harder time there than you do at other levels you've experienced, and of course need a much bigger bankroll and have many more losing streaks.

Losing 100 BB is very normal. Poker's a rough game! That's one reason why being very well capitalized for your level can be so helpful. It takes so much strain off and adds so much confidence in. Anybody who finds their play or their mood affected very often at all by whether they're winning or losing should be especially careful to have a good bankroll, more than they need even.

Even 300 BB bankrolls can vanish sometimes. That gives you only a 5% chance of losing it all, supposedly, if you're a consistent winner at a level of 1 BB per hour. You have a much smaller chance than that of knocking over the soda next to your keyboard. But don't tell me you've never done it. Or that you've never seen anyone else do it. Or that you don't expect to do it again sometime, and see someone else do it again sometime.

It happens. Get ready. And get over it.

[tlow]

Thanks for some of the replys guys...I have been playing solely at party. And was averaging the 3bb/100 for 12,000 hands. I know i need more, but I feel like I am playing very well. I guess I go up to 10/20 just for kicks to see how I can do, which is probably the wrong move. Although I like playing 10/20 because i feel like the play is more stable. But once again, only have a couple thousand hands. Anyways, I have heard of 300bb swings I guess I got a little cocky, cashed out most of my money, and now I have to throw some of it back in. Another question...so if I want to keep playing 5/10 should I dump $3000 or $5000 into my account? What happens if this negative run continues? Just try to ride it out?

[dogmeat]

You don't need to "dump" the money into your Party account. Just have it available. If you beat the game for 3BB/100 for 12K hands, you may be a good player, or you may have been playing over your head. If the streak of losses continues I would not try to "ride it out", I would drop to $3/$6 for 5,000 hands and see how you do there. If you are as good as you hope, the $3/$6 game will provide at least $12 per hour. If you multi-table, obviously you can make more. I would love to play four tables at once, but I find that I can do well at two, not so well at three - no need to play four. Good Luck.

Dogmeat /images/graemlins/spade.gif

[Blarg]

What Dogmeat said.

Try it for a while and if you either don't do well or don't feel well about your game whether it's going good or not, drop down a level and build some confidence and bankroll. The game will essentially always be there, so no hurry. Put enough money in to not worry about a few losing sessions in a row. Concentrate on playing well and staying positive more than winning, and stay alert.