Running bad

I have been having a bad few months on Hold Em. It seems that I always start out down. I might go for hours without a playing hand. Yesterday I played for 14 hours at 10/20. I had pocket AA beat twice, kk raise and flop an Ace, had QQ,KK, JJ,10/10 and AK,AKs,AQs,AJs etc. Lost on every hand. Went down $1300 and fought back to losing $700. It seem like it's almost impossible to loose on almost every preimun hand. In 14 hours I would get AK raise and never help the flop. I have dropped down in stakes, and I will get two wins in a week and the third session will wipe out all the past wins. I average play of three times per week. The past few months are getting me to hate hold em. It used to be my favorite game. I now get AK suited and don"t feel like raising. The flop is usually not even close. In three plays I had about six pocket KK, and each flop produced an Ace. It seem like KK is nothing but a magnet to and ACE. What is a fair time period that is considered rnning bad? Any input is most welcome. I study and stay in control. Yesterday, I did think my deck contained twenty duecs. it has gone for hours and hours of K2.T2,Q2.10/2. It seems like our deck contains twenty twos.

Laddie,


Thats fluctuation and standard deviation hard at work. Don't alter your play because of some of the beats you have been dealt.


Hang in there and play your best. Imagine how much you would lose if you didn't play your best poker.


I think every player goes through a similiar phase in their careers. Roll with the punches and know in the long run, a solid player will win more than the loose lucky players.


Good luck and I hope things turn around for you.

Best Wishes


MK

"What is a fair time period that is considered rnning bad? "


Poker is played one hand at a time. Remember that and "running bad" will become the myth that it is.


Vince

I feel your pain, I myself have been going through a cold streak lately. I'm better off than you because I haven't really gotten any starters, whereas it sounds like you have come in second best quite a bit. Given a choice I'd take the former, obviously.


Here's some advice. First, the ol' "analyze your play" thing. There's no time to do it like when you are on a cold streak, and you might find some leaks to plug. I would also advise taking a break from the game. Theoretically, when you don't play when you're a favorite you're only costing yourself money, but you have to ask yourself if you even ARE a favorite now if you don't feel like raising with AK suited. As Andy Fox said to me, wait until it's FUN to pick up pocket aces again- if you're playing and you dread picking those bad boys up because you can already feel the next suckout coming, you shouldn't be playing. Sit out for a bit, the game will always be there when you come back.


Lastly, on a personal note I could never tolerate a loss of 1300$ in one session of 10/20. I know you came back to 700$ down but at one point you were stuck 1300$. It's not so much a function of your play being hurt (it might be, though), but I know the players in my game are more apt to take shots at people who are stuck- the last thing you want is people semibluffing into you like crazy when you can't seem to make a hand- it makes it that much more of a pain in the ass. For me, this is a good reason to set a "stop loss" so to speak. In effect the game has gotten worse with lots of aggressive play and semi bluffs, all directed to you!


Hope things turn around for you soon.


Leon

"What is a fair time period that is considered running bad?"


14 years.

Hi laddie- I don't know what a "fair time period" for running bad is, but I believe David has stated that at some point after 100 bbs, one might begin a 300 bb losing streak. I believe the concepts of regression toward the mean and statistical variance are used to explain this further. Perhaps those well versed in math can elaborate here.


Take care and Better luck. Babe

Most of us who have played this game for any amount of time "have been there". I think my experience is similar to a number of players. I started out playing holdem at 2-4, read a few books, moved up to 3-6 and 4-8 for awhile and did pretty well. Only in retrospect did I realize that I was "running good". So, I overvalued my ability, didn't correct mistakes, and moved up to 10-20 (realize this was 20 years ago - so that was a pretty big game). If I had not been "running good" early on I probably would have given up the game, ironically.


Then, first time I play 10-20 I crush the game winning $1200 in about 5 hours - now I really thought I was hot stuff. Eventually, I came down to earth.


What I've found is that the streaks of running bad help me improve my play. When you hit a flop only every four hours and are constantly in marginal or trailing positions, those one or two bets really make a difference. When I've had a string of losing sessions, I will review marginal or just plain bad plays and recognize that if I'd played just a little better I would have at least broken even. Somehow when the cards are running over you that one bet saved or one extra bet missed don't seem so important.


So, take the opportunity to re-analyze your every play. Instead of lamenting your bad luck, focus on the need to play your absolute best to minimize the damage. Finally, be secure in the knowledge that if you are truly playing winning poker then things will eventually turn around - simultaneously, honestly evaluate wheter or not you are truly playing winning poker.


Claude