maintaining confidence level?

[squallA964]

I need help with some frustrations Ive been dealing with, and figured some of the experts here might be able to help. I guess I could have posted this at the "psychology" section, but here goes.....I usually play 10 and 20 tourneys and 20 +2 SNGs at pokerroom. Overall, I've done pretty well and made a pretty good profit so far. I've been pretty consistent at finishign in the money in both the multis and SNGs. But for the last two weeks, it feels like I'm just getting CRUSHED by miracle cards. Wait--not "feels like", more like "most certainly and absolutley" getting crushed. I've been getting my money into the pot with the best hand, and getting destroyed by people getting flat out lucky, with no hand to speak of, and no draw, but they catch their 3 outter on the river. Perfect example from earlier today, I hold QQ in middle position, and make a strong pre-flop bet, BB calls. Flop comes rags. BB checks, I go All-in, and he calls with K9os. No pair, no flush draw, no straight draw, nothing. He catches a K on the river.

I'm not trying to make this bad beat rant 10940538, because I understand it's gambling and these things happen, and if I don't want to lose I shouldnt play. So I'm not pissing and moaning about "oh, how dare they make such a terrible play and win the pot". I know I WANT these people to call, as in the long run I make more money when they make -EV plays. It's just getting extremely frustrating. I've been getting my money in with the best hand 90% of the time, and people are sucking out on me at least 75% of the time. Personally, I would have absolutely no problem, and completely understand, if they had great drawing hands, and I'd say "well, they gambled on their draw and it paid off". It's just not the case. I'd say "well, it's just their lucky day, and the percentages will even out." But it's just not the case.

My hand selection has been good, I don't play junk, I don't give people free cards when I have the best hand, etc. I know "luck" goes in cycles, but this is ridicilous. When I was doing well, I admit that I sucked out sometimes, but not NEARLY as much as people have been against me recently.

So, to end this thing....what do you guys do to keep from going insane, and keep making the correct plays, even when your luck is horrible? I love playing, and I'll keep making the correct play, but it's almost getting to the point where I want to fold when I get dealt a high pocket pair, cause it feels like the game is trying to set me up to take a horrendous beating.

[Dov]

play within your bankroll

[Blarg]

And take a few days off.

[squallA964]

I play within my bankroll, that's not a problem. Although of course I don't like to lose money (who does?), that really has very little to do with any of my frustrations.

Thanks for the reply though.

[pokypot]

Yoy should always play with confidence. Most of the game is playing with atittude. You need to think that you are going to win the hand. Throw in some trash talk here and there. you need to get inside your opponets head. Even if you are the short stack of the table you have to feel like you are going to make a come back

[bernie]

Easiest thing to do? Take a break for a day to a week and do something else. Anything else. It really clears up the mind and you can come back fresh. You will feel refreshed doing this.

Bad streaks and beats can take their toll mentally. It's a friggin tough mental game in the long haul. The fact you can recognize the signs is a good thing. Knowing how to adjust and not give in to it when it is/or possibly is affecting your game is another good thing.

b

[lacky]

definately take a couple days as they said. Also, I can tell from your post that your new at this. These bad spells happen and there's not much you can do but take time off when frustrated, moniter your game carefully to make sure your still playing well and ride it out. The only nice thing is they get easier to deal with after you've gone through it a few times. It's never easy though. Just when I think I'm immune to it I move up in levels and it seems to wreck my whole week again. At 15/30 the bad times are $4000 to $5000 or worse. Even with a proper bankroll it still kills me, but again, its getting better the more cycles I go through. You just have to KNOW it will all even out. That comes from going through it enough times.

Steve

[Siingo]

When you win with great hands and when you draw someone out at the river, save the handhistory. So when you get bad days then you can watch you old nice handhistories and think that in the long run you will get hands like that again! /images/graemlins/cool.gif

Have fun!

[Blarg]

That's funny! I never thought of noting down the times I sucked out so I can replay them and cheer myself up.

What a good idea. An assinine laugh sounds like just the ticket when you're feeling like the luck always goes the other guy's way. I'm going to keep this in mind. It sounds like some fun medicine indeed.

[squallA964]

Thanks for the replies everyone, I appreciate it. I guess a few days or a week off is what I need....but I guess I'll have to tape WPT or WSOP lol. If I watch them, I know I'll want to play.

[pokypot]

Yoy should always play with confidence. Most of the game is playing with atittude. You need to think that you are going to win the hand. Throw in some trash talk here and there. you need to get inside your opponets head. Even if you are the short stack of the table you have to feel like you are going to make a come back

[RydenStoompala]

Take a little break. Put a little more emphasis on position and less on "perfect" hands. If you're strong on the flop, come out betting. Play better on the turn; you're missing something. Do what Sklansky and a lot of pros do and pause on the river to consider what mind-boggling suck-out play your opponent could possibly have pulled, and bet accordingly. If you're within your bankroll then playing well wont bother you.

[Nick_Foxx]

my recommendation is to take about $200, go to your nearest casino and blow it all at the lowest limit table playing completely on tilt the entire time... once you get that out of your system, you'll be good to go

btw this entails seeing every single flop no matter your position or how many bets it is to you... and call any flop bet if you can catch runner-runner... you will administer some heinous beats on ABC players

mike

[squallA964]

Thanks for the replies. Lots of helpful stuff. Also, I was thinking about some of my play lately, and although I think Im still playing well, I've been on the short or medium stack alot recently, so any suckouts have been magnified because they're knocking me out. Cards havent been incredible recently (they haven't been bad, not blaming it on that), and I'm certain that I could have made different plays as well at times to keep from being short stacked. It's disappointing when I'm the big stack and get sucked out of course, but at least I'm still alive. Getting constantly knocked out has likely made me more frustrated than I would be normally.