Downswings in NL

[DBowling]

I have about 25,000 hands logged at party 50$buy in. So far, things have been going very well, until friday. Between then and now ive had about a 15 buy in downswing (5,500 hands). This has kinda stunned me. My previous worst downswing was about 7 buy ins.
Looking back on my hand histories during this time period i recognize some uncharacteristic loose calling by me (which may have been overconfidence at first and then frustration after the lossing started). I also see a lot of suckouts. I just wonder if im not quite the winning player i thought i was, or if these type of swings occur in NL.

[ScottTheFish]

15 buyins is a pretty big downswing, I'd say not impossible if you were playing fairly solid, but unlikely. Probably a combination of a bad run of cards and some iffy play.

What I usually do if I find myself in a downswing is tighten up, and cut way down on buying pots and making "moves". Once my confidence is back up, i slowly get back into my normal game.

[Justin A]

[ QUOTE ]
I have about 25,000 hands logged at party 50$buy in. So far, things have been going very well, until friday. Between then and now ive had about a 15 buy in downswing (5,500 hands). This has kinda stunned me. My previous worst downswing was about 7 buy ins.
Looking back on my hand histories during this time period i recognize some uncharacteristic loose calling by me (which may have been overconfidence at first and then frustration after the lossing started). I also see a lot of suckouts. I just wonder if im not quite the winning player i thought i was, or if these type of swings occur in NL.

[/ QUOTE ]

A fifteen buy-in downswing really seems like a lot to me. The most I've had has been about 8, and I've had a few in the 6 or 7 range. Usually when I look back at these swings, I find that some is bad luck, but a lot of it is that I'm not playing well.

Usually the decisions I'm making that are wrong are very subtle, so it's very hard to figure out that I'm playing badly. Basically I'll be going too far with hands after the flop that I need to dump.

Next time you play you really need to focus on playing solid poker. Don't do other things while you're playing for a session or two so you can get your game back on track. I highly doubt you're a losing player, but remember that just knowing how to play good doesn't make you win. You have to actually play good poker. That's important.

Justin A

[FourKing Hell]

Given that I just dropped a little over 2000 bucks the last few days playing 1/2 (200 buy in, but still), that kinda sucks.. well it's good to know it shouldn't happen very often, but I might just not be good enough.. shiver

Either way, maybe it makes the original poster feel somewhat better /images/graemlins/wink.gif

[TheGrifter]

[ QUOTE ]
Given that I just dropped a little over 2000 bucks the last few days playing 1/2 (200 buy in, but still), that kinda sucks.. well it's good to know it shouldn't happen very often, but I might just not be good enough.. shiver

Either way, maybe it makes the original poster feel somewhat better /images/graemlins/wink.gif

[/ QUOTE ]

Whenever I have a downswing like that I like to review my hand histories to see just what went wrong. Perhaps you should do so and post any hands that you have questions about on the forum.

[DBowling]

Thanks guys. Seems like the funk is over. Ive been having some problems with my computer thats been bothering me. Also some life crap. But alls well now, and my poker has turned around. Up 6 buy ins in the last 700 hands. /images/graemlins/laugh.gif

[Skjonne]

Good that you're back on track.

Just wanted to add that due to the large blinds compared to the max buy-in at Party, the volatility in terms of buy-ins has to be greater. You simply get pot commited more often. Say you raise 5BB and get the usual four callers. Bet the pot on the flop and get two callers. Now the pot is well over $40 with two more cards to come and less than $40 in your stack (assuming stacks were $50 at the start of the hand). I guess this would make quite a difference

[GimmeDaWatch]

Ya, the swings are definitely bigger playing Party and moreso playing 6-Max, with the bigger blinds and more aggressive play that tempts you to call big bets with hands you wouldnt dream of in a tight, passive game. Ummmm, guess you just gotta take it 100K hands at a time.