"take a break" Over rated????

[stupidsucker]

The most common answer for how do you shake things when your running bad is "Take a break"

Lets define this a little more.

What does it mean? How long a break, what kind of "bad streak" do you need to feel a break is the answer?

January sucked for me, but I played through it. When things got tough I really didnt have the time for a break. I took small ones, but for the most part I just kept griding and griding. Had I taken breaks every time I felt I needed one then I would have cost myself a few hundred bucks for sure.

Taking a break does work, BUT can we over do the break? Is a break really + EV?

I think a lot of that depends on you as a player, and I think its important to think about the break before taking it. Are you trying to reach a certain $$ goal? Do you have any sort of time regulations? bankroll limitations? If you take this break "now" will you really play better "later"?

Feb 2nd I began my month and sat down at 4 tables. After 16 played I was down 10 buy ins from losing my last 8. I took a break. My break extended through the next day and here it is friday the 4th, and I am still 16 games in(thats 48 less then my where I should be for the date) I am STILL down 10 buy ins.

What did the break give me? It let me relax more, I read 2+2 and laughed some. Did it help my roi? No. Did it help my my bankroll? No. Did it help my over all peace of mind? No, because really I am in the same spot as before. Nothing has changed. Oh wait, things have changed... they got worse. Now I have less time on top of the already bad luck.STRESS... break time.

Breaks can get you in the wrong mind set IF you abuse them. This realy doesnt pretain much to those that play for hobby only, but it can if the money you win is still something you hold of value(say poker money is what will fund vacation this year) Its easy for a break to lose every bit of functionality if you come back from a break and drop 4 more in a row. 4 in a row is NOTHING!!! N O T H I N G!!! But it stings knowing you just took a break putting yourself behind time wise, and now your still losing.

I am the king of break abuse. Someone said in a recent post that SnGs are "the kindergarten of poker".. Well Breaks are along the same lines. If you can achieve an eternal mindset knowing the stats and your own ablilities, then breaks have a more negative outcome then just playing through it.

Am I saying dont take breaks? NO NO NO... take breaks.. please take breaks. BUT remember its just a break. The only thing that will improve your roi is when you play again. the faster the break is over the better for your game. I dont question the need for the mental break at all....I only question our(ok my) lazy motive for when we extend it more then we should.

I welcome arguements. I dont expect to be agreed with on all fronts. I may even change my argument in the near future.

[nuclear500]

I take short break stints when I end up becoming more quickly flustered when I'm outdrawn on a 10% chance type of thing. If a bad players bad play gets to me more then normal, the rest of my play will suffer because I'll end up making a mistake and overplaying AJo or something.

[spentrent]

The cards don't care what your goals are.

Your emotions affect your decision-making abilities; for those with faith in the longview it may only occur on a subconscious level, but it still happens.

Maybe your confidence in your reads rises or falls with monetary success... maybe your discipline in the blinds wavers after a run of bad luck... maybe you fall into the trap of feeling "due" and you play marginal coin-flips unnecessarily... maybe you're just tired.

It could be any number of more subtle things for any particular player. It's foolish to consider yourself immune to such leaks.

If a break leaves you feeling refreshed and positive after an extended period of feeling negative and ultimately resigned, it's not only +EV, it's infinite EV, since you should always, and only, play in that state of mind.

[shoeman]

Since I have a 9-5 job and a pregnant wife, finding a good chunk of time to play is difficult. So, if I'm playing on a Friday night and quickly go down 5-6 buy-ins, I find it nearly impossible to justify a break. I look at it this way....I know I can beat this game, I have in the past, fire up a few more games and make this money back. I may even move up a level.(not good)

If I take a break 1) I may not get a good chunk of time to play for another day or two and 2) when I do play again, I'll still know that I'm down 5-6 buy-ins and still be pissed about it.

I guess my point is this, a break is only useful if your game has changed for the worse due to your current bad streak. Otherwise, it's just wasted time do other such activities as sleep, watch TV, etc. Of course, if you are knowingly playing a different game due to a bad streak, a break is necessary. I suppose how long of a break depends on how long it takes you calm down. I usually know I need a break when the dog runs upstairs to hide. Maybe I'll take 1 hour off for each item I throw across the room or a full day if I break something. At this point in my poker life, I really can't see how taking more than a day or two is useful. I'm sure plenty will disagree?? Anybody?

Actually, I find it easier to quite playing after going on a good run. Now that I think about it, this is probably the opposite of what I should be doing. Why would I quite when I'm on a good streak?

Not to hijack this thread but I have a question... Is there anybody else out there who would sooner quit playing when they were on a good streak rather than take a break when on a bad streak? I really don't think this makes sense.

[snowmen]

For me the perfect break is when you are able to forget the game and do other things for a while.When i get confidence again , i come back to kick the game.Good luck

[spentrent]

I don't think about taking a break after losing 5 or 6 buy-ins. That kind of streak happens on a daily basis and is never any cause for alarm. However, if I fall OOTM 25 or so out of 30 times, then I'll consider finding something else to do for a little while just to get my head back on straight. Feeling pressure to "get back to even" for this one little session does nothing positive for me.

As for taking a break after a hot streak, I'm right there with ya. It feels good to break for the afternoon, or even the whole day with a nice profit in the account. It's not like you ruin your mojo if you quit while you're hot.

The cards don't care who's playing them or how their balance has changed recently.

[revots33]

[ QUOTE ]
If you take this break "now" will you really play better "later"?

[/ QUOTE ]

My feeling is, "whatever works". Depends on your personality. When I'm running bad I find it useful to take a break (maybe 4-7 days) and focus on other things. When I come back my mind is clearer, I'm recharged and ready to go. Then again this is just my hobby, not my livelihood. Maybe taking a break would be harder if poker was my job.

I'm sure many of the pros might think the idea of taking a break is dumb - if you can beat the game next week, you should be able to beat it today. But nonetheless, I think it's helpful from a psychological point of view, when running bad, to step back for a little while.

If you find that playing through a downswing works for you, then that's fine. But for some people I think a break can help avoid stress and frustration when things are running bad. Frustration often leads to tilt which leads to even more losses.

[rickofcampbell]

[ QUOTE ]
My feeling is, "whatever works".

[/ QUOTE ]

Great advice. There is no right answer for everyone.

Some people can be successful playing like Gus Hanson and most more conservative like Dan Harrington.

If you can continue to play well through a bad streak then you should play through it.

If you start playing poorly when things turn bad, then you need to stop. It could be for the night or for a couple of days.

There are other factors besides money. The game should be fun. If it's not, then why not "take a break".

[stupidsucker]

[ QUOTE ]
I guess my point is this, a break is only useful if your game has changed for the worse due to your current bad streak. Otherwise, it's just wasted time do other such activities as sleep, watch TV, etc. Of course, if you are knowingly playing a different game due to a bad streak, a break is necessary.

[/ QUOTE ]

I think he hit the nail on the head here. If your game is actualy suffering. IF you are playing worse. IF a break would actualy HELP your game because it helps your attitute then YES YES YES a break is perfect.

Im asking people to look at this from a very basic PoV. You can solve almost every basic poker riddle by asking yourself... Is this +$EV????

I throw a tantrum better then the average bear. I NEED a break at times, and its often NOT timely. For me you can add in the +lifeEV into the equation. At times I feel so flustered I could have a stroke.... BREAK TIME reguardless of +$EV or not. I want to live to cash out.

I post this as a note to myself that yes breaks are needed, but they should not ever be used as an excuse to be lazy. 10 buy in swings are going to happen so often to people that how should it even merit a "break"?


In closing.... Running bad? Take a break sure... but remember that the break has a purpose, and the purpose is to get back to the tables. You may just get yourself off tilt by taking 10 seconds to remind yourself that playing a few more might help as well if you can take it.

Got to feel the burn to earn, and if you can push yourself to deal with the anguish each time then eventualy you wont even need a break anymore.

[byronkincaid]

How long have you been doing this for a living? Are you feeling burnt out yet? I've been doing it for 5 or 6 months now and I can't remember a day where I've been at home and haven't managed to squeeze in at least 4 sngs. I feel that it helps me more to go down a limit or two rather than have a break if 'm running bad. I'm not saying that I'm a sng machine because I very rarely play as many as I want to. Lots of short breaks but no long ones. In fact on my two days off where I look after our baby all day, by the time it gets to 10pm and Mum and baby have gone to bed I'm dying to fire up a few tables. My girlfriend also likes to play a couple of games after dinner which is leading me to believe that sngs are not the kindergarten but actually the crack cocaine of poker.

[stupidsucker]

[ QUOTE ]
leading me to believe that sngs are not the kindergarten but actually the crack cocaine of poker.



[/ QUOTE ]

In a way it is.

addicting? Yep
Expensive for the junkie and a money tree for those that know how the "game" is played

[ilya]

I think "take a break" is vacuous, useless advice to give anyone who plays for a living. 95% of the time.
If you are playing for fun or to improve, then sure, taking a break is often appropriate.