Running bad :(

[fluorescenthippo]

I have been playing the 10s and 20s for about 3 months now. I started at the 10s and was even for about a month. I got a little better and managed an ROI of around 15% for the next month over around 300 games.

This past month i went up to the 20s and had an ROI of 30% after 250 games. This is when the downward spiral began. I began losing quickly at the 20s and dropped to the 10s. This past week my ROI has been negative 10% ish after around 100 games.

I know my sample size is not nearly big enough to have full confidence in my ROI but i also know that i am definately not the same poker player i was a month ago. I am afraid every time i play. I expect to lose. i try and ask myself if i am still playing the same way i used to and if i am making the correct plays.

I dont know what to do. this bad run has been going on for awhile and ive had several decent players review my HH for leaks.

in summary, it has basically went like this. in the last 6 weeks i made $2000 in 4 weeks, the next week i made $1500(at 20s), the past week or so ive lost $800(at 10s). once again i know that this is not enough evidence to suggest bad playing but mentally it is killing me. even if my good runs were a lot of luck and my bad runs were bad luck it still seems impossible for this to happen unless my game is seriously slipping.

Therefore, I am asking for some help. Im sure this has happened to a lot of you out there and im wondering how you possibly survive this. If someone would like to look over my HHs or offer some insight into the mental struggle upon me that would be wonderful.

[Maulik]

well, you've got a leak that you're experiecing and its catching up wiht you. post quesitionable hands and learn stack size and blind management.

[Maulik]

btw, happy birthday.

[Shanemex]

Real men are born in February.

[Patriarch]

[ QUOTE ]
Real men are born in February.

[/ QUOTE ]
True.

[Freudian]

This week I have had 30 buy-in losing streak followed by a 40 buy-in win streak.

The key to breaking a bad streak is rodent sacrifice.

My advice is to stop looking at ROI. It is not a good way to judge your game. Instead ask yourself how well you are doing at the different stages of the game.

Early: Are you bleeding chips on second best hands and draws? Are you playing your strong hands in such a way that you extract the max amount of chips from your opponents (ideally all of their chips).

Middle: Do you feel comfortable in the spots where you try to steal blinds? Do you think you are missing oppportunities to steal (belive me, you do)? Do you think you sometimes push too marginal a hand? Are you making sure you are doing what you should to persuade the other players from attacking your blinds?

Late: Do you feel you are giving yourself a chance to end up 1st? Are you folding too many blinds? Are you attacking enough blinds?

Etc etc. There are hundreds of questions that are more important than "what is my ROI for the past x games".

[Phoenix1010]

Best thing to do is to look over hand histories and try to isolate your mistakes. Take a break and make sure that you have mentally recovered from your downswing before trying again. It's possible that your recent results are due completely to variance, but very often, bad runs lead to bad play, and they feed each other. If you're not feeling comfortable while you're playing, you're going to have to stop for a while.

I'll take a look at some of your HH's if you post them. Always willing to help a fellow Badger. On Wisconsin!

-Phoenix