Taking a Break from Poker

[beta1607]

Since getting my 'real' job I have been playing like [censored] and running bad at the same time so I am going to take a week or two off from playing poker. That being said, I know some others on this forum (beermoney et. al.) have been running bad too and I recommend you all take at least a few days off from playing.

One thing I learned during my experiance of playing full-time is knowing when you have your A game and knowing when you barely have your C-game. Running bad and playing bad is like a snowball rolling down a hill and their effects just multiply eachother exponentially. You have to learn how and when to stop the cycle before you lose your whole bankroll and the best way is to take a couple days off and come back fresh and without the cumulative psychological effects of losing rolled up 4 of the last 5 times or wining with AA heads up around 2 of 10 times.

Also - if any of you see me playing on line shoot me a message saying "hey jackass no poker" alternatively you can come sit at my table and take my money because I am playing like a tilt machine right now.

[BeerMoney]

Beta, I think I'm gonna take a break like you suggested. The thing that's hard though is you see one of your "buddies" show up on a list, and you really feel like your losing money by not sitting down with them..

I'm just gonna reread some 7CSFAP and try and plug some leaks.

The funny thing about today is that even though I ran bad, I really feel like I played better than i have in a while. I even took down a $500 pot with a pair of jacks. /images/graemlins/laugh.gif

BTW, I've never seen or heard of anyone being rolled up more often than ROLAND...

** on rolled up hands *** With the exception of one hand, I've either lost a mega pot, or won a medium to small pot with them.. The thing about these hands is that its gonna take for ever to get the long term winning results that they should present to us..

When you think about it, poker really isn't easy at all.. Unless you're one of the few experts, it really is a grind, and quite a psychological battle.

Last night I was at a table with at least 3 of the best players on party poker and a total of 6 2+2 people. We were all there for one special player. Which says a lot about our game selection, cause we were all the first ones there.. Anyway, We played against the fish for an hour or two, we got plenty of chances, but if I remember correctly, only one of us finished up, and I believe the fish had taken some of our $$. Now, here you have a clear distinction between solid players, and a true fish.. And we still couldn't get his money.

Now, consider playing against competent players, and running bad, and tilting.. Can you imagine what's gonna happen to your stack?

Now, consider the fact that we are probably sometimes cheated... I guess it'd be safe to say, if you've played online poker or probably poker in general, long enuff, you've been cheated. How often? For how much? Who knows.

I guess this is all just rambling, but my point is that for most of us, poker is NOT EASY. Its hard, its a challenge, its a battle. People in other forums have said if you can't handle the swings, you're weak and don't belong at a poker table. Well, poker's supposed to be a series of repeated trials, but some of those trials take longer to come up then others. Like when you trap an aggressive opponent into a terrible spot, and they still suck out on you.. Or you finally get your 1 rolled up hand this week, and build a mega pot, and still lose.. Well, its gonna take a long time for that to occur again.. Most likely you'll have to wait about 425 hands.. Or you keep building megapots with live fourflushes, only to see your pot slide to someone with 4's and deuces. When we play a tight patient game, we rely on our patience to put our opponents in bad spots.. Our patience is always rewarded, and our opponents lack of patience is rewarded. We know they'll go broke, but we'd just like for it to happen sooner than later.

[Michael Emery]

Taking some time off sounds like a very good idea for you. I do the same thing when I feel like I'm playing my "C" game or letters far far worse.

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I know some others on this forum (beermoney et.

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Beermoney is always whining about running bad, but is a big time winner on party overall. He just somehow thinks hes capable of winning every session. Silly beermoney.

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Also - if any of you see me playing on line shoot me a message saying "hey jackass no poker" alternatively you can come sit at my table and take my money because I am playing like a tilt machine right now.

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I'll just sit and take your money if its all the same. Sending you a message is no way to punish you. If I see you on anytime soon I'll feel like I need to teach you a lesson for not holding true to your word. /images/graemlins/smile.gif

Mike Emery

[beset7]

Good posts beta, beer. Thanks for sharing your thoughts with us. I've been in the spot you describe Beta probably a dozen times or more. Every time I work my way through it I come out a better player, less prone to tilt and less results-oriented in my thinking about the game. Plus, I've finally learned about playing within a well-managed bankroll and being totally cool with dropping down limits when I run bad. I was playing 5/10 6m LHE, stud high and 2/4 blinds PLO one month; two months later I'm playing 1/2 6m LHE and 2/4 Stud and scared to play PLO at all. Horrendous downswing and it never really troubled me. As long as I step down when my bankroll dictates that I do so I never seem to lose it like I used to and start spewing. I've worked my way back up from a horrible year last year and feel very comfortable with my game.

And yes, breaks are a very very good idea. Or, if your like me and not very good and abstinence from things you enjoy, just switch it up. Sometimes I'll take a few days and just play low-buy in MTTs and low-limit games that I don't usually play (omaha8, triple draw lowball, five card draw, etc) and just mess around with chump change and see if I can play my A game.

Anyways, good luck.

Tyler

[mscags]

You are a wise man for realizing this. Congrats. Everyone has days when they tilt or play like [censored], but only the long term winners can realize it and take a few days off and start anew.