why does this happen

i cannot win these days. str8s are busted by flushes or fullhouses on the river, AA is cracked by KK... every time i have a hand its come to a point where i can predict with great precision how im going to be cracked. this happens both live and online. why, i keep asking myself why? does anyone know? my bankroll is taking more of a hit than ever before now

i guess the question is why does someone who understands the probabilities and odds and knows how to play poker take a beating from people who dont. again and again and again. where is the long term? how do i know there will be light at the end of the tunnel(long term winning)

[Bodhi]

Hi bluearchon. You know that downswings happen to even the best players, and they can go on for 10k hands (or even more). The best thing you can do is to continue to work on your game, plug "leaks," and don't worry about your day-to-day results. I haven't seen you at the 2/4 tables at party in a while, which is probably a good thing because I know you had a ways to go before you could beat that game. What limit are you playing these days? Have you tightened up? Good luck.

I don't know why it happens bro - it's just probability working itself out before it evens out... i'm there right now too... i've been finding these great loose-passive games in the casinos and cardroom and way overbetting the pot to protect my hand when i know i have the best hand, and every single time i've been sucked out on by backdoor flushes and inside straight draws. it sucks. i'm asking the same question "are the poker gods against me?" but all the books say that over the long run, if you keep playing solid you will profit from your opponents making these mistakes.

Hi Bodhi,
Good to see you again. I have definitely tightened up and am a far batter player than when you saw me on the tables last:) I follow the SSH guidelines and play about 19% of my hands now. I played the 0.5/1 and 1/2 games after dropping down as you'd suggested. I was making about 8 BB/100 on the 0.5/1 and 5 BB/100 on the 1/2 for awhile before hitting this downturn. I do not think that I am making fundamental mistakes like I used to. I firmly believe this is variance and will hopefully get back to playing well.

I plan to re-read SSH and a few other books to refresh the concepts and come back with a fresh mind. The financial impact does not affect me as much as a psychological impact of losing i.e. you feel like a loser.

This game has psychological impact that seems bizarre to me considering that this is just a card game. When I'm down, I replay all the other times in my life I've been disappointed and down which does take it's toll. That's a whole other thread. I'm probably better off introspecting to understand this tendency. I'll bore the forum with those stories if I'm truly stumped /images/graemlins/wink.gif

[Bodhi]

Hey, that's very good news. Congratulations on improving your game and crushing the micros.

The psychological downswings that you can endure playing poker are severe, no doubt. I dropped $500 in a single session of 2/4 once and played 1/2 for a week to get my confidence back. Now that downswing just looks like a little blip in the long term picture. take care.