Nightmare session

[rkiray]

For the last two weeks I've really been on a roll. Most of my sessions are around 3 hours. All sessions had been winners. Most for over $100. A few for over $200. And my record on-line (I've done better in B&M) of $398. I've had more $100+ sessions in the last two weeks than in the previous 8 months. I think there are a number of reasons. I think my poker game is improving. I think more fish are schooling than normal. And I've gotten a lot of cards.

Then last night it all came back to haunt me. A nightmare session. I was playing my normal game against an exceptionally good table. Five loose passive total fish. The problem was I took bad beat after bad beats. Pocket As cracked when pocket 3s river a set, AKs losing to K4o on the river. KK losing to 88, etc, etc etc. At one point I was down over $350. I battled back and only lost $200. After the 7th or 8th bad beat I really had to concentrate to stop myself from going on tilt. But it was such a good table I didn't want to leave. I'm mostly writing this just to vent. I know everyone goes through sessions like this. I know I want the fish to play poorly and call with stupid hands all the way to the river. But when you get bit in the a** this many times it's hard to stay rational. Any tips for not going on tilt during a nightmare session.

[Joe Tall]

Any tips for not going on tilt during a nightmare session.

Yes, end or take a break from the session.

Last night I sat down for a session. Nearly an hour later, I've played 1 of 67 hands, I could feel the anxiety building, during the cold run of cards so I took a deep breath, and ended it. Picked up HPFAP read for half and hour and went to bed feeling much better.

[rkiray]

I thought about quiting but this was the most loose passive table I had seen in months, so I thought I should be able to beat it (I do think an occasional session like this is good for keeping the ego in line). I did make a big mistake. I played the game that had been winning for me lately and didn't adjust until I was down 350. I was going to quit if I lost 400. Plays that have been working great against aggressive players like check raising big draws on the flop or trying for a check raise when these guys are giving lots of free cards were just costing me money in this game. I eventually started playing more passively since my rasies weren't getting any of these calling stations out anyway.

[Joe Tall]

When it's this type of table, that can't be left, best time to take a break. Go for a walk does the best for me!

[rkiray]

That is good advice. Thanks

[dirty_dan]

I've been having quite a few nights like this lately. I haven't been running especially cold. It's just all my good hands seem to take the blinds or get rivered, and none of my draws get there. I've started quitting early when I feel the session turning into another one of these, even on the juicy tables. I don't know if I'm not giving myself enough of a chance to recover, but I do know that I'm not in the right mindset to play after going through a bunch of these hands. If you feel at all unsure during a slide like this then leave the game. There'll always be another.

[rkiray]

If I had not been running good lately I would have left sooner. I understand what you are saying.

BTW, there was one incident I thought was hilarious. A player left the table and another commented, Too bad he left, he is such a fish. This guy had been playing about 50% of his hands and I raised UTG with AA he called in middle position with 33 and beat me when a 3 appeared on the river. The game was actually remarkably stable over 4 hours. I dumped so much money on this table they probably all thought I was the fish. The game probably broke after I left.

[Play Tight]

It sounds like it was just a tough night. You have been on a bit of a roll and then hit your bad night, it happens to all of us. We cannot win every night but, when we have been winning consistenly and we're still catching great cards only to be taken down by some lucky fish who seem to be having their one magical session its very hard to accept it. If anything good can come out of the session it may be that it gives you a better perspective into others play.

I originally read your post and thought instantly "hey this sounds similar to the end of my session last night." I was up, not big, but up none the less and was catching great cards; top two on the flop, turned nut flushes, etc. etc. There was a group of fishy calling stations that saw every river (IE four card flush on board and fish called my check raise with his pocket dueces,) this is where most of my profits were comming from. All of a sudden the tide turned and they got a few lucky catches to take back some of my profits. As far as how they played, there was nothing I could do to eleiminate them and sooner or later they were going to catch but when your catching AK top two and losing to a rivered set of treys it hurts, especially to look accross the table to see a smile like they just hit the lottery.

My only advice, which is something I am yet to learn myself, is that we must realize when the cards are not working for us and leave. While their working for us we must ride it out for every dollar we can, but when they start to fail us leave. I wish I had the self discipline to get up say after 4 bad beats but I don't and might never have it but it sounds like maybe we both need to work on a similar system.

[rkiray]

Thank you for your replay and I agree with most of what you say. I disagree with you last comment. I don't think the cards are with me or against me. I think it all evens out and just because the session has been bad doesn't mean it will continue bad. Ray Zee comments on this all the time in these forums. I would quit if I thought I was playing bad. And I did consider this (I should have thought about this much earlier, but I think my great streak lately influenced me too much). That is when I realized I had not adapted to this table. I then changed the way I was playing as mentioned in a previous post.

[NutFlop]

When I get rivered by a hand like pocket 3s, I just know that I'm gonna win more from this guy in the long.

[rkiray]

I know and I agree totally. It doesn't bother if it happens a couple of times, but when it happened 7 or 8 times in less than two hours I found it hard to handle. I can't remember any session this bad. I guess it had to happen sooner or later.

[Play Tight]

I absouletly agree that the cards are not for or against you in particular. There are days that everyhand I get seems to turn into gold and then there are days that every hand I get turns into sh*t. Can you turn around a losing session? Sure, but the question is how long will it take you and how deep into your bankroll are you willing to go?

[Louie Landale]

First of all if you ARE on tilt in a nightmare session then, no duh, end the session. Being on tilt matters a lot less if you are not playing; just don't go parachute surfing or make major decisions.

One thing I used to do is keep a list of low priority brain-dead things-to-do, like cleaning the car or calling Mom. When you ARE on tilt, just quit and go do something useful from the list. That will make you feel a lot better than moping with Gilligan.

How to fight tilt? Look for an "attitude" post I made yesturday. Another way is to calculate how much theoretical money you made on the hand having the guy drawing to 2 or 3 outs against you. Or try to find some way you could have played the hand better. Or decide you are going to play squeaky tight for one round. The trick here is to engage your object mind which should minimize the subjective emotional stuff that is the cornerstone of ..err.. fuel for Tilt.

- Louie

[SoBeDude]

...Another way is to calculate how much theoretical money you made on the hand having the guy drawing to 2 or 3 outs against you.

I'm having a hard time finding places to spend that theoretical money...

-Scott

[offTopic]

When I get rivered by a hand like pocket 3s, I just know that I'm gonna win more from this guy in the long.

Not that it matters, but IMO this idea is far more valid in a B & M cardroom where a regular donator will come back every payday or whatever, play loosey-goosey, have a couple of beers, flirt with the waitress, and generally blow off some chips in the process.

There are a (very) few players like this online, but because of the black & white numbers staring them in the face in the form of EFTs from their checking accounts or wire transfers, players like this either improve or bust out never to return, as often as not.

If you track players using any of the available software packages, the intersection of the sets of players playing many hands and players losing lots of money is very small. You still must make the theoretically correct plays against these players, no question, but there is an excellent chance (unless the hero logs some big-time hours online) that this player will merely donate your chips to someone else, bust out, and never return.

[rkiray]

In this case I was willing to go $400. If I lost that I was gone.

[rkiray]

I don't think I actually went on tilt, but it was very close for a while. Of course no one is totally objective about things like this so perhaps I was slightly tilted. I don't think so. I really don't remember any really bad plays (and I've posted dumb plays I've made here before).