swing managment?

[GutPunch]

I have been taking shots at the 5/10 6max games and am consistantly facing massive swings. I will go from $250 down to $50 then back up to $300 then back down to $100 then up to $400, ect. This can be very detrmential to me when I get down low.

I would prefer to just consistantly gain $$ very slowly. How do you all manage swings? Are they normal in 6 m? What do you do to avoid them?

Thanks.

[pyroponic]

If swings are a problem for you then I advise you not to play 6-max, this is part of the game and it only gets crazier as you move up limits or play against more aggressive lineups.

[Lmn55d]

Two suggestions:

1) Study the variance inherent in limit holdem. Perform some simulations of the size and frequency of swings that will occur for a specific winrate and a specific standard deviation. This will eventually help you realize that huge swings are normal.

2) Don't look at your cashier! For a lot of people it is very difficult to do. But if I don't look at your results during a session, it allows me to tilt less and retain a clear mind, which improves the quality of my decisions. I 4-5 table so after a session, I often have no idea whether I am up or down. Thus poker affects my mood less. I try to look at results once a week.

[Stinkybeaver]

Consider the ammount of BB's in these "swings" its no more than 40BB at most.

I tend to loose this whenever I sit down to play a session. So yeah in SH games 40BB is nothing. 200BB is not fun but It'll happen somewhere down the road.

[Chobohoya]

Those actually aren't big swings. The posts above point you in the right direction, but I'll spell it out. swings of 100s of BB are common in this game, and if you are bothered by them, you need to move down before you tilt your BR away.

There are several ways to combat "stakes-tilt", the simplest of which is taking shots at that limit by substituting a table of it into your normal routine during soft hours. Or you could try something like playing one table 2 levels above your limit for half and hour. Experiment and find out what helps you.

[JDErickson]

Another thing not mentioned here to combat tilt is to be way over bankrolled for the limit.

500 BB for a limit I think should be the minimum.

[Monty Cantsin]

http://smedia.vermotion.com/media/10037/prodimages/P1007.jpghttp://www.decodeunicode.org/data/glyph/196x196/003D.gifhttp://jennychatterton.com/gallery/albums/mineral/Swings.jpg
/mc

[Danenania]

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I would prefer to just consistantly gain $$ very slowly.

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I've heard of a strange playing style called a "job"(sp?) that supposedly does this but frankly I don't think the people who make these claims have played enough hands to substantiate their results. It also doesn't sound like a very sportsmanlike approach to me, if that sort of thing bothers you.

[Nietzsche]

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I would prefer to just consistantly gain $$ very slowly.

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Staying at your current limit a little longer can be a good idea then. You can then build your bankroll with very little risk and will therefore be better equipped cash wise and thereby also emotionally when you move up. Your game will probably have developed some more in that time as well which makes it more probable that you will beat the higher limit for a significant amount once you decide to move up.

Personally I am the same way, I like the steady flow and am very risk averse. When I made the jump to 10/20 my bank roll for that game was about 2000 BB which made the even wilder swings easier - but not easy! - to handle.

If your main priority is to improve as a player as fast as possible this is obviously not the way to go though. It is all about priorities.

[Backstabr]

I've had success bringing more chips (~100BB) to the table. Just a placebo, but it makes the swings seem smaller. (Note: I single-table 5/10 for the time being.)

My second trick is to think about the hands in question. I ask myself, "did I play the hand correctly?" The answer is generally yes. Take some deep breaths, say "It's expensive when KK gets cracked. It's great that they call my 3-bet with J7."