Longest run of non-cashes for you??

[People_Mover]

Been in a big slump lately. Read and reread books, but the slump has continues. Not playing bad, just running bad. Ran 31 dry in August, but had a great September, but now sitting on 35 and counting for November... Someone tell me something worse so I feel better. /images/graemlins/frown.gif What do you do during your slumps? Play SNGs instead? Take a few days off? Play some cash games instead?

I also am tending to run dry at the MTTs lately, but have offset these losses by running over the 5 and 10 STTs. I have thought about maybe trying to start playing shootouts a little more often as it tends to favor my style of play as opposed to the freezeouts i often frequent. I also will take a day or two from time to time and switch to a different game (Omaha, Stud yadda yadda) to kind of clear the brain. Also, since i just learned via this board that this kind of varience is expected...i don't feel so bad anymore.

"The brain is a muscle, exercise it"

[ansky451]

lol, i think every regular MTTer has made this post at some point.

I dont know what mine is, probably 50+ without anything significant, probably 25 without any cashes. I really dont care about cashes though, so I don't really notice a difference between 25 tourneys with 0 cashes, vs 25 with a few random small cashes.

October was a dry month for me, probably about 20 straight without a cash.

So far in November, I've cashed in a few but busted out before anything significant. Had some good sng games so far though.

[zambonidrivr]

played in over 100 straight without a final table.

then won a super weekday, guarenteed $40K, and a $30 MTT where first paid 8K. That was all in one week, almost $50k

what i did? kept reading, 4-tabled sng's to continue building my roll

[woodguy]

[ QUOTE ]
Been in a big slump lately. Read and reread books, but the slump has continues. Not playing bad, just running bad. Ran 31 dry in August, but had a great September, but now sitting on 35 and counting for November... Someone tell me something worse so I feel better. What do you do during your slumps? Play SNGs instead? Take a few days off? Play some cash games instead?

[/ QUOTE ]

I go back and look at hand histories to make sure I'm just running bad, and not playing bad.

Usually I find myself becoming too loose/passive, trying to hit miracle flops when my stack dictates a fold.

When running bad, or playing bad, I try to tighten up and promise myself not to play a hand unless I can bring it in with a raise (small PP's excepted), then when I feel comfortable that I'm not stupid, I revert to a little looser game, but trying to keep the aggression.

Strassa is right, its tough to play against someone who is always either raising or folding, I try to be that guy.

Regards,
Woodguy

[ZootMurph]

When I'm having a bad run and it is bothering me (sometimes it just doesn't bother me), I put the brakes on bluffing and play really tight (exactly like woodguy says... come in for a raise or don't come in at all, etc.) for a tournament or three. During that time, I try to think about what I WOULD have done had I not adjusted my game. Oftentimes, I'll find I was doing something wrong, like bluffing too often or in the wrong situation, or playing too loose or passively. Usually, in this short stretch, I'll pull out a small cash too and start turning the streak around.

[DonT77]

I have around 700 MTTs in my spreadsheet. My longest non-cash spells are 47 and 43 MTTs.

[ZootMurph]

Oh, and I do this on the smaller buyins... sometimes as low as 5+1s.

I keep my bankroll steady by playing much lower variance games, like SnGs (HU SnGs = the lowest variance poker by far).

Variance in MTTs is absolutely insane. Everyone on this board who plays MTTs for a living has balls of steel and either has a really big cushion for cold streaks or plays insane amounts to counter variance.

[People_Mover]

[ QUOTE ]
I have around 700 MTTs in my spreadsheet. My longest non-cash spells are 47 and 43 MTTs.

[/ QUOTE ]

ok, I feel a little better. MLG? Sirio? Strassa?

[locutus2002]

Take a day or two off.

Restart with smaller buyins.

don't play more than 2 tables at once.

[DonT77]

[ QUOTE ]

Variance in MTTs is absolutely insane. Everyone on this board who plays MTTs for a living has balls of steel and either has a really big cushion for cold streaks or plays insane amounts to counter variance.

[/ QUOTE ]

Absolutely agree - variance in MTTs is a b*tch. However, if you keep your buy-ins consistently less than 1-2% of your BR the swings are managable (which could mean dropping down during bad spells; and, It's usually a good idea to drop down when you're not playing or doing well anyway IMO).

I also agree that playing insane amounts has greatly reduced my variance over similar time periods.

I should also add that my non-cash streaks are probably higher than most since I have more gamb00l than most, but I hope that my FT% is higher too.

[sirio11]

I think my longest between cashes is 28. (2 years and 4 months internet experience)

[DVO]

Glad you posted this. I was wondering the same thing.

My longest streak just ended at 30 - that seems to be in the range of others. I then made 3 top 3 finishes in my next 5 tourneys.

My streak was not just bad luck. I made some serious donk moves that extended it. The answer is definitely to tighten up and get back on track.

FWIW, I track my results closely and find that my downswings tend to be 20-30 buy - ins before I get hot again and re-grow my bank roll.