You have no idea how bad poker is going for me at the moment

[Foldarama_City]

You have no idea how bad poker is going for me at the moment. Actually, many of you probably do.

Nothing is hitting for days. And when I hit someone else has something better. I hit two pair someone has a set. I hit a set, someone will hit a flush. I'm starting to go crazy... I've had enough - need a serious break. I just keep losing to losers - crazy people who play anything, who call any raise. It seems I'm always the tightest person at the table but the one losing the most money. I know, I know, these are the people that pay me off. But I have no confidence that I can win a hand anymore. I used to win - I don't know what's happened.

...

[tdiddy]

maybe crying about it on a public forum will help.

[Adde]

Happened to me too. In fact, I'm in it right now. My remedy is to step down from 2/4 to 1/2, maybe even 0.5/1 if I'm running particulary bad. Also, I go down from 3 to 2 or 1 table only. Then I grind it out. If this still don't help, I'll have a day or two off and read some poker books or do something not related to poker. I find it important to not try to win back some or all of what you lost before you take a break or step down, this will only increase your risk of going on tilt. Good luck!

[jasonHoldEm]

Take a break, before you:

A) Go on tilt and start playing badly.
B) Go on tilt and decide to move up to a higher limit to get away from the "idiots"
C) Go on a killing spree.
D) All of the above.

Take a week off. It's what I did during my last cold streak. Don't think about poker for a week, don't read any books, don't read the forum, etc. Walk away from it. Come back in a week and get back in the action.

The lesson you learn is worth it. Although I can't say for sure in your case, but at least in my case, my negative attitude and subtle tilting were what was causing the problem. You can only beat the fish if you're not playing like them.

jHE

[Mike Haven]

oh dear

memo to Packerfan1

take your tracksuit off and and start warming up for the Challenge Tourney, Pack - i think Foldarama_City might be suffering from a cudgel on the back of his head when he goes into the parking lot tonight

[Foldarama_City]

Thanks for the encouragement and tips. I think you're right Jason and addde - I probably am on a subtle tilt. I'm so keen to win a hand I keep calling when I know I should fold. It's like, "nah... he wouln't have 58. He couldn't have. I made it 3 bets before the flop. No one would call that raise with 58. Oh no, he reraised me.... nah... he's bluffing but just to be safe I'll call. I'm sure I've got him beat with my AAQQ. Boy, he sure looks keen though... GRRRRRR!!!! He had 58!" (and this is at 3/6 - the beats don't get any cheaper at that level)

Having a whinge felt good actually. And straight afterwards I jumped on a site to cash out and thought why not have a quick go of .25/.50 PL - and I did pretty well actually. So I feel a little better. It doesn't make up for the hundreds I've gone back this week, but maybe its a start.

It's good to have friends to vent to from time to time. Thanks. /images/graemlins/smile.gif

And don't worry Mike- I'll be back in form by tourney time.

[Cyndie]

Try low limit tournaments...there are sites that have freerolls with thousand dollars added, or three plus zero entries. Some even have money added by the sites.

Many of our props who are going through dry spells have survived...oh yes and prop pay helps make the dry spells less bleak.

[ZeeJustin]

Taking a break and playing lower stakes both certainly help.

I like to switch to lower variance games when I'm running bad. For me this means low stakes no limit.

[Graham]

Lots of suggestions here so far, but I'll tell you what I do.

1) Realise you're in a bad spot fo poker results.

2) Acknowledge this may be affecting how you play.

3) Either take a break, reassess (read 2+2 books or Ciaffone's) or - if you have to play poker, like me sometimes - go play a different game. This has the effect of making me play tighter as I get settled into the different gaem. You mentioned PLO - that's a good game to play very tight and do some nut-peddling to ensure a win (certainly you'll do ok that way in the online world). Never seen an ojline PLo game that couldn't be beaten that way (outside the big mon night game on 24hpoker).

G

[Redleg7]

I'm right there with you.

My two favorites are finally hitting a good hand about to rake in the pot and then it's split. The other one is getting a great hand hitting all the flop then everyone folding. Of course prior to that the betting is capped, 6+ are seeing the flop, etc. But when I caught the good hand the table dried up and all the maniacs fell asleep at the keyboard and woke up on the next hand, of course this time I'm holding 32o, instead of the two bullets I had in the last hand.

I slid from 1k down to 73 bucks in a couple weeks time, which means I slid from 3/6 all the way back to the .5/1 pond swimming with the minnows. For a micro-roller like me that's a big slide. My slide was due to a number of things, I figure 500 in bad decisions caused by tilt and stupidity, bad luck, and just plain inexperience.

Right now I'm on the comeback trail determined to improve my game. I did learn a lot from this little setback, so it wasn't a total waste. I fixed some leaks, filled some gaps in my knowledge, toughened up psychologically, and matured as a player. What more could you ask for from a tough poker lesson?

Well enough rambling.

Good Luck.

[Shaun]

I tried moving up into higher games that rewarded tigghter play (Omaha 8), which worked at first, but then every premium starting hand missed the flop or flopped a big draw that never materialized. Back to Hold-em. Tried NL- a game I had done very well at in the past, but it sucked too. I have been getting slaughtered for 1 month. I'm sure I've steamed off a little dough, and I posted about it here when it was seemingly at its peak. That was a couple of weeks ago. There are certainly things you can do to lessen the pain and minimize the anger and tilt, but if you care about the money you are losing in any way it is tough not to get a little agitated after 70 hours of beatings. Sure there have been some minor wins in between, but mostly it is a slaughter. I have learned something that helps though:

With your big non pairs, just accept that, yes the Big Blind called you heads up with garbage and out flopped you again. Even though it seems that better hands two handed should win at least half the time- that doesn't have to materialize this month, or this year for that matter. Sure you may be losing a majority of situations where you are two or three handed with hands that are in the long run, hugely profitable, but they don't have to be profitable today, this week, or this month. At least that is what results are telling me lately.

[NLfool]

up $40 last week. lol then on the last 5 hours of the day up $550 then lost it in one hand when I flopped the nut set only to get beat by straight on the river. Well been going to the B+M rooms and doing good. It's a great change of pace. Try it out guys the human interaction is good /images/graemlins/smile.gif

[Shaun]

Yes live games are the only thing that has kept me sane recently. I feel like I am so much more in control of the game/my game in person. I hope we all start doing better!

[Cyndie]

The day comes when you miss two pair on the river...or the equivalent holdem misery...and do not lose to 5533...when they had no flush draws or straight draws, just sucking on that pair of fives! and you win a pot with the best starter...Then your two pair win cause someone actually does miss their draw...and finally you make a flush when you start with a four flush, or even better, you make KK on the river, and it wins!

Don't know the exact counterparts, except perhaps that the runner runner flush doesn't get there and your natural flush does! but then you will find that your confidence and your winning will start again, and you are no longer dead meat at the table...they will raise you on the river, and you will actually call because you know that they don't really have a made hand on the river for the 47th time in a row!

It will change, just play tight enough so you will still have a bankroll when it does. I can say this with confidence cause it has happened so many times, and last night the fishy ten twenty game actulaly paid off $1,500.

Be in the right place at the right time...keep on doing the right things and talk to friends who reassure you!

[Foldarama_City]

I'm just writing to say things have picked up for me at last. I am getting close to recouping the losses of the last couple weeks. I played a lot of NL and PL Holdem and found it a nice change. In fact I'm seriously contemplating making NL my main game. The fish have to pay in NL.

One tip though - don't play PL Omaha when you're tired (especially when you're inexperienced).

[Guy McSucker]

Hmmmm... Omaha huh? It's possible to play that game for ten hours without being dealt a hand worth seeing the flop. (I have the hand histories if you don't believe me /images/graemlins/tongue.gif) This is probably not a good recipe for rebalancing when on a losing streak.

Guy.

[Graham]

It's possible to play that game for ten hours without being dealt a hand worth seeing the flop. (I have the hand histories if you don't believe me)

I don't believe you! /images/graemlins/confused.gif Send me the HH.

G