An interesting question, I hope

[JPNet]

So I think I understand the notion of swings in the cards. It is all mathematical, and evens out in the long run. There are going to be times when you get a relatively high number of "good" starting hands, and times when you get a relatively low number of "good" starting hands.

In the short term, my pre-flop % might be high, because I am getting a lot of good starting hands, so it is high but quite valid.

At another point in time, my pre-flop % might seem low, because I am getting very few good starting hands, so it is low, but again is appropriate.

My question is, why would I see swings happen in the same direction, at the same time, on 2 different poker sites. Should I not expect to see different cycles on different sites, i.e. while I am seeing 16%-18% on 1 site, would I not expect to see something different, better or worse, on another site, assuming that I am playing the same way on both?

I am talking about 2 unrelated sites by the way UB and Pacific played simultaneously. And yes I know that I am looking at the extreme short term, session by session.

Is this just another example of a small sample size and coincidence?

Would I need to be able to chart the swings on both over a long period in order to compare?

Or is it somehow related to similar implementations of the randomizer on the different sites?

[pudley4]

Your swings (in starting cards) at one particular time on one particular site have zero correlation with any concurrent swings on any other site at any time.

[Spyder]

I would bet that there is some correlation to your frame of mind when you're playing. If you're not all there, then, the trends in your windows just might be similar...if you have a cold, daughter playing the music too loud, etc. I imagine that distractions, from where ever they originate, would affect you in ALL of your windows.

Spyder

[thirddan]

how are you getting stats for your Pacific hands???

[TwoNiner]

He jots them down on cocktail napkins like the rest of us Pacific players /images/graemlins/grin.gif

[pretender2k]

Assuming that there is a 50/50 chance of an up swing or down swing, once you have established what kind of swing you are having on one site there is a 50% chance of having the same kind on the other.

[thirddan]

lol, not the uplifting answer i was hoping for /images/graemlins/frown.gif

[EVIL]

It's entirely possible just by chance to have swings in the same direction in your quality of starting hands on two different sites.

[mmanne]

While it might be complete coincidence, if you notice this happens everytime you play over 10 or more sessions, it might be time to examine your game. It could be that you find a reason to play more hands at one time and a reason to play less at another. It's a version of tilt, that could be occuring. Like I said, I wouldn't be concerned until I saw the next 10 or so times that this happened, but it's worth thinking about.

matt

[JPNet]

There is no way to get stats from Pacific that I am aware of. I suppose that after a session you could go to their version of online HH, scroll through the hands and make notes on how often certain hands came up, what you played etc. but that would be a lot of work and probably of little use.

In my case, with both windows open, I noticed that I was simply going back and forth between windows clicking the Fold button. I also know that the reason I am clicking the fold button is that I am getting mostly hands like 92o, Q4o etc. Occasionally, I will get a relatively better hand like KTo or QTo, but they are often in very early position and therefore not playable. When I played the other night, I didn't get a single pair above 77 on either site until about 5 minutes before quitting, and that was a JJ.

Noticing what I thought was a trend, I checked the stats on UB and found I was seeing the flop 18%, including blinds. Although I don't have any hard numbers, I feel that the % on Pacific would have been pretty close.

I know different sites are completely independent, unless they are skins off the same server, and I believe that it is just coincidence that both would trend down at the same time.

I hope they both trend back up at the same time, and soon /images/graemlins/grin.gif

[Billman]

In order for their to be a positive or negative swing one must assume that a norm exists from which to judge the swing. Perhaps you're experiencing the norm rather than a swing in either direction?