downswing ?

[stillbr]

I SWEAR IM NOT TRYING TO COMPLAIN!!! no flaming please

Those of you who have gone through 200ish BB downswing..what do you do? This is really my first big downsing and I'm not used to it. Did it ever make you doubt if you were a winning player? I know those of you who have been playing a long time experiance this quite a bit so im sure its not a big deal when you do...but what about the first few times you went through it? Ive taken my BR from $100 up to $1700 playing .5/1 and 1/2...but this has me totally doubting my play. Do you think taking time off the best cure for this kind of thing?

(i know this is normal, please if you are just going to belittle me about my small downswing and not offer advice dont answer)

[davelin]

Sure, it happens to everyone. A big downswing and the doubts that go along with it. Post hands that you're unsure about, check over your stats, etc. Take a break or move down a level or two until you're comfortable again.

[jaxUp]

Take a few days off and try not to think about poker at all. Go out with your girlfriend, read a book, do stuff like that. If you need the money, try some Omaha or something. The key is a break, and just try to keep thinking about the long run. I also find that while playing, rocking back and forth in your chair, muttering long run, long run, long run... also is very helpful. Good luck

[GrunchCan]

I'm climbing up the valley of a long downswing that really took its toll on me. I'm still solidly in the red, but I am having positive sessions.

The first thing I did when I started my downswing was to just keep playing, and try not to go on tilt.

Then finally it happened. I failed to be aggressive on the flop with a nut flush draw and 6 passive opponents, and I realized I was not on my game. I decided to take 1 week off from play. Some people think this is a bad idea, others think its good. You have to decide for yourself weather or not to take a break and, if so, for how long and what you do on your break.

I chose to play poki a lot, see what the advisor said in comparison to what I thought, and take some questions to the board. I also re-read SSH, HPFAP and ToP, and scoured the 2+2 archives for great threads.

I also took all my money out of patry and moved back to empire. I admit this was purely superstitious.

I'm still on a light playing schedule, but I am back at empire. I can say that the downswing was good for my game. Not becasue it chewed up a bunch of money, but becasue it forced me to sit back and look at my game.

Every now and then, every good poker player has to tear thier game down to the stump and rebuild. A downswing provides the motivation for this. To paraphrase, that which does not kill your bankroll, makes you a stronger poker player.

Good luck.

[Sasnak]

I hit a 200er not too long ago and am currently at -.50BB/100 over 20K hands but climbing out of it.

First thing you must do is realize whether you're playing well or not. Looking back, I thought I was playing well but in reality I was out of relative positon against a few other good players. Even though my 'hands' were playable, perhaps I shouldn't have been playing them in that spot against those players.

I would end up losing in one session what I gained over two or three.

Judicious use of PT and replaying my larger losing hands showed whether I was making good decisions or not. Most of them were good, a few were not. And I found out it is easier to consistently lose 7 BB's in a bad played hand than it is to consistently win 7 BB's in a well played hand.

[GrunchCan]

[ QUOTE ]
First thing you must do is realize whether you're playing well or not.

[/ QUOTE ]

Yep.

[DMBFan23]

my biggest downswing was 130 BB and it had me not only questioning whether or not I was a winning player, but (typing) yelling at the fish at the table. it hurts. I took the phil jackson chicago bulls approach and just let myself play through it. no timeout or anything like that.

[BatsShadow]

I've had 2 really really bad downswings. I think a bad run turns into tilt which turns into a worse run. The 2nd time, I took 1 week off. I would highly recommend it. It made me cool down, and gave me time to think about what was going on. Since I cam back, I've been killing the game.

[stillbr]

I think maybe one thing i can do is just bonus whore for the next few days. Hopefully this will just get me thinking in terms of playing so many hands..and not $$..anybody ever do this?

[droolie]

I've had one 125+BB downswing and I definitely doubted my play.... with good reason! I was adjusting my game to be more aggressive but was doing it poorly. Without even realizing it I had become a bad player who had some terrible habits. I had become too tight and was way too aggressive, betting overcards to the river and constantly trying to semi-bluff calling stations. I came out of it when I went back to basics of playing all +EV hands pf and stopped trying so hard to win hands in situations that were hopeless. (When i'm at my best I have a VP$IP @ 20% at .50/1, it's around 17% at 1/2)

I really like the idea of playing .50/1 until you get your mojo back. The losses there don't cripple your BR that much as you examine your game. I also will put on classical music, smoke a little dope and have a few beers to take the edge off when I'm getting angry. Not enough to get stupid just enough to feel happy. There's no question that this helps keep me off tilt and having fun. I honestly think it's funny when I lose to bad players making bad plays (especially when I'm high) The only time I get angry now is when I find myself feeling unsure and confused while playing (or when I run out of beer and dope [img]/images/graemlins/cool.gif[/img]) and the results are predictably terrible. I don't recommend taking too much time off because you will get rusty which is not a good thing.

Don't underestimate the chance that you might not be playing as well as you think you are. 200BB is a lot and is certianly worth putting your game under serious examination. You might also be hitting some tougher than usual opponents clearing the recent party skin bonuses. It's tougher to win during these periods.