Definition of Running bad

I trying to understand the true phenomenon of "running bad." Lucky for me, I currently getting good cards. Most people talk about "running bad." I would agree with Mike D's post (in the archives) which claims that most of these people are actually playing poorly. It is my understanding that you can actually "run bad" or have a prolonged losing streak.

Which of the following describes what "running bad" actually means?


A) Let's say you've been beating a $20-40 game for $40 and hour over 1000+ hours. If, for a 3 month period, you found yourself only winning $10-15 per hour, would this mean that you were running badly for that three month period?

B) Same situation. If you're truly running badly, can you even win any money? If you played excellent poker, but were getting poor cards, would you instead break even for that three month period, or could you lose $40/hour for a long period of time?


Here is another question: How would one's sessions look in a 3 month period of "running bad(ly)?" Would you get lots of good hands and just get sucked out every hand? Would you have a few wins, but just lose most of the other sessions?


I'm trying to understand this phenomenon because I always fear that the next time I play, I will begin a ridiculous losing streak. I try to play my best game everytime I go to the card room, yet I wonder if I've just been getting lucky for the last 9 weeks that I've started playing again.


Any comments or thoughts would be appreciated.

Thanks,

Ted