Running cold in LL

[Farfenugen]

I made a similar post at another poker forum and was hoping I could illicit further advice from the good folks here.

I play 3-6 B&M hold'em.

I have been running incredibly cold lately. Its getting really frustrating. I had played a few sessions before summer started and logged a few wins but I had not really played very regularly. I built a $1600 bankroll for the summer and decided two weeks ago that I was going to start playing a lot more. I have played 7 long(10+hrs) sessions in the last two weeks and I have dropped apx. $1000. There was a $200 winning session and the rest have been big losers. One night I dropped $100 in 30 minutes after I had 3 consecutive flopped nut straights cracked on the river!!! Someone calculate the odds of not only flopping 3 consecutive straight but also having them beat each time!

I have read WLLHE and SSHE. I have read both books 3 times and I play by them. I very rarely go on tilt nor do I drink while playing. I stay quite disciplined. In fact my horrifying streak has made me really focus on my game, to no avail.

These last two weeks have been horrible. I have been playing good solid poker and losing big while people who play like complete fools at the table are raking in the chips. They play hands out of position, trash hands, seek gutshot straights to the river with horrible odds, etc. Its utterly demoralizing.

I am not proclaiming that poker is unfair or that everytime I am getting beat by bad play. My big hands are getting cracked a lot, usually by decent players, and mix that in with the usual 3/6 suckouts and it gets frustrating.

I was posting this to hopefully get advice on what to expect and how to deal with this from a psychological standpoint. I am still somewhat new to B&M poker and I don't know what to expect from the long-term. Have other LL players run this cold before? How long can I expect this to last? Is there anything I can do but wait for the other shoe to drop?

[Elbie]

A $ 1000 drop = 167 big bets is a considerable loss for a 70 hours (approx. 1700 hands B&M?) But the way you describe your playing style and the way you got beat in big pots (the straight bad beats) suggests variance and bad luck.

However a sample of 1700 hands is ways to small to make any judgement. You also need to post specific hands (including reads on opponents) here to be able to get advice on your plays.

[NDHand]

Since you're playing live, i'm assuming you barely played 2000 hands in those session. The other night I lost 20$ at 1/2$ in 2000 hands (8-tables). It sucks but bad luck happens. Besides if you need a morale boost just review your previous sessions (if you keep track of them) and you'll confirm to yourself that you're a winning player!

[shant]

It's really a matter of sample size like someone said before because you've probably played about 1700 hands. People have had downswings and breakeven streaks that last 10-20k hands. Start playing online to get more hands in.

[W. Deranged]

A couple of thoughts:

1. One of the biggest challenges to low limit hold'em is getting some sense of equanimity on bad beats and against bad players. It's obviously frustrating, but all you can really do is play a lot of hands and build up faith that your skills and theoretical soundness will bring you profits in the long run.

2. Live hold'em at the low limits is much looser and wilder then online poker. Remember that when reading any advice on these boards or elsewhere. At 3/6, B+M poker is ENTIRELY about showing down the best hand. Don't make power plays. Don't try elaborate bluffs or fancy plays. (Fight Fancy Play Syndrome). Play quality hands, play them straightforwardly, and value bet ruthlessly. As you said, players play bad hands, with no regard to position, and chase without odds. Exploit these issues.

3. The rake in live poker at levels like that is extrememly high, and can actually make it very difficult to show consistent meaningful profits. If you have decent skills, move up! Get into 5/10 or 10/20 live games as soon as you can; if you are a thinking player, you will feel perfectly comfortable in those games. The lowest games in many casinos (2/4 or 1-3 spread, for example) often have rakes that are so high one would have to show a minimum of 3-4 BB per hour to just break even, which is a challenge for any player (particularly considering how slow live games are).

4. Remember not to insult your opponents or become angry at the table (as I'm sure losing three nuts straights in a row could make you!) Your best friend is your opponent's oblivion; don't let them remember that poker is a game that can be played well.

5. Read a bunch of books; get a bunch of perspectives; think about the game a lot. In addition to WLLHE (which, many will agree, is an okay but hardly ideal book) and SSH (which is fantastic), give a read to the following:
1. Theory of Poker
2. Middle Limit Holdem by Brier and Ciaffone
3. HPFAP
4. Jennifer Harman's section on LHE in Super System 2

These are aimed largely at bigger stakes games, but the theoretical points and the examples will force you to think about the game. And, they will prepare you for the move up to bigger limits which you should look to make as soon as possible.

[hmkpoker]

This is more common than you'd think, unfortunately. I am currently having the worst downswing of my life, down some 200+BB at 2-4 and 3-6. Lost $800 in the last 1,000 hands.

I recommend several things:

1) post here FREQUENTLY. Like, every hand you're unsure about. There are more of them than you'd think; I'd be willing to wager tha there are huge holes in your game, just as I find there are in mine. Listen only to the advice of people who back up their words with solid logic, because most of the people here are bad, but there are a few gems.

2) Realize that this game is not as profitable as SSHE makes it out to be. That 50k/year nonsense can be achieved if you are masterfully 8-tabling all day long. If you're playing well 2-tabling, you're making something like $12/hour. Online 3-6 has gotten a little tougher lately because of the multi-tabling 2+2 kids. There are still good tables, but it's a challenge nonetheless. The real money is made at higher limits.

3) Realize that this is a GAME and the point is to HAVE FUN. That's why you started playing in the first place. If you're approaching it grudgingly with a "grind it out" mentality, stop playing. You won't play your best. Get a job instead, it's easier.

4) Re-read SSHE until you're sick of it, then read it some more.