running good or playing good? running bad or playing bad?

[steamboatin]

I find it terribly difficult to determine if I am playing good or just running good while I am in the moment. Hindsight has 20/20 vision so I can look back later and it is much easier to see that I played well or just ran good but it is really difficult to know when your play has deteriorated.

March and April I was on a terrible losing streak and I was firmly convinced it was variance. Late in April, I bought "Improve Your Poker" and the second or third chapter made it clear that I had been playing bad and maybe a little of it was variance but mostly poor play.

Last Friday, I played 4-8 at Belterra and I was playing terribly. Not just less than perfect but really really bad. I figure it out about halfway through the session and only ended up down $44 but for the first few hours, I sucked at poker. Now in hindsight, I was really angry at the MRS and I probably shouldn't have been playing at all.

Sunday, I was in a really soft 10-20 game at Caesar's IN and I ran good. Does that make me the Jedi Poker Master? I think I just sucked less than the other players and had some good hands hold up.

This is kind of a rambling post but I think what I am trying to say is, Damn it is hard to be objective about your own game. Especially in the moment. Later it is easier to see where you went wrong or where you played well.

[TStoneMBD]

i think it takes a talent for players to judge their play objectively. this talent happens to be very vital for players to progress at high levels.

[Net Warrior]

Stubbornness is the cause of 75% of my losing sessions. It has nothing to do with running good or running bad. What it has to do with is table selection.

When I sit down at a tough table it takes a while to figure out I'm being outplayed. By the time I'm convinced that I am being outplayed, I'm stuck for more than I like. Instead of leaving to find a softer game, I talk myself into staying to try to "improve my game" or to get less stuck before leaving, or some such thought. I then proceed to get stuck for twice a much when I knew better.

When you get outplayed it might seem like you're running bad but your not. They're just better than you and so you lose.

Conversly, when you're running good, there's a 75% chance that you're just a lot better than the rest of the folks at the table.

Anyway, that's my 2 cebts worth. [img]/images/graemlins/cool.gif[/img]