Have you ever thought about just quitting?
 

I am in the middle of the most horrendous downswing I've ever encountered.


The frustration just makes me wonder why I even bother playing.

Re: Have you ever thought about just quitting?
 

ive been thinking about quitting twoplustwo alot lately, but dont think i will.

Re: Have you ever thought about just quitting?
 

probably better advice out there, but...

i think the biggest problem with the downswings is the dent in your confidence it can cause. as a result, you lose some of your creativity, etc.

occasionally after a rough night, i'll sit down in a play-chip sng. an hour playing in here serves as good therapy, allowing me to play tight, aggressive poker - more often than not, receiving the positive feedback i need to 'feel it again'.

of course, there's always the 'drop down', 'take a week off', etc. good luck...

Re: Have you ever thought about just quitting?
 

haha... i also do that play chip thing when i feel a downswing coming. Just 3 months ago i had the WORST down swing ever, and i quit poker for 2 weeks. Didn't play at all, just read books and just got my mind back on the game again. Re-building my confidence i suppose.

Re: Have you ever thought about just quitting?
 

All you need to remember is that they happen to everyone. Even the best players in the world have down swings. Do what you need to do to get through it. Take a break, get your confidence back, whatever it takes.

Another thing to consider is how you're playing. This is a great time to go through some hand histories and evaluate your game. Often player's will fixate blame on luck, cold cards, etc when on a down swing. Many of those same players don't even take the time to consider that they my be playing poorly. So, take a look. It may not be the case, but at least you can rule it out and maybe even learn a few things that you weren't expecting to. I'd be willing to take a look at some hands for you as well if you want a second opinion. Good luck and saty on the horse. you'll get through it.

Cheers,

deacsoft

Re: Have you ever thought about just quitting?
 

Awesome, I'm inspired now, dent my confidence too lately.

Re: Have you ever thought about just quitting?
 

I've been downswinging this week, and I deal with it by playing a casino bonus... I know for higher limit players the money might not be enough, but for me its fun to play, a bit relaxing, and by recouping some of the downswing money, i feel better about it

Re: Have you ever thought about just quitting?
 

YES! Last week in fact! But then I somehow made a 180 and now I feel like I'm playing better that I ever have(and the results have shown!)

Re: Have you ever thought about just quitting?
 

Don't do that, you're one of the people I enjoy reading.

Re: Have you ever thought about just quitting?
 

Reviewing your game for mistakes is great advice, actually. Sometimes the degradation your confidence suffers is enough to cause you to play poorly. Not playing winning hands for their maximum value is a common mistake when people are running bad. They get the same feeling as that hopeless dog in the psych. experiment and just expect to get clobbered, which is followed by taking down a pot that is smaller than it had to be.

Re: Have you ever thought about just quitting?
 

[ QUOTE ]
I am in the middle of the most...

[/ QUOTE ]

how do you know you're in the middle? maybe you're at the end... or the begining

to be honest no, i've never seriously considered quitting... its prob because i don't stake enough of my BR at the game to make a downswing really make me sick... downswings just make me want to improve...

Turnaround
 

I normally play $200NL and $400NL - I ran my bankroll up to $8K and decided to take a shot at the higher ($1000NL) tables - (I know, I know - insufficient bankroll - but hey that's why they call it taking a shot, right?).

I lost $2K in 2 big hands so I stepped back down to the 200 and 400 tables where I proceeded to lose another $2700. This $2700 down swing was nightmarish. At 200 and 400 tables this equates to about 8-9 buy ins - horrid.

So I'm down to may last $300 (not my actual last $300, but the last $300 I'm willing to lose before taking an extended break from the game) on a 600NL table and am playing HU with a bad player.

I am playing hyper-aggro just bullying him - just as I bust him another guy sits down and we play HU. Same treatment for him. So I'm at $960 and I sit at a $1000PL table, I run up to a little over $1200 and this hand comes along.

Party Poker No-Limit Hold'em, $ BB (9 handed) converter

UTG ($409.85)
UTG+1 ($951)
MP1 ($1406.79)
MP2 ($472)
Hero ($1232.87)
CO ($3539.5)
Button ($670.7)
SB ($1450.25)
BB ($1702)

Preflop: Hero is MP3 with J[img]/images/graemlins/club.gif[/img], J[img]/images/graemlins/diamond.gif[/img]. SB posts a blind of $5.
<font color="#666666">2 folds</font>, MP1 calls $10, <font color="#666666">1 fold</font>, <font color="#CC3333">Hero raises to $45</font>, <font color="#666666">1 fold</font>, Button calls $45, <font color="#666666">2 folds</font>, MP1 calls $35.

Flop: ($150) Q[img]/images/graemlins/diamond.gif[/img], 9[img]/images/graemlins/diamond.gif[/img], J[img]/images/graemlins/spade.gif[/img] <font color="#0000FF">(3 players)</font>
MP1 checks, <font color="#CC3333">Hero bets $100</font>, <font color="#CC3333">Button raises to $300</font>, MP1 calls $300, Hero is all-In $1087.87, Button is all-In $325.70, MP1 calls $887.87.

Turn: ($3148.04) Q[img]/images/graemlins/club.gif[/img] <font color="#0000FF">(3 players)</font>

River: ($3148.04) 5[img]/images/graemlins/club.gif[/img] <font color="#0000FF">(3 players)</font>

Final Pot: $3148.04

Results in white below: <font color="#FFFFFF">
MP1 has As Td (one pair, queens).
Hero has Jc Jd (full house, jacks full of queens).
Button has Qh Th (three of a kind, queens).
Outcome: Hero wins $3148.04. </font>
So after the most horrendous 2000 hands run in my life, I'm back to square 1. [img]/images/graemlins/cool.gif[/img]

Feel free to flame away.

Re: Have you ever thought about just quitting?
 

[ QUOTE ]
Have you ever thought about just quitting?

[/ QUOTE ]

Every day...

Not sure why I keep at it though, perhaps I think that the struggle is what makes the journey so rewarding...

Re: Have you ever thought about just quitting?
 

Well, I think that's what makes this game so fascinating and challenging is the winning and losing aspect. If it were truly that easy, then no one could be a long time winner, because the money has to come from somewhere, some fish; and the fish change all the time depending on what skill level you're at.
Someone playing 20/40, 30/60, limit is probably a fish to someone who regularly plays and wins 100/200 limit games.
I know it's been mentioned before in this forum, but, the book, "Mastery," by George Leonard is a great book. If you haven't read it, I'd recommend reading, or re-reading it.

Re: Turnaround
 

[ QUOTE ]
how do you know you're in the middle? maybe you're at the end...

[/ QUOTE ]

guess i was right...

Congrats [img]/images/graemlins/cool.gif[/img]

Re: Have you ever thought about just quitting?
 

[ QUOTE ]

I know it's been mentioned before in this forum, but, the book, "Mastery," by George Leonard is a great book. If you haven't read it, I'd recommend reading, or re-reading it.

[/ QUOTE ]

Can you give a quick summary of what the book's about?

Re: Have you ever thought about just quitting?
 

I logged onto this site today to, basically post this thread. I had an awful weekend down in AC and I wanted advice on downswings in the game. Seeing this thread already here has boosted my confidence enough to not quit the game all together. I'm just going to take a few weeks off, read this site more and hope I do something to help my karma out a bit.

Re: Have you ever thought about just quitting?
 

Who hasn't?

Re: Have you ever thought about just quitting?
 

i constantly make fun of my bro in law because he's told me he's quit poker forever about 3 times now

he's still playing

Re: Have you ever thought about just quitting?
 

[ QUOTE ]
[ QUOTE ]

I know it's been mentioned before in this forum, but, the book, "Mastery," by George Leonard is a great book. If you haven't read it, I'd recommend reading, or re-reading it.

[/ QUOTE ]

Can you give a quick summary of what the book's about?

[/ QUOTE ]

The book talks about the road you travel on your way to true mastery. The different pitfalls you may encounter, the different ways of thinking that people may have, and what it means to truly master something.

A very wonderful book.

Re: Have you ever thought about just quitting?
 

You can read my "I'm quiting this @#$%$ game" at cardplayer.com. Click on magazine, writers, and my name.

Hope it helps.

Al

Re: Have you ever thought about just quitting?
 

[ QUOTE ]
I am in the middle of the most horrendous downswing I've ever encountered.


The frustration just makes me wonder why I even bother playing.

[/ QUOTE ]

I symapthise.

Last week I endured a 175BB downswing at 5/10. My confidence is still very shaken even though I have had a 100BB recovery since Saturday.

I did not think about quitting, but I very seriously considered moving down to 1/2 and just bonus whoring for a couple months.

My advice is to take a 24 hour cooling of period. Then go back at it. If you have Pokertracker, review some hands. Pick a work area and then focus on that.

Re: Have you ever thought about just quitting?
 

Yeah, that's pretty much what that book is about. About the "plateau's" you reach along the way, and getting out of ruts. The different types of personalities in relation to "success." That sort of thing. Definitely worth reading.

Re: Have you ever thought about just quitting?
 

Winston Churchill -
"If you are going through hell, keep going."


PairTheBoard

Don\'t Quit.
 

This helps me from time to time. Hope it helps.


Don't Quit

When Things Go Wrong, As They Sometimes Will

When the Road You're Trudging Seems All Uphill

When the Funds Are Low, And the Debts Are High

And You Want To Smile, But You Have To Sigh

When Care Is Pressing You Down A Bit

Rest If You Must, But Don't You Quit


Life Is Queer, With Its Twists and Turns

As Every One Of Us Sometimes Learns,

And Many A Failure Turns About

When He Might Have Won Had He Stuck It Out

Don't Give Up Though The Pace Seems Slow,

You May Succeed With Another Blow



Success is Failure Turned Inside Out

The Silver Tint Of The Clouds Of Doubt

And You Never Can Tell How Close You Are

It May Be Near When It Seems So Far

So Stick To The Fight When You're Hardest Hit

It's When Things Seem Worst,

That You Must Not Quit

Unknown Authour