[Blarg]

You have to get back on the horse again when you fall off. You're losing a lot of potential money if you start turning away profitable situations because you start thinking the cards have memory and are going to treat you differently. Money not won is just as real as money won, in poker.

The only reason to play differently after a bad beat or series of them is if your table image has changed and you find everyone playing into you so much that you've lost any sort of control over the table. Poker somewhat depends, especially for certain people's styles, on table control, and if you don't have it, you can be in a negative -EV for hours. If that happens you can play differently, but it's probably best just to change tables, as you don't want to start ignoring +EV plays or making a greater part of your play book -EV or break-even EV plays just to stay in the action.

If you feel spooked or that the cards are getting memories or anything magical like that, there's no shame to it, nor sense in denying it if it's going to affect your behavior. Indulging supersitions to a certain extent can be +EV if it helps one's confidence or makes one feel better. You just have to be aware that's why you're doing it -- to satisfy the parts of you that aren't logical. Everyone has those parts. But once it starts cutting into your hourly rate significantly, it's time to either play right, leave the table, or leave the casino. There's definitely no point in giving superstitious behavior enough influence over your gameplay that it significantly impacts your earn rate.