[ZootMurph]

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This may be better suited to the psych forum, but you guys are better poker players than the regulars there, and I consider this more of a strategy related poker issue than an emotional one.

First off I am not in a downswing. I am in a Upswing that has featured a extended series of -80BB, +90BB,-40BB, 60BB...etc sessions. I play about 6000 hands a week and play 6 out of seven days.

Now for my question. You are at a good table, maybe even a great table. One you are happy to find and ordinarily not consider leaving. You end up getting run down a few times after buying in for 30BB, you go down 20BB, rebuy for 10 more... and nothing seems to click.

What I am considering doing is instead of solidering on at this good table, I am considering leaving, shortly after the first rebuy.

The reason is, most of my off nights have featured, getting my ass handed to be for -30BB to -50BB on a single table. I really can only remember a couple times when I have come storming back and taken my vengence on the asstards who thumped me in the first place.

I mean is table image at an otherwise good table important enough by itself to make you leave?

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When I'm in this situation, I often think of the debate about whether rushes are real or not. My belief is that rushes are real, and if I'm at a table where my luck seems to be bad, no matter how good the table is, I leave and move to another. I usually play four tables, and I'm happy to leave a table that is running me down. I used to stay at these tables as well, and found that I would lose more or not gain any back about 80% of the time. That number is big enough to convince me that rushes, and the reverse, are real and I'm more convinced than ever to get away from those situations when possible. Finally, since I've made it my M.O. to leave 'bad luck' tables, my BB/100 is up 0.4 (from 1.5 BB/100 over ~120k hands to 1.9 BB/100 over ~80k hands). Of course, this improvement COULD be from my game improving as well...

Now, as far as leaving a table for other reasons, there are three things I look at when deciding (other than the usual emotional/physical reasons like being tired, on tilt, etc.):

1) How I am playing at the table - I have found that for some reason I occasionally play very poorly at a table while I'm playing well at the other three, and I can't come up with an explanation.
2) The strength of the opposition. If I find a table is really tough or tight, I will get off the table.
3) As already mentioned, the luck or rush factor. If I'm on a bad run at a table, I will definitely leave.

As for table image, I don't think that has anything to do with me leaving a table. As I think everyone here does, we try to adjust our play to utilize our table image most effectively. So, whatever image you have to others, you can use that to your advantage. The 'hard luck' guy is just another table image to utilize where possible.