[slogger]

Just wanted to echo all of the advice the others have provided and toss in my own relevant anecdote. About 4 or 5 weeks back, I finished one of those 100-SNG challenges that everyone seems to be doing these days. I ran at the 10+1 level on Party and absolutely crushed it for near 90% ROI.

I then moved up to 20+2 and proceeded to miss the money in 11 of 12 games, finishing 3rd in my only cash. I had a feeling that this might happen before I even started (given how good my luck had apparently been over my previous 100 games), but that premonition made my resulting feelings of frustration no less devastating. I even questioned whether the 20s were actually much more difficult than the 10s (they're not, there are just fewer complete idiots).

Since then, I have played 24 more games at the 20 level and I've cashed in 11 of 24, with 5 wins. Just like that, I'm in the black at the $20 level and I'm once again realizing something I already knew: swings happen. That's not to say I was playing anything resembling perfect poker; just that combinations of certain factors tend to make the bad runs seem worse and the good runs seem better.

Many here will tell you the same thing, but then slip into utter despair when they go for a week or two without winning. A month later, they will come back and offer a tale similar to this and the advice that you must learn to handle the swings.

The point is that we all go through this (some on a larger scale than others). The important thing is that you keep the big picture in mind and take some time (away from the game if necessary) to keep your game sharp.