[bluefeet]

Hey Beef, nice post.

I don't have any words of wisdom, but I will second the analysis in your OP. I had my first significant drop moving up in early October. I've been around long enough to know that it was hardly worth mentioning, but painful all the same to a part-timing 2-tabler...24buyins.

Anyway, while stuck in the [painful] moment, I was oblivious to what was happening. It's hard to describe that fog you are operating in when the going gets tough. Despite being a rational thinker (questionable), to me, it is just about impossible to pull yourself above high enough to see clearly enough to put your finger on the problem. More toublesome is that until I hit that mystical bottom (defined individually of course), I wasn't even aware I was operating under this condition.

Having reached my "'nough already" point, I spent a great deal of time going over hand history. And just like you pointed out, a handful of horrendous misfortunes indeed started the ball rolling. I wasn't a half-dozen drops in until my game took a subtle swing - where subtle is all it takes to push you in the wrong direction.

With confidence doing a nose-dive, having suffered one too many beats to brush them aside, I was completely off the game plan. The first poison added to the mix was the loss of aggression, "because I KNOW you'll suck out on me!". Followed close behind was calling for all my chips too much. Partly "because I KNOW you have [censored]!" But at the same time because doing so is an easier decision (it's no secret, considering hands that 'lessor' players call with regularly). Not to mention the necessity, having lost the chip gathering ability of my own aggression - or lack of.

Sharing this wisdom with a buy-in drop sample size of ONE - whatever that is worth. But when considering the common 'negative varience lasts longer than postive varience' rule of thumb, it is certainly indicative of a change in ones play. The "play through it" advice might work (assuming the advice seaker has the roll), because EVENTUALLY you stumble out of the fog. But for me personally, it took stepping away, not going back until I had rationalized the cause (to my own satisfaction anyway).