Nights like last night make me want to quit poker forever...

UATrewqaz · #1 05-23-2005, 06:02 PM

I don't know if I can handle legitimate downswings... I mean, you work so hard for so long to do well and build up some winnings and then everything conspires against you it seems to rob you of most of what you just won...

Last night I had the absolute worst night, card+luck wise, of my life.

I won't flood the hand posts but I had 7-8 15BB+ pots that I was either a huge favorite in or had my monster run up against a mega-monster.

A few examples, any couple of which I can stomach, but not all within an hour.

JJ, flop JK6 (pot is like 6 ways), turn Q, river A, a jackass with T3 takes down a 28BB pot.

JJ, flop 7AJ, turn 3, river A. My J's over A's lose to A's over 7's, pot 16BB.

99, flop xxx (blanks, turn 9, river x), somebody makes some crazy ass straight, another 15BB+ pot.

QJ, flop 4QQ, end up lost to someone holding Q4 (not a bad beat, just bad luck how the cards were dealt).

T9 in BB, flop TT3, turn Q, river Q, lose a huge pot to AQ.

KJ, flop KJ6, turn 9, river Q, once again the madly phat T6 takes down the huge pot.

88, flop JJJ, turn 3, river 9, lose to A9.

There were several more, not quite as bad, much more "typical" (AK losing to K8 cuz he paired up his 8's, etc.)

boo hoo hoo for me, finished the night down about 65BB, when it could have easily been +65BB, whine whine.

I've examined my play in most of these hands and would not do a SINGLE THING different, that's why I'm so disheartened. What's the point in playing if this can happen to you? How can guys at higher limits, say 5/10 or 30/60 handle this? How can anyone play poker for a living when the very nature of the game (tons of variance) does not ensure steady income.

I know the law of large numbers states that given the above situations overa nd over again I'll come out way ahead, the problem is I don't feel like playing 10 million hands.

This sucks.

SomethingClever · #2 05-23-2005, 06:10 PM

[ QUOTE ]
finished the night down about 65BB

[/ QUOTE ]

Better stick to the smaller limits for now. Bigger swings than this can and will happen.

irishpint · #3 05-23-2005, 06:12 PM

yawn. we all lose sometimes.

next.

milesdyson · #4 05-23-2005, 06:13 PM

[ QUOTE ]
What's the point in playing if this can happen to you?

[/ QUOTE ]
Worst question ever. If people never wrongly called you, you would never win money.

flyangler · #5 05-23-2005, 06:15 PM

I feel your pain. I got beat this morning before work 3 hands in a row... I had pocket Q's, K's and A [img]/images/graemlins/heart.gif[/img] K [img]/images/graemlins/heart.gif[/img] all beat down by way lesser hands, even if I hit on the flop (in the case of the kings) I was not able to push the flush draw off his cards for anything, and he hit it (9 [img]/images/graemlins/spade.gif[/img] 6 [img]/images/graemlins/spade.gif[/img] in his hand) on the river. This game kills me- I love to hate it.

droolie · #6 05-23-2005, 06:29 PM

We've all been there (some of us more recently than others). Just understand that you are gambling and skill is not always rewarded over a small sample size. Your advantage will come over the course of many hours of playing not one. I can lose 65BB's without even noticing it right now at .50/1 because I have a very long track record of winning and I am adequately bankrolled to endure dry spells. I am confident that my playing style is a longterm money maker so I don't get too worried about shortterm results.

I am getting spanked at 1/2 6-max and this is much more disturbing as I have no positive track record in that game and zero confidence that I am playing correctly. The only thing I have going for me is my experience in full ring that tells me that losing at the rate I'm losing with the hands I'm holding is a very unusual event. Variance is truly a bitch when you lack confidence. My solution is to fanatically try to get better. Reading the forums, reaching out for help from fellow posters and playing a butt load and playing sober and less tables. I know I can become a long-term winner as long as I continue to try to improve and so can you.

So buck up and win it back. If you don't like a good gambool take up chess.

TripleH68 · #7 05-23-2005, 06:33 PM

The concept is called "avoid results oriented thinking." Specifically, the concept as practiced means to work using the best known process or methodology, but to not get caught up by the specific results achieved while using it.

This approach tends to produce the best result more often than not, and that is what is important.

irishpint · #8 05-23-2005, 06:35 PM

we need to play in the chump losers bracket. i figured they made you into glue or something. pm me.

webgator · #9 05-23-2005, 06:36 PM

I feel your pain. I had some ass call my KK preflop raise with 69os and what should come up...6 on the turn and a 9 on the river! Actually, since I started the May reload on Party I was down about 60bb because of crap like this...until today when the poker gods finally answered my prayers! Still havn't recovered all I lost but I'm headed in the right direction.

waynethetrain · #10 05-23-2005, 06:38 PM

That's horrible. I feel legitimate sympathy for you because I understand how painful this kind of stuff can get. I don't know if this will make you feel any better, but that's practically the kind of night I expect when I go to the table these days. That's how badly I've been running for the last 4 1/2 months. I've legitimately lost track of the number of nights like that I've had. If it weren't for the bonuses I would have been institutionalized a few weeks ago for walking the streets of LA mumbling about being in the Twilight Zone. Tomorrow's another day.