Should you "play through" a bad run of cards?

[rivered_again]

For the past 2 weeks playing online I have been getting pretty bad cards, and it shows no signs of letting up. But I keep playing anyway, and I just keep on getting bad cards. In fact I am trying to play even more than usual, to try to "play through" the bad streak. Few isolated patches of good cards sustain me, i.e. during a 2 hour session (~120 hands) the only hand I won was when my pocket aces flopped a full house. The bankroll has been slowly shrinking.

When you're getting this kind of cold streak, is it better to stop playing for a while, or just plow through it? I guess it depends how you conceptualize hot/cold streaks in poker. Is a streak a "phenomenon" that comes and goes (so you can wait it out), or is it merely a start and end point on the endless sequence of cards you're dealt (which will pick up where it left off)?

I don't know how this compares to tilt. I certainly wouldn't try to play through tilt. This is more like perpetual disappointment. I don't play any differently than before, it's just the cards that are not cooperating.

What works best for you guys to get through a prolonged run of bad cards? (is 2 weeks even prolonged?)

[The Goober]

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Is a streak a "phenomenon" that comes and goes (so you can wait it out), or is it merely a start and end point on the endless sequence of cards you're dealt (which will pick up where it left off)?

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It's neither. Your next session is just as likely to be a winning one regardless of whether or not you are in a streak (assuming you play the same). Any sort of observation on the average length of a streak goes out the window once you are already in one. The past has 0 effect on the cards you are going to get in the future.

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I don't play any differently than before, it's just the cards that are not cooperating.

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If this is actually true (I know personally I don't play nearly as well after getting shitty cards for a long time), then you should play through it. I suppose you might want to play even more if you can do it profitably, to make up for the lost income.

[blaze666]

i am quite ambitious about poker, and i am 14 which is still very young, but i would have ideally liked to have started poker earlier, so i usually plow on because i figure that i need as much experience as i can get, becasue im not doing it all for the money, mostly because i would like to learn to play good poker, i don't need the money now, only when im older. so a month's brerak from poker is a months worth of experience that im not getting.

now im on a 5 week break from poker, and as soon as i get back, im going to see if it has made a difference. hopefully, i'll remember all the good things, and forget all the bad things, but mabye it will be the other way round.

by the way, this is about me playing bad, not getting bad cards, although, i have started playing bad because recently i have been gettuing bad cards, it's like a perpetual tilt.

[CaptSensible]

Personally I think that taking a little break from poker is never a bad thing. It helps me clear my head a bit. I know exactly the kind of streaks that you're talking about (i'm sure we all do) and I've pondered the exact question you're asking. I'm not sure if I have an answer except that taking even a day off from poker can't hurt. For me, those losing streaks make me feel horrid. Stepping away from poker for even a few hours and doing something I enjoy helps me get a little bit of perspective back.

[Xhad]

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I guess it depends how you conceptualize hot/cold streaks in poker. Is a streak a "phenomenon" that comes and goes (so you can wait it out), or is it merely a start and end point on the endless sequence of cards you're dealt (which will pick up where it left off)?

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Neither. The entire concept of a streak is fiction, invented by our mind to see patterns that aren't there. The cards are still random, and waiting is just as likely to make you miss out on winning sessions as it is to make you miss out on losing ones.

If you're on the top of your game despite losing, keep playing. If you're depressed or tilting because of your bad luck, take a break. There is no other practical answer.

[revots33]

I'm on a similar streak of bad cards myself. Before that I was on a great streak. They do seem to come in bunches, even though rationally I know that each hand is independent of another. I play mainly SNGs, and it seems like my cards run either real good or real bad. But I'm sure my confidence is better during good runs of cards, which in turn helps my play. And I probably play too weak during bad runs, just waiting for the inevitable suckout.

I think taking a break is a good idea if you start to feel the urge to play lousy hands out of boredom, or if you feel tilt coming on after you get dealt 8-3 for what feels like the thousandth time.

It is mathematically more likely that you will get bad cards more often than good cards.

[Bonafone]

Another option is playing a different game. Often when i run bad in stt's, I like to play some mtt's and cash games.

If you don't have another game where you feel comfortable playing or where you feel you can make money, then you can drop down to micro limits and learn a new game.

[bernie]

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When you're getting this kind of cold streak, is it better to stop playing for a while, or just plow through it?

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If you're playing well, and in a good game, you play through it. You can't run from a streak as you don't know where it will end. Your very next hand could be the start of a monster run.

The trick is to be brutally honest with yourself about your play whether it's developed some leaks or not, even if you're in a great game. Sometimes you have to leave a gravy train to clear your head.

Calling it a 'bad run' of cards is last on the list after you've combed through your game street by street and made sure you are playing well.

And no, 2 weeks isn't that bad. Hand count depending (online). Live, it's nothing.

b

A streak isn't something that happens to your cards; it's something that happens to you because of your reaction to the cards.