First losing streak

[Smithers]

Hi -- long time lurker, second- or third-time poster.

I play on Paradise, usually $50-NL and/or $22 sit-n-goes. Started about a year ago and always made money. Just picked up the mouse and beat the game, more or less, every single night. Been paying my bills for about a year now that way.

ALL OF A SUDDEN i am losing. It is a dreadful combination of bad luck (AA getting constantly cracked, AK losing to AJ, etc), and bad play on my part (calling big bets when I clearly shouldnt be); the former is certainly contributing to the latter. I really respect/love the game and try to play "correctly" at all times, and that is what makes my losses so particularly painful.

Quite frankly I am borderline despondent about the situation, and by focusing harder, and trying harder to play correctly, I've completely lost the "natural" feeling you're supposed to have... also I have stopped seeing the chips as "units" and am increasingly seeing them as "money." Bad, I know.

At the moment, my only solace comes from the fact that, allegedly, ALL good players inevitably go through cold spells. I guess it's up to me to figure out how to get through this. I sure as hell ain't quitting.

So I'm hoping a lot of you out there can answer the following questions:

(1) Tips on how you got out of your losing streaks, and how you deal with the bad times.
(2) Books/sites where I can sharpen my general poker math (I have most of the Sklansky books... I am wondering about learning HARD-CORE pokermath).
(3) Answer to the question: if you have become completely shellshocked every time you have AA and lose, is it okay to go through a phase of simply pushing preflop with them, even if you're only picking up change by doing so?

Anything else you feel like adding is greatly appreciated. Thanks, and keep writing these amazingly interesting threads.

Tyler

[purnell]

You are running bad. It happens sometimes. Do something that makes you feel good.

Also, post some hands in the appropriate forum. You may find that you have been missing something important.

[jordanx]

[ QUOTE ]
(1) Tips on how you got out of your losing streaks, and how you deal with the bad times.

[/ QUOTE ]

Don't let losing affect your decisions. Every hand is independent and previous hands are insignificant.

You should know if you are running bad or playing bad. Are the majority of your chips going into the pot when you are a favorite? Are you allowing people to correctly draw out on you by underbetting the pot?

[ QUOTE ]
(2) Books/sites where I can sharpen my general poker math (I have most of the Sklansky books... I am wondering about learning HARD-CORE pokermath).

[/ QUOTE ]

Post hands here.

[ QUOTE ]
(3) Answer to the question: if you have become completely shellshocked every time you have AA and lose, is it okay to go through a phase of simply pushing preflop with them, even if you're only picking up change by doing so?

[/ QUOTE ]

No. See, you are never in a state when you are running bad. You are in a state where you have run bad. Playing poorly will only contribute to downswings, playing smart, disciplined poker will help mitigate them.

[jason1990]

[ QUOTE ]
See, you are never in a state when you are running bad. You are in a state where you have run bad.

[/ QUOTE ]
Very nicely put.

[flair1239]

What helps me is keeping good records. It seems like a couple times a month I will have some sort of a losing streak be it minor (50BB), moderate (100bb), or Major (150bb).

Most of them are in the minor to moderate category. They are usually caused by varying combinations of bad luck and bad play. Usually I find a work item or tune-up item from these streaks. Anyway, looking at the records you can see that you always eventually recover.

IMO they make you a better player in the end. The only things you can do is play within your bankroll and think about your game.

If I find myself getting emotional during a downswing, I usually either take a day off. Or go play some mico-limit game like .04/.08 7-stud, or .05/.10 O8.

IT will pass eventually. Just keep your head on straight.

[SteveM]

Congrats on this being only your first losing streak.

I had some early bad runs that forced me into coming up with a strategy for dealing with them. It boils down to this: As soon as I'm tempted to play a hand differently than I normally would due to a previous run of bad luck, I take a break. Like jordanx said (to paraphrase) there is no such thing as cards "running bad" - the next hand is completely independent of the previous ones and the only thing linking future cards to my current freefall is my own poor, tilty play. So I stop. There's no sense in trying to "win it back" when I'm not playing my best game. When I feel like I can play my cards intelligently and with confidence then I'm ready to play again. This has really worked for me. Good luck!