Frustrated!

Hello Everyone,
This is my second post. I took the advice of the Forum and started playing for real money in the .02/.04 cent rooms. I played at this level until I had won 200 big bets before I moved to the .05/.10 level. I won 200 big bets at this level before moving to .25/.50 cent where I won 300 big bets. This all took place over a three month period playing at PokerStars.com.
My frustration is.....all of a sudden I can't win a hand. I may win a small pot here and there however for the most part I'm on a serious losing streak. I do understand that the cards can run cold for a very long time. Out of 48 playing sessions (most sessions last 2-4 hours) I logged 38 winning sessions and 10 losing sessions. I was earning 4 to 6.4 big bets per 100 hands. Now...I struggle just to break even.
Is this normal??? Has anyone else had this experience with PokerStars. I'd really be thankful for any serious responses and insight.

Thanks in advance
bhunter/

[jrz1972]

What level are you currently playing at? In my experience, Stars .5/1 is a very tight game and would be a big adjustment from .25/.50.

To answer your main question, yes this is normal. All of us have had 10k hand runs where we've struggled to break even. It happens. It's no big deal.

[Webster]

Well - I've never played at that level but I just got over a -227 Big Bet streak in 1/2 to 3/6 and it seemed that the odds somehow had totally changed. I have 100,000 hands in 1/2 to 5/10 and I went 10,000 hands at a -3BB/100 and I'm a solid 2BB/100 player.

I took a week off of the game because I felt I was starting to press - I was going into a sesion expecting to lose. My normal sessions are about 1 hour and 2 tables and I went 14 straight sessions with out EVER being above where I started.

It happens. Just step back. Play good ABC poker, no fancy plays. Your goal is to get that good feeling again. If you get up - don't press it. Stop!! Leave the table feeling good so NEXT time you sit down your fresh off a win.

Remember - EVERY gets bad beats, even fish. Don't take losing hands personally when someone hits a runner runner backdoor low flush draw when you havd a set. It's the only way they know how to play.

It'll come back.
Grinders sometimes entertaining Poker/Life Blog

Thanks for the quick response. I tried .50/1.00 dollar at stars and found I had to tighten right up. Even then I lost over 100 big bets, so I dropped back down to .25/.50 cent at Stars and I'm still seeing a losing trend. I almost feel as if Stars has me on "Distribute Mode" .

Thanks again.

[lautzutao]

What's your total bankroll right now? If you're close to $200 hit the granny code up at Paradise Poker(if its still active)

The bonus will help pad your losing streak, if that's all it is. I agree that Stars .5/1 was much tighter than .25/.50 down. It's like a completely different game from what you've been used to.

[Redd]

I've been breakeven for 12,000 hands in one of the softest games on the internet now. I'm just posting hands, working on my game, and worrying about it as little as possible.

Thanks for the quick response. My bank roll was over 200.00 but now down to 85.00. Thanks for the advice about the granny code. I'll now trying to get my bank roll back up to 200.00 back down in the .25/.50 cent level. Yes, I notice after several loses that the .50/1.00 level at Stars was much tighter and yes different than .25/.50 cent.

Thanks again

[jrz1972]

You're playing above your bankroll.

[Absolution]

I think you're just hitting the limit where you can't sit back and play autopoker anymore. In my experience, at .25/.50 and below, just playing better starting hands is enough to win even if you're pretty weak postflop. You could probably open 5+ tables at that level and win easily. You get paid off every time you hit so you can get away with a lot of postflop leaks. Once you get into the $1 range people tighten up and you don't get as much action. Without as much of 'preflop cushion' your postflop leaks really start to show. That's my experience anyway. You have to got to just 1 table, read all of your opponents and think every action through very thoroughly with the help of this forum. That's where I'm at right now.

[lautzutao]

I second that. You should have stayed at .25/50 a bit longer, unless you were willing to grab a bonus at a different site. And you lost too much. $85 isn't enough to play at .25/.50 anymore. Drop down to .05/.1 and rebuild to $120 or so. Then play .25/.50 it till you rebuild to $200.