Why am I not winning anymore??

[Lmn55d]

Hey, I started playing playing online no limit poker about 6 months ago on partypoker. I started with nl25, then moved up to nl50. Since then i've been consistently winning and made around 9k. However, the last 2-3 weeks i haven't been winning...i haven't really lost too much ( a few hundred), but stopped winning the way I used to. I really dont know why...it seems like I've been getting unlucky and the tables are much tighter (not getting paid off as much), but I think it might be my mindset also. Postflop I've been making bad plays and calls more often. I just dont seem to have the discipline or focus anymore. I dont really enjoy playing that much, but I want to play to make money (I'm in college). Another thing is I switched from 3 to 4 tables at a time about the time I started doing poorly....could that be why? It doesn't seem to affect me much but I dont know. Any suggestions or advice?

[Al Schoonmaker]

Two to three weeks of losing modestly are nothing to worry about. Mason wrote that you can expect to have MUCH longer losing streaks just because of random variations in your "luck."
In fact, some excellent players have had MUCH longer and more severe losing streaks.
Since it's early days, my primary advice is DON'T PANIC.
You might also go to cardplayer.com, click on magazine, writers, and my name. There is a two part series, "Running bad or playing badly?"
Clarkmeister started a thread here about those articles, and there were many posts in it. It may still be here.
Regards,
Al

[Lmn55d]

thanks for the advice. The thing is though, I play so much and with 4 tables at once that the swings of luck usually last a few hours, or at most a few days...to have bad luck for 2 weeks seems a little abnormal considering i'm playing so many hands a day (around 800-1k probably).

[Al Schoonmaker]

If you are playing 800-1,000 hands per day, you're messing up your life.
Sorry to be so blunt, but your life is grossly unbalanced, and unbalanced lives are unhealthy.
Regards,
Al

[Nottom]

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If you are playing 800-1,000 hands per day, you're messing up your life.

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I think you are underestimating the number of hands a person can play online. If you play multiple tables you can see 1000 hands in 4-5 hours pretty easy.

[mackthefork]

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Quote:
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If you are playing 800-1,000 hands per day, you're messing up your life.


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I think you are underestimating the number of hands a person can play online. If you play multiple tables you can see 1000 hands in 4-5 hours pretty easy.

[/ QUOTE ]

Yes you can play 1000 hands in about 3 1/2 hours if you play 4 tables, however you said you didn't enjoy playing, whether thats just now or always been the case, when I stop enjoying playing I take a break. If you do so you will come back with fresh perspective even if it's just a couple of days. Your little bad run is not a problem but if you react badly too it it could be, have a rest.

Regards

ML

[Al Schoonmaker]

Thanks for correcting me. I had not realized that it would take so little time. My comments about "messing up your life" should be moderated.
However, I still believe that playing too much poker is unhealthy. Exactly how much is "too much" is a judgment call, but it's safer to play too few than too many. I know lots of people who live unbalanced lives because of poker, and it is not at all healthy, either physically or mentally.
Regards,
Al

[Lmn55d]

um, if you play 4 tables at once for a few hours you get close to 1000 hands...its not like I'm playing for 10 hours.

[IlliniRyRy]

I'm going through roughly the same losing streak. I made 10K in 3 months playing 3 games of 3-6 (about 25-30 hrs a week roughly) and then I didn't make any money for close to 3 weeks. I took about a month off just because it was too much stress, and then I started up again today and I'm already down 60BB in just a couple hours, so right now I'm down just over 100BB . I really have no idea if the games have changed or what. I wish i knew. I guess the only definitive answer is that time will tell. That's the only way to know for sure. One thing I do know for sure is that this is absolute torture.

[Robk]

[ QUOTE ]
If you are playing 800-1,000 hands per day, you're messing up your life. Sorry to be so blunt, but your life is grossly unbalanced, and unbalanced lives are unhealthy.


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I'm stunned. Playing online poker 4-5 hours a day is "messing up your life", no further questions asked? C'mon Al.