How do you handle cold cards/downswings?

A-Baum · #1 05-25-2005, 03:07 PM

Running into my first serious streak of cold cards and a 106BB downswing, all online. Not sure how to handle it. Do you change your play? I have dropped down in limits and tightened up a little but still nothing hits. I'll go 4-5 orbits before getting a playable hand that bricks on the flop.

I seriously just want to quit. It's boring, it's no fun to see that Kh hit and then hope for the best only to see the 4s hit. Time and time again.

No this isn't a whining thread, I would like feedback on how people handle these kinds of things? I want to throw my monitor out the window the next time I see J5o. Like I said I've dropped limits to try and put the fire out, but it's like someone turned a switch somewhere.

Do you just keep playing like normal? Keep hoping for the best, or do you change your game at all and tighten up trying to lose less money during this streak?

bandfan · #2 05-25-2005, 03:19 PM

screaming obscenties at the monitor and throwing things across the room seems to help

nsdjoe · #3 05-25-2005, 03:39 PM

[ QUOTE ]
Running into my first serious streak of cold cards and a 106BB downswing, all online. Not sure how to handle it. Do you change your play? I have dropped down in limits and tightened up a little but still nothing hits. I'll go 4-5 orbits before getting a playable hand that bricks on the flop.

I seriously just want to quit. It's boring, it's no fun to see that Kh hit and then hope for the best only to see the 4s hit. Time and time again.

No this isn't a whining thread, I would like feedback on how people handle these kinds of things? I want to throw my monitor out the window the next time I see J5o. Like I said I've dropped limits to try and put the fire out, but it's like someone turned a switch somewhere.

Do you just keep playing like normal? Keep hoping for the best, or do you change your game at all and tighten up trying to lose less money during this streak?

[/ QUOTE ]

I'm a lame little girl because I've hit my first downswing (only about 70BB in the last couple days)and I'm taking the rest of the week off to clear my mind and make sure I get off tilt.

Niediam · #4 05-25-2005, 03:59 PM

You need to realize that -100BBs is at worst a moderate downswing. It's going to happen many many times during your poker career...

A-Baum · #5 05-25-2005, 04:16 PM

I understand that, so that's why I'd like to learn ASAP how to deal with such a swing. I plan on playing for a long time and I need to know how to deal with this. Do I drop several limits and wait it out? Do I play the same limits, just playing tighter?

In Pokertracker I went from semi-loose/aggressive (TLA-Eagle) to semi-loose/passive (unhappy face) during this downswing. I can't be as aggressive postflop because I never hit anything. At least when I was aggressive post flop I caught something so I wasn't completely spewing. It seemed to work in the lower limits for me. But now I am bricking left and right so I've check/folded when I hit nothing on the flop anymore trying to conserve chips.

Is this a wrong approach?

Niediam · #6 05-25-2005, 05:56 PM

I don't think you quite understand... 100BB swings are NORMAL. Why would you change anything?

gasoltub · #7 05-25-2005, 08:09 PM

One thing to realize is that there is no such thing as "being in the middle of a downswing".
All you can know for sure is that you have had a downswing up til now. Just keep playing your best game and you will be up again. (if you are in fact a winning player)

I had a 100BB downswing last week and it made me want to puke. To make matters worse it was only a week after I stepped up to 2/4 so it felt like A LOT of money to me. In the end I almost hated seeing AK, QQ or other premium hands because they "never" held up, or made very little money when they did.
But things turn around and sooner or later you will get hot decked or at least normal.

Also try to pay attention to your pot/implied-odds estimations. I believe that one of my major leaks was not to discount draws when I held middle or bottom pair enough, and also that I bet AK and the likes too hard when they missed the flop. I didn't pay enough attention to the fact that several of my opponents would call me down with mottom or middle pair.

sfwusc · #8 05-25-2005, 06:10 PM

100BB happens weekly...almost

not worth a post.

-SFWUSC

200 ish.... you can whine

pyroponic · #9 05-26-2005, 02:30 PM

This reply is for SFWUSC:

Seriously? I 8-table and wanted to make sure I wasn't the only one...

sfwusc · #10 05-26-2005, 02:40 PM

I has been happening to me lately (pay back for the 8K hands that won like 300-400BB maybe). It would be worse, but I have found some people that I could read perfectly allowing me to win some pots that I shouldn't have.

I was up 30BB Tuesday night before dinner. After dinner I lost like 55BB. Yesterday, I lost like 20 BB.

That is a 75 BB downswing in like 36 hours. If you play a lot of hands....that will happen. I got AA like 3 times in 1200 hands and lost all three times. Sets lost. No hit on draws. KK and QQ win blinds or lose big pots.

This stuff happens. 100BB isnt worth a post.

That 200BB swing I had two weeks ago...it was worth posts. I had a lot over in the SS forum. I was trying to find leaks.

-SFWUSC