Bad Runs

[Cory Carroll]

I have recently been on a pretty bad streak for the last 2 months in hold'em, am kind of bored and was interested in hearing about some of your bad beats/runs some of you have encountered

[brad]

once i took too many vitamins on an empty stomache ...

ok seriously

just the other night i win like every hand i play in 30/60 stud but i only played like 2 hours.

but im up a lot (for me anyway_

so i went and plyaed 6/12 he before i go home. (eat breakfast, etc.)

naturally i lost like 1/3 of my win back there. (actually i was up in 6/12 then lost so i really lost a lot in 6/12)

just remember nuk or bio attack coming so dont worry so much about your bankroll. heh

[soda]

I'm sorry to hear about your bad run of late. I recently went through something similar. I play for a living and have been doing so for about a year and a half now.

The first year, I did well, making from 1.5 to 2 BB per hour. Mostly at $9 $18 Commerce style. This September, however, I ran into a cold streak. For that month, I ended up losing a little over 4 grand. The beats were amazing, but my play was also poor. It got so bad, that only one or two beats would knock me off my game. If you've ever played in this game, then you know it doesn't take long to rack up a few beats. It's a very live game. I once went 4 hours without winning a pot, then won 2 in a row and was up $500 for the session.

So, after my September debacle, I took two weeks off and studied the game. I played countless hours online and against the Turbo Texas Hold'em bots. When my game was solid again, I went back to Commerce. I lost and lost and lost. At least my game was on track now. For two weeks, I played well, but only managed one win of $45. Outplaying everyone and still losing, I simply couldn't take it anymore.

I started playing online. I figured with the increase in number of hands, I'd be able to better weather the storm. Two weeks in a casino is about 2400 hands. That's only one day for me online. In fact, I had one day where I played over 4500 hands.

The online switch has been a good one for me. I win 80% to 90% of my sessions. Compare that to the casino where I only win two out of three. My wins are smaller online, just a couple hundred at a time, but more consistent so I make about the same hourly wage.

I remember being very concerned that the bad streak I had would end my short lived career. I'm glad to say that my bad run is officially over and has been for some time.

The problem with running poorly is that a lot of it is poor play. I've always felt this way. I know that, even when I thought I was playing well, I really could have been playing better.

I am playing better now. Every day, I lose to dozens of two outers, runner runner flushes, heads up gut shot runner runner straights. And every day, I make money. In fact, these incredibly poor plays and long shots of my opponents is why I do so well in these games.

Turn your streak around. Make a conscious effort to do so. Only accept your best game, otherwise stop playing. Even in a game with as much luck as poker, you have the ability to effect a change. If you don't like the way things are going, then change them. For me, I didn't like the short term luck factor. So, instead of playing 30 hands per hour, I now play 2 to 3 hundred hands per hour.

Best of luck,

soda

[brad]

'I now play 2 to 3 hundred hands per hour.'

wow how many tables do u play?

[Cory Carroll]

I have also made the switch to online...and I see no end in sigh, I have been playing 5/10 for the last 9 hours and am yet to win a pot, will be interesting to see how long this lasts

[soda]

3 or 4

[bernie]

"The online switch has been a good one for me. I win 80% to 90% of my sessions. Compare that to the casino where I only win two out of three"

i take it, based on these numbers, that you would conclude that online play is easier than B&M....a difference of 14-24 percentage points is quite large. or is it that you use pokerstat to help your game...which actually makes online play easier also...

i found the online players to be horrendous personnally...just wondered your opinion...

b

[soda]

I personally feel that the online players are better than their casino counterparts. In the online 2/4 games, players are generally better than the 9/18 and 15/30 games at Commerce. Now, it may not be so if these same players were sitting directly in front of me and I were playing only one game. Playing on a computer reduces my visual tells - an important part of my overall B&M game.

However, I find the players at Party to be terrible, yet I cannot win there. I keep calling down 72s and 45o with my pocket aces and kings and, of course, losing to two pair or a straight. This is more like Commerce to me. Just because someone called your raise, does not mean they have a "hand". I'm not sure if my results at Party are short term bad luck or if I'm playing a style that will not win long term. Unfortunately, I don't have a stat program for Party.

I do use PokerStat and it helps out a lot.

The percentage difference in win rates is solely due to the fact that a B&M session consists of 240 hands, while the same 8 hour session online can be over 2000 hands. I'm just getting into the long run more often. Oh, and maybe it's because the games are "tougher", that is to say they are easier to beat consistently.

Try beating the 9/18 at Commerce consistently for a year. It won't happen. You'll be able to win 1.5 and probably even 2 BB per hour. But, you won't win consistently. Terrible nasty losing streaks with big pointy teeth will tear at your soul.

Of course, you'll hit winning streaks of unusual clarity and enlightenment too.

soda

[Fitz]

How are you getting so many hands an hour? I can rarely average over 160 hands an hour playing 2 tables. Are you playing multiple sites? I've done that, but playing more than 3 tables at a time is negative EV for me because I found I was making mistakes trying to play too fast.

Good luck,

[soda]

Yeah, I'm playing at Paradise and Party. I don't like Party very much as I'm not making any money. I may go back down to 2 games soon. Wish Paradise allowed for three games.

soda