When do you start second-guessing?

[Hoss1193]

Like many, I play both online and at B&Ms, for a number of reasons. Strictly from a mathematical standpoint, online is better, and I do enjoy playing the game as well. I keep B&M in the mix, however, because from an enjoyment/social aspect, I simply find it more fun. Poker is not income for me, at least not for any more than just casual pocket money.

While my online game is going well, I'm currently in a B&M downswing. I'm guessing (at about 35 hands/hour) I've played maybe 1800 hands this month, and lost 82BB, almost 5 BB/100.

I haven't been worried about it. I don't find the players tougher than my typical online game (party 1/2). I don't play differently at the cardroom compared to online, and have a lot of confidence in my game. Have always been a winning player, more so since studying SSHE. I know I'm not a great player, but I'm pretty confident that I'm usually one of the better players in the games I play. I've gotten pretty good about not letting the bad beats bother me (well, most of the time).

I'm chalking this up to variance and the simple fact that 1800 hands is not even close to a significant sample size. I haven't seen a compelling reason to overhaul my game, knowing that eventually I'll hit a bit of a run where these dolts aren't going to river me repeatedly.

The problem I have, however, is that the short-term negative fluctuation is somewhat affecting my simple enjoyment of the B&M game right now. And while I'm not yet to the point of questioning my game, I AM starting to second-guess the fact that I'm NOT worried yet. I do mentally replay the big hands I lose, and usually satisfy myself that I played soundly...but that's about it. After all, there's no PT for B&M.

So...is -80BB over ~1800 hands something I should be a bit more concerned about? Keeping variance and luck in mind, when do you guys start to think about doing a serious review and overhaul of your game? What techniques do you use for review/analysis of your live games, since you don't have the recordkeeping tools available for hand histories, etc, compared to online?