I just wanna cry!

[Smokey98]

Boy I hope so, but you know the first time you experienced a 60BB downswing you were upset.

[Greg J]

After my first 80 bb downswing I was sucking my thumb in the fetal position. Strangely, I just have a 190 BB downswing that I handled much better.

[Smokey98]

I'm just curious as to how you guys manage such big downswings. I know my 40k hands is nothing, but I haven't even come close to yet. I mean if it weren't for my 60BB downswing then my next biggest one would be 30 I believe.

[Monty Cantsin]

[ QUOTE ]
I'm just curious as to how you guys manage such big downswings.

[/ QUOTE ]

Practice.

/mc

[tony_brock]

Seeing as I am in the process of working out of my 2nd 100 BB downswing this year, I figured I would throw in my 2 cents. FYI-I am working my way up in limits and trying to build a bankroll, so I've never played higher than $3-$6.

It sounds like you've played enough to to have a 'feel' for certain games or limits. As I've worked my way up (starting at penny tables on UB), I've had bad periods where I felt lost in a game. No real direction for a particular pre or post flop decision. I try and make it a point to fix those holes in my game.

However, I think I can usually sense when I am being outplayed or if it is just bad short term luck. I'm sure everyone has gone a couple of days (or longer) where every time you have KK someone has AA, set over set, a guy calls three bets cold with 73o and hits his gutshot on the river, your aces haven't held up in 3 days while other guys are winning big pots with a pair of 9's.

Sometimes the best thing to do is drop down a level and play at a lower limit to get your confidence back. This also sometimes makes it clear that you didn't have skills yet for the higher level.

There's a reason for the 300 BB bankroll requirement. Matthew Hilger says something like this in his book "Internet Texas Hold'em" (paraphrasing):

"If you can't handle losing $500 in a day, you should never play above $2-$4."


That stuck with me. When 25% of your bankroll is $50-so what? When you manage to build your bankroll to the point where 25% of it is $500, it may be harder to keep it in perspective.

[TimM]

[ QUOTE ]
I'm just curious as to how you guys manage such big downswings.

[/ QUOTE ]

Cash out early and often. Don't cripple your bankroll doing it, but take your time moving up as well, and commit to never redepositing.

Last week, while trying to move up in limits, I lost 100BB in a little over four hours. So there's a 100BB drop on the second day of the highest limit I've ever played. It hurt, but it's not a big deal since it's a small fraction of what I've won so far, and I should make it back in a couple weeks, on average, in limits where I've already proven myself.

[daveymck]

I think Guyontilt posted a graph of his winrate and bankroll maybe 2 months ago, I would search but I can work the bloody search thing here, somone might have it in their favourites.

The graph showed a trend upward but it had more ups and downs than a gangsta hydrolic car (GTA Sandreas referance).

It happens up and down, Monday I had a 40BB downswing over 500 hands, Tuesday a upswing of 110 in ths same amount, I tend to find I have a few break even or losing sessions in a row then you get a spurt of a session and are away again, its just the way of it, embrace it deal with it and more importantly learn to live with it without emotion, cos emotion and poker do not mix.

[sfer]

[ QUOTE ]
Boy I hope so, but you know the first time you experienced a 60BB downswing you were upset.

[/ QUOTE ]

My first 5K hands I was a losing player, so it was all downswing, baby!

[balkii]

[ QUOTE ]
Boy I hope so, but you know the first time you experienced a 60BB downswing you were upset.

[/ QUOTE ]

the first time i experienced a 60 BB downswing was kind of annoying. the first time I experienced a 220BB downswing, I was upset.

[Michael Davis]

You mean like the first few times I played poker and had no idea what was going on? Yeah, you're probably right, I was upset.

-Michael