OT: So there goes my bankroll...

I feel for you, man. I'm not in too dissimilar a spot right now. I've been downswinging for a month and can't figure out why. I have taken a break for the past week and will probably take another week off. I was only a few seconds away from quitting though.

This is a game we love for more reasons than most of us can explain. But I'd wager that a big part of the reason we love also contributes to the reason it can almost break us - because we're truly passionate about it and when things don't go our way for an extended period of time, it gets really tough to take.

Take a minivacation from the game and come back after your head is clear. I'm hoping that helps me and I'm hoping that it helps you too.

[kevstreet]

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Hell I just lost $500 tonite in the $22s.

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FWIW I'm down 30+ buy-ins at the $22s over the last 3 weeks. After one year of consistant winning I've hit a wall over the last 30 days.

I know how you feel OP, as does everyone on this site. It sure makes you question your ability. Take some time off and give it another try. Good luck.

[xJMPx]

Personally I have found that a downswing like you are describing was very good for me.

I started at the $5+1s at party after depositing $100. Then I posted on here and people suggested to play the 10s because of the rake. I did, even though I was way under bankrolled.

Anyway, I ran a heater all the way to the 33s in a short time. I was using the 20x buy-in rule. I only played 14 22s with a 50% ITM and a 95% ROI. Boy, was this game easy!

So, with those 14 22s under my belt, I had 20x buy-ins for the 33s. Well, the heater continued and I ran my profits up to about $2500 in just a couple months of single tabling a few hours a week.

Then, I hit a couple almost 20x buy-in drops within a couple weeks and was a break even player through November and my confidence had sunk way down.

So, how was this good for me. I've been putting a lot more work into my game. Being in a downswing, it is easier to identify your leaks, and then you can post on here to plug them. I've moved back to the 22s and have gained my confidence again and I really feel my game has improved leaps and bounds through my downswing.

Just keep working and I think you'll fine.

Its funny I stumbled upon your post at 5 in the morning before going to bed and having two huge essays due on Monday which I haven't started, but I just had to finish reading all the responses. I'm another person in the same boat, been playing poker since the summer, my lastest party account started at 130$ i started playing 10$ SnGs(couple weeks ago) and worked my way up to 33$ and was at 1185 36 hours ago. Now i'm at 600 something. I've suffered a couple big losses in my short poker career but every time it happens it feels like its new all over again. This time I'm not depressed or anything but the worst of it all when you're losing is you can't leave the game and you do so while having the most doubt in your ability to play. It seems that you're not a bad poker player but just suffering a sizable variance + tilt, the comforting thing is you're still up overall(even though we always blow the winnings quickly). Irieguy brought up a very good point in his reply where he pointed out that being a consistent poker winner is much more difficult than this forum makes it look like. I haven't had enough posting experience to know how frequently replies usually go but I think this is a lot of replies for a couple days. Looks like a lot more people are in the same boat as we are and its something we all go through. And going through these bad times is in my opinion the hardest trial a poker player has to endure. We should have more posts like this to help players cope.

[spliff]

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1000 isnt nearly enough for the 33's. Go back reread books and or read new ones. Start over again and just be smarter with your BR. By the time you moved down to the 22's with 30 buy ins your in tilt and thats still a littl low on Buy ins. I know how it feels I had $1500 and then cashes out to $900 and lost it all playing $33's. I felt like such a douchebag. I reread my books and rebought with $50. Now Im back to $1600 ish and 6 tabling the 11's. Takes alot of hard work man but sounds like you just need your confidence back. GL.

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I'm playing 11$ (hoping to advance to 33's or 55's within a coulple of months).

The only poker-reading i have ever done is posts here on 2+2.

What good books are there on STT ?

Isn't it sufficient to just read posts here on 2+2 when playing STT's, wanting to play the higher limits ?