I just realized a huge - no a gigantic - leak in my game

[Optisizer]

A friendly sole at the small stakes forum recommended me to post this here:

Hey everybody,
Thanks for a fantastic site, to the 2+2 team and all its posters.
Im a long time lurker, first time poster.

I just realized a huge leak in my game, plus a second leak because of the first one. This has been going on since this summer, before that I was profitable but since then I can only just barely break even. Here's the thing:

If I set out to play several thousand hands over the course of a week or so, I start out with excellent hand selection and proper post-flop aggression, but the longer I play the tighter I become, and as a frustrated consequence of that the more aggressive I become with the few hands I end up playing.

So, over the course of such a cycle I first win several hundred bucks (playing mostly 2/4) and then give it all back, before I get so frustrated with the game I stay away from it for a week or so.

When I return the cycle starts all over. Over the last few months I have cursed my bad luck that always seems to hit me when I believe I am about to take my game to the next level (when in fact the opposite is what's happening becasue of my own doing).

My question now simply is, anyone out there ever experienced anything similar? How did you overcome it? How did you keep it from happening again? Anyone out there with similar troubles right now? Maybe we can coach each other?

Let's say there is some unknow self-destructive behavior behind this, would this be a good topic for the psychology section as well (there have been a lot of social and financial changes in my life lately)?

Thanks,
T

[jb9]

[ QUOTE ]
If I set out to play several thousand hands over the course of a week or so

[/ QUOTE ]

You might want to try starting with a different goal.

Instead of focusing on (or even caring about) number of hands played in a certain time frame, focus on playing well whenever you play and stopping when you are no longer playing well.

[soko]

I recall something like this when I was starting out, except I would be loosening up over time out of boredom. Or look at my big stack, i can afford to cold call.

[27offsuit]

[ QUOTE ]
A friendly sole at the small stakes forum recommended me to post this here:



[/ QUOTE ]

It's soul. Sole is a fish.

[Femto]

maybe it was a sole [img]/images/graemlins/tongue.gif[/img]

[Drontier]

I used to do this. I'd smell a loose passive player and my isolation hands against him would go lower and lower, until I started raising behind him with Q2s and J5s. I was pretty new at the game too so my postflop play wasn't perfect. this got me into a lot of trouble.

[eisanm]

I have the same problem. I have probably played less than you but I recognize what you describe.

I seem to lose concentration as I play longer. When I moved up to 1/2 I went up like a rocket for my first 9k hands, then went all the way down because I had suddenly began playing very badly. I realised I had a problem and was able to fix my game, but my next 10k hands at 1-2 went to repair and take back what I had lost in that downswing.

Then moved up to 2/4. Played well as long as I respected the level, and won lots of $$ in short time. Then, after 12k hands or so I start playing worse and the last 10k hands I have barely won anything. This made me think again.

I seem to lose my concentration because of playing while beign too tired, playing too many tables, having too much distraction such as messenger programs running, and not reading the books often enough so that I lose much of the conceptual thinking. I "auto-play" instead of actually think at the tables, and that is one big problem.

Need to focus, concentrate, and try to have a good reason behind every move you make. I think that's a good way to stay playing well, and when you realise that you no longer can motivate your desicions, it's time to quit playing and go on reading.

[Archetype]

We have all had some problems with extended periods of play affecting our play in general. Whether it is playing for 8 hours straight, or playing every day for 8 days straight, playing that much will begin to affect your judgement when you are just starting off playing. I find that sometimes the same sort of thing will happen for me, except with NL and my play becomes looser and looser as time goes on.

When I find this starting to happen (and I can quite easily recognize it), I just take a break. Usually I will try to not play more then 6 hours a day, since my play starts to deteriorate after that. Usually, also, every month I will try to take AT LEAST one weekend, or just two days where I dont play any poker. This lets me have some time where I can do stuff with friends, etc, and I also find that when I come back I play much better!

How do you guys all know how many hands you're playing? How do you keep track of it? Online poker??