Stepping down and admitting defeat

[MicroBob]

Seems like November is kind of like re-living the mass-downswing that much of 2+2 had back in January.

I'm way down this month and have talked with a couple others who are too.


The great thing about online-poker is that there will ALWAYS be a limit that is small enough for your bankroll. You can ALWAYS step-down and just play more hands to rebuild.

That's why it amazes me when I hear stories of Mike Matusow blowing through his $400k bankroll playing online before the WSOP.
You would think he might be a little more conservative with that last $50k or so after dropping his first $350k.

But tilt is a powerful force...with all those thoughts of, 'hey, if I start running well again I'll have it back in no time.'

So obviously stepping-down in limits is not as easy as just saying you're going to do it. Because there is some serious ego that is involved.
we read of bicycle-kick sky-rocketing his way all the way up to 300/600 and we want to be there too....and we want it to just happen magically without too much effort.


Obviously poker is a bit tougher than that.


I'm with goblin most of the time in that I just can't stomach some of the down-swings that my inferior game brings. And because my bankroll is a bit smaller than before I am playing at the 3/6 games too and just grinding my way back (+150BB's in the past few days...Hoo-ray!).

I've never played 20/40 though. My 15/30 play has been somewhat limited and was mostly shot-taking but I probably got in about 30k-40k hands there in 2005 (guessing...lost some p-tracker records).
I've played plenty of 10/20 this year though...and a lot of 5/10 too.


I want to move back up in limits. And I know that this stepping-down stuff is an important aspect to 'shot-taking'.
If I get clobbered, or just get uncomfortable, then I step back and grind, grind, grind.
And I do it comfortably.

If/when i build my bankroll up to a nice and comfortable level again AND I think my game has fewer leaks then I start taking more shots at 10/20 (and maybe higher if my bankroll is REALLY comfortable) and see what happens.

OR...I just keep on grinding it out at 3/6 all year (and 5/10 again soon hopefully) and am comfortable in knowing that the absolute max that I could lose isn't too terrible.


One has to know one's psychological-bankroll limitations.
I know that I probably need more than 1k BB's at a given limit to feel comfortable.

Take 15/30 for example...I know that even if I have a total of $30k that I am not going to be very thrilled with a $6k down-swing.

At 5/10 I know that I'm going to be pretty stressed if I have a $2k down-swing eat into a $10k bankroll.
So I stepped down to 3/6 before my bankroll even got that low.


I'm a wuss...but I'm also semi-responsible about this poker stuff.
And I have the incentive of enjoying this lifestyle and flexibility enough that I still would prefer it to getting a job for some prick boss at a low-paying office gig or something (where I actually would have to wake-up early in the morning....GASP!!!)


Nice post Craig. You and I shall proceed to tear up the 3/6 games. Just stay the hell away from my tables please!!