Stuck

[Nate tha' Great]

So I’m stuck pretty bad this month. Three-hundred big bets and change, plus about $5K in assorted tournament entry fees. I’ve had downswings of that magnitude in the past but this one is particularly obnoxious for a couple of reasons. First, a good chunk of that was at 50/100 through 100/200, so the swing is larger than I’m used to in purely cash terms. Second, I actually haven’t played many hands of poker this month, between having my computer in the shop and resorting to one-tabling for a bit, spending the better part of a week in Vegas, and preparing for an upcoming move. So I’ve experienced this downswing s-l-o-w-l-y.

There are a couple of pieces of good news. This is money I could afford to lose. And I don’t feel particularly burned out on poker.

Nevertheless, I feel stuck in another sense of the term, in that I don’t know that my game is improving. The thing is, I actually feel like I’m playing reasonably well. I’ve always done things somewhat differently than other posters, calling down more in heads-up pots and generally playing a bit faster, and this has always been a high-variance style, but also one that has worked for me. I *have* consciously been defending my blinds a bit more, but I believe these are +EV plays and I hesitate to go back and tighten up for the sake of reducing variance.

What worries me, though, is that to the extent I have technical leaks in my game (I’m aware of some non-technical leaks like game selection, and playing too long sessions), I’m not sure that I’d be able to recognize them. This is especially confusing since I’m also not sure I’m doing anything substantially wrong at all.

I have considered perhaps playing some other games for a bit, most likely cash NL or some medium stud high, as sometimes this can be a good way to re-calibrate your card sense. But it can also be confusing, not to mention that it can trade-off with playing in games where I have a higher EV. I’ve thought about hiring Tommy Angelo. ;-) I’ve thought about taking a week off, which I might have to do anyway depending on the Internet situation in my new apartment. I’ve thought about moving down to 15/30 for a bit, but my ego hates that idea. The weird thing is that the downswing, as well as playing against some tougher competition, has really underscored my resolve to continue to improve. But I don’t know where to find the path toward improvement.

Thanks for listening, any comments appreciated.

-Nate