Question for the Distinguished Panel

[Jah Red]

A relative Newbie here...

Been playing about 10 months and have grown considerably as a player. None more that since I found this site. I have learned how to think as a player and have since dominated low limit at PP.

Up until today. Went at least 35 hands without a win and lost in every conceivable way.

My Question is:

Is it time to pack it in for the day... week... month...?
How much do I allow myself to lose?
What do I do now?

Any wisdom is much appreciated.

Jah

[slavic]

The answers I have always seen to this is.

If you play Positive EV plays then there is no best time to stop. If you play negative EV plays then there is no time that you should play. So if you are being beat by miracle draws, well that doesn't tell you it's time to stop.

In practice I use a stop limit and if I get down below double my buy in I call it a night and go look for holes.

[Joe Tall]

Try this one in the Psychology section and you'll get some expert responses (I hope [img]/forums/images/icons/grin.gif[/img] ).

My advice: analyize you game, Go over you hand histories, post some in this forum (if you are playing low limit), read, study, THEN take something you've learned and go back and play. [img]/forums/images/icons/laugh.gif[/img]

The best advice I have recieved was by dropping my pride and posting hands I KNOW I played terribly on, but I posted them and my level of play has increased 10 fold! [img]/forums/images/icons/smile.gif[/img]

Welcome to your next stage in Poker, welcome to the forum! [img]/forums/images/icons/laugh.gif[/img]

[J.R.]

Step back (as you have done), reflect, praise Jah, take communion and come back another day.

35 hands is nothing in the grand scheme of things, online it amounts to less than an hour of play. If this bad run has effected your play, then stop. Good players have and will again lose for longer periods than you describe. What makes them good players is not how they play when their good cards hold up, but their reaction to this inevitable "give" in the long run "give and take" of bankroll growth.

Look back over your play of these 35 hands and evaluate where you might have played better. Take this new knowledge and try again.

This game is merely a proces of give and take, a cliched two steps forward, one step back evolution. Remeber the long run is what counts and always strive to play better than you did the last session, to continue to grow as a player towards the goal of mistake free play. You will be suprised how perspective can make what seemed like solid poker look as if you had an aversion to chips.

Don't worry about your results. Just try to play better than you have before. Play well and success will follow.

[Ginogino]

Jah Red:
I think this is Roy West's advice: "If you can't play happy, don't play". In the long run, you will lose many more hands than you will win. When the losing hands come in bunches (and that's going to happen), and that affects the way you play, then that's the time to stop. How long? Until you are your usual self again. Last time I was in Las Vegas I went four days without hitting the board for a hand better than a set (no straights, no flushes, no boats... a terrible run of cards). And I lost each of the sets I hit. Jim Brier wrote of a friend who played well (and coming from Jim, this means something) who had a bad run that lasted six months, if I recall correctly.

As it says in the Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy: "Don't panic!" Good play will eventually carry the day. But stop until you can play well again.

Gino

[SoBeDude]

Jah,

As has been reflected in some of the other responses, 35 hands is not a long time to be losing.

Unless you're saying you lost the last 35 times you saw the flop! If so, then THAT is something.

If its the former, don't sweat it. It happens all the time.

If its the latter, either you're very unlucky or you need to evaluate your play.

Remember, slumps happen.

Good luck!

-Scott

[Barry]

Not winning a hand in the 1st 35 hands played is nothing. I've gone more than 50 without a win on several occasions.

Sometimes it's just the cards. But if you feel that it's your play, go back and review the hand histories and analyze your play. And as everyone else says, post some of your questionable ones here.

Everybody here, is here to help.

Good luck!

[asdf1234]

88 hands in a row with 0 wins is my record.