Playing Through a Downswing

[LearnedfromTV]

Amidst the ruckus over the ridiculous AK v AA article, some may have missed this one.

I think it was very well done. It is easy to overlook how much more money you win in the long run by losing the least you can when going through the inevitable bad runs. As the author points out, the way to accomplish this is by recognizing the effect losing is having on your play and on your opponents' perception of your play.

It is also important, I believe, to plan ahead of time to make adjustments to account for the change in how you perceive your own play while losing. I know I play too loose aggressive when losing, as do many others, partly because my judgement of what constitutes good aggression is tainted by losing. Playing tighter than you think you should in marginal spots is a good way to compensate for the fact that you are very likely misjudging where the margin is. I realize this is pretty much just a rephrasing of one piece of the article; I just wanted to highlight it.

In general, it is extremely important to recognize that money not lost is as good as money won. This has multiple applications in poker strategy and psychology; how to adjust to the effects of a bad run is only one.