Poor run of cards when will it end

[arod15]

Here is the question. A month ago i was on an unbelievable tear. I was averaging 40BB an hour playing mostly 1-2 NL and 50+5 SNGs. I knew that that wasnt sustainable, and i kept hearing that a cold streak was going to come. Well after i made a killing in AC over Memorial day weekend. My cold streak has arrived. More correctly it isnt so much poor cards as it is im hitting strong hands and running into monsters my 4-1 favorties all coming up against me. And even when im dominate to win i lose. The question is what to do? Continie playing the same stakes, take a little vacation? How long will this last? I have looked over my Hand Historys and have had several freinds do the same and my play has been good but results horrific. Question is what to do. Should i do nothing and wait it out, play lower limits, take a break? Thanks for all advice as this is a first for me. Sure i have had lossing sessions but never thise many days consectivly and with such bad beats.

[ZenMusician]

Before you get your "mouse" handed to you, take
a moment and search for all the posts like this.

You will find they usually start a thread filled with
comic genius, dumb cliches and almost never a
straight answer.

That said, I predict 6/21/05, the Vernal Equinox to
be your turning point.

-ZEN

[Jim C]

LOL

So, to explain the zen response, it means that:

1. If its just luck, then you already know the answer, so its silly to ask the question.
2. If its your game gone on the rocks, then your results will turn around after you realise this, accept it, and work on changing it around. (more likely in my opinion)

[Dazarath]

I think you have the wrong idea about "rushes" and "cold streaks". Just because you were running hot, doesn't mean you should be watching out more and more each day, because the inevitable cold streak is "coming". It is inevitable that we will all hit cold streaks at multiple points during our poker career, but it's not because the poker gods feel that we've been running a little too well and that we need to take a slap to the face. There is also nothing to "wait out". The reason for taking a break from poker is to calm yourself and get in the right mindset for a poker game; it is NOT because your cold streak will last a pre-specified number of days, so you should wait out those x days so you can run well again.

[steve968574]

As long as you're getting authentic positive feedback on your play from third parties, and you've convinced yourself after serious self-reflection that you're not on tilt, then you should push aggressively through this spell, adjusting only for obvious mistakes that come to your attention. This is an opportunity to steel yourself for the cold streaks that will come again and again over time. If you're spooked by this one, then you'll be spooked by all of them, which will eventually make you crazy and possibly poor.

[sully4321]

if you're playing on pokerstars, which i firmly believe is rigged... stop now and change sites. if not, read a few poker books and don't play scared or expectant of losing. play you're normal game-- raise with big hands. it may be a perpetuating cycle of being afraid to run into a bad hand, thus making you check or bet small, allowing people with draws to call and catch.

[wrto4556]

visit HUSH. It's like Jack going to testicular cancer tuesdays.

[AaronBrown]

How you handle this is very important if you want to play lifetime profitable poker.

First, you have to carefully analyze all errors you might be making. When you say 4-1, on what basis? Do you mean you had pocket Q's against suited J 10 and lost on the board? Fine, that happens 1 time in 5 or so, but how much you lose depends on how you play the hand. And more important than how much you lose on the occassional bad beat is how much you win when you do have the better hand. Luck evens out, bad play is forever.

Even if you're sure there's nothing wrong with your play, it helps to change your style frequently. It keeps you sharp and if you have regular opponents, it keeps them guessing.

Next, you want to make all your losses productive. Poker is the only game where you can use bad luck to your advantage. Most players do the reverse, getting passive after a bad beat. They'll let the cards tell them when to get into the pot, and once in they'll call anything but never raise.

You have to do the reverse. Your bad beat was great advertising, but advertising doesn't bring in revenue. You have to play to use it. The guy who drew out on you is feeling good, especially if he believes in luck. He's busy inventing reasons why hitting one of his three outs on the river means he's smart. He's likely to play his next few hands on mood, passive-random. If you get enough bad beats, and milk them properly, the whole table can get in that frame of mind.

The trick in poker is to bank your winnings and make your losses productive.

[OrangeKing]

[ QUOTE ]
if you're playing on pokerstars, which i firmly believe is rigged...

[/ QUOTE ]

Hahahaahaha.


No really, hahahaahah.


To the OP, you don't need to wait anything out, as cold streaks and hot streaks aren't predetermined to happen. But if you're feeling mentally beat, taking a few days off might help.

To whom I quoted...PokerStars isn't rigged, but thinking it is could be a good sign that you need to work on your game. [img]/images/graemlins/smile.gif[/img]

[DCWildcat]

We need to know how many cards you had during both your hot and cold streaks.

Pokerstars is not rigged.