Session Results

[closer2313]

Im currently learning to play limit hold em at the .05/.1 level. I started off with 1 table and am now 4 tabling.

My stats are currently

3701 Hands
VP$IP 17.83
Amount Won 25.94
BB/100 7.01
WTSD 28.63
W$SD 58.37
PRF 6.35

Ive noticed though that some sessions Ill play for like 2-3 hours and lose 50 cents. Other sessions Ill play for 2-3 hours and win 7.50. I was just wondering if there is alot of luck involved in how well you do in any given session. Some days I feel like I am playing fine but none of my draws are hitting, or Im missing every flop. Other days Ill be playing fine and hitting every draw and every flop.

Is this just normal variation?

Thanks.

[uuDevil]

[ QUOTE ]
Is this just normal variation?

[/ QUOTE ]

Most likely perfectly normal. What is your standard deviation? (In PokerTracker, Session Notes->More Detail...) A typical number would be about 15 BB/100, though a bigger number wouldn't be surprising at these stakes.

There is a lot of luck in poker. Getting used to the variance is one of the hardest parts of playing this game.

[jb9]

**edit: ooops, misread the original post -- thought you were playing .5/1 not .05/.10 -- in that case, you are seeing 5-75 big bet swings, which are not that unusual**

-$0.50 or +$7.50 seem like small (.5 to 7.5 big bets) luck-related swings for .5/1 over 2-3 hours.

25-50 big bet swings would not be unusual.

If you had a run of good hands hitting better hands (sets losing to rivered straights, straights losing to rivered flushes, etc.), you could play well and lose a lot (+100 big bets) just to bad fortune.

I still get seasick from the swings sometimes, but it gets easier after you've been through a few big ones (and remember that sometimes you are the lucky one who gets the rivered straights and flushes).

[afk]

I'm taking this off topic - but if you really want to develop as a player, I wouldn't recommend 4 tabling right off the bat - I seriously believe this will stifle your ability to develop as a player, as you don't learn to develop proper reads and you don't have as much time to think about what the correct decision might be.. and more importantly, why. Drop it down to 2 or 3 tables and focus on the game more.

[YetioDoom]

[ QUOTE ]
-$0.50 or +$7.50 seem like small (.5 to 7.5 big bets) luck-related swings for .5/1 over 2-3 hours.

25-50 big bet swings would not be unusual.

If you had a run of good hands hitting better hands (sets losing to rivered straights, straights losing to rivered flushes, etc.), you could play well and lose a lot (+100 big bets) just to bad fortune.

I still get seasick from the swings sometimes, but it gets easier after you've been through a few big ones (and remember that sometimes you are the lucky one who gets the rivered straights and flushes).

[/ QUOTE ]


He's playing dimes not dollars.

[SheridanCat]

[ QUOTE ]
I was just wondering if there is alot of luck involved in how well you do in any given session.

[/ QUOTE ]

Absolutely. This is why it's dangerous to focus on short term results when gauging your success or failure.

You can go up or down many, many big bets in a session. This is normal - especially with some of the heavy action found in games these days.

Oh, and here's the obligatory PokerTracker caution. Your sample size is very small, so your stats don't really mean anything at this point.

Regards,

T