will i ever stop running bad?

savman · #1 06-13-2005, 01:35 AM

the past 3 months have been the worst run i have ever experienced. Example. Tonight, first four pots i am involved in NL50 6 max (I withdrew my roll a mont ago due to running bad, so I am starting at the bottom on a fifty deposit) First three I am called down only to have three outers, thats right they are calling down with A high, hit on the river. Now i didnt pay off any of these, check behind on two, and one idiot put me all in for 100BB on a 20BB pot, like i was going to call with anything he could beat. Next pot i am in. EP raiser I call on the button BB calls. I flo\p mid set two to a flush. BB raiser calls, I raise, eventually i put them both in on blank turn. They both call. River 7 out diamond, ep raiser was drawing dead. WTF can i win every once in a while.

Go play some omaha, first pot, mid set....get it all in on a rainbow no str8 board. Idiot has top two. Rivers a two outer. Buy in gone. Later, mid wrap hand in late position, I flop the nut wrap draw on a rainbow, I have the table covered...get one guy all in on flop, next idiot all in on turn for like a few more bucks in side pot. (I turned the nut str8) river heart for three hearts. First idiot had ignorant end of str8 backdoor flush FOUR high, second idiot had middle str8, i had nut str8, four high flush drags a 350 BB pot.

AND THE HITS KEEP COMING

this is just a few buyins from today
this has been going on for three months, its a wonder i am even breaking even. will this last forever?

deacsoft · #2 06-13-2005, 02:56 AM

Many new players confuse running bad with playing bad. I'm not saying that means you... just something to consider.

mosquito · #3 06-13-2005, 03:05 AM

Variance can be cruel. There is nothing unusual in
your post, including your feelings of entitlement.

savman · #4 06-13-2005, 05:36 AM

[ QUOTE ]
Variance can be cruel. There is nothing unusual in
your post, including your feelings of entitlement.

[/ QUOTE ]

what is the point of putting your money in as a favorite if you dont feel entitled to win more times than you lose when doing so? Entitled may not be the term i would use; however, I do feel that i should be winning more than I lose when I consistently get my money in as a favorite. If I were consistently making incorrect decisions I might reevaluate the situation. I am not.

When for three months i am losing somehthing on the order of 75 percent of showdowns when i go in as a favorite, then i begin to question if it will ever end.

SNOWBALL138 · #5 06-13-2005, 07:47 AM

If you continue to get your money in as a favorite you profit. As a gambler, you have to push every edge you can find. When you are playing these edges, just remember that losing is a part of winning. Your job is to find edges. Not win pots.
If you begin to feel that you can't win, this is going to effect your play. A change of pace like giving some tournaments a try, learning a new poker game, reading a new poker book, reading a new non-poker book, meeting a cute girl, playing at a different poker site, etc. will help to clear your mind. Negreanu said that when he was losing bad at one casino and on a vicious downswing, he would go and play at a different casino. This would help to clear his mind, because he began to associate the casino he played in with losing, and it effected his play.

SNOWBALL138 · #6 06-13-2005, 08:08 AM

If running bad is causing you a lot of grief, you can always play smaller stakes. I believe that pokerstars has very low stakes games, compared to party. If you are in a good financial situation, and the $$$ downswing doesn't bother you, then go ahead and continue to play, making sure to get your money in as a favorite.
Try not to feel too emotionally invested in the game. I know its hard not to react to your wins and losses, but you can do it.
Lastnight, I lost a huge pot in 7cs against 5 donkeys, 2 of whom stayed to the river. For some reason, I went to sleep feeling quite good, because I know that I got my money in at the right times throughout the game.

savman · #7 06-13-2005, 02:24 PM

thanks for the reply snowball. Posting this vent is actually helping me deal with running bad, I think i am going to learn some new games.

steamboatin · #8 06-13-2005, 03:11 PM

I thought I was running bad in March and April until I read Bob Ciafonne's "Improve your poker" and realized I was playing bad.

One chapter described a friend of his that never understood why He couldn't beat terrible players and Bob described what his friend was doing wrong and He might as well have been talking about me. I was not adjusting my game to compensate for when it was really loose and wild.

While it is definetely possible to run bad for three months, I would suggest a check up from the neck up to make certain you really are playing your "A" game.

It is incredible easy to fool yourself about the quality of your game. Probably the most difficult part of poker is being honest with yourself about your own game.

highlife · #9 06-13-2005, 03:14 PM

[ QUOTE ]
i am losing somehthing on the order of 75 percent of showdowns when i go in as a favorite

[/ QUOTE ]

this statement is rediculous if you are playing any decent number of hands per month. maybe the first thing you should try is not exagerating your misfortune, its only making things worse.

Klepton · #10 06-13-2005, 07:04 PM

the answer is clearly no