what to make of a huge loss

I have just had the worst day of my poker playing career. Took a 570 dollar downswing. played 2/4 limit, 100 NL and 50 NL and multiple times, again and again, took what seemed to be an endless stream of bad beats. This is not meant to be a bad beat post. I am well aware and I have taken a number of bad beats, as has naybody who's played 50-60K hands.

My post is more on the magnitude of my downswing. I literally feel extremely negative and feel like armageddon a.k.a. the destruction of my bankroll is near. I have played well and averaged 2.5 BB/100 on the Limit games over 20K hands. This is something i never thought was poassible. Why have I just wiped out a large portion of my profits. I cannot pinpoint anything I've done wrong with my game.

Rather than sympathy or specific hand advice, I wanted to get someone's opinion on how to handle such huge downswings where you feel you've just been kicked in the stomach and fallen over.

How do I psychologically deal with this loss and get back to my A game when my confidence is extremely low.

[RocketManJames]

Take a break for a while. That's the best advice I could give... because, that's what I do, and it typically works for me. I am currently in the middle of a self-imposed break due to a bad couple of days.

-RMJ

[SNOWBALL138]

Here's a link to a post I made about this recently

A quick tip on how to handle a downswing

As for the $570, all I can say is congratulations, because now that you've had your first sizable loss, you're on your way to becoming a more serious gambler. I say "on your way" because the question is "how are you going to handle this?"

If you handle it well, you pass the test, and you can move on to the next challenge. If you don't pass the test, then you do not pass go, do not collect 2.5bb/100, and don't get any sympathy either after you lose your whole bankroll.

[ QUOTE ]
My post is more on the magnitude of my downswing. I literally feel extremely negative and feel like armageddon a.k.a. the destruction of my bankroll is near.

[/ QUOTE ]

Ok, stop right now. Its YOUR decision if you are going to go broke or not. This is not some cosmic unfolding of events. If you lose your roll, then you are to blame. However, if you take this issue seriously, here are some quick things that you can do:

1. Read Professional poker by Mark Blade
It has some very good practical tips for how to manage your bankroll.

2. Post more on the psych forum. It helps.

3. Stop feeling sorry for yourself. If you are a winning player, then you're lucky to have a better hourly rate than many people in bad retail or manufacturing jobs.

4. Drop down in limits if its appropriate for you. For more info on whether or not you should drop in limits, either use the search function or read Mark's book.

5. For now at least, try to replace some of your negative feelings with something positive. Ask a cute girl out to eat. Go to a club or a bar. Read a book. Go see a movie. Get riproaring drunk. Go do community service. Go exericise.

Best wishes,
Snowball

[mackthefork]

That may seem lke a lot, but at 2/4 limit or 100 NL I'd say its a fairly common occurance, I wouldn't get to bent out of shape by it. Review and see if you are doing something wrong, even if this is your normal game and you are running badly, no doubt you will find a few problems which are costing you money if you look hard enough.

Regards Mack

[Mens Rea]

Might seem big now, but you'll take worse if you are serious about playing long-term.

[Phogster]

You have to realize that average players are getting better and, just like the stock market, the poker craze is gonna bubble (if not already) and burst.

First, fewer and fewer new players will play.
Then the average players will get bored with losing, after all the fish are gone.
Then only the good (read addicted) players will remain, and then they start feeding off each other.

I don't doubt that some of those giving you advice to keep playing are the same ones that are taking your money at the tables.


You can stop playing, only play for fun, or read one of "Dr." Al's stupid articles and keep plugging at it. Enjoy.

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[ QUOTE ]
You have to realize that average players are getting better and, just like the stock market, the poker craze is gonna bubble (if not already) and burst.

First, fewer and fewer new players will play.
Then the average players will get bored with losing, after all the fish are gone.
Then only the good (read addicted) players will remain, and then they start feeding off each other.

I don't doubt that some of those giving you advice to keep playing are the same ones that are taking your money at the tables.


You can stop playing, only play for fun, or read one of "Dr." Al's stupid articles and keep plugging at it. Enjoy.

[img]/images/graemlins/cool.gif[/img]

[/ QUOTE ]

This is just flat out wrong.

Yes, the bubble may be about to burst, but there will always be a supply of fresh fish. It might get smaller - and that might mean that fewer people will me able to make a living off poker - but there will always be new players, players who pick up the game for the first time, players who only play on occasion, players who play for fun, players who don't take the game seriously and players who are just plain bad.

[wickedgoodtrader]

If your theory that most fish will quit the game was correct... casino's would have been out of business long ago. A lotta people play for fun and will always play even when they always lose.

[Phogster]

Ok, you can't open a post by saying "This is just flat out wrong." and then say that I'm right in some respects.

What I meant was this:

There's a poverty line in poker. Let's say player X started out his playing career as a novice (mostly likely a fish, as we all do), then got better by experience, books, and discussions. X is now above the poverty line. He's proud, and should be, it took a lot of hard work to get here. X on average tho, worked hard enough to be a winning player, not necessarily world class. This, I think, describes the majority of the readers in this forum.

The poker craze slows down. Less fish are in the sea. Now there are better and better players at X's table. This effectively translates into the poverty line moving up, and X is now below said line, and now is getting fed off of, instead.

There will be good days, but they will be fewer and farther in between. Players at this forum will keep saying that it takes thousands of hands to tell if this is for real. If X depends on playing to pay the rent, he might get in trouble way before that many hands show a trend that tells him that playing poker is -EV.

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[Python49]

This your first downswing? If so... it might help for you to know that mostly all winning players know exactly how you're feeling right now. When I drop 5 buyins I feel like im in a dark hole that I won't be able to get out of... but I do... and you eventually will if you are a winning player. Just focus on winning it back a little bit at a time. Win back $100 tomorrow and then just log off so you don't feel the burden of winning it back all at once. Just get off after having made back $100 and then go over a friends house or something. Then the day after that win back another $100.. or even $200 if you feel up to the challenge.. just don't try to sit there and make it back all in one session.