So I just lost 30K......

[Jonny]

[ QUOTE ]
I never said you don't understand variance and I never said you suck. Why are you calling with top pair if you have reason to believe you're beat? Why are you calling with sets if you're confident your opponent has the flush? You must be doing something right if your reads are correct as to what your opponent has, now answer the question as to why you are unable to let your hand go and you're on your way to playing better. There is a post in the psychology forum about this. But if you're unwilling to criticize yourself and find your mistakes and the reasons for them, excpect to have more swings. And quit being so f.ucking defensive when people point out things that might help you.
As for myself, I'm not the best, I know that. I'm a student of the game. When I'm locked in and in the zone, I can make some pretty incredible reads and call guys down with crap because I know my crap is better than his crap. However, sometimes too often I think I get knock a guy off a hand. I know what he has and I know what he has is very vulnerable, so, I bet with authority to get him off his hand and he calls me. So, I should probably do that less. I was trying to steal the blinds too much and Barry Greenstein told me I need to do it less so that my button raises will not lose respect. Admitting my flaws is the only way to correct them.

[/ QUOTE ]

I agree with everything you have said in this post. Sorry if I offended anyone trying to help me. You sound like you have some of the same flaws as me, like trying to push a guy of top pair weak kicker with a big river bet, and being called. I am working on this along with other flaws.

1) I did not play optimally during this stretch. What I have learned is to take a break after losing big, not chase losses, even when I think I can beat the game

2) I have reached the level I am at by being tough on myself and admitting my flaws. I think this is the best way to improve. Look at big hands you lost and analyze if you could have done anything about it.

3) When I return to the 2k, I will not make the same mistakes again.

4) My situation is not all that bad, I have 50K in the bank/stock market, and 10K in my BR(won $2000 in NL400 recently), so I don't have much pressure to play too much.

Thank you. I am not saying you're 100% wrong. You may only be 5% wrong. But there is never a situation where it is 100% bad luck. At least, I don't believe that is ever the case. You must always be willing to ask yourself the question, "have I done something wrong?" Is there something I can change in myself. That's all you can do. You can't change the outcome of hands or what cards flop. You can only change your decisions. Just make sure you're making the best decisions and you'll be fine. You sound young to me. I'll bet in two or three years you'll be pretty dangerous at the table.

[Jonny]

Yeah my original post was pretty pointless now that I look at it. Sometimes it feels better just to post it to get it off my mind so I can refocus and get back into the game.

Bad beats are worthless to post, but I couldnt resist the 1-outer [img]/images/graemlins/shocked.gif[/img], that one was just nasty.

I think I'm going to take 6K out of the stock market to jump start me back into the 1K.

[James282]

[ QUOTE ]
Yeah my original post was pretty pointless now that I look at it. Sometimes it feels better just to post it to get it off my mind so I can refocus and get back into the game.

Bad beats are worthless to post, but I couldnt resist the 1-outer [img]/images/graemlins/shocked.gif[/img], that one was just nasty.

I think I'm going to take 6K out of the stock market to jump start me back into the 1K.

[/ QUOTE ]

A lot of those hands aren't bad beats, they are you calling all in with the worst hand. That isn't a bad beat. Calling with the idiot end of the straight twice, TPTK vs. set, KK vs. AA on QQ9 flop... The only hand here I believe I'd go broke on is the T9 vs. AT and maybe the AK vs. 33 if the guy was a total loon(looks like he was, in which case I would have set him in preflop anyways). Anyways, RussianBear has tried to help you just about as much as you could want for a simple "waaah I'm on a downswing" post and you refuted most of his help, so I guess I shouldn't bother, either. Good luck when you get back into the 1k.
Peace,
James

[Jonny]

[ QUOTE ]
Anyways, RussianBear has tried to help you just about as much as you could want for a simple "waaah I'm on a downswing" post and you refuted most of his help

[/ QUOTE ]

I didn't refute russianbear's help. In fact, I agreed with pretty much everything he said.

[ QUOTE ]
so I guess I shouldn't bother, either.

[/ QUOTE ]
Please do, so far the only help you have given is questioning the fact that I am up in 2K. Any advice would be appreciated.

PS- I did not want this to turn into a bad beat post. I played badly too, you know this, I know this, it does not need to be proven again.

[Python49]

Pretty lame how he's making a post asking about variance and losing streaks and being forced to defend his play.

[James282]

[ QUOTE ]
Pretty lame how he's making a post asking about variance and losing streaks and being forced to defend his play.

[/ QUOTE ]

Yeah, we should blissfully let him go on stacking himself over and over in a game he can't beat. Maybe he can beat it, but it sure didn't seem like that originally. People are trying to help him, not criticize him.
-James

[MicroBob]

[ QUOTE ]

Pretty lame how he's making a post asking about variance and losing streaks and being forced to defend his play.

[/ QUOTE ]


It's pretty common for a losing player to blame his losses on variance and bad-luck.

Just taking him for his word that he 'knows what he's doing' just because he says so is a mistake.
Far more losing streaks are due to inferior play than many players are willing to admit.

Many players are heard to say that they are 'really good' at poker but they just went through the most awful losing streak and string of bad-beats imaginable.
Many of these players would be wise to admit that they were playing above their bankroll and that they probably aren't as good at poker as they thought they were.
They make plays that they think are obvious or 'automatic' when they are not even close to 'automatic' and are sometimes plain wrong.

It's just self-denial.


Jonny admits that his play is flawed at times...but also just points to various bad-beats as the reason why he's losing so much. And I think that pointing to all of one's bad-beats instead of taking a long, hard look at one's own play is the unhealthy way to go.


as far as the 'variance' part of his questions go. I think he's received several responses that dropping 15 buy-in's isn't as impossible or uncommon as he might have thought...and that if he wasn't prepared for the possibility of a $30k drop he shouldn't have been playing that high to begin with.


In short: It's hard to have much patience for the wide variety of players who say, "I'm a good player. I really really am. But I'm super-duper unlucky. But I know that I know what I'm doing."
It comes up over and over and over again.


Personally, I'm on a down-swing myself right now.
And I just seem to be the opposite of the typical mind-set. My immediate reaction to even a mild downswing is, "I'm pretty damned lousy at poker. I really could have saved a bet if I played that hand better" etc etc.

[ QUOTE ]
I think I'm going to take 6K out of the stock market to jump start me back into the 1K.

[/ QUOTE ]
That's your business, I wouldn't advice it, but that's your business. I would suggest getting your bankroll back up the old-fashioned way, earn it playing poker. 1, you'll humble yourself playing at the lower limits, 2, you'll gain experience, 3, the money you've invested will continue to work for you. If you're not living off your poker money, it's probably best to build your roll rather than add to it with other money. Just my opinion.
Swings are a part of the game. Taking money from one place to compensate, probably may not be the best way to go about it. Maybe you're not ready for the higher game yet. Have you considered that? Maybe you need some time first. You really don't want to be robbing from your future (your investments) to build your bankroll. It's best to build the roll through play.

[Jonny]

[ QUOTE ]
It's best to build the roll through play.

[/ QUOTE ]

I agree with this. I think I will indeed stay at 400 for a bit until I get my BR and confidence back up.