on a 70 BB downswing and I think this is why.

Asim · #1 09-02-2005, 01:33 PM

the only reason I am posting this is because there are most likely a lot of other people experiencing the same problem. I am a student on my summer break, my contract for my summer job finished and I started to play poker... initially it was great I had my bankroll of 300$ got .5/1 and I managed to double it up in about 2 weeks. the last 2 or 3 days, i have been on a horrible downswing of approx 75BB. Today I cashed out all of my money and decided to take a break and heres what I think was happening.. this is especially important for us young guys w/o full time jobs and a load of responsibilities. I have too much time on my hands and Poker has become more of a time pass. these last few days I noticed I was playing too much, mind you, ppl were hitting insanely lucky draws against me as well, but thats not the issue here, that always happens, Poker is fun, but I forgot why I was playing, which was for money. I think thats the main problem a lot of us micro limiters have, playing too much and forgetting that you are playing for money. Things became quite routine.. i think a break is a good idea just to remind myself why I am here. while I am away, I am gonna re-read SSHE and hopefully get TOP under my belt as well.

I realized you really have to schedule your poker... if you made it a specific time, even if its every day, but you said to yourself, from 7 - 10pm I am going to play poker and thats it. eventually your mind will train itself to think that way and you will be more focused, more alert and more "poker minded" from 7 - 10pm everyday... after that, forget about the game.. I really feel that is going to help my game, I will let you know in a weeks when I get back into the game.

how do you guys deal with a big downswing...?

dont think a swing like this is other ppls fault, 9 times out of 10, its something you are doing.

WildDan · #2 09-02-2005, 01:43 PM

Well, it's great to know another 2+2er has dropped leaving more fish at my table.. [img]/images/graemlins/grin.gif[/img]

But in all seriousness I'm also a college student and feel quite the opposite. I don't look at poker as entertainment, rather I look at it as the perfect job in that the hours are 100% flexible around my class and social schedule. If I sit down and play 200 hands in half an hour or so, that's great, just as is sitting down for for a 6 hour marathon session.

But to your downswing.. 75BB is nothing. I might not jump for joy when I hit a 75BB downswing, but I certaintly don't cashout and start making drastic adjustments to my game. Those same people making the ridiculous suckouts on you are going to make the same unprofitable plays against you and you're still going to take their money on average.

magates · #3 09-02-2005, 01:52 PM

No matter how well you are playing, a 70+BB downswing is pretty much inevitable. Having said that, a % of your loss was most likely avoidable.

What I like to do is go through every hand after a losing session, count up how many bets I lost to obvious errors, and try to learn from my mistakes. I'm on a 70BB downswing right now, and probably at least 25% of that was avoidable.

Also check out Homer's instructions on creating what is essentially a bankroll simulation in Excel. Graph out 150 hours or so and hit F9 repeatedly to reset the RNG.

The possible results that a winning player can experience are amazing and quite comforting.
Archived Post

Marquis · #4 09-02-2005, 02:01 PM

Are there any other thirtysomethings who are very grateful that online poker didn't exist when we were in college? I woulda missed out on a lot.

Reqtech · #5 09-02-2005, 02:21 PM

Not a 30 something...but close (28).

And yes.

Though I still played way too many computer games. Starcraft was the bane of the end of my Junior year

kiemo · #6 09-02-2005, 02:27 PM

[ QUOTE ]
Are there any other thirtysomethings who are very grateful that online poker didn't exist when we were in college? I woulda missed out on a lot.

[/ QUOTE ]

I am grateful the internet barely existed when I was college. I like to believe that MMORPGs+Poker wouldnt have prevented me from getting the degree, but am very happy I didnt have to test the theory.

jrz1972 · #7 09-02-2005, 02:27 PM

[ QUOTE ]
a horrible downswing of approx 75BB.

[/ QUOTE ]

Get used to it.

I dropped 150 BB last Sunday.

jrz1972 · #8 09-02-2005, 02:29 PM

[ QUOTE ]
[ QUOTE ]
Are there any other thirtysomethings who are very grateful that online poker didn't exist when we were in college? I woulda missed out on a lot.

[/ QUOTE ]

I am grateful the internet barely existed when I was college. I like to believe that MMORPGs+Poker wouldnt have prevented me from getting the degree, but am very happy I didnt have to test the theory.

[/ QUOTE ]

MMORPGs and Poker would put your degree in jeopardy, and pr0n would be the straw that breaks the camel's back.

KingOtter · #9 09-02-2005, 04:23 PM

I disagree with a lot of what you just said. I think mostly I disagree with your generalizations, but you're young, so I won't concentrate on that.

Cashing out over a 75BB downsing: There's a reason why 'adequately bankrolled' for a given limit is 300BB. And it isn't because a 25% drop in your stake threatens your existence. I've had multiple 100BB drops over my poker career.... the first few I thought were my fault. I've gotten better. Not just in the game, but better at recognizing variance vs. bad play. I know bad play. I should, I see myself do it enough.

Forgetting it is about money: I *want* to forget that I'm playing with money. I want the value of the cards, my knowledge of the other players, and my poker skills to determine my play. Not the worry about losing $2, or $10, or whatever.

Ok, ok, I'm not being exactly fair there. You said that you shouldn't forget 'why' you are playing, which is for money.

So let me disagree with that, too then... I use the money I win. In fact I've said I don't know where I'd be without it. I'm not a pro, or a semi-pro. I do, sort of, consider my poker winnings a second income. I take my poker playing as seriously as anything else I do for money. That's why I'm here! That's why I buy books, and read them, and try to make myself a better poker player. I've played poker and studied it more, and kept up my intensity on it longer than any other interest I've ever had. Which is probably why I can have the success that I do have at it. I'd say that's true of most of the people on these boards.

Schedule your poker: That's a personal preference, I think. I couldn't schedule something on a daily basis if my life depended on it (which it might, because that includes things like exercise). My life's too manipulated by outside forces... family, children, work, etc... I play poker when I can. Some people hate scheduling it, and treating it like a 'job'.

Now on to the advice:

How do you handle a big downswing: I inspect my game... I take a half a second longer to make decisions to determine if I'm making it because I want to, or because I should. Making sure I'm making correct poker decisions, even when I lose the hand. I don't worry so much about extracting value as I do making a correct play.

And the last line of your post is just plain wrong.

Good luck!

KO

Edit: Here's a saying for you:
Poker is like playing a chess game for $1, followed by a coin-flip for $10.

It means: Luck is short-term, skill is long-term. Ask yourself if you are looking at short-term, or long-term?

Asim · #10 09-03-2005, 10:53 AM

thanks dudes

well i have the proper bankroll which of 300BB for the limits i am playing.. but this is the first time i have ever properly done it.. i had no clue that 70BB was nothing when it comes to a downswing... thanks, I didnt even knwo that.. I guess I am just ognna analyze my stuff and figure out the mistakes and change them.. thanks for the encouragement, thats why i like this forum, teaches me things i had no clue about lol [img]/images/graemlins/smile.gif[/img]