Losing streak

[Zachs Dad]

Iv been on a losing streak for a while.Down 75 BB in the course of 4000 hands at low limit party games.Ive done quite well playing O/8 over the first few months with a decent sizw win rate at around 2 BB per 100 hands.Ive read books on the game and with the help of you guys I feel I understand it a lot better,but I still have tons of things to learn,and I am always trying to improve my game.
Ok im very frustrated as of late.None of my really big draws are getting there,my nut lows are getting counterfitted and evey flush or straight seems to pair the board.(sorry for ranting)one example is i have A-2-a-4 double suited.I raise get 7 callers .flop is A-j-j turn is a 3 and the river is a J. and i lose a ton. pleaes disregard all wriiten above just wasting your time on venting.
Now my question is Cappeletti says the downswings in O/8 are a lot less than in other forms of poker because of the split pots.I believe I agree with this because even though ive had losing sessions before they were never that bad.But with really strong draws and a lot of raising to protect your strong hands such as nut flushes do you believe there is a period where your down swings can be much worse that in non split pot games. I already knoiw the wilder the games and crappier the players your bank roll swings are bigger.Any help would be appreciated. once again sorry for ranting.

ZD

[Beavis68]

I wouldn't just look at the big hands, but look at how you are pushing more marginal hands - also, how much did you lose on the river to the quads?

Man, I tried playing on party earlier last week, it had really tightened up many of the pots were heads-up.

[soundgarden4]

I was in the exact same situation as you were a couple of weeks ago. I had been playing O/8 for about 6 months and had jetted off to an amazing start, only to have it come crashing down about 4 weeks ago in the form of a 125 BB loss. No draw would ever make it and the ones that did would get beat on the river. I lost a 25 BB pot when my flopped nut full house was rivered by a one-outer quads in 3-way action. I took a look at my game to make sure I was playing well and in the past two weeks it has shown that I have indeed been playing correctly. I haven’t made up all 125 BB, but I’m definitely on my way.

I don’t believe O/8 has a greater variance than HE or non-split pot games. When a flop comes low it’s easy to see that a split pot will occur, but I see many pots get split on backdoor lows when someone is really pushing a high flop (two high cards and one low card) while another person believes their high draw and backdoor low is worth calling. My recommendation is to look at your game and see if it needs re-tooling and go from there. If everything looks alright, just be patient and your upswing will be right around the corner. Play your game and in time those huge pots that you’re losing will soon be dragged your way, it’s just the way that poker is.

[L0QTiS]

Are you only playing one table at a time or multi-tabling? What limits?

[Zachs Dad]

on the quad hand i lost one bet on the river with 7 callers i believe one had to have it but way to much money in the pot to fold to one bet.
I started out at1-2 at party and empire and .50-1 on Ub and 2-4 with a kill live.now im playing .50-1 to try and get through the bad streak.
Im not playing every A-3 hell to a raise from a tight player I fold A-2 unless I have other quality cards to go along with it.
I appreciate the advice .I was just wondering if there can be a bigger varience in your results over a period of time.

[L0QTiS]

I find the variance feels higher at Party/skin's .5/1 game overall, at least for myself (although my standard deviation from this games stats don't seem to support this). I don't tend to do very well when multi-tabling. In fact, my results at Party don't pair up to other sites, but when I play there I'm usually trying to clear a bonus and I'm multi-tabling. I've found I do best with one or two tables - with 3 or more I tend to do worse, but can usually manage ok with 3. Basic rule, the higher I go, the less I tend to multi-table.

Overall, I've found the variance at Omaha hi/lo less than Holdem - which is one primary reason I moved from HE to O8 as my staple game. Short term streaks just happen, it's just something you need to play through and perhaps re-assess your play and continue to study the game.

[Zachs Dad]

thanks LoQtis for the help.Hopefully the bad run will end soon.Ive had plenty of losing streaks before at holdem but never one of 75 BB.Im sure as I progress my swings will be far greater than 75 BB,and its not really the money Ive built my bankroll up to where financially this doesnt hurt its just frustrating I guess.
By the way I do multi table party usually to clear a bonus. I was multitabling there for a while (and also empire)and doing well my win rate was very good for the last few months.
Anyway I seemed to have turnded this thread into me whinig and I apologize for that (though I do feel better).I just wanted to be sure large downswings do occur in split pot games. Thanks

[iblucky4u2]

ZD - while O/8 has a smaller variance, it has been my experience that bad streaks can exceed the losses of other games. The reason is at LL, you will find yourself getting outdrawn because there are 3-4 who are drawing "virtually" dead, but one of them will outdraw you. Yes, it is correct to put those huge advantages, but whenever you push you open your bankroll to the whims of the poker gods.

I played the other night and lost 20 BBs on hands like the following: I held A2s34 in the big blind. There are 7 callers to me and I raise. (ok - running bad I should be more conservative, but with this hand I'm raising). The flop comes 633 - and I'm loving life. The SB bets out and I call to let in all the others. It gets raised by the cutoff and there are 6 calling 2 bets. If I am running normal or good, I will 3 bet it here. The turn is a 9. It is checked to the cutoff who bets and all call. The river is a K and the SB bets out. Cutoff is the only caller. SB shows KKxx and says "I bet because a K would give me the winner" while the Cutoff shows 669Tr. un-friggin' believable - or as Gore and Kerry said "I'm can't believe I'm losing to this guy."

The only thing I can offer is when the flow of the cards turn around, you will make up those losses with plenty to spare. Hang in there and let your tight, aggressive play work its magic.

[Joshua57]

For some reason I've run across a bit of bad luck playing omaha/8 online also. About 6 months ago I decided to play omaha/8 exclusively online and live. I enjoy the fact that it appears to be a game where math and knowledge of pre and post flop play will almost always lead to profit(nowhere near the reading skills needed in hold'em). I'm trying to get to the point where omaha/8 can pay for my tuition bill at the end of each semester. I've been fairly succsessful in the live 10/20 omaha/8 game I play at the local casino, but for some reason online I've run into losing streaks on the 2/4 and 3/6 tables. Due to this I've switched to the omaha/8 sit and gos on partypoker. I've found that they are really profitable without the stress of losing a big pot. On a side note this is my first post on this forum. I've enjoyed the content of a lot of the posters here and I'm suprised by the lack of crap that seems to be ever-present elsewhere.

Joshua