Losing year...

[mordecaibrown]

I'm a long time lurker/first time poster. I want to thank you guys esp. in psychology for all the value and countless hours that you continue to give back to the poker and social community.

Having a hard time this year. My first losing year in the past four.
How do you guys deal with long losing streaks? I don't mean several thousand or anything.
I figure that I'm consistantly losing around 1/2 bb per hour as of the last 3 months.
I go the whole night hanging around even and usually toward the end my sessions I've been getting blasted.
I've tried playing more hours per session/week but that doesn't seem to help much.

I have dropped limits and I'm currently playing mostly 3-6 and 4-8 limit holdem.
I did however step up into the 10-20 during the first quarter of the year and this is the only limit where I've turn profit this year. Poor bankroll management along with the current losing streaks have put me back into the no foldem games that I've come to hate.

How do you guys break from slumps?
How can I get my A game back?
I need some outside thoughts.

Thanks again-M.

[stinkypete]

re-read SSH and do the hand quizzes. make sure you're making the right decisions.

[OrianasDaad]

Same answer you've doubtless seen here many times.

Post some hands.

I think that you started the year in a high limit, above your bankroll, and are itching to get back to it. You've mentioned not liking the games you are in, and that speaks for itself in saying that you are probably not playing optimally in them.

[MRBAA]

If you can't CRUSH the no fold'em games, you don't know how to play hold'em very well. The players who don't fold are losing money -- if you have been playing seriously for four years and still haven't figured out how to win it from them, something is wrong.

[tek]

[ QUOTE ]
If you can't CRUSH the no fold'em games, you don't know how to play hold'em very well. The players who don't fold are losing money

[/ QUOTE ]

When I bowled I did better against better players. One reason was I psyched up better against them. Another was a couple pocket shots that didn't carry would tilt them baaadddd.

Could the same factors work in poker??

Playing against better players gives you more incentive. A couple mistakes and a couple suck outs and you have a higher EV. You can play just a tad looser, semi-bluff occasionaly and be aggressive.

How does one play against an aquarium? You can't play looser, just equally loose. You can't be more aggressive, just equally aggressive. It's basically a crapshoot.

I don't play below 6/12 (which is still a low limit) because I want to have some semblance of normality in the game.

I didn't want to play against the Fred Flintstone types in bowling and I don't want to play against them in poker.

[TazQ]

You can average 5 BB/100 at a Party .5/1 game. Most good players are happy to make 2.5 BB/100 at the Party 15/30.

If you can't make the right decisions when playing at a table where everyone calls too often, raises inapropriately, and plays too many hands you aren't going to magically start making the right decisions when playing against people who're better than you.

[MRBAA]

Clearly a recreational player should choose the game that he enjoys. However a good, experienced poker player should be able to adjust to different lineups. Very loose low stakes games are among the most profitable, yet people constantly complain. If your goal in bowling was to win money and winnings were determined by the differential in score between you and your opponent, I'm sure you'd not mind playing "Fred Flinstone" who's lucky to break 120 vs. a more controlled opponent who rolls 170.

In poker, a good player is the guy who "rolls 250". He should be able to make money against either the 120 bowler or the 170 bowler. But he should be able to make more against the 120 guy. Now, you may be able to make more dollars by playing higher stakes (where the players may be better than at low limits). But for maximum winnings in terms of bets, the worse the other guys play,the better for you.

[solucky]

My english is poor but hope you understand me

Had the same last 10 weeks on lower limits. First that i do a 3 day break, than i think what poker give me last year. I have a new sportscar instead a cheap old car...I had a nice vacation....I have a nice new TV.......I lay down and thought my last 17 month was not bad. I opened a account on another server ( dont trust complete the actuall )and i start to win.....

merry XMAS
PS: I have now a picture from my last vacation on the desk...paid from poker [img]/images/graemlins/smile.gif[/img]

[Rudbaeck]

[ QUOTE ]
When I bowled I did better against better players. One reason was I psyched up better against them. Another was a couple pocket shots that didn't carry would tilt them baaadddd.

Could the same factors work in poker??

How does one play against an aquarium? You can't play looser, just equally loose. You can't be more aggressive, just equally aggressive. It's basically a crapshoot.


[/ QUOTE ]

The first part is probably true for many. I can't play 0.10/0.20 any more and give a crap about how I do. The limit got to feel serious if I am to apply myself.

The second part clearly shows you don't understand No Fold'em. You make them pay you more than you pay them on the same hands. If basically random actions actually could defeat skill then I'd sit down with a trusty dice and beat up Doyle. [img]/images/graemlins/wink.gif[/img]

[TStoneMBD]

if you were a winning player for 3 years at 10/20 and are just now starting to play 3/6, its very possible you dont understand the fundamentals to beating players of loose-passive caliber. if you played 3/6 for a long time and moved up to 10/20 for a lengthy period, its possible that your strategies and theories of the game have altered and youre having trouble applying the different necessities that are required in beating low limit games. low limit games are extremely profitable when calculating BB/100, but if youre playing a 10/20 game plan, you are inept and are not ready to able to beat 3/6. i recommend reading ed millers small stakes book.