How do you deal with losing streaks online?

[Go Blue]

Ok, this is not a bad beat story by any means. I am just REALLY getting frustrated at this and don't know how to deal with this problem. This is probably the one reason that I can't consistently win online. Anyway, I play online time to time more for fun than for extra money. I play poker mostly live. But when I do play online, the pattern is always exactly the same. I'll start out with some amount of money, say $50 or $100, play some $1/2 or the like, build to a couple or a few hundred dollars, withdraw some, including winnings, then lose the rest. At this point, I get pissed, thinking I'll never play again online, until a couple of months later, when I get bored and play again. The same deal happens: I'll win and withdraw a little, then lose the rest.

Well, I think this "lose the rest" part comes about the same way each time. I almost ALWAYS start out winning when first depositing. But the bad luck streak is just inevitable. Like just now, I started with $50 a few days ago that my friend transferred me for taking over a tourney for him which he eventually won, and built it up to around $500, playing mostly $1/2. I have withdrawn about $250-300 already and am now on the losing streak. It just seems that now matter how I play, I will ALWAYS get beat. My pockets get cracked my trips each time, I lose to river flushes, lose with dominated hands all in preflop, etc. In the past, I've dealt with this as described, by just withdrwaing some, then steaming and losing the rest. But I don't want think to happen again, if that's possible, even though I withdrew some already. I don't know what to do. Some people say to take a break, but that doesn't seem to be working. Some say tighten up, and I have...and that doesn't work apparently (just had QQ beaten by 55, as the most recent bad beat...haha).

I REALLY need some solid advice on this. I don't post that much so any help is appreciated. I am certain that this is the biggest leak in my game and if I could somehow get around this, I think I would win consistantly. Thank you.

[waffle]

Bankroll mangement. When you play poker, you are making a low win rate with high swings. If you routinely cash out such a large portion of your roll, leaving yourself with 100 bets or less, you will bust frequently.

[solucky]

absolute normal, i have such a streak any month this year.

point 1. If u have a excel-sheet with your winnings u see its only a small hook down

point 2. I look to my TV PC or pictures from my last vacation and say oh all paid with poker

point 3. I have a maximum lost per day ( 50 BB ) after that i leave

point 4. If u feel upset change the side and play a bonus

Wolfgang

PS: to climb up from 50 to 500 u need normally many hands, listen that u play only a few and was lucky

[Nfinity]

Waffle pretty much has your problem dead on. You might try playing(or initially depositing) until you have about the size of 300-500BB for the limit you are playing at. Always withdraw at a specified time and only take out what you have in excess to the initial bankroll. Keeping a certain percentage of your profits back to help your bankroll grow is a good idea as well.

[raccon]

If the playing period is short (few days for example), you're not getting dealt good cards and bad cards equally. Sometimes you get more good than bad ones, sometimes vice versa. Sometimes even the good hands get cracked by a bad one several times in a row.

This results in streaks. When you are on upswing, you win a lot. When you win, you have made cashouts. But good run of cards don't last forever, at some point you start losing - it's inevitable. There's nothing wrong with it.

Consider your playing on longer basis. If you're winning over a longer period of time, there's nothing to worry about.

[beernutz]

Top 10 ways to deal with losing streaks

10. play a different game
9. play a different site
8. move down in limits
7. take a break from playing
6. reread The Theory of Poker
5. datamine yourself with PokerTracker
4. post inane stuff on 2+2
3. take a nap; everything is better after a nap
2. porn!
1. porn!

[jon_keck]

[ QUOTE ]
In the past, I've dealt with this as described, by just withdrwaing some, then steaming and losing the rest.

[/ QUOTE ]

That's the whole issue as I see it.

As noted by a couple others, poker is a game with high variance, and this is very poor bankroll management.

If you steam a little bit after a loss, you will go bust each and every time you withdraw and leave yourself with just a few bets.

#1 Keep an adequate bankroll online to play with

#2 Don't steam - having a large number of bets to play with at all times might help a little here. (That is, you're more likely to steam if you've only got $25 in your account than if you're still sitting on $575 after a bad beat)

[kurosh]

This is what I do, it works really well.

Don't lose.

[OrianasDaad]

Sounds like your problem is bankroll management, as another poster suggested.

I'm currently at 1/2 with a bankroll of $1578.45. Goodness, I hand't realized it had grown so much. I've had a good week, I guess. I don't feel comfortable moving up to 2/4 yet, and my bankroll requirements are somewhat more stringent than what is recommended. I like to have 600BB for a given limit at any given time.

Now I have some expenses that I would like to take care of. In order to keep the 600BB in my bankroll, I can only withdraw $378.45 and still play at 1/2. If I'm willing to move back down to .5/1, I can withdraw $978.45 leaving me $600.

Let's say that I withdraw to leave myself $1200, and then go on a 300BB slide. Not likely, but still a possibility. I then am forced to move down to .5/1, so I can start again at that level with the required 600BB.

The point for me is that "once the poker money is gone, it's gone. You aren't getting any more." So sayeth my wife. I have steps in place to protect my bankroll. It takes discipline.

In short: Don't withdraw money from your roll if it puts your roll in jeapordy. Win enough so that even if you withdraw you have a comfortable cushion of big bets at the limit you are playing at. If you go on a losing streak, then move down in limits until your bankroll is big enough to move back up.

[URMeowed]

I meow incessantly. It works for me.

Meow.