Is it possible to run bad for two months? (low Content

[BeerMoney]

Every time I sit at a table, I win like 1 or 2 of my first 60 or 70 hands. I'm not overly tight, and I'm not a big folder. It just seems next to impossible to win right now. Its hard to play solid poker when you never win a hand. I think my game selection has been reasonable, and I am even paying closer attention. How could I go from winning fairly consistently, to losing almost every time I sit down?

I have 0 confidence right now.

Beer.

[Alex/Mugaaz]

[ QUOTE ]
Every time I sit at a table, I win like 1 or 2 of my first 60 or 70 hands. I'm not overly tight, and I'm not a big folder. It just seems next to impossible to win right now. Its hard to play solid poker when you never win a hand. I think my game selection has been reasonable, and I am even paying closer attention. How could I go from winning fairly consistently, to losing almost every time I sit down?

I have 0 confidence right now.

Beer.

[/ QUOTE ]

I've gone through stretches like this, unfortunately there is nothing comforting to say, it's just variance. Sometimes you have rushes where every draw comes in, people make second best hands again and again, etc. Then there is the opposite, which sucks.

The only thing that got me in a winning frame of mind was refocusing on chasing down bonuses. If you know that except in purely horrible cases that you'll be guaranteed a profit, it's very easy to keep playing, and your goal isn't results oriented so you won't be too dissapointed. As long as I don't need to worry about the money I can play well and put in the hours.

[mscags]

Try not to look at your bad run in terms of X days, but rather in terms of X hands. I've had 15K breakeven stretches in holdem and it takes me a good 2-3 weeks to play that many hands and that is 4 tabling 6MAX. If you are just playing 1-2 tables of stud it will take you FOREVER to play the same equivalent of hands. 10-15K breakeven or bad stretches happen, it just sucks when it seems like ETERNITY. As long as you keep playing solid poker it will all come out alright.

[grb137]

[ QUOTE ]
Every time I sit at a table, I win like 1 or 2 of my first 60 or 70 hands. I'm not overly tight, and I'm not a big folder. It just seems next to impossible to win right now. Its hard to play solid poker when you never win a hand. I think my game selection has been reasonable, and I am even paying closer attention. How could I go from winning fairly consistently, to losing almost every time I sit down?

I have 0 confidence right now.

Beer.

[/ QUOTE ]

Beer - to answer your question, yes, its possible. However, I suggest you post more hands so we can tell you whether or not you're playing as solid as you think. For example, if you really are capping with 3 flushes, maybe you should back off the aggression.

Otherwise, ride it out. Hang in there.

[Alex/Mugaaz]

Also, the easiest way to get out of a bad run is to work on finding even better games. Sometimes you can find a decent game thats slightly loose and lag, and usually thats good enough. If I'm running bad I want at least 1 or 2 super donators there, and I'm really only there to gamble it up with them. You don't want a swingy action game when youre mildly tilty and on a bad run. You want to find some super loose/passive players and fire your guns at them. I think the game most people look for when stuck is usually the worst one to be playing at the time.

I don't know about the rest of the posters on this forum, but almost all my big wins comes from isolating the weakest player and letting him try to draw out on me. My big wins don't come from outplaying people who are only semi-competent.

As you can see this is basically the same advice as before. Get a bigger overlay, but keep your game the same if you're not seeing obvious flaws.

[DeadMoneyOC]

Wait until month four...then it really becomes fun.

No serouisly. When I first started playing poker I went on the biggest 6 month long mega heater ever. Since I had just started playing poker I thought I was the best poker player ever.

Ever since 05 started I have been losing on a fairly consistant basis. Up until this summer I still thought I was awesome at poker and thought my bad luck was just that...bad luck. Then this summer I realized many things about poker in general and how to handle rough periods. First I would suggest you drop down it the lowest stakes on the whole freaking web site. Ok maybe not the .50 game but if you usually play 5-10(right?) I would suggest playing 2-4. You BR will thank me and you will gain confidence because beating those stakes is like beating your little brother playing basketball. I am 99% you have much better bankroll management that me and also better steam control but regaining your confidence is probably most important right now. On tip that I got from cardplayer is also make sure you book small wins during your cold streaks. Winning 5BB in 30minutes isnt anything amazing but I think its better than losing. I would also suggest you tighten up A LOT!!! When I was on my welcome to poker mega rush I played like a frekaing maniac! That does no work when you are running bad. You need to play not and basically never blufff. Ever. You will called when you are running bad. Dont play as much either. Save you energy for when you are running good again.

Edit: Listen to Alex adivce also. That was some good stuff.

[beta1607]

Beer - Could be running bad could be playing bad, but I would guess it is a cycle of one leading to the other.

Post some hands and if you feel like you are getting stressed about poker go spend some quality time with your wife and a movie instead of playing, it will def. be +EV [img]/images/graemlins/wink.gif[/img]

[MrBlueNose]

Drop down to 1/2 or 2/4 6 max for a few weeks. Your confidence will jump sky high [img]/images/graemlins/smile.gif[/img]

[BeerMoney]

That's a good idea.

Thanks to all those that replied.

I've decided my river play needs some work.

All good things come to he who waits. good luck.