Session From Hell...Was it just a bad dream...?

[SirArthur]

I just concluded a nightmare session where I dragged one pot (no exaggeration) in about 2 1/2 hours of playing 2-3 NL (200 buy in) tables.
Yes you read that right, just one pot and it wasn't even a large one.

I've been playing daily for months online (winning nicely), and never experienced or really even thought it possible for something like this to occur.

The silver lining is that I didn't lose my shirt monetarily. Due to the blast of cold cards, I wasn't involved in very many pots. However, every single flop missed me entirely, and I don't even recall pairing up once with anything, let alone hitting a straight, set, boat or flush.

Anyway, my confidence is shot a bit, and was wondering what you think the best approach is to recover from such an awful session.

Take a day or two off maybe, or jump right back in and try to turn things around?

Any suggestions would be appreciated..thanks

[exist]

you got no cards, didn't lose too much money, and your confidence is so shot that you need to post about it?

you say you're a winning player...so play some more and you'll win (eventually).

[sin808]

It may be an illusion, but I take a day or two off and then come back. Each time I do that it seems like I get great cards (that all hold up) for the first 15 or so minutes. This usually gets me back in rhythm. Even if it's only the time off to recharge that really does it, it still works for me.

[Al Schoonmaker]

Taking a bit of time off wouldn't hurt, but it does not seem necessary. It sounds to me as though you coped very well. You dragged only one pot, but did not get hurt badly. If they dragged only one pot, MOST people would take a bad loss.
Of course, if it's not fun, take a break, but I see no compelling reason to do so. You don't seem to be on tilt, so why not keep playing?

Regards,
Al

[Jezebel]

Those days happen and they will happen again in the future. There will also be days where you continously showdown the second best hand and lose quite a bit of money. Just keep in mind that there is nothing you can do to avoid these streaks. Good play will help minimize the severity of the streaks, but the streaks will still happen. No way to outrun probability. Accept it as part of the game and don't let it affect you emotionally. Keep in mind that it happens to EVERYONE on occassion. Most players that hit a streak begin to think what they are experiencing is somehow unique and that they are just unlucky or somehow playing bad. This is usually not the case. It was just there turn for the probablity gods to throw them a change-up.

So in answer to your question, the best way to handle it is to continue to play your game and try not to become emotionally attached to your results. Having the proper bankroll helps keep your game emotion free since you know as long as you play your game you will not go broke. "Play hours not results" is a bit of a cliche, but a good motto to keep in mind especially when you are running bad.

[LetsRock]

One session?


Man, hang on to your chair, because that ain't nothin'. I hate sessions like this and they really depress me, but I've gotten to the point that one or two of these in a row don't bug me so much.....


But wait until you have 10 or 12 of these sessions in a row. You sit and watch all the awful fish drag pots with K4o and 37s and J5s and.... (fill in your list of stupid hands to your hearts content). Again and again, over and over. You get little to work with all night and the few playable opportunities that you get are crushed by either the above knuckleheads or a legitimately well played hand that just pummels your top set or the like. YOur cards are so cold that you don't even have those "if only I would have played that hand" boards. You feel like you're playing with UNO cards.


Now do that for 2 weeks straight. Maybe you were fortunate enough to book a small win somewhere in the middle of the visit to hell, but it's not near enough to get back to feel like you can win.

Do you make any mistakes during this stretch? Probably a few, but you KNOW that the mistakes don't account for more than about 2% of the damage. You fold when you should have raised, and raise when you should have folded. You keep being patient waiting fo the right opportunities and they just don't come. Maybe you try to force a JTs from early position and somehow, for the first time in 3 orbits, someone just has to raise and you know you don't like that hand all of a sudden but you call anyway, because "maybe this is the hand that will hit for me".

This is when you will really question if you have any clue if you really know how to play the game. I've heard of even longer visits to hell than a couple of weeks and all I can say is that I truly feel sorry for any serious player that has to endure theses stretches for more than 2 days - it just defies all reasonable logic that the cards can be that consitently bad for that many consecutive hands.

Am I whining because I'm currently in the depths of one of these visits to hell? Well, yeah a little. But, my point is that one session is NOTHING. Just make sure you're still making good decisions and if your BR is big enough, things will get back on track. (I really believe this despite the fact that sometimes it doesn't feel that way.)

[Chah Ngo]

[ QUOTE ]
Take a day or two off maybe, or jump right back in and try to turn things around?

[/ QUOTE ]
While I wouldn't personally feel the need for a break after one losing session, you might consider it. Especially if you feel like you have the ability to turn things around. Cold cards are out of your control. The best you can do is minimize your losses when the cards turn bad. It sounds like you did this. But, when you start trying to force the action you start down a very dangerous path.