[suzzer99]

[ QUOTE ]
I have said this so many times, but playing bad and running bad are highly correlated

[/ QUOTE ]

So are you saying Gramps is sucking? Or is his the one bad streak you really think might just be variance?

Having said that, I don't believe I have been playing my best through all of this. I think I have a tendency to have a crappy session if I start out with a really unlucky set. I don't think I'm playing horrible, just not as good as I can.

What *does* seem to be highly correlated to running bad is when I start off bad, then get a few MTTs or non-turbos going and start playing SNGs continuosly. I swear even when I look at the HHs I don't see a bunch of glaring mistakes. But I can't deny that it really seems like I run much better in sets.

I've really been focusing on what raptor said about shoving too wide/thin ev. I think I am able to do this better in sets--when I have time to give that extra second of rethinking to what my instincts want to do. Instincts are funny in that they can betray you when you run bad. Also when you run really good.

Say a mouse presses a button that gives him food 5 out of 6 times, and a shock the other one. If he has a bad streak of a few shocks in a row, he's probably going to quit pressing the button. When I'm clicking every second, Starcraft-style, and 4 tables are beeping at me at once, I'm probably relying on too much instinct and not enough rationality.

Also I think one of my biggest problems is when I've been on an upward trend, and it seems like a new downswing is starting. I get really really upset when this happens and if there's any time I play sub-optimally this would be it. I probably yell and pound the desk harder when I have 2 losing sets in a row after a giant rush, than any other time. I don't like being in downswing mentality, and I really resent it being foisted upon me (new insight there).

In retrospect one thing I can pretty strongly assert - is that this is NOT a good time to load up a bunch off 114s continuously out of spite for the poker gods. They don't like to be spited. About $2k of my $7k downswing has come this way. Of course I could have also run hot and won it all back, as has happened plenty of times in the past. But when the opposite happens it's disasterous.

So combine negative emotions associated with obvious downswing starting + continuous play + playing 100 SNGs/day for 40 days = probably not the best combo. Although I SWEAR you can look at the HHs and not see anything that bad. Funny how that is.