[*TT*]

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The bad news was that I was getting my clock cleaned by players who simply played terribly. The competition at this level is abysmal. Getting beat over and over and over by such weak competition is a bit tough to deal with psychologically. One bad beat or bad situation is nothing. A night of bad beats and bad situations is annoying. But, the endless parade I endured during this stretch was more frustrating than anything I can remember. It was a helpless feeling. Of course, it ended eventually and my winning ways returned to normal.


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I (we all) feel for you when this happens Dynasty. I am experiencing my first extended online dry spell, its been absolutely brutal on my psyche. I know it has affected my play at times (playing weak at times, over playing hands occasionally due to steaming) where these haven't been problems for me in the past.

What I am finding very odd is that I am not experiencing the same problem in my live game. I am up considerably in my live play, however I have lost almost my entire online bankroll in the past 3 months (I was playing 3/6 until 2 weeks ago, I am now forced to take steps down to rebuild).

Like you, I have noticed the online opponents are considerably worse than the opponents I normally play with live (until the recent NYC poker busts I play in two weekly games filled with good players yet they have almost always been profitable), I have wondered if that is a factor that I am not compensating for enough.

Anyway... enough about me. Here is what I really want to know...during your downswing, did you find yourself questioning your playing ability? Did you find yourself re-visiting reading materials? Did the downswing fix itself naturally, or did you do something to make the change occur? I ask because I am a true believer that swings this bad are not just caused by variance, it is often the fault of the player himself as well.

TT [img]/images/graemlins/club.gif[/img]