How can you handle running bad more evenly?

[kevdawg21]

I'm a winning live small/medium stakes NL Hold'em player who plays about 25 hours a week. I'm usually pretty consistent, but the last month i've been running really cold. Cold cards, cold decks, bad beats, you name it.

On an intellectual level, I understand that this is just the way poker works; sometimes circumstances cooperate and sometimes they don't. That said, it can be hard to reconcile that truth with your psyche when you feel like you haven't seen sunshine in weeks.

What i'm looking for is some advice on how best to ride the storm, because I don't think i'm doing a very good job of it right now. This losing month has me more than a bit frazzled, and it is defintely beginning to affect my game. Does anyone have any routines or methods they've found effective for keeping themselves even keeled during a drought?

[fishft]

I'm having the same problem and it has become madly frustrating. Last 30k hands I have been making 0PTBB, while the 100k before that I was running near 4ptbb.

I'd say that I have been running below average, but a lot of it is from my poor play. Unwarranted aggression and awful calls are some of the leaks that I immediately recognize right after the hand, BUT I'M UNABLE TO STOP making what I know to be -EV moves.

Some things I have tried to keep this from happening:
-sticky notes that tell me to SLOW DOWN
-take breaks at least once an hour
-evalute my game constantly

But none of them work and I can't seem to stop making moves that I regret.

Sorry for not really presenting a solution. But I know how you feel and I'd like to hear more about how it is deteriorating your play. Good luck.

[aaokwitme]

standard advice, take a break. Dont play untill all bad poker feeling are gone.

[kevdawg21]

Well, a little background...

I've been playing poker seriously for about two and a half years. I mostly play 3/5 NL, but I play some 5/10 NLH. I'm a NLH player, but I occasionally play some 6/12 and 8/16 limit hold'em or 4/8 Omaha. I've been a winning player over the last two years, and have typically employed a TAG style.

May was an excellent month for me where I won a couple of local tourneys and ran my bankroll to unprecendented heights. During May, I was both looser and more aggressive than ever before, and it payed pretty good dividens.

However, through June things just seemed to stop clicking. Boards weren't cooperating, players were calling me lighter, and I ran into more than my share of ugly beats. I've also had more than a few 6+ hour sessions where I just can't seem to pick up a hand.

I totally hear what you're talking about with the unwarranted aggression and awful calls. You're spot on there. Raising PF with hands I wouldn't have touched two months ago, making big moves in truly awful spots, and of course a absurd number of terrible payoffs are a few of the cardinal sins i've been committing against my bankroll lately. In May, my aggression was an experiment; it had purpose and was used in conjunction with logic and careful planning. Once things started going south in June, I realized that aggression had become a reflex and I was playing recklessly. Moreover, the bad momentum was beginning to engender poor bankroll management. Whereas before I would bring only two buy-ins and if I went bust i'd just leave stuck, it got to the point where I would bring three buy-ins, bust, then run home and bring two more (and of course, tilt it all away).

I remember once reading Mike Caro's advice collumn where he says that it's OK to experiment with your game and step outside of your comfort zone with your playing style...but if things start turing sour then you should go back and play ABC to get your confidence back. I definitely stepped outside myself during May, and now i've recognized that I need to restore my game to a more mellow level at least until I get my bearings straight. I feel i've done that, but i'm still taking pretty tough losses.

Now i'm back to playing very ABC TAG hold'em, but I just can't seem to get back into a groove. The last couple of sessions i've just felt very subdued. I took bad beats on both nights, never got anything rolling and walked away stuck.

[RickA]

Try not to focus on the outcomes but rather on the decisions you have made. I find that the toughest part of poker as we are conditioned to evaluate our success or failure based on the outcomes of events not the process.

[PantsOnFire]

When this happens to me, I get away from my normal game. Step 1 is go down in limits since I will be straying from my normal poker and my experimentation shouldn't dent my bankroll too much. Also when you drop a couple of levels, you tend to forget about the results. From the games you mentioned in your second post, it looks like you are a live player so what I do might not apply to you.

So if you are solely a live player, maybe this will not help. Regardless, here are some things I do to change my frame of mind:

1. Play low dollar SnGs with a sticky over my cards and just play the players, position, chip stacks, etc.

2. Play micro-stakes NL cash and play in such a way that you never call a single bet. It is either raise or fold every single time.

3. Play other games like Omaha, 7 Card Stud, Razz, etc.

As a final one, which I employ but is not for everyone, I find the lowest live limits for NL which is usually 1/2 cash and I grab about $200. My plan is to do what I normally don't do and that's drink at a good clip. I start out the night kissing that $200 goodbye and then go out and have fun doing it.

[thehun69]

For me, the key is being process oriented. Being results oriented will just mess with your frame of mind and sink you lower because it will cloud your subsequent decisions. Taking a break is fine. But really, keep a clear mind and make the best decisions possible, the right decisions and play the best poker possible, the rest will take care of itself in the long run.

THE HUN.

[Acein8ter]

I just drop limits and play a bit tighter... trust your reads and don't loose your BI w/tptk type of hands. Don't get caught oop playing weak hands...

[kevdawg21]

Thanks everyone for the advice. I'll try to implement some of your suggestions. I'm currently taking a week long break, but will be back in action very soon.

I hear what you all are saying about being process oriented vs. being results oriented, but honestly, it can be difficult for me sometimes to seperate the two. While I always try to analyze my performance objectively, success tends to reinforce my perceptions of whether i'm playing well or not.

I haven't really figured out how to change that mindset. Maybe it's something that comes as a combination of effort and experience. I try though.