60 days of losing

[sternroolz]

Why are you playing so many hours a day? If you worked a day job that many hours, you are killing yourself. At $20-40 I don't think you will make enough as a winning player to justify "killing yourself"(A lawyer or something making 500K+ a year may be another story).

And 60 straight losing sessions live? I disagree that somehow that is a normal occurence. I've heard of good players with 10-15 sessions str8 of losing, but never anywhere close to 60. I've had 20 in a row, but like Frond said, that was entirely due to being card dead. My losses were minimal because I was playing a hand like once every 2 hours. It was at $6-12 and $4-8 and my total losses on the 20 session streak were around $1200.

I can't imagine you are playing an A level game losing 60 straight sessions.

But assuming it is just a bad streak, try this....

View each session as a day of work. Arrive at work well rested(ie ensure you get 8 hours of sleep at least). Look for the easiest game at the level you are playing. If you play in Vegas, play the Mirage $10-20 or the Bellagio $15-30, not at Wynn. If Los Angeles, play the HP $15-30 or Commerce $20-40, not at Bike. Play at the time when the games are easiest. If you normally play days, switch up and play evenings. Maybe take a few days off and wait for the easier games on Friday. Remember, all these dolts have been up since 6 or 7am and have been working all day. They are tired already when they arrive at the casino. You are alert, refreshed, have slept in until 3pm, and are just starting your day. Eat when you wake up, and run errands or get a bit of exercise. Don't be lazy. Head off to the casino. Watch the games when you arrive and find the easiest spot. Sit for a couple hours, then take a 15 minute break like you would a normal job. Walk around, use the restroom, get something to drink. Chat with people you know like you might on a break at a job. Sit back down for another couple hours. After that, take your 30 minute lunch break. Eat a good nutritious meal, not something that is heavy and will make you sleepy. Get like a salad and half sandwich or something. Eat away from the table. Enjoy your time away from the table. Then go back refocused and play another couple hours. Take another break, just like you would at a regular job. Play your last two hours and leave regardless of game conditions and regardless of how much you are ahead or behind. Its just another day on the job. If you play somewhere where its worth playing for a living, the same good game will be there the next day.

I busto'ed in my attempts as a pro for reasons other than my play in the main game I played. But I averaged 1 1/2 BB an hour at a time when 1BB was the standard. I followed the above rotation religiously and as a result, never went on tilt and never went into an emotional state or mental state where I was not playing my very best. I can't say I follow the above anymore, but I'm no pro and play entirely for recreation now. If I was to play as a pro, I would stick to the above routine. I see no one adhere to something like this schedule and I think they make a mistake by not doing so.

[otter]

AMEN. It's a big psychological difference if you're playing w/ the rent and it affects most people's game for sure.

[RudeboyOi]

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I went through a small bad streak of 2 months of completely being card dead.


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I've had 20 in a row, but like Frond said, that was entirely due to being card dead.


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i dont get it
what does this mean

[otter]

It could be a combination of things, or any one of the following: you're not as good as you think, you're having bad luck, you're not playing well, you're playing too long or perhaps you're not selecting your games well.

Do you have a separate poker bankroll from your living expenses? When I started playing full time after I lost my job and I was playing w/ the rent I found that I lost much, much more frequently than ever before (60 days seems too much to be just an negative swing, so I think it's a combination of the above). It was sick and it was ridiculous! I had been a winning player for at least 10 years!!

I then gave it some thought and I realized that it was difficult for me to play when I was facing a big bet and I looked down and thought, hmm if I called that I'd be calling away my mortgage for the month (if I ever think that when playing any more I get up and leave since my head just isn't in it. I don't care how good the game is). I also gave thought about every session I played and realized that I made some stupid mistakes. I decided to drop down in stakes to where I could have a bankroll just for poker and eventually I built it back up again and now I'm playing a game that's even bigger than originally.

Be honest with yourself. It takes more than talent and a bankroll to make it. You have to be disciplined. Stop playing such long sessions. Try limiting it to maybe 6-8 hours and even take a lunch after 3-4 hours like you would at a job or at least snack frequently. If you're tired don't play. I've left many, many good games because either I didn't have my A..or B game that day, or I was tired, or I just wasn't into the game. Of course I've played in many good games when I didn't have my A or B game because it was so juicy and I was so much better than everyone else even w/ my C game. It's important to know yourself and know when you play best.

[emerson]

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I've just recently quit my job and started playing fulltime. I've built a decent size bankroll the past 7 years playing partime and could play 20/40. Put it this way i lost 60 days straight and i dont get it. Does these losing streaks happen to everyone [img]/images/graemlins/confused.gif[/img]

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I have a question: do you mean a net loss over 60 days, or actually 60 days straight? If it is 60 days straight then you most certainly don't have an edge, as this is almost impossible for any player no matter how poor.

Suppose you were a break even player with a 50:50 chance of winning every session. You know what the odds of 60 consecutive losing sessions is? 1/2^60. I calculate that to one out of 1,152,921,504,606,846,976. Not possible.

What are the real figures?

And you asked if that happened to everyone: considering that the odds against are over a million times bigger than the population of the earth, I guess not. To accomplish this one would have to have the goal of leaving a loser every day. It could not be done by accident.

[blindside]

18k hands live vs online are totally different... the online game is more aggressive and tougher.. thus your winrate is going to be signficantly lower... i'd start being worried around 5 and being alarmed around 12... i can't imagine what 60 would be like especially at 12hr sessions...

you have to continuously be vigilant about your game... reading books, the forums are valuable tools.. but it is ultimately going to be up to yourself and being objective enough to critique your game because at 60 days, i wouldn't rule out variance, but it probably isn't the most likely culprit here...

[emerson]

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I went through a small bad streak of 2 months of completely being card dead.


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I've had 20 in a row, but like Frond said, that was entirely due to being card dead.


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i dont get it
what does this mean

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It means that he doesn't keep good records. The chance of a break even player losing 20 sessions in a row is about one in a million.

[PocketAces2008]

I think my problem has more to do with playing and overthinking each hand. When i worked a fulltime job i played the game naturally. Now, everytime i place a bet i think of my mortgage payments and you cant win thinking this way. Still have a decent size roll after years of playing partime. Gonna take some time off and see if i can get my mind screwed on straight. The other thing i can do is go back working fulltime and playing partime poker.

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I then gave it some thought and I realized that it was difficult for me to play when I was facing a big bet and I looked down and thought, hmm if I called that I'd be calling away my mortgage for the month (if I ever think that when playing any more I get up and leave since my head just isn't in it.

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[paulcouto]

i went on a 3 month bad streak after quitting my job. true story. i played pretty tight the whole time too. it got so bad that one day i turned quads and got nervous.

remember, jennifer harman a few years back had to borrow money. she said she went a year where she just couldnt win.

bad streaks r real.

[otter]

Not a bad idea at all. Play at a limit where it doesn't bother you to lose.