Down I go.....

[TheWorm967]

well after running my banrkoll up to around $1300, I;ve lost five buyins over the last two days and i guess i'm moving down, to .25/50. a level for some reason, that i;ve really struggled at. I'm not sure how to deal with this as I started with $100 at .10/25 a month ago and I felt like things were really going good, I know I titled bad today and it really cost me.

How have others dealt with moving down? what helped you? I have a huge love for the game and I study/play constantly and I expect much better from myself. Any tips for what I can do to get back on track?

[Grunch]

Don't ignore bankroll management. 5 buyiin swings are just matter of course. You shouldnt even be playing NL50 with a 800 bankroll -- you should be @ NL25.

[joeblack]

I have moved from 100NL up to 400 NL and back down to 100 & 200NL again. Its just part of the game. Try to think of the money in your bank account as just 'numbers' instead of money. It eases the pain [img]/images/graemlins/smile.gif[/img]

Honestly, the best advice I can give you is take a few days off. This always helps clear your head and when you come back you can usually book a nice win.

[ekabe]

Why not try taking a break from poker, go over your PT stats and some of the hands you've been playing. You might you're getting coolered more often than not. After a break you could still continue playing at 0.5/1 if you're feeling confident. Taking a move down can be a shock but it's probably a better bet than moving up and chasing losses

[EddieRooo]

Read all the stickys, there some really good ones on what you need to succeed at certain levels and moving up/down etc. Remember that your main goal should be to get better at playing to begin with, because it you can do that then the money will naturally come later.

If you feel yourself tilting just stop playing, don't play when you aren't feeling it etc. Its a lot easier to lose a buyin than win one imo.

[Tony Montana 22]

[ QUOTE ]
I have a huge love for the game and I study/play constantly and I expect much better from myself.

[/ QUOTE ]


This seems to be where I sometimes get confused too.

You see, the fact that I put in countless hours, study till my head explodes, spend tons of $ on coaching, programs, websites & other misc. technology to help me get more of an edge against my opponents and talk to people until I am blue in the face about strategy and other random poker related crap, doesn't mean I won't have rough times at the tables.

I am not insulated from varience because I do the aforementioned stuff but rather I think the best I can reasonably expect is an increasing ability to make better decisions-which of course is what it's all about.

For some reason there is a part of my thinking, based in some alternate reality, that says my 5-10 buy in swings should alway be in the positive direction, that when I sit down at the tables I should automatically build upon yesterdays winning session, as if it were somehow an unspoken right afforded to me. This is plain nonsense, and there have been several excellent posts in the last few months about dealing with the emotional turmoil of downswings and how to cope.

False or flawed expectaion is at least related to delusional thinking, something that isn't the friend of the winning poker player.