Slumping and Playing Bad

[ProPokerPlayer]

Does it seem like you never play well when ur running bad? Im in 1 of those slumps where i feel like im gonna lose when i sign in and usually fufill the prophecy shortly thereafter...
Ive withdrew most all my funds so i wont be pissing any away in high stakes games and wont be able to play the 150.00's till i get some winnings in. I feel like i should take a week off or sumthin but that also feels like ur giving up, id prefer to battle out of a slump but the more i fight it the deeper it gets.
Im going to try to play some live poker to get back in the groove but this time of year even thats hard...I only work about 3-5 hours a day but when its 98d with 80% humidity for 3 weeks in a row when i get done i just want to go home and pass out....Its hard to get enough energy to go to the casino.
Seems like i have an excuse for just about everything ....Nothings seems appealing to me but i'd love to hear any ideas on how to get back to a positive frame of mind...:hugesmile

 

[Rickey-B-Rickey]

Sounds like burnout PPP. Take a break. Do whatever.


If there is nothing you want to do away from poker, spend the time reviewing your play of late. This will either enforce the fact that you are a good player and just a victim of a downswing, or show you some leaks that your bad luck has caused you to spring.

But really shut the poker down for a little while and just fuck off if you can.

Dropping down in stakes was a great move. Build it back up along with your confidence.

I offer this after countless times of going on tilt and moving up when running bad. Going Busto was an easy way for me to take a break from poker. Be smarter than I.

Best of Luck :toast:

 

[Brotherwo]

I agree with all Rickey's suggestions. Good post

A few of my thoughts...

-when I'm running bad I set daily limits as well as limit the time I play. By setting daily limits I prevent throwing away my stack with pocket 9s after i someone pulled a 3 outer on me. Also it prevents me from moving to higher stakes tables after a few bad hands.

-Set smaller very realistic goals for the session, and remember if you walk away even after the session it is better than losing (this sounds obvious but many times we focus on what could of been).

-I love the idea of review. Truly understand if you are playing bad or running bad. When I finish a session, i review (usually only mentally) the big hands, did I maximize profit on the winning ones? how could I have minimized loses or improved my play on the losing one?

-Finally, exercise. This one goes along with limiting play. When I am active and playing fewer hours of cards I tend to play my strongest poker.

 

[ProPokerPlayer]

Tried a few things. #1 is i realized when ive got a lot of crap going on at work and at home, even when its not directly effecting me...i dont play very well. If the deck doesnt slap me in the face i dont have the concentration that i need to win..

So yesterday i finally get a chance to play live. List is a mile long but as soon as i say ill play NL they put me right in..The limit players hate me and if ill play NL the staff treats me like a king...lol There is only 2 things they like at the limit tables...talking and calling. Raising and especially ck raising will get you on the hate list quick. Plus i dont talk and i realize its a friendly game of regulars who all know each other, so im trying to stay away from them when i go even though i rarely ever have a losing session at Limit there...

So i sit down and about oooo the 5th hand or so i get AA....J3os for the last 100 hands online boy this is a welcome change !!!! loosest guy at the table calls...Flops 2 pair with K8os and im down $350 just like that....yee fucking haw.
I then proceed to sit for the next 6 hours and....u guessed it....fold J3os every hand. I can almost name every pot i won in those 6 hours. I lose another huge pot when the guy who cracked my AA bluffed into a 3 spade flop and i had 84sp and knew i had him beat easily...+ the 4 gave me an open end straight flush draw...he made a big bet and i ofcourse just called knowing he would bluff the turn if another S didnt fall...What i didnt realize was there was somebody left to act behind me and ofcourse....he shoves.......bastard.

On another note i saw just about every bad beat and suckout by horrible players you will ever see online anywhere...Gutshot straight draws were the nuts all day.
I watched a SOB call every raise with any 2 cards and make 2 pair so often you would swear we were playing Omaha.
I lost with AA and then JJ twice. The only big pot i won was horrble as well...1 thing bad players do is protect the shit out of the nuts...somebody flops a big hand in these games you not seeing another card for less than twice the pot....so i got 99 and the flop comes J10K. 1 guy makes a small bet and everybody calls....Nobody has AQ or no way we would be seeing another card so i call. Turn comes 9. Nobody bets!!!! they all ck....Im like TonyG now...i want this pot, its the closet ive been to 1 all day, even with all these people in the pot i dont think anyone has a Q and if they do they probably are scared of AQ which i also know is not out there....i bet the pot, 1 caller. River is nothing and i shove wat i got left, maybe 225 into this now maybe 350 pot....guy next to me folds and shows...QJ!!!
About 2 laps later i get 3x 9 hands in a row, i tell the guy next to me "if get a 3 this hand im gone" and get some racks out...Sure enough its old reliable J3os, i flip em as soon as i get em and out the door i go....Pissed of like a muther i tell you. About halfway home though it hits me. im only down a few hundred, any other player would have lost his ass in that game with my cards. But i was patient, only made a few mistakes and got out of there still able to play another day...and eat last night...lol
Doyle says in SS that he wins the majority of his money on rushes, that some people dont believe in rushes but he has 40 years experiance telling him they exsist...Well he is right, but its the non-rushes where you can go broke or wait them out that i think are more important. You cant make enough on rushes to cover losses during non rushes if you dont have the patience to `ride them out...

 

[Rickey-B-Rickey]

Well said PPP. Being patient, all those saved bets add up over the long haul.

 

[8ate]

brunson's original power poker book strongly suggested players take vacations; it is hardest to take time off when you most need it...

jmho
gl

 

[ECS]

I personally find that I play my best when taking decent sized breaks through the year, which is why you will find me here posting like crazy and then be gone........

People don't understand why poker players need a break, especially when they are winning, people always ask me why I stop playing when I am winning money, the answer is simple................its a mentally taxing game. I am already feeling it and I have only been back playing around a month and in that time I am up nice and I am still getting a little annoyed. Last night I ran my stack up only to get cracked with AA vs 10 9. I played in a step 1 tourny just for the hell of it and got 3rd place (back to step 1) 5 TIMES! Every single time I had my chips in a race and I lost all 5 races to get 3rd and try again.

So, I think you need a small break my man, even if its like a week, it can do a ton of good. Btw, Live > Online

 

[ConansHammer]

If you are winning you need to keep playing til the hot cards turn cold.

The time to take a break is when the cards turn cold.:chest:

 

[ProPokerPlayer]

The time to take a break is when the cards turn cold


Hmmmmm that leaves me about 4 days a year to play...now if i can just figure out what 4!!!!!

 

[Avon_Barksdale]

the better question is can even the best break even when the deck turns cold or even tepid warm. I find it tough online.

Too tight, then too loose, crazy the things poker does to ya.

I am so f*cking cold right now

 

[Avon_Barksdale]

Not even playing bad, just beyond cold now. The server is turned off. I think this is one of the problems with the internet at the casino you can just accept things aren't going your way. Online stuff is just unreal.

I decided to make a "play" right before the final table, flop 6,7,2 had 10,2 had checked from BB

Some guy bets small I raise a little, he waits goes all in, I smell bluff, he has AK, you know the drill, riverst*r'd

He had me beat pre-flop but i just should have known better!!!