Joined: Jan '11
Location: United States
Age: 60 (M)
Posts: 3361
Just a question to some of the Mobsters that's been playing poker for years! Since I've been playing on a more routine basis it just seems that there are these winning and losing trends that go "up and down". Is that kinda the way it is? Or, is it me changing the way I play without recognizing the way I play? I mean when I'm on the winning streak do I start playing riskier hands then start losing? Then, when I'm on the losing streak do I play tighter? I really try to stay the same, but maybe I'm not. Does most everyone deal with such trends?
Sorry about the excessive questions, but didn't know how to explain it any other way.
Joined: May '11
Location: Netherlands
Age: 35 (M)
Posts: 141
I recognise that. Nice question. Im curious what other pokerpeople are experiencing. At the moment i have a down swing and thats the reason i only play poker freerolls and not cashgames.
Joined: Feb '11
Location: Canada
Age: 39 (M)
Posts: 1660
It's pretty normal from where I'm sitting. Even when I was playing DoN's exclusively it's wasn't too uncommon to see swings of 10+ buyins. Even had one day where I lost a bunch, and then got it all back plus more on these.
Certainly your highs and lows might affect your game somewhat (ie. tilt) but that's what breaks are for.
Joined: Mar '12
Location: Romania
Age: 34 (M)
Posts: 640
I recently went through an up and down , I think it's pretty common for everybody , and yes it affected my game , I actually tilted , I believe the "secret" is to actually manage to keep your head cool thorugh a bad beat , cause it's a downward spiral , and probably if u manage that , you'll manage to cut your losses .
Joined: May '08
Location: Netherlands
Age: 53 (M)
Posts: 6197
Yes its normal, i had upswings when playing really bad and horrible down/breakeven swings when playing my best poker. Imo poker all comes down at volume, so every down/breakeven swing comes to an end (being a winning player that is offcourse....), so put in the volume and that down/breakeven swing will end faster.
Joined: Nov '09
Location: Canada
Age: 55 (M)
Posts: 2387
Hi Greenie. I've been wanting to answer this thread since you posted it, but I wanted to answer it well and haven't had time lately. For me, there are four major items to look at:
1. First of all, variance is normal in playing poker, and even the best will go through some cycles of bad beats and down swings, and miracle cards compensating for a bad read or poor play. I think you have to look over a longer period of time to determine your level of success.
2. Poker strategy. How comfortable are you with your overall strategy, when was the last time you worked on it, thought about it, posted hands on this forum, asked questions etc. Especially in a downswing you need to look at why it is happening, look at hands that cost you and assess if you made a bad call, or could have played it differently, or whether the guy got his miracle one outer on the river and 95% of the time you got your money in on that hand way ahead.
3. What is your present mood/psyche? Honestly I am in the midst of a three month downswing. I have had three major problems happen at work with some of our biggest customers, and the stress on me has been the worst ever. The resulting extra hours of work, plus painting the house during my week "off" at spring "break" have me very fatigued, and my focus way off. Plus a lot of honestly bad beats. Last night no exception. Up nicely at NL100, hit trip 6s on the flop against someone with AA, after the turn card we both had our stacks in the middle and Ace on the river. F*ck me again.
4. How easy is it to beat the stakes you are at? Typically player skill goes up as you climb up in stakes, so if you are oscillating up and down and going nowhere, work on your strategy to get better, or try dropping down a level. Presently one game I am doing well at is a variant of poker that is not extremely popular, so a lot of the players are not highly skilled, which makes it easier to do beat.
Joined: Feb '10
Location: Portugal
Age: 43 (M)
Posts: 998
Ups and downs are normalswingas in poker, if your lucky and good player your going to have more ups than downs, in other way youl be a looser player.Most of the players are breakeven they loose a little more than wha they wiun but they can beat the system achievig the rakebac usually offered byu the site. Poker is a gamwe that need to be looked by a long run, in the long run if you win no matter what, then you have more ups than downs!
Joined: Jan '10
Location: Indonesia
Age: 60 (M)
Posts: 1875
I had the same Green, down and up . but I sad hear you say it again, it is almost similar with your threat before, right. it's indicate you were not improve yet about the problem.
My experience , I down if :
1. I am tired but I still play. ( maybe, I didn't care win or lose ) 2. in bad luck situation and I push to play and play. 3. I have time and didn't know I spent for another activity.
effect is not focus and lost concentration ,finally I played very bad.
Joined: May '09
Location: Spain
Age: 49 (M)
Posts: 1331
Hi greenmohave and mobsters.
Normal. Ups and downs is poker. Just try to lose the less possible in downs and win as much as you can in ups. Wow, what an obvious tips shame for me...
Joined: Oct '09
Location: Spain
Age: 60 (M)
Posts: 2851
Well Green, you got a lot of answers in this post. Most of it has been said.
briefly:
Ups and downs are normal and happen to the pros as well during most of their careers, losing 100.000´s of dollars in months.
We all experience them.
Mood and mindset can also very much affect your game. When I´m feeling great i play A LOT better, in terms of table image, agression, "thinking" before action, bluffing, etc. When I feel bad and play anyways, or have no confidence, the game goes down the toilet and I lose.
Getting a series of really bad beats can completely alter your mindset, and be prepared to lose.
There are just SO many factors involved in this very competitive game, so "s**t happens", as they say.
Joined: Feb '12
Location: Canada
Age: 36 (M)
Posts: 228
ya the important stragegy is to just keep playing with money on your account never lose out all your money and you can always grab a game or two when you want and never know when you can win big so its always worth the time (tourney play anyways)
Joined: Jan '11
Location: United Kingdom
Age: 33 (M)
Posts: 704
Posted by Greenmohave: Just a question to some of the Mobsters that's been playing poker for years! Since I've been playing on a more routine basis it just seems that there are these winning and losing trends that go "up and down". Is that kinda the way it is? Or, is it me changing the way I play without recognizing the way I play? I mean when I'm on the winning streak do I start playing riskier hands then start losing? Then, when I'm on the losing streak do I play tighter? I really try to stay the same, but maybe I'm not. Does most everyone deal with such trends?
Sorry about the excessive questions, but didn't know how to explain it any other way.
Pokers full of ups and downs just have to be patient. alot of little ups and downs is better than a big down. just wait an u will get a big boost mate try not to play a certain style play the table in tourny play always figure your opponents out b4 you play any big hands.
Thats just my way try it. maybe it will work for u i dunno,im not the most expierienced online poker player but id like to think i have a good idea of how to deal with ups and downs..
Joined: Jan '11
Location: United States
Age: 60 (M)
Posts: 3361
Thanks for the feedback Mobsters and you've opened my eyes to some items or situations I need to deeply consider.
1. mahdrof mentions stress from work which we have had recent issues with our biggest customer, Cummins. Me being over quality deal with the problem first hand plus working Saturdays then coming home wanting to play well, but very tired. 2. Serpang, being tired as stated, but then pushing when my luck is down. taking the risk knowing the A has me beat, but playing through with my QQ or JJ for example. 3. Island, making me think about the way I'm feeling might help me. I'm trying to evaluate this as I type. Playing out of aggression after several losses is silly.
To all Macubaas, DaCapo71, Doomdy, Arithmajik, Kino, Ale, Chartoule and everyone else I appreciate all the input with ups and downs, but really want to try working on my problems or at least recognize them and know when to take that break. Not an hour or two, but a couple days at least. I've playecd at least 5 to 10 games every day for three months straight, no exaggeration.
Joined: Jan '11
Location: United Kingdom
Age: 33 (M)
Posts: 704
Posted by Greenmohave: Thanks for the feedback Mobsters and you've opened my eyes to some items or situations I need to deeply consider.
1. mahdrof mentions stress from work which we have had recent issues with our biggest customer, Cummins. Me being over quality deal with the problem first hand plus working Saturdays then coming home wanting to play well, but very tired. 2. Serpang, being tired as stated, but then pushing when my luck is down. taking the risk knowing the A has me beat, but playing through with my QQ or JJ for example. 3. Island, making me think about the way I'm feeling might help me. I'm trying to evaluate this as I type. Playing out of aggression after several losses is silly.
To all Macubaas, DaCapo71, Doomdy, Arithmajik, Kino, Ale, Chartoule and everyone else I appreciate all the input with ups and downs, but really want to try working on my problems or at least recognize them and know when to take that break. Not an hour or two, but a couple days at least. I've playecd at least 5 to 10 games every day for three months straight, no exaggeration.
Thank You and Good Luck to All!
maybe you should try playing less games per day. try having 3-5 games every couple of days sometimes playing to much you will get bored and easily frustrated. just cut down the hours u put in see how u feel. if that doesnt help try having a break for a day or 2
Joined: Mar '12
Location: United Kingdom
Age: 40 (M)
Posts: 1277
Posted by mahdrof: Hi Greenie. I've been wanting to answer this thread since you posted it, but I wanted to answer it well and haven't had time lately. For me, there are four major items to look at:
1. First of all, variance is normal in playing poker, and even the best will go through some cycles of bad beats and down swings, and miracle cards compensating for a bad read or poor play. I think you have to look over a longer period of time to determine your level of success.
2. Poker strategy. How comfortable are you with your overall strategy, when was the last time you worked on it, thought about it, posted hands on this forum, asked questions etc. Especially in a downswing you need to look at why it is happening, look at hands that cost you and assess if you made a bad call, or could have played it differently, or whether the guy got his miracle one outer on the river and 95% of the time you got your money in on that hand way ahead.
3. What is your present mood/psyche? Honestly I am in the midst of a three month downswing. I have had three major problems happen at work with some of our biggest customers, and the stress on me has been the worst ever. The resulting extra hours of work, plus painting the house during my week "off" at spring "break" have me very fatigued, and my focus way off. Plus a lot of honestly bad beats. Last night no exception. Up nicely at NL100, hit trip 6s on the flop against someone with AA, after the turn card we both had our stacks in the middle and Ace on the river. F*ck me again.
4. How easy is it to beat the stakes you are at? Typically player skill goes up as you climb up in stakes, so if you are oscillating up and down and going nowhere, work on your strategy to get better, or try dropping down a level. Presently one game I am doing well at is a variant of poker that is not extremely popular, so a lot of the players are not highly skilled, which makes it easier to do beat.
GL!
Pretty dam good advice there.
I've gone through $40 in 3 days...
The main reason for my downswing?
Tiredness, playing too much, bad beats that we all get, lack of focus - probably the most important thing.
If you're sitting multi tabling and you're not 100% focused you'll make mistakes. Don't have background TV on or any distractions - some chilled musics good i find.
Joined: Mar '12
Location: United Kingdom
Age: 53 (M)
Posts: 153
when i first started playing many many years ago i only played freerolls and did very well especialy on ladbrokes i went from 0.00p to £260 in two days i came 7th in a freeroll won a £1 and then played s n gos till i won £260 then i cashed out and had some fun. but recently i play with real cash i lose more than i win .
Joined: Mar '12
Location: Netherlands
Age: 51 (M)
Posts: 617
whenever i win a tournament ,, wich i did many times ,,mostly around 200-400 euro's
it happens...I get the most wonderfull and amazing bad beats i have ever seen in pokerhistory,,, wich last at least half the day i play,,and i am used to play 8-12 hours.
this makes me doubt if onlinepoker in general is fair or just another way to steal my time and money..
its not happended just once ,,it happens as i said whenever i win and and build a decent bankroll..
i read ,i follow,, i train ,seems nothing helps..
please respond on this , i like to hear from other experiences,,
at this moment i reached a point where i dont want to deposit at all..
i also know that there are players making 10k$ real money every day,,, followed them ,how they play ,,with what hands they go all inn and so on,,,i play much tighter,, and also have proven to be able to win 10-15 sng in 1 day, So what am i doing wrong????
Joined: Mar '12
Location: Romania
Age: 35 (M)
Posts: 96
This happens to me too since i start playing poker... It is awakard for me aswell as I always tried to change my game when i have noticed that i'm constantly losing..but i think there will always be ups and downs when play poker.. Depends of your luck i think .. Anyways even high stacks players have their ups and downs not only us the "common players" ..
, I believe the "secret" is to actually manage to keep your head cool thorugh a 
.
.
