Joined: May '13
Location: United Kingdom
Age: 38 (M)
Posts: 2219
Playing at two tables dominating for an hour, confidence high then as usual the downswings happens. Never hitting a flop, premium pocket pairs getting out flopped all the time and getting card dead as well as your confidence dwindles and your game feels shaky. Does anyone else get these constantly when everything is going great and playing solid poker? So annoying this game can be sometimes.
Joined: Feb '12
Location: Canada
Age: 65 (M)
Posts: 6036
I hear ya dude.... Ya just gotta grin and bear it and not let it rattle you 'cause you know things will start going your way eventually......
....UNLESS,....you are playing in those godforsaken BrM donkfests on PokerStars...in which for the past NINE fcuking days I've not so much as won a lousy nickel!!! I play SEVEN of them per day. The last time I cashed was 9 days ago.... That's SIXTY THREE of the fcuking things straight for NOTHING!!!
In those last 9 days I've cashed in the FT/BrM tourneys NINETEEN times...
....and in the 100K Priviledge freerolls SIXTEEN times...
I keep getting GOOD cards and playing smart....but CONTINUOUSLY keep getting DONKED by some facebook freerollin' COCKROACH playing JUNK!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
You see some idiot always playing his JUNK,....and then when you call or raise with your AA, KK, AK, KQ, etc...or get a good flop or whatever......he CLOBBERS you with his J 3,.....or his fcuking 9 2......
Joined: May '13
Location: United Kingdom
Age: 38 (M)
Posts: 2219
Some idiot player joined the table and went all in twice when he had two pairs and there was two way straights on the board. So made some profit off him so it even itself out. Could have been up even more as got in to a all in on the turn with someone with Q9, and I had a nuts straight and flush draw but he still won even though he should have not called PF(I never win those when I have good odds for the call ). Other than that I was still card dead most of the time but I wont complain.
So for once leaving with profit hoping I stay on an upswing for a while longer.
Thats why I dont play those BRM freerolls anymore unless I have no poker cash as cannot handle the bad variance and idiots.
Joined: Feb '12
Location: United Kingdom
Age: 63 (M)
Posts: 169
i think your just having a bad run we all get that ..In Poker, downswings are usually based over a longer period for winning poker players, sometimes weels or mths ..with a .bad run in a few games, you can turn around.
tips: try a diff level or game or a few days break off the tables usually best. gl
Joined: May '08
Location: Lithuania
Age: 40 (M)
Posts: 10090
yeah have to agree with victoryv here- doesn't look more like just an ordinary bad run, prolly a small break or change of the game/format could do the trick. if not then you can always sleep well knowing that: "it's not your fault- it's all about this fcukin rigged software" gl dude, hope u start winning soon
Joined: Jun '10
Location: Belgium
Age: 58 (M)
Posts: 178
Know the feeling, you think you're playing your A-game, you think you control the table and then things are starting to rolling the other way. Your draws don't arrive as much as before and you get called by drawing hands who do pick up their hand. You start getting frustrated and start 3betting or calling hands that you otherwise would have called or folded. That's when you better stop playing poker and relax for a while.
Joined: Apr '09
Location: Australia
Age: 41 (M)
Posts: 6483
I always deal with downswings in the smartest possible way - just keep doubling the stakes I'm playing until I win all my money back.. Works every time.. Sometimes I even triple-up o the stakes, that way I don' just even, I stroke a big black line pointing to the sky!
Joined: May '13
Location: United Kingdom
Age: 38 (M)
Posts: 2219
Well since I made and that lost that £450 these downswings have been quite frequent, especially when I tried playing at a little higher stake. So far I have been grinding the lowest stake and its a lot more bearable.
Breaks won't help as over the last two months I have had a lot of breaks.
A different game is good though, Omaha is a good way to break away from Holdem.
Joined: May '13
Location: Mauritius
Age: 33 (M)
Posts: 2688
Yeah happens too me, currently on a swing too, i just cant play good poker for a while now, tried different strategies and still losing so withdraw my roll again lol.
Anyway the advice I would give is to take a break, improve your game by reading the books or just do like me, withdraw your roll and stop playing poker.
You know when your head feels heavy and you been playing for weeks and you still breaking even and you cant happen to catch that heater, you know you have to take a break!!
Also, I think you playing on tilt, by moving up the limits , i did that, had a bankroll for Nl2, and I used that whole bankroll for Nl50 in one go, and got crushed playing it, lost some pot, then decided than I am tilting and withdraw my roll.
You can have limits set if you playing on pokerstars, or you can stake players with the money you have and you will make money in the long run, but you wont be plaaying!!
Joined: Aug '10
Location: Germany
Age: 53 (M)
Posts: 2219
Everybody hate donswings, but i´m waitong for a upswing since a few years...The only Chance to win a big Price is to win a tourney- "a one hit wonder". But to climb up the Levels with abc poker is impossible for the most players. Suckouts over suckouts...
Joined: May '13
Location: United Kingdom
Age: 38 (M)
Posts: 2219
It is easy enough to climb up the ranks, but once you reach a high point and jump up a stake you know you can do but shouldnt for BRM then it goes against you, which is happened for me. If I stayed following BRM I would be well over £1000 by now not having to start at the very boring bottom once again.
Winning big in a MTT would solve problems for a lot of people but it never happens.
Joined: Mar '09
Location: Greece
Age: 48 (F)
Posts: 14196
Who doesnt hate them. At some point i take a pause and thinking how i can be so unlucky lol. And of course thats when the break comes. Cause when i get mad with it i play whatever, it was like deja vu at the beginning, but i learned.
Joined: May '13
Location: United Kingdom
Age: 38 (M)
Posts: 2219
And it happens again,second day in a row. Playing great and doubled up on the table I am playing on until I got KK. Limpers before so 3 bet and some prick calls me down with 84o(As you do) and hits two pair on the flop. Idiot calls win again and now im card dead and nothings going right. Rigged for when you play too well? No, variance just hates me against stupid players.
Joined: Dec '12
Location: Romania
Age: 41 (M)
Posts: 17
I here you Phisix. I just had a killer week ad literam. Sometimes you just lose with any cards. Is so frustarting, to have excellent cards and the other ones just getting lucky. And when you think you got it right, just happens again. I start to belive that playing right is just bogus
Joined: May '13
Location: United Kingdom
Age: 38 (M)
Posts: 2219
Indeed. I just quit the table as it wound me up and I knew I would start playing frustrated and would lose me more money in the long run. Just getting annoying at how many times these guys call with utter garbage and get rewarded it.
Joined: Feb '12
Location: Canada
Age: 65 (M)
Posts: 6036
SOMEtimes dude when I get into a downswing and really loose my patience for the game,...I REALLY switch it up by doing crazy stuff I would almost NEVER do....like making HUGE pre-flop bets with not much in my pocket,...or WAY overbet what I have. It seems to work a lot for some reason.
Maybe because if you win a few hands and folks see that you are crazy....they tend to back off quite a bit and you get away with stealing pots... I dunno...but once you win a few, it goes a long way to restoring your shattered confidence.
Of course,....on the flip side of that,...it could lead you to certain FURTHER disaster... but you're there already and can't really sink any more down the toilet...
Joined: Mar '12
Location: United Kingdom
Age: 40 (M)
Posts: 1277
Posted by demodawggy: SOMEtimes dude when I get into a downswing and really loose my patience for the game,...I REALLY switch it up by doing crazy stuff I would almost NEVER do....like making HUGE pre-flop bets with not much in my pocket,...or WAY overbet what I have. It seems to work a lot for some reason.
Maybe because if you win a few hands and folks see that you are crazy....they tend to back off quite a bit and you get away with stealing pots... I dunno...but once you win a few, it goes a long way to restoring your shattered confidence.
Of course,....on the flip side of that,...it could lead you to certain FURTHER disaster... but you're there already and can't really sink any more down the toilet...
Yeah I think that's standard for tilting, card dead, flop dead poker.
I find being flop dead is far worse than card dead, with bad cards and a decent flop I can work something but the other way round is tough.
As for bet sizing etc etc you start to get scared that AA you hold will get trampled by some magic flop so you start raising too much and giving the game away so you get zero value out of it.
That's why poker is hugely mental - discipline is something I'm working on and is the best way to improve any aspect of poker.
). Other than that I was still card dead most of the time but I wont complain.
