Joined: Feb '08
Location: Sweden
Age: 50 (M)
Posts: 13
hi all! have a wonder or a question. I have learned (the hard way i might add) that poker online seems to go in cycles. good days i might do 3xBankroll and on bad days it can vanish in hrs. im having trouble coming to grips with this and it seems nomatter how i play my cards just cant win these days. anyone have tips how to go through these days break even and play tighter than a dont know what... how long are these cycles last? has anybody else felt this way? or am i a lonely donk?
Joined: Aug '08
Location: Australia
Age: 51 (M)
Posts: 1418
Every player goes through these cycles, i have days when i can mutiply my bankroll many times over, and then days when every good hand i get finds a way to get beaten, i think my problem is that im a sucker for action and im very confrontational with my hands, which is good when your lucks in, but devastating when its not, if your like me and your bankroll mangement doesnt exist, maybe try your luck on the higher limits once, if you get skun just drop back a few limits and wait till your luck turns around.
Joined: May '08
Location: Germany
Age: 59 (M)
Posts: 6786
If you can triple your bankroll in one day and bust it another day you simply play to high! Move to stakes that your roll allows and you can stand the variance that will come with this game.
Joined: Oct '08
Location: United Kingdom
Age: 43 (M)
Posts: 1086
I seem to be having 2/3 good hours vs 1/2 bad weeks at the moment. It's hard to grind and break even when you don't get anything good over a 9 dealt to you for hours and hours...
I'm on a bad run at the moment and losing 2 buy ins in my home game last was the last straw. Today, I'm dropping a level and going back to nuts and bolts poker.
Believe in lady luck, she is real and praise her at every given chance
Joined: Feb '08
Location: Sweden
Age: 50 (M)
Posts: 13
wow thanx for all the replies. it makes me warm that others are feeling the same. this will help. well my problem is that i cant take these 30 hands in a row 86 93 75 33 22 82 etc etc. then when i get like 88 i go berzerk all in like a FOOL. i just have to have energy to go through this BETTER. thanx for the replies friends! now im waiting for the Virgin bonus. i have waited to play there. good luck i did not sign up before this... (for once that is)
Joined: Mar '08
Location: Australia
Age: 49 (M)
Posts: 1158
poker can be you best friend and worst friend all in one hour flat,trick is all about timing.get in get out learning to fold.when to hard when to go home,which is a little hard sometimes,playing at home.best game in the world.
Joined: May '08
Location: Netherlands
Age: 53 (M)
Posts: 6197
Just do good BRmanagement, it means not more as 5% of your BR at a session. I do it very safe way, i do max 0,25% at a table and multi 1%. I know its littl chicken but real save and cant go bust
Joined: May '08
Location: Hungary
Age: 40 (M)
Posts: 212
You should always watch yourself. If you have bad beats, stay calm, and think that in long term you will win more than you lose. When you are getting anxious, just relax a little bit, or simply end poker for that day, if you can't handle your patience.
Joined: May '08
Location: Germany
Age: 37 (M)
Posts: 166
Playing profitable is the key to succes.. how can someone achieve that? Simply learn approriate bankrollmanagement and don't change your playstyle.. surely your playstyle has to be at least semi professional..
Joined: Dec '07
Location: Denmark
Age: 40 (M)
Posts: 2644
Win maximum when you got the goods and lose minimum when you don't.....this is how poker is. Many people got same problem as you because they think poker is about winning, they never accept that poker is about being a good loser too. When saying being a good loser I don't meen you have to be happy about it but you have to make sure that you lost the absolute minimum. In that way you have to win less afterwards to be a winner.
I hope it made some sence, remember patience, discipline and selfcontrol.
I have this problem occasionally but I just switch up my game a bit,mabye show a bluff so you will get called down the the line with someone ace fishing or with midddle pair and mabye yor Queen 6 offsuit might be good and get you over the humps.I'm not saying to play Q 6 but mabye just to pull you through a rough patch then you can get back to your game. Another thing I like to do when im running bad is play a few sit n gos. I mostly play cash only so at least if your running bad you can keep it cheap
Joined: Jan '08
Location: Croatia
Age: 47 (M)
Posts: 1308
I have one strategy with bad periods which is keeping me on profitable side. Most of us play more than one site and one or two sites as primary sites. So when I see bad period and can`t do anything about it, different styles don`t help and stuff, I just switch sites. If this continues on different site than i stop and evaluate my play and how I feel, am i tired etc. If I conclude that I am OK and it has nothing to do with my play but it is really a bad period then I go to 3rd site and see how things are going there. If still no progress then i switch games. For example, I was playing NLHE and losing, switch to Omaha and if i see that Omaha is not showing profit too then i move to SnG`s. If still no improvement then i move to freezeout MTT`s. If nothing works than just quit playing for a few days because it is obvious that it is either you or the luck and there is nothing you can do about it. All above is under strict bankroll management and MTT`s are the last because they last longer and have fixed expenses so while you play few MTT`s this period may pass.
Win maximum when you got the goods and lose minimum when you don't.....
Joined: May '08
Location: Netherlands
Age: 53 (M)
Posts: 6197
Its all about good BRmanagement. If you have too much money on a session you cant make good decisions cos you know if you loose, you loose 40% of your BR. So you cant make good decisions.
Joined: Dec '07
Location: Denmark
Age: 40 (M)
Posts: 2644
Posted by doomdy: Its all about good BRmanagement. If you have too much money on a session you cant make good decisions cos you know if you loose, you loose 40% of your BR. So you cant make good decisions.
So keep up the good BRmanagement work
Bankroll management is important but but but....im getting tired of all the BRM talk on all forums. Yes it is very important to have a BRM that fits your game and style but if you don't beat the game you play then BRM will only make sure you lose your money slowly instead of quickly. I don't think it's all about BRM, cause it will not make you a winning player but it will make a losing player go busto slower that is right.
@Predobar
Sounds like a good way of avoiding the sick swings Sadly im dead money in everything but NLHE but I do try to switch like you just to small S&G's + try to switch site even though I don't believe it's going to work it's worth the shot.
Joined: May '08
Location: Germany
Age: 59 (M)
Posts: 6786
Posted by M3turbo: Bankroll management is important but but but....im getting tired of all the BRM talk on all forums. Yes it is very important to have a BRM that fits your game and style but if you don't beat the game you play then BRM will only make sure you lose your money slowly instead of quickly. I don't think it's all about BRM, cause it will not make you a winning player but it will make a losing player go busto slower that is right.
Naturely you need to win to keep your roll. But when you can triple your roll in one session and bust it in another, you are simply playing with fire.
Joined: Oct '08
Location: Canada
Age: 34 (M)
Posts: 217
Use bankrollmanagement. If your getting a badstreak drop down a limit even 2 if u need. And if your doing good u move up a limit. Basic BankRollManagement is to Move down a limit if you have 20 or less buyins to current limit and move up a limit if you have 25-30buyins to the next limit. This way you guarantee youurself of never going broke and move up limits on a steady road instead of playing like a maniac. Evry1 gets bad streaks and good streaks pro or not pro. But what seperates the good players from the bad players is to play with Bankrollmanagement.
On different rooms these so called "cycles" last different time. If you feel like you are on downswing just go on lower limits or play cheap tourneys or freerolls.
Joined: Dec '07
Location: Denmark
Age: 40 (M)
Posts: 2644
Posted by shokaku:
Posted by M3turbo: Bankroll management is important but but but....im getting tired of all the BRM talk on all forums. Yes it is very important to have a BRM that fits your game and style but if you don't beat the game you play then BRM will only make sure you lose your money slowly instead of quickly. I don't think it's all about BRM, cause it will not make you a winning player but it will make a losing player go busto slower that is right.
Naturely you need to win to keep your roll. But when you can triple your roll in one session and bust it in another, you are simply playing with fire.
If you can triple your bankroll in 1 session and go bust in another you are simply playing to high and are not using bankroll management. Like I said in the post you quoted, BRM is very important but it will not make you a winning player.
Joined: Jun '08
Location: France
Age: 42 (M)
Posts: 82
good and bad days are for all players but i think in network poker there are more bad beats real poker is better for strategy and skill bluff etc but online poker is fun too
Joined: Apr '08
Location: Sweden
Age: 35 (M)
Posts: 188
Well there is more skill to be had in live poker, since you have every piece of data from online poker and more. But yes luck is a part of poker so there will always be swings, and there in lies the need for proper bankroll management.
