[imthatguy]

Well, after 3 extremely profitable months in online Cash & MTT's, I have hit the worst run I've seen in a very long time. I wisely cashed out 2K and left $400 or so to gamble with (started with $100 3 mos. ago). That $400 is pretty much gone now, so I'm really glad to have the 2K...

I started out tight, aggressive and smart. Now I feel like I'm totally spent mentally and can't seem to win with any cards. Every play I make feels like a donk move. My pocket pairs get rountinely beaten, people catch their flushes against my trips, hit their higher straights, etc. It's completely demoralizing, so I'd rather take a break and re-evaluate the whole online thing than sink any more cash into it. The good thing about it, as frustrating as it is, I think I'm handling it pretty well. I know that cards come & go, so it's not really a tilt thing (as far as I can tell).

I guess I'm wondering how other people deal, and if taking an extended vacation from eating, sleeping & breathing poker is a good idea. Share your stories if you've got 'em!

[hachkc]

Actually, I'm right behind you.

I'll probably play some this evening and clear a little bit of my bonus at FTP and then I'm cashing out for awhile. I've dropped about $450 in the last week at FTP but I cleared some of bonus so its not too bad. I'm gonna take my profits, buy a new laptop and take the holidays off and maybe start over in the new year. I may play some freerolls or some tourneys where I can buyin with points. UB actually lets you play ring games with your UB points.

[OnTheButton]

I had a "bad run" that lasted about 3 months. Both live and on-line.

No matter what I did, even my monsters lost.

I'd flop the straight, make a move only to get called by two pair who hits a house on the river. I'd flop low trips, only to have middle trips hit on the turn from the other pocket pair in play.

I'm happy to report that it seems to have passed by now, but boy did it suck.

Since we have a game at our house every weekend, just so I would not have to hide upstairs while everyone was playing, I started dealing the games for the first few hours. After "doing my time" I finally sat back down and worked over the table turning $60 into $240 by the end of the night.

Streaks come and go, and are not limited to a few hands. They can often last much, much longer.

So I suggest, take a break, but don't give up. Stay true to your play style that worked in the past, just don't play as often. You will know the day that the card gods have stopped punishing you, and you will be rewarded in the long run.

[hachkc]

A funny thing about my current downturn, Aug/2005 and Sept/2005 were big months for me and then Oct/2005 was a big loss. Same thing this year, made some Aug/2006, made more Sept/2006 and starting to give it back Oct/2006.

Personally, I just need to spend less time playing online and more time doing other things like hosting live games and such

[RaiderJoe40]

Has anyone ever had the same thought that I have had?

Sometimes I wonder if my GOOD runs were actualy the runs that were not true, and maybe Im not a very good player...anyone ever think like this?

[hachkc]

Originally Posted by RaiderJoe40

Has anyone ever had the same thought that I have had?

Sometimes I wonder if my GOOD runs were actualy the runs that were not true, and maybe Im not a very good player...anyone ever think like this?

You sir are a glass half empty man.

Its much more American to think the other way; you win its skill, you lose its bad luck.

[TheMightyJim2k]

I think pulling out the majority of your winnings when your confidence is low and you are running bad is perfectly reasonable. If you don't feel good about your play or results there is nothing wrong with taking a break to think it through and wait until you are ready to go again.

you might be seeing the advantages of playing in the post WSOP ME online environment. During the summer they start airing the WSOP on ESPN when people have more free time and have had a few months to recover from the holiday expenses. I'm pretty sure someone on 2+2 showed that site traffic increase in the summer and you have more newbie players donking off money.

you might be adjusting to these players and lightening their load well, but the all of them showing up in the game could be increasing your variance or causing you to misplay against good players.

I had two pretty bad runs this summer, and I found a few problems. The first was time of day. Playing online after 12AM is typically much more difficult then playing between 6 pm and 12AM. At that point in the night the only people playing are sharks and donkeys who at least gamble and make plays. It is much more difficult playing with an unpredictable donkey than a fish even though they both are losing players.

the second hole I found was my tendency to call off with so so hands instead of waiting for a better spot. When I would get stuck big I had some ridiculous notion that I needed to make it all back that night so I would gamble more trying to win big pots. Usually to counter this I either quit or would take a 30 minute break and come back and try playing ABC poker for a bit until I was focused on the hands and not the session results.

[99%evil]

Originally Posted by RaiderJoe40

Has anyone ever had the same thought that I have had?

Sometimes I wonder if my GOOD runs were actualy the runs that were not true, and maybe Im not a very good player...anyone ever think like this?

I think there are a lot of people that think they're good players, but in fact are lucky. You can catch cards for a period and think your s*** doesn't stink, then it turns and you are falling apart. I for one think I'm an OK player, but know I can play better. I feel as though I'm in school, I want to get to college level, but overall I'm probably a jr. high player. If I keep learning, I know I can get to the point where I could play against the best, but right now there;s no way. I make bad plays, get into situations I have no reason to be in, just play bad. As long as I realize that I'm doing these things, I think it's ok, I know what I did wrong and can learn from it. If I acted like every beat was BS and the other guy was a donkey, then maybe I would be a person playing the best they could, but still never be great. If you think you're the best player in the world and get beat after beat, you better reevaluate yourself.

I'm still learning, even 4 years into playing this, I'm not comfortable enough to play $1000 buy in tourneys yet, but want to, then proceed. I have a goal to play in a big WPT tourney in about 3 years, I don't want to play until I think I'm actually able to do very well, not luck into the money, but actually handle some of the situations that present themselves. As long as you realize that this game can never be mastered, you just need to learn to ride it like a bull, you'll never conquor the bull, but if you play things right, you can stay on top of it for a long time.

[imthatguy]

Originally Posted by TheMightyJim2k

I had two pretty bad runs this summer, and I found a few problems. The first was time of day. Playing online after 12AM is typically much more difficult then playing between 6 pm and 12AM. At that point in the night the only people playing are sharks and donkeys who at least gamble and make plays. It is much more difficult playing with an unpredictable donkey than a fish even though they both are losing players.

This was particularily enlightening. Last night was one of my worst nights (I played till about 3am) for MTT's. In retrospect, I should have stopped after the first one, but I thought exactly that; the donkey's will be out in full force. I was right and wrong. Right that the donkey's were there, wrong in assuming the wouldn't catch their cards.

One way to quickly determine if there's donkeys is when you make a legitimate button raise to 4x the BB w/Jacks and you get six callers.

[jeff123]

I hear ya. I don't really play much online. But my roll has completely dimished at the casinos and cash games at my school. VEry sad and frustrated. I have been playing well, just running really really bad. I was thinking about getting a part time job too get my finances up.