Dealing With A Cold Streak

[dmb1spe 0]

So for the first time in my poker career, I'm on an awful cold streak and don't really know what to do to deal with this mentally.It's our weekly home game, and though the buy in is small ($5 with the possibility of one rebuy), it's never really been about the money. In the past year or so, I've went from winning about 50% of the time and top3-ing the other 50% to now I'm lucky if I hit top 5. I feel like I'm making excellent reads and decisions still, just always ending up against a monster when I have something decent (kings running into aces like four times over the last several weeks). Everytime I've put money in the pot in an all in situation, I've been ahead, and usually dominating. But the amount of suckouts and such is ridiculous.What do you guys do to help get yourself through the cold streaks?

[MasterLJ 0]

In a weekly home game, how many hands are you really seeing?40,50,60? *maybe*It's very very possible that you are experiencing a bad 300 hand streak. No big deal. Just go to a different format where you can see a few thousand hands and snap the streak.

[Actuary 3]

from what I can see, you are not raising the flop enough in multiway pots.300 is ok, if HU; but not once UTG+2 calls the preflop raise as well.Hand 4 is better; but stop folding everytime the Ace comes.

[....Ian.... 0]

it seems the most common way to deal with them it to press this:

[Stallion714 0]

A year ago, I went on a 200bb spiral over the course of a week, and in one session lost 90bb's...I quit poker for 4 months. Shrug, "take all the change outta your right pocket, and put it in your left pocket". Cheech

[mtdesmoines 2]

So for the first time in my poker career, I'm on an awful cold streak and don't really know what to do to deal with this mentally.It's our weekly home game, and though the buy in is small ($5 with the possibility of one rebuy), it's never really been about the money. In the past year or so, I've went from winning about 50% of the time and top3-ing the other 50% to now I'm lucky if I hit top 5. I feel like I'm making excellent reads and decisions still, just always ending up against a monster when I have something decent (kings running into aces like four times over the last several weeks). Everytime I've put money in the pot in an all in situation, I've been ahead, and usually dominating. But the amount of suckouts and such is ridiculous.What do you guys do to help get yourself through the cold streaks?

You're paying $5 to get out of the house and play cards with the boys. Don't think anyone else at the table is taking it any more seriously than that.

[TheCorporation3 0]

A year ago, I went on a 200bb spiral over the course of a week, and in one session lost 90bb's...I quit poker for 4 months. Shrug, "take all the change outta your right pocket, and put it in your left pocket". Cheech

I just took a 200BB swing, luckily I had 800BB roll. It was terrible, but you just gotta continue to play well and remian confident! I think that was the hardest thing for me. To still remain confident, instead of folding winners on the river or playing too timidly and not getting paid off.

[TheCinciKid 0]

I just took a 200BB swing, luckily I had 800BB roll. It was terrible, but you just gotta continue to play well and remian confident! I think that was the hardest thing for me. To still remain confident, instead of folding winners on the river or playing too timidly and not getting paid off.

My recent 200BB downswing pretty much devastated my confidence in my game. I'm glad to see others can handle it better than I can, but I've tilted alot and done some stupid things as a result of taking a really bad downswing at 2/4 6-max. I still have some money left, but I haven't played much poker in the last 2-3 weeks and I probably won't for a while longer. The mental aspect of a downswing can be downright devastating.

[Zach6668 513]

My recent 200BB downswing pretty much devastated my confidence in my game. I'm glad to see others can handle it better than I can, but I've tilted alot and done some stupid things as a result of taking a really bad downswing at 2/4 6-max. I still have some money left, but I haven't played much poker in the last 2-3 weeks and I probably won't for a while longer. The mental aspect of a downswing can be downright devastating.

The cure is full ring NL.

[TheCorporation3 0]

My recent 200BB downswing pretty much devastated my confidence in my game. I'm glad to see others can handle it better than I can, but I've tilted alot and done some stupid things as a result of taking a really bad downswing at 2/4 6-max. I still have some money left, but I haven't played much poker in the last 2-3 weeks and I probably won't for a while longer. The mental aspect of a downswing can be downright devastating.

Trust me man, it hurt bad. It was hard to deal with since I have been running well for the last 3 months and this is the first big swing I have taken like that. I always say that when you're running that bad you need to keep 2 major things in tact. Confidence, and steaming. If you steam or tilt, don't. But the confidence is the harder one for me. A lot of times I will be folding likely winners on the river because "I know they have it" since I have been getting raped and rivered for the last 5000 hands lol. Or I will play my hands more timidly and won't get paid off as much as I should be. Those were my leaks, but a $250 day at 1500 hands on FT made things much better!

[TheCinciKid 0]

The cure is full ring NL.

I'm terrible at NL cash games. Don't really know why. Probably because I started out as a tourney player and developed bad habits that work in tourneys but not in cash games.

[CobaltBlue 662]

Yay...I lost almost half my meager bankroll tonight. I've lost in 10 of my last 14 sessions and I've had one tiny cash in my past 20 MTTs...and I'm really feeling like I have no idea how to play poker. There was a guy at my NL table tonight giving away money. I think he doubled up every single person at the table aside from me. Looks like September is going to be another nice negative month.I'm seriously about to cry. I've lost 5 times this amount in one session, but when it's such a huge portion of my BR, I have a hard time dealing. I haven't really felt "comfortable" and "hot" in like six months. It's terrible.

[trystero 0]

There was a guy at my NL table tonight giving away money. I think he doubled up every single person at the table aside from me.

Dude is that not the worst? You're sitting with a donk putting his money in every hand he can with a pair of aces, no kicker. He keeps paying off AJ and AQ. So you get everything in with AK on an A-high flop and, what do you know, he has two pair. And of course you don't improve. That's reserved for him. Horrible.

[AcesOnFire 0]

What do I do? Go for a drive after game where I don't get much with heavy metal blaring at like 3 in the morning.

[mastahBlastah 0]

the 5$ buy-in'll kill ya, bro. unless you choose your moments real wisely, your just gonna run into 5-6 hands a flop with a ton of sucking out. the thing is, you obvisouly pay attention, but your mates maybe don't. go play some higher stakes, then at least the luck will even out ya know.

[Zach6668 513]

the 5$ buy-in'll kill ya, bro. unless you choose your moments real wisely, your just gonna run into 5-6 hands a flop with a ton of sucking out. the thing is, you obvisouly pay attention, but your mates maybe don't. go play some higher stakes, then at least the luck will even out ya know.

You make more money vs bad people.

[TheCorporation3 0]

You make more money vs bad people.

Some people just don't get it.

[Actuary 3]

the 5$ buy-in'll kill ya, bro. unless you choose your moments real wisely, your just gonna run into 5-6 hands a flop with a ton of sucking out. the thing is, you obvisouly pay attention, but your mates maybe don't. go play some higher stakes, then at least the luck will even out ya know.

yes, beating better players is easier.But if we can win more money from better players, aren't they worse players.Ok, so worse players play higher buy in tournies?Maybe so.I never thought of it that way.

[Zach6668 513]

yes, beating better players is easier.But if we can win more money from better players, aren't they worse players.Ok, so worse players play higher buy in tournies?Maybe so.I never thought of it that way.

() I know.

[trystero 0]

the 5$ buy-in'll kill ya, bro. unless you choose your moments real wisely, your just gonna run into 5-6 hands a flop with a ton of sucking out. the thing is, you obvisouly pay attention, but your mates maybe don't. go play some higher stakes, then at least the luck will even out ya know.

I agree. When running bad I take my entire bankroll and buy into the highest event possible. That way I can recoup my losses with minimal effort.

[BuffDan 0]

the 5$ buy-in'll kill ya, bro. unless you choose your moments real wisely, your just gonna run into 5-6 hands a flop with a ton of sucking out. the thing is, you obvisouly pay attention, but your mates maybe don't. go play some higher stakes, then at least the luck will even out ya know.

Yes this has been torn to shreads as of course all the money in poker is earned by opponents making mistakes. However, when dealing with a cold streak, there may be a grain of truth in wanting to play maybe one level above the lowest, in that when you are less mentally stable from losing a lot, it may be better to play in a game that, though it will be less profitable, maybe might be slightly less swingy. So there may be a sliver of truth in the above, though just a sliver.

[Actuary 3]

there's no reason to think it's less swingy

[BuffDan 0]

there's no reason to think it's less swingy

Ok, then how about less likely to be bad beat and thus less chance of driving him mentally worse? Surely in a game where fewer people see the flop through the river, one is less likely to be bad beat; less likely to make money of course as well, but less likely to be given that one beat that pushes him over the edge.

[Zach6668 513]

Ok, then how about less likely to be bad beat and thus less chance of driving him mentally worse? Surely in a game where fewer people see the flop through the river, one is less likely to be bad beat; less likely to make money of course as well, but less likely to be given that one beat that pushes him over the edge.

Yeah, I like giving up EV too...

[Abbaddabba 0]

Ok, then how about less likely to be bad beat and thus less chance of driving him mentally worse? Surely in a game where fewer people see the flop through the river, one is less likely to be bad beat; less likely to make money of course as well, but less likely to be given that one beat that pushes him over the edge.

If losing a hand has such an impact on your mental health, you probably shouldnt be playing.