Amateur Poker Association & Tour
Poker Forum => General Discussion => Topic started by: THEGUY84 on August 23, 2008, 16:05:22 PM
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How do you guys deal with running bad? Why is it some time you make a big hand and run into bigger ones or you make a play right into a monster. Just had my worst session of cash games ever, normally i can grind it out but not today. is they key to make the most profit when you runn good!!!
kenny
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I think the key is to maximise profit when you run good and minimise your losses when your running bad, dont start tilting off money and stacking off in places your normally wouldnt just because ur frustrated
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i have countless times run bad.. the best thing i find is to take a few days out and start again.. go a level or 2 lower and play against some donkeys to get some confidence back..even if they get lucky against u, u can still be happy u outplayed them. i have also found even a change of site and playing against different kinds of players can help.
above all remember even the best have bad days!
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Going through a bad spell too mate,i feel for ya.
Had AA,KK twice and QQ all cracked last night by inferior hands when the opponent should never have been involved. I"m thinking of typing what i hold into the chatbox to help them :-\
Going to take a break for a day or two to clear my head then try try again ;)
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I really think that dealing with downswings is one of the keys to being a successful poker player, certainly in cash games. I play limit mainly, and have just come out of two 100BBish downswings. After my 5th big losing session in a row I had to really figure out whether I had suddenly started to play badly or was just being unlucky. But, when your flush draws just don"t come in and you see set over set and your full house is beaten by rivered quads, well, there"s not much you can do.
Personally, I remind myself that - in my view - winning money is the easy part. After all, when you"ve got the nuts you just try to get as much money in as possible, or something similar. The difficult bit is losing as little as possible when you can"t catch a hand, as hi_am_chris says. This is always difficult, but, on a downswing, it"s especially hard to remain disciplined. And if everybody"s losing at the table, but you lose less than the others, well, you"re still a winner.
Some people recommend taking time off the game; I like to read Krieger"s Hold "Em Excellence books, which I think are especially handy on the mental side of the game. Almost every book tells you about tactics and the like, but mental attitude when things are going badly is crucial.
Lastly, I like to think of the odds. The chances of getting the right cards in the right position are so-and-so, the chances of them hitting the flop are so-and-so...and I realise that winning a hand, in limit, at least, can be rare, so, again, it comes down to minimising the losses in between those occasions. On the upside, though, there is a small chance of winning three hands in a row, and, if I play long enough, it will happen...
...and smile when they get their one-outer, say "nice hand", and repeat inwardly "1 in 46 chance, mate, the other 45 times I"m taking your money"! Keep tight, play well and you"ll pull out.
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Cheers guys, after making this post I decide to grind it out, well this is how my bad day became worse. I floped nut FLUSH I bet at it guy re-raises, I push alling for $100 he calls, shows trips and hit quads on river, so think I can keep running so bad, so I decide to reload for another $50 and run kings into aces on a 10 high flop another nice hand gone. I reload again and decide to donk of more money on stupid plays was totally on tilt not good in cash games so it was and expensive day!!
I decide this will just happen some day, but to get OUT when it happens a lot sooner than I did, just need to spend a few weeks grinding the S&G to get my bankroll back to where is was! Cash games can be evil!!!
kenny
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The way things seem to be going for you at the moment, maybe after your nut flush went down your best move would have been putting on the kettle... ;)
That"s why I"m a limit player in cash games!
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limit horse=easy money
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sounds good think I would be good to mess about with other games when Im running bad, limit horse sound like a plan, where do you play it? I defo should have got up and made some tea and prob kicked my CAT lol
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Why not try some HORSE tourneys? At least that way you can"t lose any more than your buy in and learn the ropes first. In any case, though, I think a move to limit, even if only temporary, will lessen the pain. Have you checked out your game to see if you have any leaks?
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You wait til you"ve run bad for six months!!
Just have to suck it up and know that if you keep getting your money in when you"re ahead, eventually the poker gods will favour you and your streak will warm up a little.
As for trying other games, I generally only experiment with new games or formats when my confidence is high. Nothing worse than having a go at something when your confidence is as low as yours is right now - if you lose, you will probably never go back to that particular game.
Just smile, reload, and persevere. If your bad run starts to affect your game and your decision making, you need to take a break for a few days.
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well there is prob plenty of leaks in my games I would say I am generally a pretty solid agressive player, picking my spots to make moves, whch works well in sit and goes and MTT, If im honest I think I go through phases in cash games where I get a tit wreckless which is expensive in cash when it goes wrong, i think the key is to stsy away from the cash games for a while and get back to them when I feel fresh. I just bout Dan harringtons cash game book so will give that a read. Then maybe get back to it.
kenny
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I"ve been running pretty bad for the last six months and there"s not much anybody can say to make you feel better about it. I take some reassurance from the fact that the vast majority of the time I"ve got my chips in while I"m in front.
One positive is it"s helped me deal with bad beats better, I find it a lot easier to shrug them off now. I also don"t feel too bad when I suck out as I feel I"ve earned the suck outs now. I do get upset when I make a bad call or play though.
It"s the first time I"ve had a run like this but I have seen from various forums that a lot of much more experienced players have had this sort of run or worse. I keep the faith that if I keep doing the right thing I"ll get back to winning ways sooner or later. Strangely enough I feel I"ve improved my overall game over the last couple of months even if results don"t back it up.
One thing I would say is take a break if you feel tilt coming on. Tilt is not your friend.
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sounds good think I would be good to mess about with other games when Im running bad, limit horse sound like a plan, where do you play it? I defo should have got up and made some tea and prob kicked my CAT lol
dont worry mate, you got a nice fun home game on friday with a few beers with the rest of Team FNP before your weekend in london.....just stay away from Alan"s cat!!!! :o
ur game is solid mate....i have even put a little wager on blue sq for you winning in london, so keep the faith.
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sounds good think I would be good to mess about with other games when Im running bad, limit horse sound like a plan, where do you play it? I defo should have got up and made some tea and prob kicked my CAT lol
pokerstars,just rock the cash game.premiums only.punish the loose starters.
avoid the tourneys until you really know the games.
if you start in comps then go cash expect to lose a bundle of cash.
the game is too different to learn in comps.
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Cheers Billy I will do my best! played some omaha yesterday really enjoyed it going to give it a bash now and again!!
#
kenny
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i got to a pont where i was getting sucked out nearly every time - eg - getting into the money in a 100 runner tourney and in the payouts positions for 5-10 place was double the buy in (20 euros) - i have QQ and raise all in (shortstacked) 3 players call and then check it down. All 3 players had A 5 and the A on the river killed it for me
got to a point last week where i took all my poker websites, stuck them in a folder on my desktop and renamed it DO NOT OPEN UNTIL 1ST OCTOBER
was getting really hacked off with it then i"d reload or buy into a bigger sit n go to try and win my money back - then i realised i wasnt playing poker for a living, i enjoyed the game and wanted to win but to start steaming and chase my losses i"d be on a sticky wicket
then i played a live game on sunday (£25 freezeout) and every time i was favourite to win the hand but guys calling with nothing call my 3 bets all the way to the river and their J 3 hits the J on the river on my pocket 10s on a board with no straights or draws to make his/her bets make sense
thinking of entering a £5 rebuy tonight and calling it my last for a few months
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I have been running really badly of late as well!! (dont all Poker players say that! ;))
Today MTT for instance Ak, raise pre-flop - one caller - Flop A-x-x, i CB as i would Player shoves, I call, he turns over A2h and proceeds to hit runner runner for a flush, onto the Next tourny Similar thing, Just taken down a pot with 99 on a low flop, next hand AQspades make a standard preflop raise from middle position, get re-poped by the big blind who is shortish but will hurt me if i dont win! i call - he filps AQhearts and proceeds to flush me out!!
I will definatley be taking a break from the game after the WACOP, just so i can re-discover my love for the game (which has never really been a doubt), and to give my CAT a rest!!
Robbie