Handling a Slump

Henry Minute said:

That's fine, in theory, but I only play freerolls so where do I drop down to?

I've just reminded myself of the quote
"In theory, there is no difference between theory and practice. But, in practice, there is." which I think is one Yogi Bera's.

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Take a drunk day, then watch Rounders. That will get your fire back. Playchips if that doesn't work

Thanks all. I took a 3 week break with only the occasional sng sprinkled in and then played a mtt on Bovada last night. The break paid off - I went really deep (15th out of 345). I was much more patient and relaxed. I think I was pushing too much, trying to make things happen in the wrong spots when I was on a bad run. Hopefully a corner has been turned.

NCDaddy said:

What is your procedure for dealing with a slump? Take a break? Different game? Play through it?

For the last three weeks, no matter which site I play, what game I play I am 2nd best all around. Bubbling in SNG's left and right. Some of it I know is bad play due to frustration. Some of it is pure suck out luck for my opponent. I took a day off here and there ready to come back and play the next day only to find myself in the same situation. Is it time for a prolonged break?

I do have a vaca coming up - that may be a good time to put the lap top down for a week. I dunno. This is the part of poker I hate - the losing. LOL

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Its been that way for me. Just seems like a huge black cloud over my head. Online and live, it doesn't matter. I had an old senile man call my 450$ shove pre in a 3 way pot with J10 vs JJ vs my KK. 1300+ pot. Lost 1k AA vs AK all in pre online and many many more!
:banghead: :banghead: :banghead:

I usually just hit the gym hard, hangout with friends and try to remain calm!

besides maybe take a break, you would have to analyze your game. see that you are doing wrong and what you're doing too well .. that all good poker players, as we all have bad times and those moments are most dangerous to lose banckroll, there must be cared for more than ever .. . because it can disappear altogether .. lol

I have found, from having been in a very long downswing (Turns out I was bad at poker), that taking breaks, reviewing your hands, and having 1 drink helps.

I have also found that playing late into the night, even at lower stakes, while cursing at the computer and having 10 drinks is a bad way to deal with a downswing.

I have found that most of the time when I have a downswing it is accompanied by me playing worse. This is especially true when it is a dramatic downswing over a short period of time. like losing 5 buy ins over 1500 hands. When I have reviewed those spots I found I was not playing my A game, I was calling too much, bluffing too much, and betting for thin value too often. I turn a moderate bad run of variance into a much more losing proposition.

So, the best remedy I have found is to take that break, have a drink (not 10, because then you convinced you can beat that losing streak), and review what you have been doing.

That´s only poker when we are on winning row we don´t care feel like a champion full of trust and beliving on our poker skills but when we loose a few in a row all that goes away and we start to be a little shaky with our calls
Been there for me it´s just :back to basics

Took a long break. Things seem to be back to "normal".....live poker I'm doing alright. It's the online poker that is killing me. But, minimizing my distractions has helped.

NCDaddy I have been in the same boat for the past 3 weeks also. And like you said, on every site I play on it's the same. Well what I did was just stop playing with your bankroll for a little while. Play freerolls which I know are not much fun as hitting some good pots at cash tables. But yesterday I come in 3rd in a tourny that I have not made the money in a long time. Hope your's turns around. And i don't know what level you play at but maybe go down so if you continue to lose it won't hurt as bad

play through it and don't break your computer lol

I wish their was an easy solution for this. I don't care what the average person thinks, when you run bad you also start to compound it with playing bad too. It is just to easy to justify a beat by bad luck when in fact you could of played the hand differently. I honestly think taking a break is the best bet, when you run bad also you just log on and take a few ridiculous beats your already steaming and it is just going to make for bad things to come.

Took a long break. Things seem to be back to "normal".....live poker I'm doing alright. It's the online poker that is killing me. But, minimizing my distractions has helped.

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We are so opposite here it's not funny. I haven't even played at the casinos much this year because almost every time I do I lose. My losses live are terrible this year. Its a somewhat small sample size with about 2k in tournament entries, but still. I have had 2 of my worst losing days ever this year too live.

think the best way is to cut down on the number of tables, focus more, review your games more, study more, and try not to let it bother you

For handling slump best tricks are as follows:
HAVE A CONVERSATION WITH A COWORKER, GO FOR A WALK--OUTSIDE, HYDRATE, CLEAN YOUR DESK (keep yourself busy), TAKE A NAP, BREATHE, UNPLUG AND CLEAR YOUR MIND.