My Bankroll Plateaux's then crashes by 1/3rd!

Hi all, ive been reading here for a few months now and it is by far the best Poker advice site i have come accross. This is my first post to the forum and it is a problem i have encountered twice now in total, and on different sites.

After building up my bankroll from meagre depostits (never having to reload) it gets to around $2k then i will go into a really bad run where i lose probably 1/4-1/3 of it. Now I know I must be playing poorly, its almost as if I play my best poker when my bankroll is smaller as I guess i concentrate more.

So now im having to cashout everytime i get to about $1k and this obviously prevents me from being able to climb above the .5-1 100NL that I play. (I know my bankroll being between $500-$1k isnt much for this limit but im careful with table selection and will never keep playing till i bust my whole BR...ie if i went down to $250 I would go back to SnG to build it back up)

Generally I have good self-discipline but something happens when my BR gets 'big' and I go silly for a month till i wake up and stop calling allins with AK on a raggy flop for example and cash back out a fair old whack.


Any advice is greatly appreciated guys/girls.

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Discipline is not something you will find on a forum.

If you're good enough to consistently win at $100NL then honestly, do you need our opinions?

Download Poker Tracker (you can certainly afford $55) and use it to analyse where you're going wrong. As you obviously have the basic skills, it should be straightforward enough to see whether these downswings are a result of bad beats or bad play.

This is NL - a graph of your winnings WILL be a (hopefully upwards-heading) zigzag with litlte seeming order in it. Perhaps you're just talking about the variance that you're going to suffer no matter how well you play.

I've been there, and there are a few things you need to learn.

1. stop cashing out unless it's a dire need
2. 10 buyins is a bare bone amount for a 100 NL bankroll, play 25 and *maybe* 50 NL dude.

You've probably seen this, but 'Rilla's bankroll management post is really good.

As far as getting lazy, I do that too. I get on a big win streak, then I get cocky, make a few bad calls, then I'm down $250. It sucks. Gotta suck it up, hunker down, and get back into your bankroll-building-state-of-mind zone.

As far as getting lazy, I do that too. I get on a big win streak, then I get cocky, make a few bad calls, then I'm down $250.

Sooooooooooo true!

That's weird. I usually play and get sad about getting outdrawn constantly while my bankroll just grows like by itself. When do I get to get cocky?

Originally Posted by iopq

That's weird. I usually play and get sad about getting outdrawn constantly while my bankroll just grows like by itself. When do I get to get cocky?

yeah, yeah, yeah...

so rub the salt in =(

Originally Posted by Laeelin

Originally Posted by iopq

That's weird. I usually play and get sad about getting outdrawn constantly while my bankroll just grows like by itself. When do I get to get cocky?

yeah, yeah, yeah...

so rub the salt in =(

well Laeelin, since youve turned $5 into 2.1k in under a month, I wouldnt be complaining too much....

EDIT: whups forogt to talk about the post topic....lol

I've had this happen too. I've taken 3 negative swings of over $500 at 100NL and only once could I say it was due to the cards and not my sub-par play. When this happens, I take a break for a few days, then drop down to NL50 for a day to get my concept of position back, to get agressive again, and generally just get my head back in the game. This seems to work well.

Phyl, you don't need a new screenname to tell us about your loses. :P

-'rilla

Since I just started playing real money games, I don't have the experience you guys do, but I did run into the same thing earlier today. At a single table I was doing well at 3.5X max buy-in, so I was feeling to confident and made bad calls, losing most of it in a short amount of time.

I need to work on being aggressive at the right times. 90% of hands I get involved in, I either have the nuts or 2nd or 3rd. I haven't really gotten to the point where I see weakness and am willing to try and bluff them off. The problem with my play is I pretty much advertise the hand as I have it.

Since I don't have a lot of money right now (in real life), I'm thinking of taking out my deposit once I've doubled it. I started with $25 a few days ago and am now at $40. I figured it will make the most sense to basically play with my winnings for a while as I continue to learn at the penny tables. Does that seem like a bad idea? Should I leave my bankroll at the higher amount so I can play higher stakes sooner?

Originally Posted by Xeo

Since I just started playing real money games, I don't have the experience you guys do, but I did run into the same thing earlier today. At a single table I was doing well at 3.5X max buy-in, so I was feeling to confident and made bad calls, losing most of it in a short amount of time.

I need to work on being aggressive at the right times. 90% of hands I get involved in, I either have the nuts or 2nd or 3rd. I haven't really gotten to the point where I see weakness and am willing to try and bluff them off. The problem with my play is I pretty much advertise the hand as I have it.

Since I don't have a lot of money right now (in real life), I'm thinking of taking out my deposit once I've doubled it. I started with $25 a few days ago and am now at $40. I figured it will make the most sense to basically play with my winnings for a while as I continue to learn at the penny tables. Does that seem like a bad idea? Should I leave my bankroll at the higher amount so I can play higher stakes sooner?

Well, is twenty five bucks going to help you THAT much in real life?

if $25 is enough to learn and you need the other $25 in life take it out.

otherwise leave it in and practice discipline.

Originally Posted by Phill_555

Hi all, ive been reading here for a few months now and it is by far the best Poker advice site i have come accross. This is my first post to the forum and it is a problem i have encountered twice now in total, and on different sites.

After building up my bankroll from meagre depostits (never having to reload) it gets to around $2k then i will go into a really bad run where i lose probably 1/4-1/3 of it. Now I know I must be playing poorly, its almost as if I play my best poker when my bankroll is smaller as I guess i concentrate more.

So now im having to cashout everytime i get to about $1k and this obviously prevents me from being able to climb above the .5-1 100NL that I play. (I know my bankroll being between $500-$1k isnt much for this limit but im careful with table selection and will never keep playing till i bust my whole BR...ie if i went down to $250 I would go back to SnG to build it back up)

Generally I have good self-discipline but something happens when my BR gets 'big' and I go silly for a month till i wake up and stop calling allins with AK on a raggy flop for example and cash back out a fair old whack.


Any advice is greatly appreciated guys/girls.

[/b]

It's going to be difficult to "trick" yourself into playing better by withdrawing your bankroll when it gets big. You have everything you need to get better about your problem, you just gotta do it now. Think about keeping a poker journal and then you can have hard proof of when you're playing bad. Based on that, just do your best to play your game.

1. When to seek a cheap showdown
2. When to lay down
3. Value: How much your opponent will call when your hand is best
4. When to steal: Recognizing weakness and exploiting
5. When to drop the hammer

These areas are magnified as the level gets higher. It sounds like your precision is off. Can you say that you're extremely efficient at these things? If you're not, then you shouldn't be sitting at a table with people who are or they will GRIND you down over a long session. Even if you hit a couple hands to build up early.

I don't know if any of this applies to you. I guess my point is you shouldn't be pushing the envelope without the skillset quite yet. Play below until you can hang or you'll just keep getting punched back.

I go silly for a month calling allins with AK on a raggy flop

This frightens me