Variance

I was just curious what you guys do when you hit a ton of bad variance, do you take a break, move down stakes, just curious what the play is for me right now.

If it's truly variance and I'm confident I'm playing how I should, just keep playing. It'll even out on it's own.

If I'm making bad cards worse with bad play, it's time to quit.

my poker last night is a good example.

I was playing well but got sucked out on a couple of times or lost to legit better hands after making marginal calls. Felt i was about to tilt, if not already. dropped about 3 buy-ins in all. Posted on here whining.

I took a break. hand a ciggie (even though i'm meant to have given up), watched a bit of telly, had a shower.

Reloaded and finshed 2nd in MTT and won a couple of Sn'gs along the way.

If you feel its defo variance and are confident its not affecting you then play on. other wise take a break and come back to it.

Originally Posted by Hawkfan79

If it's truly variance and I'm confident I'm playing how I should, just keep playing. It'll even out on it's own.

If I'm making bad cards worse with bad play, it's time to quit.

I take a couple of days off to clear my head. Variance can throw off your entire thought process if your not careful. I like to think good positive things are going to happen when I sit down at the tables. If I feel myself slipping into negative throughts and making negative statements I stop playing for a while to recalibrate.

I like to keep a deep enough bankroll that it would be pretty unlikely that I have to move down due to variance alone. For me at 100bb stack NLHE, this is anywhere from 50 to 100 buyins. If you follow bankroll guidelines that dictate having less buyins, then you should move down according to those guidelines if you encounter a losing streak, regardless of if it's playing bad or just bad cards.

Also, if you tend to tilt or start playing bad at all after losing a bit, then you need to stop playing for a while. By "a while" I mean however long is good for you. Some people just need 10-15 minutes to clear their mind, and other people prefer to quit playing for the rest of the day. It's completely up to you and what you feel is best for you.