My Thoughts: Surviving a Downswing
Please, before you read this take everything with a grain of salt because I am a little drunk and tilted and what not. I am no professional either, highest level I have played was NL50. But I have played many hands at NL2, NL10, NL25, and NL50. I have also played a fair share of live hands.
I have gone through periods of downswings where nothing seems to go right for me. Where I just question myself on why I play the game. A lot of times I have just thought about withdrawing and leaving the game. These times are really tough and can be really hard to get through, but I have always stuck it out. And I am sure a lot of you have gone through these times. I have posted and read countless articles and threads on downswings. The main thing is to keep your head up. I said before that I questioned myself on why I play the game. I play the game for the action, the thrill, the excitement, and for not knowing what the next two cards might bring. I play for competition and fun, and to keep that little dream and hope in the back of my mind. And I am sure many of you play for similar and different reasons, but this is what keeps my head up.
What pushes me to the downswing. Its going weeks with losing cooler after cooler, AA vs. KK AIPF, set over set, playing bad, barreling when I shouldnt be, just thinking about money and leveling up, etc. There are numerous reasons on why people go through downswings. A lot of people just blame it on the play of others while its really the play of themselves. So how do we survive.
Well, here are my thoughts. Well, as many of you have already probably hear, you take a break. Take a break for 5 mins, an hour, two days, a week, a month, however long you feel you need. When I take breaks, I usually take a few days. I dont think about poker, I dont talk about poker, I dont read about poker. I do whatever else in my life I enjoy doing. And why? This way it gets my mind off how bad I was playing, the coolers I was enduring, the 1 outers I lost to. This way, you dont put this events in to your memory, and that way when your ready to go back to the tables. you head is clear and ready to go, focused on the task ahead.
Another thing I do is stop thinking about the money and leveling up. This really hurts me because I start thinking of it in terms of, o, I should have won that pot or that guy played like an idiot. And this only comes back to hurt you because it begins to tilt you, chasing draws and money. Another thing is, you rush yourself in to bad plays chasing the pots you just lost, which may cause some people to move up in levels or loosen up their play. And the last thing we want to do on a downswing is to tilt our roll off or play above our heads. So instead of thinking about it as money won or loss, think about it as did I play that hand good or bad. Post in the forums and see what others think, and then you can go from there.
Next, move down in levels or lower the amount of tables you are playing. Lowering the amount of tables we play will help our thinking process. We can think more effectively and make smart decisions because we have more time to think about each hand and how we should play it and how our opponents are playing. We can also watch and see how each opponent plays different types of hands. This will help because we wont be playing robotic and making fast decisions because you hear the clock beep. Move down in levels if you continue to think about money. This way it may help you by seeing less money at the tables. But dont continue to think that because there is less that you wont lose as much. You can easily auto-rebuy or just keep adding money, so dont lose track of your roll and mind.
Review your database. See how well you stack up against different opponents, if you complete the SB too much, trying to double and triple barrel opponents that wont fold. Find someone that you can exchange databases with you. This will greatly improve some of your leaks in a real hurry and you can be on your way to breaking out of that downswing. Check how tight and loose you are from each position. Remember, tighter in EP, and some steals from LP.
Post in different forums. You will always get varied responses. All will help you greatly. Just think and re-think about what each person says and you will finally get it to stick in your mind. But remember, each situation will take a different thought process, but posting and understanding can help greatly.
Finally. just keep your head up and grinding. Practice makes perfect. I am not a professional and I am sure some of you arent. So just remember, stay positive no matter how bad the situation. And if you cant, just think that somewhere, some one else is probably in a worst situation than yourself.
I am not sure if any of these ideas and thoughts will help any of you guys or not, but maybe it will help just one person, and if it does I will be happy. I am just trying to help newcomers and maybe a few old timers with problems that I have had and taken a while to learn
