Downswings

[dalai007]

I have been playing for 1.5 years and have done well +7k and am currently rebuilding my br in hopes of chasing bigger money and leaving my bankroll baby days behind. I have hit a major downswing lately and am trying to "manage it" as there is nothing else one can do other than this in my opinion. I am sure you know the tell tale signs. It starts innocently enough and then builds. This downswing started while I was clearing a major bonus on Matins. I was doing very well as the players are very weak untill one day the wheels just fell off. The signs for me are as follows:
1. Lack of good starting cards
2. Calling small raises with pp and hitting nothing on flop
3. Hitting monsters and getting no action
4. Finally hitting a hand (nut flush on turn) only to loose to a boat on the river. I have a thread in tales somewhere where I described hitting trips (not a set) 12 times and losing 8 of those to fullhouses (7) and one straight.
5. The inevitable bad beats and suck outs.
6. Loosing way more than my fair share of coin flips. (SNG only I dont get into many coin flip situations in ring)

So what am I doing differently to get through this. Not a whole lot. I am sticking with my game which I know works well for me and is proven by the profits I have won. The one main change has been to get back to my true calling.... SNGs. I have gotten my br back to 1500 (mostly from clearing bonuses (ring)) which allows me to play 20s and 30s so I can leave the ring behind and start moving up the SNG ladder. I know SNGs. I get bored playing ring but the strats in SNGs make it much more dynamic and keeps my focus sharp. But alas the downswing has followed me to the SNG world as well. However the variance is much reduced and this helps me control/recognize tilt. I know how to play SNGs and am very comfortable there so it is just a question of riding out this downswing which is now going on a month. Here are a couple of things I am doing to keep my poker spirits up:

1. Give myself a pat on the back when something good happens. i.e. placing ITM with crap cards (no pp over 1010, no hit sets or monster hands). Just pure Guile and Craftyness
2. Play only one or two SNGs (or one or two hours in the ring) at a time then stop. Leave the tables hungry for more. This also keeps tilt in check and allows me to remember and analyze more particular situations.
3. Work on leak recognition and elimination. ie "shit i just completed the sb holding k8o with no odds for calling hoping for a miracle flop" Folding when u know u are beat etc etc.

So my question is how do you "manage" your downswings because I know we all have them Its not a matter of if its a matter of when and more importantly how long.

So my question is how do you "manage" your downswings because I know we all have them Its not a matter of if its a matter of when and more importantly how long.

Play through them knowing you're a profitable player and will win if you play enough.

[midas06]

(Adding onto Dwarfman's point) Assuming that you have the roll to cover your losses