What to do when you run bad

[Snatiramas]

Fellow members and friends of the Blonde circle of poker players I am perplexed and need your feedback. Upon rereading one of the numerous books I have on the game (most of which have not helped me as I am too thick to understand them) it was suggested that even if your luck is running bad you should continue to play in the game.

Our very own Tighty recently went through a run where he only won 1 out of 13 races. In March I had a good month on line but could not score live for love nor money.

So curiosity leads me to ask the above question. I only want your primary reaction. You may do a number of these simultaneously but you are only allowed to choose one

For myself my primary motivation is always to take a break. No online. No live. Read a book about something other than poker, trains perhaps. It is funny how short a period of time it takes for me to forget about all the bad stuff and want to get back into the game. Of course I do not make my living from the game so it is easy to walk away for a period.
I look forward to your responses - Snat

[thedadi]

Would play through it,(but not tell the wife!!)
Old saying goes sometimes you can learn more in defeat than when winning.
(wouldnt kno what you learn when you win tho, but kno an awfull lot bout losing)!!

[M3boy]

Play through it.

But with even more analysis of hands played - once finished for the session

[AndrewT]

Are you losing because luck is going against you, or because you're playing badly?

EDIT - OK, I've read the post again and seen it's luck.

Luck is an illusion. The bad run exists only in your head. One thing has nothing to do with the other.

[M3boy]

Are you losing because luck is going against you, or because you're playing badly?

One definately breeds the other............... thats why I said greater analysis of the hands played

[Snatiramas]

Luck is an illusion. The bad run exists only in your head. One thing has nothing to do with the other.
[/quote]

Oh lots of deeper questions come from this. The power of suggestion. Mental influence on a situation. Ever watched your football team get stuffed and come away from the ground saying "I knew that was going to happen". Of course you may have believed it might happen but you could not possibly know that it was going to happen. The decision to go right or left at a road junction. you go right and have an accident, you go left and get home safely. Luck or not. Illusion or reality?

IMHO the bad run is real and will affect you and the way you play just like listening to certain music affects your mood etc. For sure analyse the way you play your hands but at the end of the hand does it not come down to in a given situation did you go in behind or ahead and did you win or not.

[M3boy]

The key in analysing your own play is to spot your errors, irrespective if you win the pot or not.

IE you win a good size pot, but made a bad play and got lucky

Or you lost a good size pot AND should have avoided being in that situation.

Weather you win or loose a pot does mean you played correctly/incorrectly and visa versa

[Sheriff Fatman]

Take a break.  Chances are for 99% of players that what they're calling 'bad luck' is probably bad play.

Mentally, you're probably tilting (perhaps not in an obvious way, but certainly not making optimal decisions all the time) so by playing on regardless you're probably compounding the problem.

If I'd had the option of 2 votes I would have suggested switching games.

The big problem is that very few players have any true statistical idea of how long a bad run can last due to statistical variance (and presumed optimal play).  Malmuth's 'Getting The Best Of It' was an eye-opener for me, as it set this out in black and white in all its horrible glory.  It still doesn't make variance any easier to handle (just easier to understand).

[Graham C]

I switch games.  I played Limit for a bit, then ran bad, moving to NL helped me focus for a while, then when I ran bad in that I switched to sng's which is where I'm at for now.  I normally change pretty quickly once I start on a bad one, I don't hang around too long to see if it's just running bad or not - I'd rather not risk losing the money.

Take two games onto your laptop? Not me,  I just tilt and go

[kinboshi]

As has been said (very eloquently by the Sheriff), if you're on a bad run of luck it could also be (or degenerate to) bad play.

I don't tilt after a bad beat or a dodgy call, etc.  But I do find myself deviating from my A-game after a series of sessions when I've seen my 'good' play crapped all over by the poker gods/variance/etc.

Taking a break is probably a good idea at this stage, and then when you come back you're fresh and ready to go again with a positive outlook.  Also it stops you donking a large chunk of your bankroll whilst playing your sub-standard game.

Changing levels can also help I'd guess.  Drop down to a level that won't make a dent in your bankroll if you lose.  Or go one better than that, and play at a really low level compared to your bankroll and go out to 'gamble' and blow some money recklessly.  Then, once it's out of your system, get back to your usual level and your a-game.

What was the question again?

[AndrewT]

Luck is an illusion. The bad run exists only in your head. One thing has nothing to do with the other.

Oh lots of deeper questions come from this. The power of suggestion. Mental influence on a situation. Ever watched your football team get stuffed and come away from the ground saying "I knew that was going to happen". Of course you may have believed it might happen but you could not possibly know that it was going to happen. The decision to go right or left at a road junction. you go right and have an accident, you go left and get home safely. Luck or not. Illusion or reality?

IMHO the bad run is real and will affect you and the way you play just like listening to certain music affects your mood etc. For sure analyse the way you play your hands but at the end of the hand does it not come down to in a given situation did you go in behind or ahead and did you win or not.

The bad run does not exist. However, human reactions to things which do not exist, but which are only perceived to exist, are real. If your perception of a bad run will affect your play, then playing on may not be the best idea. If you don't believe in ghosts, carry on as normal.

[tantrum]

Luck is an illusion. The bad run exists only in your head. One thing has nothing to do with the other.

Oh lots of deeper questions come from this. The power of suggestion. Mental influence on a situation. Ever watched your football team get stuffed and come away from the ground saying "I knew that was going to happen". Of course you may have believed it might happen but you could not possibly know that it was going to happen. The decision to go right or left at a road junction. you go right and have an accident, you go left and get home safely. Luck or not. Illusion or reality?

IMHO the bad run is real and will affect you and the way you play just like listening to certain music affects your mood etc. For sure analyse the way you play your hands but at the end of the hand does it not come down to in a given situation did you go in behind or ahead and did you win or not.

The bad run does not exist. However, human reactions to things which do not exist, but which are only perceived to exist, are real. If your perception of a bad run will affect your play, then playing on may not be the best idea. If you don't believe in ghosts, carry on as normal.

well said.

[KingPoker]

Its so hard when you go through a bad patch but i would never take time off from the game because of it because 99% of the time you could have played that hand a little bit differently to minimise you chip loss or perhaps bought the hand preflop or on the flop and stopping it go any further etc.

I was amazed when i got the pokertracker freebie sample how my exit hands were played out and i had made the/a mistake the majority of the time which could have been avoided, its all about sewing up the gaps in your game and yes it is possible to lose 15+ races in a row but ask yourself, did you need to get into the races or could you have played the hand without going for the coinflip option all the time, its too easy to shove your chips in and hope for the best- thats the luck side of poker, the skill side in comes with playing these hands out surely??

[Acidmouse]

I basically took 2-3 months off poker. Then when I recently started playing again I did so at a lower level.

[Horneris]

I ran bad yesterday. Lost 3 times in a row all in with AK v AQ, couldnt win any coinflip blah blah blah. I just battled through it and refused to go to sleep till i was a winner.

25 hours later, i was knackered, but had turned a big loss into a very slight loss.

So i vote, Battle Through.