Vagueness and the Aftermath - A sporadic diary

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Fantastic photo's of a really difficult subject, especially in the snow.

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Looking forward to it. If its going to be about poker please don't just post when you are running good as many bloggers do, warts 'n all IMO..........

You started with $350, & now have $2,000+? That's splendid.

Will you update the "running Bankroll" for us regularly? We'll have a celebration when you reach $5,000.

When you have a bad day, & your mind is poker-frazzled, make sure you Post. How people react to bad days & adversity fascinates me.

I stole these posts from mondatoo's thread because I wanted an excuse to write about this bad run I'm having, but now that it comes down to it, I really don't know where to start.

The problem, (or one of the problems) with posting about poker when things are going badly, is that they always sounds like whinge posts, no matter how well you wrap them up.

The truth is, they are whinge posts, so I'm not going to pretend, I'm just going to get on with it.

See, I need some advice here, but before you can give it, you have to listen to the moaning.

Nope. (Lol) I'm not doing it. It just looks so pathetic. I'm just going to list some facts and then hopefully get some suggestions on how best to proceed. But before I do, hear this.

I know, that in the grand scheme of things, this is all minor stuff.

[EvilPie]

 

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Here goes.

Since December, apart from a couple of minor wins, I have been losing consistently. I've lost 50% of my bankroll in that 3 month period.

I'm losing in cash games, and I'm losing at tourneys.

I'm losing live, and I'm losing online.

For the vast majority of the time, I have been getting it in good and getting outdrawn,(Boy, have I taken some horrible beats) but I guess that's fine. Had I seen the cards, I would have welcomed the calls. I understand that it's just variance and getting it in good is all you can do.

So, my question is, how do I proceed from here?

Do I

A: Take a complete break? If so, how long for? (I don't feel like taking a break and I seem to be playing well)


B: Play smaller stakes? If so, how small? (Bear in mind that if I play too small, living expenses will eat my bankroll away even if I'm winning)

C: Continue as I am, hoping my luck will change in time but knowing that I have only 3 months or so left if things don't change.

Other questions:

Cash or MTTs?

Online or live?

Any other advice you can give.

[Woodsey]

I have one question first and I don't mean to be impertinant by asking this, its one you need to answer to your self honestly before you proceed any further. Is what you have lost really down to bad luck? In reality probably 20-30 BI can be bad luck any more than that is likely to be bad play or you are not a winner in your regular games.

We all have a tendancy to remember bad beats and block other stuff out. May be go through HH online finely or take a notebook with you to remember live hands precisely, this will give you a better idea of your play.

[gatso]

did you ever d/l pokertracker/hem? easy enough to analyse your online play if you did

[RED-DOG]

I have one question first and I don't mean to be impertinant by asking this, its one you need to answer to your self honestly before you proceed any further. Is what you have lost really down to bad luck? In reality probably 20-30 BI can be bad luck any more than that is likely to be bad play or you are not a winner in your regular games.

We all have a tendancy to remember bad beats and block other stuff out. May be go through HH online finely or take a notebook with you to remember live hands precisely, this will give you a better idea of your play.

It's a fair question, and a difficult one to answer. Yes, I may have been playing badly, (or been outplayed) at times, but by the same token, I have lost an extraordinary amount of crucial pots when I was a big fave.

Now that I've written it down, the answer seems obvious.  "If you're mostly getting it in good, just carry on" but I've got to the stage where every time I get my money in, I'm just just waiting for the card that beats me to come.

See, I told you it was a whinge post, I just needed to get it off my chest.

Anyway....

I think I've reached a point where I have to decide what to concentrate on.

Live cash.

Online cash.

Online tourneys.

I'm drawn towards online tourneys, but that's where the variance is greatest.

[RED-DOG]

did you ever d/l pokertracker/hem? easy enough to analyse your online play if you did

No, can't bring myself to do it.

We all have a tendancy to remember bad beats and block other stuff out. May be go through HH online finely or take a notebook with you to remember live hands precisely, this will give you a better idea of your play.

I have no Idea how to go through my hand histories online. It's probably just as well, If I did, I would be forcing you to look at how I went out of the last dozen comps.

[The Camel]

I have one question first and I don't mean to be impertinant by asking this, its one you need to answer to your self honestly before you proceed any further. Is what you have lost really down to bad luck? In reality probably 20-30 BI can be bad luck any more than that is likely to be bad play or you are not a winner in your regular games.

We all have a tendancy to remember bad beats and block other stuff out. May be go through HH online finely or take a notebook with you to remember live hands precisely, this will give you a better idea of your play.

It's a fair question, and a difficult one to answer. Yes, I may have been playing badly, (or been outplayed) at times, but by the same token, I have lost an extraordinary amount of crucial pots when I was a big fave.

Now that I've written it down, the answer seems obvious.  "If you're mostly getting it in good, just carry on" but I've got to the stage where every time I get my money in, I'm just just waiting for the card that beats me to come.

See, I told you it was a whinge post, I just needed to get it off my chest.

Anyway....

I think I've reached a point where I have to decide what to concentrate on.

Live cash.

Online cash.

Online tourneys.

I'm drawn towards online tourneys, but that's where the variance is greatest.

Imo Live cash (as long as you can get a regular, decent game) is definitely the easiest way to make money playing poker.

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Imo Live cash (as long as you can get a regular, decent game) is definitely the easiest way to make money playing poker.

I think I agree with you Keith, but live cash means you have to play at a much higher level than you do online. Its easy to do a grand in a night in the £1/2 game, and then you have the other expenses, like bigger rake, travel and food costs.

[Woodsey]

Imo Live cash (as long as you can get a regular, decent game) is definitely the easiest way to make money playing poker.

I think I agree with you Keith, but live cash means you have to play at a much higher level than you do online. Its easy to do a grand in a night in the £1/2 game, and then you have the other expenses, like bigger rake, travel and food costs.

Bring your own butties and live in the dumpster behind the club IMO

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It's good to put it on paper (even virtual paper) it helps to focus the mind.


What with this bad run and all, I think I have arrived at a bit of a crossroads. You see for a few years, I managed to make a modest living playing online tournaments, but  as time went by, they got harder and harder.

Then, along came DTD with it's wonderful cash games. For months, I thought all my problems were solved. Sure, I had the odd bad night, but overall, I was doing great (By my standards) averaging 9bb (£18) per hour after exes, but it's all gone tits up, and now I don't know which way to jump.

[sovietsong]

do you think the cash games at dtd have got harder or maybe that people know your game better?

[Laxie]

do you think the cash games at dtd have got harder or maybe that people know your game better?

^^^  This

BTW...how's the back?

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do you think the cash games at dtd have got harder or maybe that people know your game better?

Probably both, but still beatable imo.