Posted Tue Feb 28, 2006 10:31 pm GMT by Far East
I recently went broke in a poker account that I had, which happened to be going really well. I had like 1500% profit on my original deposit, and then I got hit hard a few times and made some terrible decisions.
Anyway, I'm left with about 200$, and like an idiot I decide to go into a 200$ NL ring game for the full amount. So, I'm winning a little bit and I get up to about 230$ when all of a sudden I'm dealt pocket aces. I raise significantly pre-flop and get only one caller. The flop comes Jack (clubs) 4 (spades) 4 (clubs), I bet all-in under the assumption that the aces were good. My opponent calls and flips over an ace and a 4, giving him trips. Perfect. It wasn't the best call on my part and luckily the guy didn't have as much as me so I was left with about 30$.
From there it was just a constant fist fight just to make a couple of bucks, and then I would just lose it as soon as I could make it. I was basically going into the lowest limit no-limit games and buying in for the bare minimum trying to squeeze out a little profit.
Of course, I eventually lost it all. I'm just wondering if this has happened to any of you.
The thing that really hit me about losing all of that money was that there was a recurring theme to the loses. I would find myself in a position against another player during the flop or something, and I would basically have my opponent read like a book, like I knew exactly what he had, and I knew that he had me beat, but I just didn't believe myself. So, I would just throw money at this guy. I mean I must've lost hundreds doing this.
I don't know the whole situation just made me really depressed and left me in question of my ability and skill. I even started questioning whether the game was skill, and started to consider that it could all just be luck. I guess I'm just wondering if anyone else has gone through this, and what they did to get back on their feet.
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Posted Tue Feb 28, 2006 11:06 pm GMT by snoogins47
Hoo boy, have we ever. I've thankfully never completely gone bust, but I've been out of action for weeks at a time due to getting rocked. Details are boring, but poker has been my sole source of income for ~ a year now, but truthfully, the past six months are almost nil on that: I've been in and out of a pretty shitty place in my life, and coupled with that, the swings of the game just COMPLETELY took their toll on me.
The game can be rough. The game can be brutal. The game can beat you down like you have never imagined you could be beat down before. I don't even understand how my spirit was so completely shattered: as much as I hate to play the Rounders card, I pretty much have to. The line where Mikey is sitting there, talking about how he can't even remember how he built his bankroll? Couldn't be more true. If you caught me a month or two ago, I might have even told you that I was probably a losing player. Even when looking at my results for the past year, the things I had (frivolously.. I overspend like a fool!) bought, etc. etc... it was as if I couldn't believe that I ever made any money. I felt like I didn't even know where the money was coming from, at times.
It's funny too: catch me 9 months ago, and I would probably have told you that my greatest skill as a player was that I was able to stay on the level, regardless of how things were going. And it probably WAS, at the time.
I don't claim to be able to tell you what is correlation, and what is causation here. I don't think poker is to blame for all of this, but at the very least, poker became nearly IMPOSSIBLE to handle, once the emotions started going south.
All I can say, is that plenty of us have been there... plenty of us have been "much worse" than there. All I can say, is that through all of it, the most intelligent thing you can do is to try to, even for a few minutes, remove yourself from the emotions of the situation, and try to make a reasonable analysis of where you stand with the game, what you want from it, and (more importantly) whether or not you can actually get what you want from it. Even a few minutes above the emotional fog can save you from making everything much worse (whether it be by chasing your losses, gambling money you can't afford to lose, or whatever else)
Posted Tue Feb 28, 2006 11:35 pm GMT by Soup_dog
I am currently on the bottom end of exactly what you are talking about. $100 up to $1800 in 2 weeks. Back to $10 in 2 days. Most of us have been there. The trick is learning to see the downs coming and slow down. As you can see, I'm still trying to figure it out.
Posted Wed Mar 01, 2006 12:22 am GMT by supafrey
I went from 200 to 2800 and back down to 1200 in the past week. Ouchies.
Posted Wed Mar 01, 2006 11:01 am GMT by Skribbles
I normally break my bankroll every two months or so. Right now... broke. It sucks. Wasting time at nickle and dime games just to build up enough to get back at it. Thankfully I've become extremely good at this building process.
Posted Wed Mar 01, 2006 12:02 pm GMT by supafrey
| Skribbles wrote: | | I normally break my bankroll every two months or so. Right now... broke. It sucks. Wasting time at nickle and dime games just to build up enough to get back at it. Thankfully I've become extremely good at this building process. |
Then why ever leave it?
Posted Wed Mar 01, 2006 1:15 pm GMT by BeerWench13
Been there, done that, got the tshirt. 
| Quote: | | I would basically have my opponent read like a book, like I knew exactly what he had, and I knew that he had me beat, but I just didn't believe myself. So, I would just throw money at this guy. |
A couple of the best statements I've heard for things like this are "It's not your job to keep the table honest." and "Get your money in with the best of it and you've done your job."
The big advantage that you have is that you've recognized the mistakes that you made. Now all you have to do is work on not making them again and you can build that bankroll back up to where it was. Be patient, trust your instincts and learn from your experience.
Posted Wed Mar 01, 2006 2:42 pm GMT by Skribbles
| supafrey wrote: | | Skribbles wrote: | | I normally break my bankroll every two months or so. Right now... broke. It sucks. Wasting time at nickle and dime games just to build up enough to get back at it. Thankfully I've become extremely good at this building process. |
Then why ever leave it? |
Leave the low stakes? Because it is horrible.
I break my bankroll by playing way above what it allows. If I got $1K in my account I'm at either NL200 or NL400 tables. Couple bad hands and there goes the bankroll. The only thing that saves me is that I cash out $500 as soon as I hit $1K. After the first cashout, I don't again until I hit $2k. If only I had some discipline....
Posted Wed Mar 01, 2006 3:13 pm GMT by Soup_dog
| Skribbles wrote: | | supafrey wrote: | | Skribbles wrote: | | I normally break my bankroll every two months or so. Right now... broke. It sucks. Wasting time at nickle and dime games just to build up enough to get back at it. Thankfully I've become extremely good at this building process. |
Then why ever leave it? |
Leave the low stakes? Because it is horrible.
I break my bankroll by playing way above what it allows. If I got $1K in my account I'm at either NL200 or NL400 tables. Couple bad hands and there goes the bankroll. The only thing that saves me is that I cash out $500 as soon as I hit $1K. After the first cashout, I don't again until I hit $2k. If only I had some discipline.... |
exactly. After I move cash back into an account I need to consider the amount I lost to be "gone" and start back out at the lower limits. *sigh* I hate starting over.
Posted Wed Mar 01, 2006 3:19 pm GMT by BeerWench13
| Quote: | | start back out at the lower limits |
This brings me to a question. I always play at the same limits no matter the size of my bankroll. I don't move up or down just stay where I am. Is this wrong? Should I play higher limits when I'm up and lower when I'm down?
Posted Wed Mar 01, 2006 3:22 pm GMT by Soup_dog
| BeerWench13 wrote: | | Quote: | | start back out at the lower limits |
This brings me to a question. I always play at the same limits no matter the size of my bankroll. I don't move up or down just stay where I am. Is this wrong? Should I play higher limits when I'm up and lower when I'm down? |
Seems to me you are doing it right. My problem is that I don't like the really lower limits but my bankroll can't sustain the swings at the limits where I would like to play. Playing for 3 hours to earn 10 bucks (on average) is not my idea of a decent payoff.
Posted Wed Mar 01, 2006 3:27 pm GMT by BeerWench13
| Quote: | | Playing for 3 hours to earn 10 bucks (on average) is not my idea of a decent payoff. |
I agree.
I usually stick to $.50/1.00 online and play $1/2 when I go to AC. I can deposit large amounts if I want and wouldn't really miss the money (the upside of being a DINK), but I'm a miser and won't invest but a certain amount. Maybe I'm just not depositing enough initially to play at these levels and accomodate for the swings, but I just refuse to play much lower stakes than that. I don't enjoy it as much when I could probably search the sofa and find as much cash as I could win in 3 hours of low limit play.
I know that .50/1.00 isn't a high limit, but it's better than play that's lower than that.
Posted Wed Mar 01, 2006 3:30 pm GMT by Soup_dog
| BeerWench13 wrote: | | Quote: | | Playing for 3 hours to earn 10 bucks (on average) is not my idea of a decent payoff. |
I agree.
I usually stick to $.50/1.00 online and play $1/2 when I go to AC. I can deposit large amounts if I want and wouldn't really miss the money (the upside of being a DINK), but I'm a miser and won't invest but a certain amount. Maybe I'm just not depositing enough initially to play at these levels and accomodate for the swings, but I just refuse to play much lower stakes than that. I don't enjoy it as much when I could probably search the sofa and find as much cash as I could win in 3 hours of low limit play.
I know that .50/1.00 isn't a high limit, but it's better than play that's lower than that. |
Those are the limits I like to play too. Just gonna hafta freeroll for a while. I refuse to deposit family money online.
Posted Wed Mar 01, 2006 3:31 pm GMT by TxShadow
| BeerWench13 wrote: | | Should I play higher limits when I'm up and lower when I'm down? |
As your bankroll and skill level grow, you may want to try to move up in stakes. However, I would not suggest moving up in stakes simply because you can afford the buy-in. Play the game(s) that you know you can win.
If I won the lottery and had 10 million in my bank account, would that justify me sitting down at the $2000 - $4000 limit tables? I might as well be handing out donations.
And in response to the original poster:
Most of us have been in your situation, myself included. The key thing to do is to analyze the reason for your losses, never try to play for higher stakes in hopes of getting your money back (I've honestly never heard of this working), and maybe take a break from the game until you've gained your confidence back.
I know it hurts to have had x amount more than you bought in for in your account and then watching it dwindle down to 0. But consider how much you actually lost and how long it took to do so. If you had been breaking even since you bought in and then lost it, would you be so upset? Take the opportunity to learn and to better your game and to make it a point to not make the same mistakes again.
Hang in there.
Posted Wed Mar 01, 2006 4:59 pm GMT by supafrey
| Quote: | | I don't know the whole situation just made me really depressed and left me in question of my ability and skill. I even started questioning whether the game was skill, and started to consider that it could all just be luck |
Good question, bad conclusion.
Posted Wed Mar 01, 2006 6:50 pm GMT by Skribbles
| BeerWench13 wrote: | | I don't move up or down just stay where I am. Is this wrong? Should I play higher limits when I'm up and lower when I'm down? |
It definitly isn't wrong.
The only reason I move to higher limits is for the cash. I've been spoiled in my online poker playing with nice MTT wins and am always looking for another big payday. Lack of patience (bankroll building wise) and being greedy is what causes me to move up so quick. Looking at my pokertracker stats, I should never leave NL100. I kill the game for 10+ BB/hour (close to 20,000 hands) but I always want to go to higher stakes. If I could only stick it out there for 3-4 months without jumping higher....
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