Posted Wed Mar 29, 2006 5:01 am GMT by StarlightCoast
I lost 30bb in a session, but obviously 1 session means nothing, but what constitutes a downswing?
You play your last 10 sessions and find yourself down $10. Is this a downswing?
Is it a certain number of bb then your officially in a downswing?
I lost 25bb recently over the course of the last 8 tables/sessions I had played, but the amount was so small that it felt like a downswing, but was it really?
So what do you think. What is the cutoff point where you say, I am in a downswing right now.
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Posted Wed Mar 29, 2006 6:04 am GMT by ScanX
I think it's very subjective.
a downswing is usually a long period (+- 1 month) of some big losses, very few wins and a lot of little losses.
1 (or even 10) sessions isnt enough to determine that as a downswing (especially online).
Posted Wed Mar 29, 2006 9:59 am GMT by UrAteUp
I like to catorgorize my down-swings. First I have macro swings. These are swings that last for a few weeks or longer. Then I have micro-swings. These are less then a week and can be like your experiencing Starlight.
The best way to overcome these swings is by self-examination. Check over hand histories and see if you can find a weakness in your game. Often you will and you can work to improve upon that weakness.
Second, when you review your hand histories see what starting hands your playing and also pay attention to position your playing these hands in. If you find your playing mediocore hands then tighten up those starting hand requirements.
Posted Wed Mar 29, 2006 1:52 pm GMT by BeerWench13
What I consider a downswing is when you're making the right plays (at least 90% of the time), but still can't seem to win.
If someone has any kind of draw on you, they're hitting it, but you can't hit a 16-outer if your life depends on it. You're ending up with an exorbitant number of second best hands that you cannot get away from and you're missing with your big hands, if you're getting any at all.
At least that's what my 6-8 month downswing was like.
The amount of money lost is relative to the stakes you play, how often you play and how much you're used to profiting in a session. I don't really put a dollar sign on my losses (within reason, of course) so much as figuring what went wrong and why. If it's something out of my control, then it's a downswing. If it's within my control, I realize how much I suck and stop playing until I get my "reads" back in line and can have the discipline to play good poker.
Posted Thu Mar 30, 2006 10:18 am GMT by Miss_J
I'm having a really sh*tty one right now. It hasn't been a full week yet, but i can tell i'm looking towards a long one here. The cards are soooooo cold. i haven't seen so much garbage ever. I cannot catch a break anywhere. It really sucks, i'm pretty down about it actually.
Posted Thu Mar 30, 2006 10:24 am GMT by BeerWench13
I'm sorry to hear that Miss. Downswings just suck. I hope it doesn't last long. I know after about 3 months of mine, I was ready to quit because I just knew that somehow, even if I was playing very well, it had to be me in some way.
I think the worst feeling in the world is leaving a game down a buy-in or 3 with the knowledge that you played solid poker. I know that sounds silly, but it's easier if you know that you made mistakes and can correct them. It seems much harder when you analyze your play and come to the conclusion that the cards were just cold and the poker gods were pointing and laughing.
Posted Thu Mar 30, 2006 12:02 pm GMT by UrAteUp
Most often though I don't have these types of swings long term. Most times it is only a day or two. Then I will play for a couple buy-ins and if I see the downswing is there then I log off and go find something else to do. Rarely will I risk 3 buyins even though I only play the micros. I would rather save the money for a good day when I won't need that extra buyin...  . I have noticed also most times if I switch tables then the cards will switch but if I do switch tables for a buyin and see that isn't the case then I go to plan N which is find something else to do.
Good luck on that downswing Miss_J.... you'll get over it soon...
I'll say a little prayer to the poker gods for you when I do my daily praying...  .
Posted Thu Mar 30, 2006 12:07 pm GMT by Miss_J
| UrAteUp wrote: |
Good luck on that downswing Miss_J.... you'll get over it soon...
I'll say a little prayer to the poker gods for you when I do my daily praying... . |
sigh 
Posted Thu Mar 30, 2006 12:09 pm GMT by BeerWench13
| Quote: | | Rarely will I risk 3 buyins even though I only play the micros. I would rather save the money for a good day when I won't need that extra buyin |
My downswing was 98% during live play. When I'm in a slump I don't play online. When you drive 45 miuntes to an hour for a game, you don't just quit after the first hour or two when you've lost your first buy-in.
| Quote: | | I have noticed also most times if I switch tables then the cards will switch but if I do switch tables for a buyin and see that isn't the case then I go to plan N which is find something else to do. |
I do the same online. It's tough in a live home game though that only consists of one or two tables. People don't like to move once they're comfortable.
Posted Thu Mar 30, 2006 12:13 pm GMT by Miss_J
right now, it makes no difference if i switch tables, if i switch from online to live, or if i switch from tournies to ring games. i'm gonna take a break until sunday(which is my weekly live tourny i like to play) and hopefully something good happens.
Posted Thu Mar 30, 2006 12:32 pm GMT by zeroswarm
| BeerWench13 wrote: | I'm sorry to hear that Miss. Downswings just suck. I hope it doesn't last long. I know after about 3 months of mine, I was ready to quit because I just knew that somehow, even if I was playing very well, it had to be me in some way.
I think the worst feeling in the world is leaving a game down a buy-in or 3 with the knowledge that you played solid poker. I know that sounds silly, but it's easier if you know that you made mistakes and can correct them. It seems much harder when you analyze your play and come to the conclusion that the cards were just cold and the poker gods were pointing and laughing. |
I'm not entirely sure it is "you" when your on a losing streak. From experience I know that its quite possible to consistantly get all your chips in with the odds hugely in your favour and still lose.
I added up a series of bad beats during a single night and worked out that the odds of losing every single one of them was 32,000 to 1.
And yes, I lost them all...
That example isn't completely fair as they were not consecutive hands. They were broken by other hands that I won, but each of the bad beats I took cost me dearly.
I think the real thing about being on a losing streak is that it can affect your game if you let it. The secret is to NOT let it.
But I know from my own failings that thats easier said than done... 
Posted Thu Mar 30, 2006 2:47 pm GMT by flafishy
| Miss_J wrote: | | right now, it makes no difference if i switch tables, if i switch from online to live, or if i switch from tournies to ring games. i'm gonna take a break until sunday(which is my weekly live tourny i like to play) and hopefully something good happens. |
I suffered through that for about six weeks recently, from the middle of January, all through February and into the first couple of days of March. I ended up losing about a third of my bankroll in that time. It didn't matter whether I was online or playing live, no matter what room I played or what stakes I played. I could not catch a break. I rarely would even get a playable hand, and when I did get one, somebody always would have a better one. And I would get nailed time and time again by some donk rivering his one- and two-outers.
For most of that, I thought I was playing good solid poker. But I did catch myself near the end of that streak playing more marginal hands than I normally would and trying to force the issue. I stepped back for a couple of days, cleared my head, and got back to the tables with a conscious effort to be strict about my starting hands. My exact thought was, "OK, let's get back to the basics."
And within a couple of days, it started turning around. I started winning a lot of small pots, I'd catch a monster now and then and I was having no trouble throwing away hands that needed to be thrown away. And the best thing was that I didn't feel like a total jerk anymore whenever I did lose a pot or if I had a losing session here or there.
It turned around to the point that this month has been one of my best in a long time. My bankroll and my confidence level is now back where it was when that downswing started.
Posted Sun Apr 02, 2006 5:31 am GMT by jimmer
surely a down-swing depends on your total bankroll. if you've only got a $100 bankroll and lose $20 over a month, thats a lot bigger than having $10,000 and losing $1000 over three months???
am i missing the point??????
Posted Sun Apr 02, 2006 8:41 am GMT by UrAteUp
| jimmer wrote: | surely a down-swing depends on your total bankroll. if you've only got a $100 bankroll and lose $20 over a month, thats a lot bigger than having $10,000 and losing $1000 over three months???
am i missing the point?????? |
For sure a downswing of $20 from $100 in a month is worse then the $1000 from $10,000 in 3. Stats wise it is worse for sure. However a downswing is a downswing and you just hate when they happen. The best advice I can offer anyone is check hand histories. Sometimes a downswing is caused by our play or by other outside forces.
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