Is there a cure for running bad?

[MarkAllen]

Okay, stay with me for a minute. We've all had this happen to us at some point. In the space of an hour, I have had six big hands cracked after the money has all gone in as at least a 75% favorite. I expect this to happen every now and then. But I've been dealing with this type of thing for a few weeks now, and it's wearing on me. The last straw was this hand:

9-handed, I'm on the button with Ac Kc. MP raises, I reraise the pot, BB calls, all others fold. Flop 9c 6c Jh. BB checks. I bet 2/3 the pot with my flush draw & 2 overs. BB calls. Turn is 2s. BB checks. I put the BB on a possible club draw, perhaps QT, and decide to 2-barrel c-bet 2/3 the pot on the turn. BB calls. River is 3s. BB checks. At this point, my line looks like QQ+. If he was drawing, he missed. If he has a scared pair of 9s, he may lay then down on the river. I decide to continue to rep the overpair as I'm not sure my AK nut no pair will win a showdown, and bet 1/2 the pot. BB calls. BB has 2c 3c and backed into bottom 2 pair. I admit I could have taken the free card on the turn and given up on the river rather than played it this way, but 2c 3c (3-bet preflop!)....Uggh.

I've dealt with running bad by tightening up and 3-betting more preflop. But I wanted to open it up to everyone. What do you do to deal with running bad? Take time off? Analyze your previous play rather than just play a regular session? Study poker lit? Looking for ideas that have worked for others.

[powernewf]

Time off...the best cure.

But you should also look at the actual hands and should also analyze when and where the money went in. Analyze the math of it to determine if you were a positive or negative in this situation. I think you will find that these draws are generally too expensive to play, given the opponent's actual holdings.

[Boothill]

mark

for myself, when i hit a patch of variance, i go back and look at my records just to assure myself that i am a winning player, this gives me confidence and i then seem to play better the next session, i already know this but looking at the numbers for the past few years really helps me

alot of the time also when i think i am running bad which maybe i am, i will compound the effect by not playing my best game

i maybe play A-10 or 3-3 from utg, when i never would when playing well or peel a card for a gut shot not getting quite the right price, it's just little things but they add up big time over the course of a session and really add to the feeling of running bad

one other thing i do, and i don't know if it really helps me or not, but it makes me feel better (which has to help right?) is drop way way way down in limits and just play like a complete frickin maniac for a buy in or two at that level, it seems to put the fun back in the game and is a good way to blow off some steam and not cost my bank roll any money, mind you i'm doing this in limit and playing some hands, so i'm not dusting off the buy in with one hand, that wouldn't be fun no matter what the level

boot

[MarkAllen]

LOL, thanks boot....I actually do that one with play chips (back in my rec days I amassed about 4 million of those). Go to the limit tables and raise raise raise....it does a maniac good.

[JohnnyTropic]

Is there a cure for running bad?

Death.
Death usually ends everything and is absolutely the final answer!

[MarkAllen]

My my... don't think I need to get that extreme.

[straightpoolgal]

Hi Mark,

Your asking a great question and there is no doubt that we all have had to face this in poker. When I'm in that zone, I think the poker gods are conspiring against me and I must beg them for forgiveness so that they will release this wrath that threw down on me.

On a serious note, as the others have suggested, is taking time off or stepping down in limits. It's funny, I think bad runs are actually good for us, where it forces us to really take a step back and focus on the fundamentals. I found when I go on a bad run, I need a break since I start doubting my hands and game. Any good player will say that you need to be confident and positive about your game to become a winning player over all.

Of course, having confidence can be nearly impossible to do when you are getting bad beats, big pkt pairs not holding, always having the 2nd best hand that is near impossible to fold, or missing the uber monster draws with a zillion outs, over and over again, which just mounts frustration. When the frustration devil comes out, I go chasing hands instead of letting them come to me. Additionally, I feel the bad run more when it's really affecting my BR and I am having nightmares about quads being beat by a straight flush. Losing 1/3 of your BR in a week has much more impact then losing it over a year.

My two passions in my world are poker and billiards. With both of them, I've encountered this situation where I do not have confidence and it definitely impacts my game. Here are the things I do to keep poker from taking a toll on my wallet and mind:

1. Step back and make it a priority to work on my mental game. I really work on eliminating the emotional response that I am having with my losing sessions.
2. Taking the time off - make it more than just a few days, more like a month. The game of poker will be there tomorrow, the next day and the many days after that.
3. I find things in my world that will instill confidence in me, such as work projects, volunteering in my community, building an empire (heck ya, an empire), spending time with friends and family, read a great book, wiping out enemies in a MMORPG, etc. These are all things that inspire me and help me gain that confidence back that is really critical for the game.

This time away presents an opportunity for me to plug holes in my game, tighten up a bit and evaluate my sessions. Finally something clicks, the confidence is back, poker gods are watching over me, and I know I am ready to start "running good".

The most recent lesson I learned was to not let my previous bad or good luck determine how I am going to play my hand out. I am going to play my hand based on my experience and sound decisions that in the long run will make me a winning player. It's true what they say, cards have no memory and they are not always going to run bad or good. You just gotta experience the swings and realize roller coasters are pretty fun.

Ultimately, if we are dedicated, we do emerge from the bad runs and turn into a stronger player.

-Jen

[Boothill]

My two passions in my world are poker and billiards. With both of them, I've encountered this situation where I do not have confidence and it definitely impacts my game.

Jen

to get completly off topic of poker here and talk a little billiards

if you ever need to get your stroke back in line i have a great drill for it

place an object ball between the corner pockets (kiddy corner) about half way between the two pockets but a little closer to the one your shooting at, then place the cue ball about 6-10 inches from the other corner pocket, so that you are setting up a dead straight corner to corner shot, you want this shot to be dead straight and then shoot about 3-4 racks of stop shots like this till your making a full rack in a row, best drill i have ever found for getting every thing back in line, any wobbles in you stroke will show up, if your follow through isn't straight it will show up, if you not hitting the cue ball dead center it will show up, if your aim is off, eveything

this billiards service message has been brought to you by boothill, now back to our regularly scheduled poker discussion

boot

[straightpoolgal]

Boot - you are too awesome. Thank you!

BTW: If this doesn't work for me to get a dead stroke, what's my second lesson?

[MarkAllen]

Take a break?

LOL...I crack myself up.

[straightpoolgal]

Mark - I HAVE been on a LONG break from billiards ~ 5 months. Perhaps I should give up.

[Boothill]

Boot - you are too awesome. Thank you!

BTW: If this doesn't work for me to get a dead stroke, what's my second lesson?

let me know if it helps or not, i a couple other drills that are really good too

I HAVE been on a LONG break from billiards ~ 5 months. Perhaps I should give up.

wow, how do you take 5 months off, i can't remember the last time i didn't play for five days, never give up

boot

[MarkAllen]

Take a break...get it? Break? ookay not so punny

[powernewf]

I think we clearly all need to get out more!!

[ninjacookies]

I completely empathize with you on this note. It is beyond frustrating when you hold a pair of 3's against a complete donk who raised 10x bb preflop...then flopping a cold board and having him push, him turning over 9 6 offsuit and the board runner runner 2 pairs giving him the 9 high win. Ughhh.

Play for almost 7 hours last night getting beat by runner runner flushes (aces vs. queens) and straights...probably about 7 or so bad beats in total. I caught maybe ONE break the entire night. Really makes you want to throw your laptop up against the wall already.

Just curious to know...everyone knows poker is about cycles...but say you have Godly 'non tilt' sensibility like Durrr no matter how bad you're running at a particular point in time. Would it be logical that if you play through it for an extended session that eventually you'd start to hit your upswing?

Or is it more optimal to step away for a day or two with the mindset that you're going to be dealt 'fresher' cards upon your return?

I never really understood this...