Really need advice. [Horrible Downswing]

[Joe Smith]

Hey Guys. I’m a poker player from the UK. I can safely say that I’m currently in a really bad downswing and it’s so demoralising. I can’t say anything that is wrong about my game, apart from the fact that I’m getting continuously screwed over by rediculous hands. I literally feel like giving up altogether, it’s been happening for the last 3 weeks. No matter what I do right, I always lose. I’ll give an example that happened in a session yesterday.

Hand one: 06/02/2017
UTG raises £6, I got A7h in Cutoff.
Button calls, SB defends.
Flop comes 459 all hearts.
UTG bets £15. I flat, SB flats.
Turn brings another 9, UTG bets £23 with £80 behind and the SB has £70 behind.
I shove all in, and the SB snap calls after turning a boat.

I’ve been taking the optimal lines, but no matter what I do. I’m always getting screwed by donkeys or rediculous cooler set ups. Any advice on how to get out? I honestly don’t know what to do anymore. I’m trying to think long term, but at this rate I’m going to loose my entire bankroll.

• This topic was modified 6 years, 9 months ago by Joe Smith.

[Yazzie]

Hey Joe

I blew up %60 of my bankroll in the last 3 months of 2017. It was horrific. It felt like that my opponents always get there & no matter what I did, I always had the second best hand in big pots. I wasn’t feeling confident at the table & the downswing made me easy to play against as I wanted to take pots down ASAP when I’m ahead and was overfolding all non-monstrous hands.

1- The way I dealt with it was by simply not playing. I stopped playing for a month from Dec2nd-Jan6th. I was averaging 18-20 hours/week before that. I studied extensively during this time and re-learned lots of things. I strengthened my understanding of the fundamentals and watched loads of poker content.
2- I also decided to shorten my sessions. I noticed that I play my A game early on in the session especially against unknown opponents, the more time I spend at the table, I pickup on tells and go after certain players and adjust my game too much in the process. Most of my losses happened because I took unconventional lines and did somethings that I wouldn’t recommend doing if I was analyzing a hand off the table. I limited myself to seeing 150 hands or 3,5 hours. Because remember that you only need to get yourself in one big hand and stack one person for 80-100bb to make the session successful.You don’t need to win 15 pots of 15-20bb. You don’t need to play every good hand you get dealt.
3- One mistake per hand. This is a rule that I made for myself which I actively think about while I’m playing. If you flat a 3-bet with a suited K10 for example, don’t get yourself into trouble when you flop a 10 on a J high board because you backdoors. Stick to the plan for your hand. If you’re calling to setmine, fold when you don’t hit your set & don’t get pulled into calling c-bets light because you’re getting 4:1. If that would make you overfolding so be it! Money saved is money earned as coined by Antonio Esfandiari.
4- Less bluffing & less trapping. Bet your hand when you’re ahead and control the pot when you’re not sure where you at. Just get over this shaky period and once you start winning again, the spots for a fancy trap or a bluff would become clear.

Goodluck man.

[Kevin Newnan]

Yazzie has some good advice. Hopefully you play in a place where you have multiple options. I play in Los Angeles, and there are a few large poker rooms. Shortening a session is a good idea – if you need to book a win, don’t be afraid to get up from the table up 40 quid (unless it’s a great table). I have been known to hit for a couple of hundred bucks on a $3-5 table and then go to the Bike (15 min away) and play $2-3. Commerce is also the largest card room in the world, so its easy to change tables. I hope you have some flexibility where you play to take small wins to break the slump.

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