Dealing with Downswings
What do you do when you keep getting really unlucky on all your big hands/pots? In terms of dealing with the stress, self-doubt, and [what feels like] cumulative Tilt.
There's not really a strategic thing I can change (w/r/t the hands in question I'm always the favourite), beyond the refinement process of practice and study - I don't mean that defensively, just to clarify the scope of my question is more the psychological aspect.
I'm stepping back and trying to not get too worked up about it, but I've been feeling straight-up cursed and am hoping there's something more proactive than just focusing on something else and waiting for it to pass.
3 Replies
What do you do when you keep getting really unlucky on all your big hands/pots? In terms of dealing with the stress, self-doubt, and [what feels like] cumulative Tilt.
There's not really a strategic thing I can change (w/r/t the hands in question I'm always the favourite), beyond the refinement process of practice and study - I don't mean that defensively, just to clarify the scope of my question is more the psychological aspect.
I'm stepping back and trying to not get too worked up about it, but
the long run is very long. running bad and playing bad from the start (first 500 tourneys, or first 25k cash hands for example) is actually quite likely. surviving this learning phase with something resembling an inflated bankroll is a feat in itself(it was easier for me in 2003), but theres always more homework we can do. thinking and believing youre playing as well as you possibly could is a recipe for complacency, stagnation, and falling behind the opposition.
Are you backed? Are you using a limited bankroll? If not then there's really nothing to worry about because every hobby costs money.
However if you are then it's important to study the mathematics of standard deviation which is a value expressed in bb/100 (i.e. a winrate) that helps us understand how “swingy” our poker game is.
For me personally it comes with the game. Like a knee injury skiing or testicular cancer in golfing. I usually have a session cutoff and will spend the extra time studying or watching pokergo.