Coping with losing

[BUILDMO]

i hate to lose like everyone else
but if you have played poker long enough
you know you can't win everytime

what does losing do to you?

[Wyte22]

Since losing the $10K pot in a $25/$50 game, I have began to work on better BR and Tilt management.

If i am losing and noticing myself going on tilt, instantly turn off fulltilt poker, get away from the computer and go outside on my porch to just have a few minutes to myself. I clear my mind, think of nothing about poker but only of my surrondings. Depending on the severity of the loss, I usually put a timer that I set to 5 minutes per 2BBs lost or 15 minutes per buyin lost. Soo a real bad session, I could be outside for 2 hours lol.

[iceveins0901]

If I find myself on a losing streak, where I go into playing not feeling confident about being able to win, I just dont play for a bit.

I go do other things that make me happy for a few days and then I will usually have a better attitude going into the next session.

[Jonathank]

i can not stop playing when i am stuck.
fortunately in the past 7 years it has never taken more than 24 to get even, and 24 only a handful of times.

[gorden71]

If im on a bad streak, I will take some time off. At least a couple days away and I will come back refreshed and free of the bad habits I let myself fall into.

[Jarlsberg]

Originally Posted by Wyte22 Depending on the severity of the loss, I usually put a timer that I set to 5 minutes per 2BBs lost or 15 minutes per buyin lost.

Surely a downswing of 2BB is to be expected to happen with extreme regularity?

[Vito_Nuccio]

I could not vote. I just start another game when I lose unless it is the end of the session. One of the greatest advantages to playing online over in a casino is there is always another game or tournament just around the corner.

Once you lose there is nothing you can do about it if in a SNG or MTT. If cash game, as long as you are playing within your bankroll you can rebuy or go to different table or level.

If you play poker (especially no-limit) you are going to have large swings, you will not win every time, but you will not lose every time either. Capitalize on your wins and keep your losses within your wad and you will win over time.

Later,

[PointerJake]

I'm glad you asked the question, because I think this is the biggest flaw in my game and Im sure many others. When I lose, I find myself wanting to play more and higher stakes to get my money back faster = Big Mistake.

I can play solid poker for a week straight, get a good bankroll built up, and then get a couple of bad beats and I find myself chasing my losses trying to get back to even. Before I know it my entire bankroll, "That I spent the prior week building" , is gone.

Ive been trying to get this monkey off my back for a while, but cant seem to fully shake it. I am a lot better then I used to be, and I have some very nice cashes, but there is still times where I'll lose 400 or 500 dollars because I get pissed off, because of a bad beat and I try to get it back to fast.

I believe if I fully break this habbit, I could live off of my poker winnings.
Any Ideas?

[phosphorescence]

yes,
self discipline!

lol.

it's not easy but you know what you're doing is wrong, so just make yourself not do it.

[Wyte22]

Originally Posted by Jarlsberg Surely a downswing of 2BB is to be expected to happen with extreme regularity?

yes it happens alot but I am talking over a session where I would be down like 100BBs, I'd do 5 minutes per 2 BBs or 250 minutes/ over 4 hours AWAY from the computer to clear my head.

[Brooklynbum]

It all depends.

Youi should keep playing if you're just getting unlucky but you're making the right plays and you're playing solid. Sometimes all it takes is one hand to get back on track.

You should stop playing if you're tilting or you're making horrible plays and reads. This means that you're not on top of your game and should take a break.

I've often played my way through some bad sessions because I realize that I'm still playing well and sometimes luck gets the best of me. I know that if I continue to play my hands as heavy favorites, I will be ok in the long run.

Sometimes when I'm playing bad and have lost a buyin or two and I still have that itch to play, then I'll just play a couple of those cheap ass SNGs just to get poker out of my system.

Short term variance is always tough to combat but if you keep cool and keep playing solid poker, then you'll be fine in the long run.

Remember it's one long game. Hope this helps.

[cptjanet321]

I GO TO THE BELAGGIO !!!!

[Greco_]

I've been playing a couple of years now and I must admit that tilt has never really been a massive factor for me. Bad beats do happen and they are frustrtating but I try and take heart that the reason for the bad beat was that you had them pretty much locked up and in the end the monies will be yours. Also, I like to stove hands to find out how bad a bad beat actually was. Often you'll find they had pretty equity and the beat wasn't that bad at all.

Saying that, the reason why bad beats don't affect me so much is the fact that I am playing comfortably within my bankroll and therefore can take the swings.

The problem that I had in the past was plying above my bankroll, its then that the losses stack up and affect you, money wise and more improtantly, confidnce wise. My biggest tip would be to have good bankroll mangement. At least 20 buyins at your level and to be prepared to drop down when you hit 15ish. There is no shame in this and after playing higher you will find the lower limits a hell of a lot easier and move up again quicker. Take shots at higher limits from time to time but I am of the frim belief that you should not reach a certain amount of buyins then automatically move up, take shots and if you lose a few buyins at the higher limit, like I have many times, drop back down to game which you know you can beat. Rinse repeat and you will not only get better at poker but also at the tilt, bank roll, control management that goes with it.