Dealing with Downswings by gripsed.com
How to Deal with a Downswing: get back to where you were, and don’t end up on the streets of bustoville!
We’ve all been there before: you’re playing your regular game at your regular limits and suddenly you get it in good, and the fish cracks your nuts and you can’t believe it. You start trying to get involved with him a little more, speculating with a few more hands that you normally would. You also find yourself starting to play your weaker premium hands faster before the flop and getting it in. You’re losing every flip and you’re getting coolered on every flop and that hero call you just made saw your opponent roll over the stone nuts which you OBIOUSLY KNEW HE HAD!!!! AAAAAAAARRRGHHH WTF IS GOING ON!!?!??
Whatever you do, please do not take this opportunity to move up stakes and chase your losses.
You’re on tilt my friend and you knew you were on tilt way before the last hand happened and now you’ve found yourself in quite the predicament, a big fat downswing. Now a downswing isn’t always the result of one big losing session, downswings are often the result of many sessions strung together where you either weren’t running well, you weren’t playing your best, or the caliber of your opponents or the stake were much higher than you were used to. Either way, once you’ve found yourself in this position the obvious thing to do is pick some strategies to help you deal with it, and hopefully get yourself out of it.
Discipline. This is the be all and end all when it comes to being in a downswing. Discipline. To be a winning poker player over the long term you must have this quality. Discipline. Everyone who has reached the upper echelons of poker have it and if you aspire to be the best player you can possible be you need it too. Discipline
Realize, you are a winning poker player. If you were a consistently winning player before you hit this downswing there’s no reason you can’t still be one. Your number one priority should be getting back to basics and playing YOUR game because that’s what got you to where you were before. There are all types of coaching you can get and videos you can watch but, when you hit a downswing that last thing you want to do is overwhelm yourself with things on your plate. So let’s keep it simple.
Strategies for Getting out of a Downswing
#1 Take Time Off
The first thing you need to do when you hit a downswing is remove yourself from the game entirely. This doesn’t just mean not playing; it means no browsing forums about poker, no talking to friends about poker, no watching poker videos, you get the idea. The only way you can get your mind right and develop positive feelings about poker again is to realize what life is like without it. Do whatever it is that you enjoy best, play some sports, go partying, watch great movies, just do something that will make you happy. By creating feelings of positivity in yourself away from the poker you will help yourself forget about the bad and the pain that poker has recently caused you, and will give you the best chance of bringing positive feelings to the table when you come back to play.
There is no set amount of time that you should set to take off. For some people a weekend is enough, for some it’s a week, but once you’ve had enough time off and you’re ready to play again, you’ll know.
Coles Notes: Strategies for Getting out of a Downswing
1 ) Take Time off
2 ) Drop Limits
3 ) Play in Good Games
4 ) Play Less Tables
5 ) Make Good Quits
6 ) Don’t Try to Force Your Way Out
7 ) Bring Your A Game
8 ) Continue Learning
