Good Run of Bad Luck
My Uncle Rollo once said to me, “Son.” Uncle Rollo always called me son. He said, “Son, every poker player goes through a rough streak in which he can’t seem to do anything right, and when he finally gets his money in good, he can’t even win a showdown. When this happens to you, you’ll have to make a choice.” With that, Uncle Rollo walked away and left me standing in complete befuddlement.
A choice? What kind of choice? Does he mean I should quit? Does he mean I should take a break and come back refreshed? Does he mean I should play through the streak, learn my lessons, and see what awaits me on the other side? I loved Uncle Rollo, but sometimes the man just really chapped my hide (that’s another Uncle Rollo phrase).
As usual, though, Uncle Rollo was right. When you run bad for a long period of time, you do have to make a choice, but the available options are different for everybody because the questions are different for each individual. At this point, for those of you who have seen the movie “City Slickers”, picture Curly holding up one finger and saying “That’s what you have to figure out.” That’s my Uncle Rollo in a nutshell.
For some, quitting is not an option. For others, it is. Each player has to decide if he/she has the makeup to take the bad with the good.
For some, even taking a break is not an option. For others, taking a break from poker may be a good idea. Of course, when a player decides to take a break, he/she has to decide how long of a break to take.
For the remainder of the players, for whom quitting or taking a break is not an option, there may be a few other options that may be a good idea:
- Take a break from tournaments or cash games. If you’ve been playing a lot of cash games, play tournaments for awhile. If you’ve played a lot of tournaments, start playing exclusively cash games for a bit.
- Take a break from hold’em (or Omaha or whatever you’ve been playing). If you’ve been playing a lot of hold’em, play some Omaha. If you’ve been playing a lot of stud, try Hold’em. I even suggested playing some Badugi in a recent article; “Badugi - Brush Up on Your Poker Skills.” If you’re inclined to find a game that will get you back to poker basics, try it.
- Try changing your limits. If you’ve been playing limit poker, try playing some no limit or pot limit games. If you’ve been playing a lot of no limit, try playing limit poker for awhile.
The bottom line is, my Uncle Rollo was telling me to switch things up. Get out of your rut. Stop banging your head against the wall. Sure, you may finally bang a big enough hole in the wall to get through it, but is it worth it? Sometimes, it certainly may be. After all, difficult times can provide great learning experiences, but for most of us, we can get the same lesson by banging our head against the wall for awhile and then finding another way to get to the other side.
When you find yourself an extended bad run (and it will happen), take a step back, decide on a course of action, and take it. Uncle Rollo will be proud of you when you do.
Until next time,
KC
Your Uncle Rollo sounds a lot like my late Uncle Roland. In draw poker, he would say never go in without a pair. His death card was the deuce of diamonds. He would practically throw away any hand that had one. When he was buried,my wife and i had a bouquet of flowers made with a deuce of diamonds created by the flowers. Maybe that was not so nice? Liked your post. Mixing up things is a way to go. I once stopped for 30 days. I cut down on my play while we were building a house. This is the year I hope to play part time for 20/30 hours a week.
Steve Brogan’s last blog post..No Patience - leads to a bad finish - again!
Great advise, I’m glad I found your link to your Badugi article, I’ve tried that a couple of times and remain clueless on it.
Stick with Badugi, Lucky. It’s really just a variation of a low triple draw game. If you can keep your poker basics in mind, you’ll do fine against moderate competition.
Hmm, allow me to draw on my past experiences…oh, wait. I’ve never had a losing streak!
But seriously folks, when the going gets rough, I drop down the stakes and rebuild. This is a decision that is made for me as long as I stick to my bankroll management.
Grundy’s last blog post..Serenity Now
Ive read its not bad luck its bad play so ive been tracking my “badbeats” to the bad beats i give. NOT even close. for every 2 I give I get 10. I can read players very well. I play low stakes but that should not matter. I should win more not less. But If i have ACES im raising. If i have KINGS im raising. BUT I LOOSE! Played 8 Tourneys today and was out early to Suck Outs in 5 of THem. If i have an Ace J Against 10’s I dont hit ace Or Jack 79% of the time. Thats Not good BUt If i hold Pairs I loose to an ace 92% of the time. Is thier BAD LUCK YES!!! I play a very mathmatical game. I get Headahces from the stress of constant bad beats. I want to quit but i know im decent. I dont mind loosing BUT all the time when im a huge favorite preflop it takes alot of the fun away from the game. When im not getting SuCKED OUT I usually place top 3. I can go a whole tourney with out hitting a single pair but place in money if Im not getting sucked out and that is why I STILL play. WHAT CAN I DO??? OR is it possible i really do have bad luck? IVE been keeping track for 2 months now by the way.
heres A REALLY GOOD ONE, HAD TO POST! My piar of 10′ vs KQ off: flop 3KK(YEP IM MAD!) turn 10(WOO HOO!) river YEP THE LAST FRIGGIN KING!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! First tourney i get in too in two days. I went all in preflop!!
“no bad luck just bad play” BS TO ALL If im up preflop and dont catch my flop then bad luck. Im not the one playong “catch up” if i keep my lead I CANT BE BEAT!!! im not playing “retard” cards ahhh I FOLD when im beat. but wow the times ppl catch up. i play tight to show im not messing around but cant blame ppl for playing quality cards. but then ouy flopping me REALY SUCKS AND hurts mu game i see my self being afraid. BUY YET i push on cause i know in the long run im gonna win! but im not…………..im loosing alot any more. i think i should try a new game and give up and face the facts that im not gonna win money. and just play low limit for fun