I certainly hope so... I hosted a tourney last night, and cashed + in both the tourney and subsequent cash game.
The following are my thoughts on my recent run-bad (and on "run-bad" in general). It's an honest account of what all poker players go through (from my perspective). Feel free to read, leave respectful comments, or give me a hard time if you wish.
I've had a brutal run the last month or two. And before folks blast me for saying, "quit your bitchin", I completely understand that there are folks that have run-bads that last months/years. I understand that downturns are part of the game and bankroll management. We run hot for a while, then we run cold. My view is that so long as the ups outpace the downs, in the long run, we come out ahead, and that is also part of the game... The downs are just not that fun.
For me, last night was a much needed win! I didn't win much, probably enough to cover all the food/beverages I bought for the event, but it felt good to walk away from a game up.
I try to put my run-bad in proper perspective. It hasn't affected my ability to play. I lost about half my BR, but I was/am sufficiently rolled to handle significant downturns. I understand that bad runs happen. It's part of the game. That said, a bad run (no matter how well rolled, or how well you "take it") is still sucky. It can mess with you, and at the very least, playing good and running bad can be un-fun. I play poker for fun, not to earn a living. When it's un-fun, it sucks.
My bad run defined: In checking my stats, the last 7 tourneys I played, I did not cash. The last 6 cash games I played, I lost all/most the money I brought with. There was a smattering of a couple small wins prior to that, but overall my stats showed a downturn. For me to have a dozen + poker sessions without even a small win is very atypical. My normal tourney ROI is around 200%, and cash rate over 50%. My cash game hourly was not impressive, but profitable.
As all poker players can likely attest, when you are playing good, it's frustrating to lose. If I'm being honest, it's easy to play with the right mindset when you're running good. You can be focused and make fewer mistakes. During my bad run, I fought through frustrations that on a few rare occasions caused me to make bad decisions and get it in bad. It's harder to focus, when you're getting it in good, and getting sucked out on. I won't go into tons of bad beat stories, because bad beats happen. However, when the bad beats happen repeatedly and for a prolonged period of time, it gets frustrating.
One particularly frustrating moment involved getting invited to a juicy home game (an hour away), sitting down and losing $300+ in the first hour to a hyper lag calling station (each time I got it in as a huge fav, only to get majorly sucked out on). Whatever, it happens. The frustrating part of this game was that after this hyper lag and another lag ran like gods for the first hour of the game, they both racked up/cashed out, thus killing the game (after an hour...). It was a long drive home... Groan...
Anyway, I've refrained from posting a bunch of "poor me" run bad stories from my various crappy sessions these last couple months. But I figured now that I booked a couple wins, I'd post. Vent. Move on.
When I first started to play poker more seriously, I didn't have the experience to understand these run-bad stints. They were soul-crushing (and confidence killing), not knowing what to expect. Now, I get that they don't last forever, and that they just "happen". I think it helps me to trudge through them. My advice to others, strive for good bankroll management. Play within your means/BR, so that when downturns happen (and they will), you'll play less stressed out.
On a side note: I was playing well in last night's tourney. I was sitting to the right of a newbie (running like god). This newbie could do no wrong. He was picking up serious hands (I witnessed him have KK at least 6 times, and he professed he had a few other times at another table). On the flip side, my best tourney starting hand was getting JJ... once. So we're now in the money, and newbie and I are overwhelming table chip leaders. I'm in the SB with
, and the newbie in the BB has 
. There's a couple limpers, I limp as well, and newbie limps... Board comes 
. Newbie and I wind up getting it all in, and the turn is 
... Oh well. In the money at least (and with 5 bounties).
The following are my thoughts on my recent run-bad (and on "run-bad" in general). It's an honest account of what all poker players go through (from my perspective). Feel free to read, leave respectful comments, or give me a hard time if you wish.
I've had a brutal run the last month or two. And before folks blast me for saying, "quit your bitchin", I completely understand that there are folks that have run-bads that last months/years. I understand that downturns are part of the game and bankroll management. We run hot for a while, then we run cold. My view is that so long as the ups outpace the downs, in the long run, we come out ahead, and that is also part of the game... The downs are just not that fun.
For me, last night was a much needed win! I didn't win much, probably enough to cover all the food/beverages I bought for the event, but it felt good to walk away from a game up.
I try to put my run-bad in proper perspective. It hasn't affected my ability to play. I lost about half my BR, but I was/am sufficiently rolled to handle significant downturns. I understand that bad runs happen. It's part of the game. That said, a bad run (no matter how well rolled, or how well you "take it") is still sucky. It can mess with you, and at the very least, playing good and running bad can be un-fun. I play poker for fun, not to earn a living. When it's un-fun, it sucks.
My bad run defined: In checking my stats, the last 7 tourneys I played, I did not cash. The last 6 cash games I played, I lost all/most the money I brought with. There was a smattering of a couple small wins prior to that, but overall my stats showed a downturn. For me to have a dozen + poker sessions without even a small win is very atypical. My normal tourney ROI is around 200%, and cash rate over 50%. My cash game hourly was not impressive, but profitable.
As all poker players can likely attest, when you are playing good, it's frustrating to lose. If I'm being honest, it's easy to play with the right mindset when you're running good. You can be focused and make fewer mistakes. During my bad run, I fought through frustrations that on a few rare occasions caused me to make bad decisions and get it in bad. It's harder to focus, when you're getting it in good, and getting sucked out on. I won't go into tons of bad beat stories, because bad beats happen. However, when the bad beats happen repeatedly and for a prolonged period of time, it gets frustrating.
One particularly frustrating moment involved getting invited to a juicy home game (an hour away), sitting down and losing $300+ in the first hour to a hyper lag calling station (each time I got it in as a huge fav, only to get majorly sucked out on). Whatever, it happens. The frustrating part of this game was that after this hyper lag and another lag ran like gods for the first hour of the game, they both racked up/cashed out, thus killing the game (after an hour...). It was a long drive home... Groan...
Anyway, I've refrained from posting a bunch of "poor me" run bad stories from my various crappy sessions these last couple months. But I figured now that I booked a couple wins, I'd post. Vent. Move on.
When I first started to play poker more seriously, I didn't have the experience to understand these run-bad stints. They were soul-crushing (and confidence killing), not knowing what to expect. Now, I get that they don't last forever, and that they just "happen". I think it helps me to trudge through them. My advice to others, strive for good bankroll management. Play within your means/BR, so that when downturns happen (and they will), you'll play less stressed out.
On a side note: I was playing well in last night's tourney. I was sitting to the right of a newbie (running like god). This newbie could do no wrong. He was picking up serious hands (I witnessed him have KK at least 6 times, and he professed he had a few other times at another table). On the flip side, my best tourney starting hand was getting JJ... once. So we're now in the money, and newbie and I are overwhelming table chip leaders. I'm in the SB with
, and the newbie in the BB has . There's a couple limpers, I limp as well, and newbie limps... Board comes . Newbie and I wind up getting it all in, and the turn is ... Oh well. In the money at least (and with 5 bounties). 
