Variance - How do you deal with it???

Marvel7

I'm currently going through the worst run of my life and I am continually getting out drawn when I am miles ahead. I've been told politely by TK that i dont  deal with this very well and he hit the nail on the head- I dont !!

My inital thought was to jump onto another site and then i realised that would be pointless because the same could quite easily happen there.

I appreciate you have to expect it , if you want to play poker but how do other players deal with this variance?? Do people keep ploughing money in, thinking my luck must change soon or do you go on an enforced break and reassess your own game thinking that its not bad beats you are suffering and it is just your own bad play??

ACESOVER8s

How do i deal with it.......... Simples, I throw things.. Many ... Many .... Many .... things

FlashFlush

It depends on whats its doing to you. If you can shrug your shoulders and say ah well thats poker then carry on and try and play through it. But if its putting you on tilt and making you either chase losses or then keep shoving all in when behind then you need to take a break. Don't know how much you play, I play nearly everyday so for me just a 1 or 2 day break is good. You will be suprised how much of a difference it makes to your state of mind.

As long as your still getting your money in ahead just carry on. You also need to make sure you are playing games within your bankroll management. If you are only playing games which are around 5% of your bankroll then it gives you alot of room for a bad run. Playing over that, i.e 10 or 20% only gives you 5 or 10 trnys b4 u go busto.

Goodluck and keep going in ahead!

DOHHHHHHH

If you're playing poorly, theres no point carrying on - so either sort your head out n concentrate and stop donking off, take a break, play lower stakes, play higher stakes, whatever works for you. But somethings gotta change coz if ur playin rubbish ur just gna keep onj losing, that isn't really a variance issue. - (Unless ur on the right side of it)

If you're playing well, getting money in as a favourite, but just getting unlucky, play more tables/more often - can't go on forever.

Just coming out the other side of a bad run myself in December - At one point I don't mind admitting, I had lost all confidence. Only for a day or 2, I was questioning myself, every hand.

One hand I had 4 limpers at a cash table, I raised 6 x BB on the button with AK and got 2 callers. The action then went as follows..

Flop - (10 high) CHECK, CHECK CHECK

Turn - (Low card) CHECK, CHECK, CHECK

River (Jack) CHECK, CHECK CHECK.

My opponents showed a single pocket pair of 3s, and the other had pocket 5s and took the pot.

That was probably the low point of my poker year! Why couldn't I pull the trigger even once??? It was auwful, and was the moment I realised something was wrong. I couldnt even find the courage to bet half the pot which wud have gotten straight through, and thats not my game at all.

Anyway this is an example of bad play, not variance - and Ive dealt with it by dropping down the stakes and setting myself a personal challenge, which Im not far away from hitting, have today and tomorrow to make £130 and im there!


Anway to conclude if it's just variance (bad luck) thats the problem, then itsjust a matter of investing enough time whereas if you are playing poor poker, I rekon something needs to be changed.

GL, DOHH

Tikay10

Hi Marvel.

How do I suggest you deal with Variance?

I suggest you take your head off, & put it back on the other way round.

No - really. STOP thinking about the beats, & start thinking about the suckouts you put on others. And don't say you don't, because you DO!

It boils down to glass half empty, or half full. The half full peeps should not play poker, as they won't enjoy it. (Or anything else for that matter, they are lifes Moaning Minnies, never happy). The half-full types will see the bright side, & enjoy their poker, & their life.

If you can afford to play poker, life is good, & the odd beat here & there should not be a problem to you.

I'm on a downswing right now, & it's been going over a month. And I am LOVING it. Why? Because I know when I come out of it, it will be like emerging from a dark cold tunnel into blazing sunlight. It's gonna be awesome. 

I mean, really, are a few beats at a poker Table really that bad in the grand scheme of things?

Good Luck Captain.

silentbob

I used to be really bad with this & used to tilt like crazy. I was doing pretty much the same as what DOHHHHHH was saying and my game was affected.

I took nearly a couple of weeks away from the tables & came back refreshed and more focused. Now I've got to stage where I can just shrug my shoulders & move on to the next hand/game.

Most importantly for me, If I feel myself getting frustrated even in the slightest, I come off the tables & shut down for the night. I've plenty of other things to do around the house to chill out.

philmenow

In Response to Re: Variance - How do you deal with it???:

I used to be really bad with this & used to tilt like crazy. I was doing pretty much the same as what DOHHHHHH was saying and my game was affected. I took nearly a couple of weeks away from the tables & came back refreshed and more focused. Now I've got to stage where I can just shrug my shoulders & move on to the next hand/game. Most importantly for me, If I feel myself getting frustrated even in the slightest, I come off the tables & shut down for the night. I've plenty of other things to do around the house to chill out.
Posted by silentbob

Having a week away is gr8 as long as 1st game back dont end up with the same result as b4,why me?what a waste of a week,i might have played through it..post some stupid posts..get some abuse for your comments..play something away from ur comfort zone,if u only play cash, play s+g instead(if u lose ,u didnt expect 2 win anyways)dont waste 2 much BR though.....turn the pc off(its not healthy 2 b looking at that screen 4 hours upon hours).go grab ur missus and give her a good doofing,spur of the moment  sort of thing.take a reality check,you aint  gonna die from losing at poker,unless its really bad,then you might end it all.go jump in the snow naked ,roll around like a mental,thats how ur feeling,and at worst RELOAD and start again,its fun..

mr_mbro

Hi Marvel.
I'm in a good position to give you an answer(though i might be wrong lol).
Those who know me, also know i have had a nightmare 9/10 months. I was losing showdowns when well ahead and could not win a race against a one legged man, in this time, it decimated my bankroll to the point of nearly £1000 but after a while, when i thought i was still playing MY game, i looked back and found that i was chasing to many marginal hands etc, ie not playing well. So what i did was drop down the levels i was playing and not play so many MTTs(where the varience of cashing is wide) and started playing DYMs, 30p/£2.25 levels, when it came to tournies i would not pay the full entry and try satelitting in cheaper. Also possibly try playing a bit tighter and slower.
This lead to a couple of second places in smaller tournies and a steady increase in the bankroll.
One thing that did happen was that i strarted to enjoy playing again.
to sum up the above,
1, look, honestly at YOUR game and identify any changes.
2, try satelittes for tournies or cheaper tournies.
3, play lower levels of cash/STTs.
4, pick and choose your games, dont play when not feeling "right".
Hopefully the result will be, like me, a return to winning ways and enjoying Poker.

col

HartshorN

Join Omaha!!

Worked for me

HartshorN

Join Omaha!!

Worked for me

Marvel7

I've just finished 5th in the £2k league stars and won £146 - back in love with the game again!!!