Downward Spiral!

JDMcNugent7 · #1 07-15-05, 07:47 AM

What do you guys do when you lose a good amount of your bankroll ?
I had a horrible run of luck yesterday, and also played poorly. I knew i should quit but kept playing, ending with a very significant loss. I just can't control myself sometimes, i guess i dont know when to quit.
Does ANYONE else get like this ?
What do you do to avoid it ?
I love poker but maybe i should quit because although I'm up overall I just COMPLETELY suck some nights and my bankroll seems to disappear

BrianSwa · #2 07-15-05, 08:06 AM

this is gonna sound very very funny comming from me but im guessing if you lose your bankroll in 1 night then your playing way above what you should be by how much bankroll you have. Take me for instance I have a $400 bankroll and im playin $10NL, that way I can take the bad swings and still come out on top by playing good poker.

As for not being able to stop yes if you cant control yourself at all I suggest quiting now. You are gonna have nights where you dont seem to hit anything but if your playing within your bankroll this will not be a problem.

what are you playing?

I personally dont concider how much you have made as determining if you are a good player or not. I think its more about how consistant you are, I turned $25 into over 2k but I was playing terrible which is why I lost it just as easy. Take players here for instance, most players here play within their limits and always have a bankroll online and are never in huge risk of losing it. Now If I were to take my bankroll up to $50 NL then I would be in big jepordy of losing it. You have to stay within your limits, if you cant stop playing.

JDMcNugent7 · #3 07-15-05, 08:26 AM

Im just 18 and i guess too inexperienced or mature to understand i have Limits i need to stick with. I fully know the consequences of playing out of them but i do anyway. For example, I had just $170 left on my pokerstars account, and started playing $3/$6 cash games, where the minimum buy in is 120. I know its stupid and that i shouldnt be there but i go anyway. I am honestly a Good Solid Poker player but i lose because of the limits i play in accordance to my bankroll. In home games where my friends dont want to play for that much i win ALL THE TIME and when i play the .25/.50 tables i also Consistently win on pokerstars. But i sit at the $3/6 table and i can make $100 in 1 hand. Or Lose $100 in one hand. I cant get away from it.

I would have made such a bigger profit if i just wasnt like this but i cant help it. I really need suggestions. DO i just quit cuz im out of control ?
I just cant seem to play for little money.
I dont want to quit, but maybe i should?
please offer any suggestions cuz im screwed up right now, and yes, this is all coming about cuz i lost all my money in one night tonight.

BrianSwa · #4 07-15-05, 08:36 AM

$170 is just enough to play .25/.50 limit, JUST BARLEY ENOUGH , yes if you cant stay in your bankroll limits I think you should quit because your heading down a bad road that I myself have traveled. I used to not be able to control my limits either but now stick to them big time. You should be no where near the $3/$6 table with that bankroll. I truley dont suggest NL either, If you make a deposit ever again I think you should stick to .25/.50.

You just are not disaplined enough yet, and you have to be in poker. Im not the best disaplined player either so im not best one to give advice so ask someone else.

Talking Poker · #5 07-15-05, 03:46 PM

My advice to you:
1. Realize that you are nowhere near as good as you think you are.
2. Never sit down at a table with more than 5% of your entire bankroll. Yes, 5%.
3. If you are having trouble with #1 and #2, quit. If you have a gambling problem, it's better for you to go cold turkey than to play with fire.

JDMcNugent7 · #6 07-15-05, 07:12 PM

I am not consumed by poker or gambling but once I'm on i see the money and i want to make as much of it as fast as i can. I know that's not the right thing to do and just writing all this down is even helping me. I am quitting poker for 1 week and then i am making a new deposit. I promised myself if i play out of my bankroll I won't allow myself to play the next week. This whole 5% thing seems A little much tho. Is that what you do? or is that just strict advice? I'm going to deposit $400, which is the amount i am so far up on the internet poker overall. If i lose it I break even and I'll just quit internet poker. I'll keep you guys posted on how i play. I'll probably join the $100 bankroll building thing too. I'm going to try and actually keep all these promises on here, even the 5% thing. Thanks for the advice. If you guys could just keep me in line like you are now it Really Really does help. I want to be a good solid poker player who plays within his limits and i think if i keep promises to this post I'll be in the right direction. Thx

greenbuckets · #7 07-15-05, 08:40 PM

I guess that rule would be on a sliding scale depending on your style of play. I am fairly tight and I usually have about 10-15% of my bankroll in play at any one time.

lightfungus · #8 07-16-05, 12:40 AM

I play strictly NL and probably put 20-50% of my bankroll in at a time. Apparently this is bad, but I think what helps me manage it is I play with rations, not chips and money. I view the money I have at the table as chips and whether I am playing .50/1 or 1/2 I will raise 4x the big blind with AK in either won. I think the bankroll percentage rule is if you let swings affect yoru play and to allow for luck. I dont suggest doing what I do, but try not to let the last hand affect the next hand. Play YOUR game. Hope that helps.

JDMcNugent7 · #9 07-16-05, 04:21 AM

see, me and lightfungus are alike, i think hes young too. are you ? and we both obviously play out of our bankroll. He sits with 50% and i have often times sat with 75%, even 100% before. I guess it's just us young kids dont understand our limits. It obviously works for him better tho cuz i lost all mine and he didnt lol. good luck fungus, but i learned my lesson and i am going to play at no MORE than 15% from now on. hopefully u wont have to learn the hard way like i did.

BrianSwa · #10 07-16-05, 01:49 PM

lightfungus has a history of playing disaplined he knows when to stop you have told us you dont. If I were you I would stick to maybe .05/.10 NL for a little while, this may not sound like much for you to win but trust me the money is there you need to work on your disapline before you attempt to play out of the 5% of your bankroll.

JDMcNugent7 · #11 07-16-05, 02:48 PM

ya i think im gonna play .10/.25 at the highest for awhile. I can definetely get my discipline back, i used to be great at it. I will get it back and hopefully my bankroll will slowly and steadily increase, instead of being WAY UP and then WAY DOWN all in single nights like it used to be.

lightfungus · #12 07-16-05, 07:03 PM

I have learned. I have lost a bankroll in the 300 range after a deposit of 50 playing outside my means too. That was well over a year ago. So I learned, and I very well may learn again, but I play the NL pretty tight with a routine with cards and all seeing 12-18% of flops. But I have learned. Poker seems very willing to teach. It giveths and it takeths away. I guess you just have to hold on tighter when it is taking it away.

BrianSwa · #13 07-16-05, 07:28 PM

I have had my fair share of bustouts, I try to stick to tornaments most of the time. I concider myself a much better tornament player then a cash game player and something about paying $5 or $10 to play sounds better to me then playing $100 NL. If you really think you cant control yourself on the tables you might just try to play some tornaments, they are great practice for the little money you invest.

With all the issues going on at the house I just play one $5 or $10 tornament on my day off and it seems to be good for me so far. Not gonna get rich of tornament but your not gonna blow your whole bankroll either.