Poker Downswing Stories
The story of my latest horrendous downswing; How this downswing fits into my wider 2020 story; My thoughts on variance; Some actionable strategies to help deal with variance; My story: The soul-crushing downswing. Monday 14th September: 9pm: I log on to Pokerstars with a bankroll of $85.29. For the most part, this is a summarization of my 'poker life' from beginning until now. Well, I'm going through my first big poker downswing, and I'm having alot of trouble handling it. About a year ago I started playing online poker, and was your typical player. Putting $50 on, losing it within a couple days. Sep 21, 2019 During a downswing many emotions pass through your mind, most of them negative, like fear, anger or disappointment. Record your thoughts and feelings in your poker journal at the end of each session or day. What are you thinking and how are you feeling? Perhaps you made a big mistake or got unlucky? Deposit Bonus: Poker Downswing Stories 50% Poker Downswing Stories up to Poker Downswing Stories $/€100 or NZ$/CA$150 + 100 Free Spins - Use Bonus Code: SWEET The minimum qualifying deposit is $/€20 or CA/NZ$25.
If you’ve played poker long enough, you’ve probably been through some downswings. It can be very exhausting, you might even question your ability to win. What separates the best players from good players is how they deal with them. Mentally tough poker players understand the fact that losing is simply part of the game and are able to emotionally accept the uncertainty that is inherent in poker.
“I deeply believe this is one thing that players should work on more: losing. You have to understand that this is natural part of poker. Learning how to lose is not easy, but one has to do it, to be successful. Proper mindset is fundamental. When I lose I have my routine – I apply logic and keep playing.” (Fedor Holz)
Here are some tips to surviving downswings:
1. Take some time off
A downswing can be very exhausting. Playing even more with the goal to get even can be very dangerous and unproductive. One of the best ways to deal with the stress caused by the losses is to take some time off. This can be as little as going for a walk or going to the gym, but if you need take a day or a few days off. This way you will clear your head from all the negative thoughts and you can come back to the tables energized, determined and ready to play your A-Game.
2. Study, study, study
It’s enough to lose a couple of pots in a row and your confidence level will drop. The best way to keep playing your A-Game during downswing is to study a lot. The most likely cause of the downswing is variance, but you should still go through your hand histories and analyze your strategies. It’s even better if you have a coach to look over your game.
In my experience working on your game is the most beneficial, when thing are going poorly. I am always motivated to learn as much as I can during this period. This will improve my confidence which in turn improves my mental game.
Muscles need a certain amount of stress in order to grow. It is with muscles as it is with life. Meaningful growth requires challenge and stress. So don’t think of poker losses and failure as the end of the world. They are just opportunities for growth.
If you don’t know how to study poker, check out the article I wrote about it: How To Study Poker.
The best time to work on your mindset is during a downswing. Check out the 5 Life-Changing Books That Will Improve Your Poker Mindset
3. Remind yourself WHY you play poker
In order to stay motivated and focused during a downswing you have to constantly remind yourself WHY you play poker. Is it to support your family or so that you don’t have to work for someone else? You are most motivated by knowing WHY you do things. Having a strong WHY is what gets you through the hard times. Clearly defining and identifying this WHY is a crucial element of surviving downswings.
4. Write down your thoughts
During a downswing many emotions pass through your mind, most of them negative, like fear, anger or disappointment. Record your thoughts and feelings in your poker journal at the end of each session or day. What are you thinking and how are you feeling? Perhaps you made a big mistake or got unlucky? Write down how you are feeling. This action itself is a helpful mental exercise to help deal with some of these emotions.
5. Maintaining a good bankroll management
Maintaining a good bankroll management is crucial for surviving downswings, without it you are certainly going broke. Be disciplined and always play within your bankroll. Trying to play higher stakes to win the money back is extremely dangerous and will often lead to failure.
If you want to learn more about maintaining a good bankroll management, I wrote an article about it, go check it out: Poker Bankroll Management Tips
6. Move down in stakes if necessary
A lot of players go broke, because of not moving down in stakes if necessary. It may feel bad, embarrassing or time-wasting, but you should feel good about making this decision. Put your ego aside and play for less money! Playing lower stakes can also help you to regain your confidence.
A lot of good players went broke because they hesitated to move down in stakes, when they had to. Be smart and avoid this. Daniel Negreanu said: “You could be the best player in the world, but if you play above your bankroll, like way above, you’re guaranteed to go broke.”
7. Keep your head up
The best advice I can give you is to remember that there is light at the end of the tunnel, no matter how long it may seem sometimes. Keeping your head up during a downswing is one of those skills without which you cannot lead a happy and successful poker career. Learning to cope with failure and disappointment is very important for our sanity.
Poker is a very competitive game and you have to be able to handle getting your butt kicked. If you experienced a huge downswing and have a very negative mindset, try to look at some of the things that are positive for you. What are your strengths? Your positives? What are the things you can control?
If you’re going through a downswing remember: the comeback is always stronger than the setback! To learn how to handle bad beats check out this awesome article on Conscious Poker written by Alec Torelli: How to Overcome Bad Beats in Poker.
Note: Want to get through downswing easily and bring your A-Game everyday? Check out Elliot Roe’s course: A-Game Poker Masterclass. Learn more now!
ByOnline poker has discovered a tough road in the new United States market. While online gaming as a whole in New Jersey has experienced significant growth, the game continues to struggle to find its base, much less a consistent flow of new customers. Delaware is no different. In fact, the small state exemplifies the difficulties that poker faces in online marketplaces in America today.
By the Numbers
The Delaware Lottery, which regulates and oversees the online gambling market in the state, provides monthly net proceeds for the three facilities that offer online poker and casino games – Delaware Park, Dover Downs, and Harrington Raceway. Delaware Park typically shows more than 50% of the overall online poker revenue, with Dover Downs providing close to half of those numbers and Harrington bringing in a small percentage.
Thus far in 2017, Delaware’s online poker numbers show a fair amount of stability from the first to third quarters with only a slight decrease from the beginning of the year.
Q1 rake and fees: $62,557
Q2 rake and fees: $58,001
Q3 rake and fees: $58,654
Delaware continues to demonstrate how not to run a regulated poker network. The three skins raked just $15,117 last month. That's a record low and down 42% over last year.
— John Mehaffey (@John_Mehaffey) November 14, 2017
While the quarterly differences do not seem significant, the year-on-year differences do show a noteworthy decline when looking at the 2016 numbers.
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Q1 2016 rake and fees: $91,967
Q2 2016 rake and fees: $111,400
Q3 2016 rake and fees: $97,555
Q4 2016 rake and fees: $75,014
The annual numbers tell the same story, going back to the launch of the industry. After an initial few months in 2013, the sites began to find a stride in 2014, so the numbers begin there.
2014 total rake and fees: $595,580
2015 total rake and fees: $392,401
2016 total rake and fees: $375,936
To show the significant 2017 decrease in another way, since 2017 is not yet complete, it’s important to look at year-to-date results through the third quarter of each year.
2014 YTD total through first three quarters: $506,915
2015 YTD total through first three quarters: $308,261
2016 YTD total through first three quarters: $375,936
2017 YTD total through first three quarters: $179,212
Why the Significant 2017 Decrease?
Let’s first step back to the beginning. When sites first launched in Delaware, the game was only regulated in that state and Nevada, and players had been without regulated, safe options since Black Friday in 2011. When the industry jumped back to life in 2013 and 2014, players were excited and anxious to play. Thus, Delaware’s first year was impressive for a state with such a small population.
The numbers began to level off in late 2014 and early 2015, but many thought the launch of the interstate poker network between Nevada and Delaware would provide a jump. While there was a reasonable increase in the second quarter of 2015 after liquidity began in March, the last two quarters of that year dipped. Poker revenue stayed much the same then through 2016 until another notable drop in 2017.
Nothing changed for the Delaware sites in 2017. There is little explanation for the decrease except the most obvious guesses, such as a lack of promotions to attract new players, a lack of sufficient liquidity to keep current players, and little inspiration for players to enter the world of online poker for more than a quick game or brief experience.
The downswing in Delaware coincides with a similarly notable yet not as severe downswing in the New Jersey online poker market. The market clearly became stagnant.
Promising Future for 2018 and Beyond
The recent signing of the interstate online poker liquidity agreement with New Jersey will help both Delaware and Nevada improve their traffic. And with Pennsylvania launching its online poker sites in 2018 and likely joining the interstate network, this will improve overall results greatly as well.
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Big news coming out of New Jersey from @GovChristie – Online poker agreement reached between New Jersey, Nevada and Delaware #gamingpic.twitter.com/lr2PwPdW3N
— Howard Stutz (@howardstutz) October 13, 2017
Delaware has likely hits its low point. As players become aware of the upcoming liquidity, they will be more likely to give the sites more than a passing glance. Depending upon the amount of marketing and advertising by the sites in each participating state, there is great potential for players to see larger tournaments and more cash games. And the states will benefit with more revenue, likely to start showing up in the results of late 2018 and moving forward.