Nick is a cash game player, content creator and part of 888poker’s Stream Team. Each week he shares his thoughts and experiences as a player dedicated to the daily grind. This week, he shares some of the best ways he's found to dig his way out of a downswing...
A lot of my recent articles have been fairly pessimistic as that’s generally my speed. I did dabble with some positivity, but I’ve given up on that for the most part. Still, when you’re in the midst of a downswing, you really do need to get your mind right to begin pulling yourself out of it. While I’ll never be the one that says optimism can affect how the cards fall, it is certainly important to control your emotions and play with a clear head.
Since, as you may be aware, I’m experiencing a particularly gnarly downswing of my own at the moment, I thought it might be helpful to talk about how I’m approaching it. And if one of the most negative poker players in existence can find a way to be pragmatic when facing an uphill battle, then I’m sure you can too.
Less is more
Firstly, a huge mistake that you can make in the midst of a downswing is playing more instead of less. Some people think that volume is the key to grinding back those losses but, at least for me, the opposite is true. I tend to play less when I’ve been losing a lot in recent sessions, because I’m aware that my mindset is not where it needs to be. Instead, I prefer to spend a bit more time going back to the basics and invest more of my time into study than play.
And I wouldn’t necessarily recommend in-depth solver analysis, as I think it’s much more valuable to strip it back to the bare bones and do something that’s going to help with your overall confidence. Drilling preflop spots is much more likely to help with this than going into the weeds about one spot that probably won’t even come up next time you play. You’ll be faced with range based preflop decisions almost every hand, and just having a better idea of what to do in those spots can be invaluable for your confidence.
When you’re as frail as I am, even not knowing a blind vs blind 3b range at the bottom of a downswing can tip you over the edge and get you frustrated. Avoiding feeling like this is bound to help me think more clearly overall, and just a general feeling of being more brushed up on my game will lead me to being more positive going into a session.
Stop at the right times
Secondly, and in the same vein, I start with dipping my toe back in the water rather than diving all the way in. I play shorter sessions, setting a time limit for each one, as it gives me a much better chance of playing my A-game for the duration. Also, my concentration generally wanes around two hours into a session, and so I’ll try to be disciplined and stop playing once I don’t feel like I can give my best.
On top of this, if I’ve gone multiple sessions without a win, cutting it short and booking a win can do wonders for my frame of mind. Sometimes just breaking that losing streak makes me feel 100 times better and helps me realise it’s possible to do something other than haemorrhage money for once.
Stay self-aware
Lastly, when things aren’t going your way, one bad hand can muddy the waters of your thought process to the point that playing on is just costing you EV. As a streamer, it’s not always possible to just stop playing for the day, but I’d thoroughly recommend just cutting a session short, even if you’ve only just started, if you feel a bad beat has derailed your decision-making process.
There’s nothing wrong with stepping away altogether, allowing yourself to feel your anger and frustration off the felt, and coming back tomorrow. I personally have started taking longer breaks in the middle of a stream, often splashing my face with water to give myself a sort of ‘soft reset’, but just walking around and giving yourself five minutes is good too.
Off the back of all this, I managed to piece together four very small victories in a row in the last few weeks. It’s not made a dent in the financial arrears, but it has helped me to not feel completely and totally worthless as a poker player. I’m beginning to play with a bit more confidence again, and the building blocks of recovery have been laid.
It’s not much, but it’s a start.
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