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Why do millions of people around the world love poker? The game makes it possible to win a large sum of money for anyone, not necessarily a professional. One of the most striking stories that confirms this is the victory of Chris Moneymaker in the Main Event of the World Series of Poker (WSOP), which started a real poker boom in the United States. Because the result in poker is influenced not only by skill, but also by luck. Therefore, in the career of each poker player, there are both good streaks (apstrikes) and bad ones (downstrikes), when all bounces are played one after another. In this article, we will analyze in detail what a downswing is, what its reasons are, whether it is possible to fight it, how to do it and how to treat variance in poker in general.
1. downswing in poker
There are quite a few capacious terms in poker that describe complex processes in one or two words. Downswing is a “bad” streak in the game, when even the most positive decisions in hands lead to a negative result. Such a series of unsuccessful exposures leads to the poker player getting out of emotional and mental balance and falling into Tilt. Decisions in handouts begin to be made not from a rational point of view, but under the influence of emotions, there is a desire to quickly regain lost, you go to high limits, forgetting about bankroll management. And this is just one example. On our website, in the psychology of poker section, there are detailed videos about all 7 most common types of tilt.
Downswing is a characteristic concept not only for cache, but also for MTT, where bad bands can be much longer.
2. Signs of a downstreak
Beginners often try to find an explanation for even local failures, constantly peering at their schedule and trying to find signs of an apstrick in it. As soon as the green line begins to deviate downward from the yellow line, panic begins, they say, this is a downswing. However, do not rush to draw sudden conclusions. The main sign of a downstreak is a protracted streak of bad luck. At the same time, their own mistakes in the game are often blamed for failure. This is one of the types of inefficiency of poker players — an attempt to justify their failures by downswinging.
A few characteristic features of downswing, which can be found in the auxiliary software, studying your statistics:
- You are less likely to reach the showdown. This indicates that even with strong starting hands, such general cards are issued when it is impossible to resist counter-aggression from the opponent.
- There were fewer victories at the showdown. The logic here is about the same.
- Reducing the number of wins after seeing the flop. Оpponents demonstrate such lines when it is impossible to resist it due to the board pattern.
- Profit on EV is growing, and the actual profit is decreasing. A good example was given at the beginning of the article.
3. How to survive the downswing
There are protracted black stripes not only in the card game, but also in life. And it's important to know how to overcome them. The first thing to remember is that there are no eternal downstrikes. Any trend has a point where it becomes irrelevant. So it is here. However, it is in your power not to wait for the weather by the sea when Mrs. Luck will replace anger with mercy, but to stop this surge of poker variance as soon as possible with your hard work. This is a complex topic in which only a professional should be trusted. MTT coach Alexey Exan13 in his video from the course "Psychology and Professionalism in Poker" talks about the right attitude to variance as an interesting feature of the game of poker. We encourage you to familiarize yourself with it.
Here are some more tips that will help to quickly return positive results in the sessions:
Do not go up the limits.
The desire to recoup when you fail will not lead to positive shifts. Of course, exceptions are possible, but they are extremely rare.
Do not fall into the Tilt.
If you feel that emotions are beginning to take precedence over sound logic, try to suppress them. If possible, take a break from poker for today and maybe a few days in the future to “cool off”.
Don't let the fear take over.
Another problem of downswinging is the fear of failure, when players abandon their usual style, making the game more cautious and secretive. At the same time, another “suckout”, when your pocket aces or kings lose at the showdown, can deal a serious blow to your psychological state.
Stick to the usual schedule.
Exercise, relax, disassemble the hands. We recommend finding additional time for classes with a poker psychologist who will teach you to look at failures differently, finding points for further growth in them.
Stick to the usual schedule.
At a time when any failure can throw you out of balance, we recommend not to delay the game sessions. Do not load tournaments by entering them at the very last moment of late registration. And in the cache, just end the session after a few offensive cash moves. In any situation (both in poker and in life), try to understand your emotions. Their involuntary exit to the outside promises great problems.
4. Misconceptions about downstrikes
There are many myths in the world of online poker. This is due to the fact that the operation of the random number generator, which is responsible for the distribution of cards in poker rooms, cannot be checked. However, the Exan13 poker school website contains only verified poker rooms that have received a license to carry out gambling activities. Their RNGs have been repeatedly checked and tested.
Here are some examples of common misconceptions:
Downswing begins after cashout.
Especially for players who withdraw money from poker rooms, RNGs are not twisted. Rather, it's about psychology. Having made the next tranche to a virtual wallet or your payment card, you begin to feel like a “winner in life”. This leads to suboptimal decisions in hands and, as a result, to a loss.
The most frequent downstrikes are on PokerStars.
PokerStars is one of the largest poker rooms. Thousands of people play in multi-table tournaments here, so it is incredibly difficult to break through such a kilo field at the final table. Unsurprisingly, the streaks of relative failure can be protracted. It is for this reason that we recommend novice poker players to choose not so large rooms. For example, RedStar Poker or PokerKing. For registering in them, you will get the opportunity to learn poker for free.
5. Working on the game is the best medicine
There are no easy ways out of downswing. We recommend that you do not despair and continue to actively improve your game. Even more active than in normal life, since during periods of failure you need to demonstrate even more than during a regular session.
Build range.
We are not talking about standard preflop charts, but about building in-depth tables for various actions: protection of blinds, 3-bet as a bluff, deferred cbet, etc. This is a big amount of work that will allow you to better understand private game situations.
Go down by a limit or a few limits below.
Not the most obvious solution, which, however, will save you a certain part of the bankroll. At the same time, playing at lower bets and in tournaments with reduced buy-ins will allow you to work out new techniques, test the developed range.
