We’ve all been there. You’re stuck in a horrible losing streak, and you’ve been working hard to do everything in your power to end the slump, but you keep losing.
You followed astute advice on how to bust a slump. The advice of taking a breaking was great and you came back refreshed. You identified the biggest leaks in your game, studied hard, re-read your favorite strategy books, watched strategy videos, but you still can’t book a winning session.
What do you do at that point?
There’s an old Zen proverb that seems appropriate: “Fall down seven times, get up eight.”
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Discipline, Patience, and Perseverance
If you’re tormented by a prolonged losing streak, and variance is beating you down, you must embrace mental toughness. You must remain positive, disciplined, and patient to ride out the losing streak.
Once you survive and endure a brutal streak, then you can overcome future down cycles. These dismal periods happen to every gambler at some point in their journey.
Even the top pros in the world go through losing streaks that can last years for some tournament players. Perseverance is key to success in poker and life.
Almost everyone who experienced a poker slump has stepped away amidst a brutal losing streak. Successful players weather the down cycles and do what they can to minimize their losses during those prolonged losing streaks.
Get Your Non-Gambling Life in Order
Losing at poker has a way to seep into your everyday life. It’s vital to compartmentalize poker and gambling activities and keep them separate from your civilian life.
We often want to gamble to get away from our problems, and poker can be a great distraction. You should never let your work life or family life cause a distraction at the tables, and it probably happens more often than you think.
Sometimes a losing streak can coincide with everyday problems. In those instances, take a break from poker until you can get a better handle on your life.
You’d be surprised how your non-gambling life subconsciously affects your play at the tables.
You had a terrible day at work, so you visit your local card room or casino to blow off some steam. Or, you got in a fight with your significant other and need to take a break and cool off, so you head down to the basement and log onto your favorite online poker site. These can be dangerous situations because you’re walking a fine line if you’re unable to maintain a safe distance from your personal problems.
You might’ve heard the phrase “life leaks,” which is when your personal life negatively affects your play at the tables. Those off-the-felt distractions are a shortcut to mega-tilt, which is why it’s important to plug those “life leaks.”
Make sure you have a clear mind when you sit down, and you’re not distracted at the tables thinking about how much you hate your boss, or replaying a spousal argument inside your head.
Dress for Success
I went to college in Atlanta and a friend of mine always wore a suit and tie to exams even when it was sweltering hot outside. He wanted to “dress for success” and a suit was a reminder of the seriousness of each exam because he needed top notch grades to get accepted into medical school. His hard work paid off, and today he’s a successful doctor.
You can apply a similar tactic to poker. Switch outfits to evoke more positive emotions.
I typically recommend comfortable clothing if you’re logging a long session, but you should switch up your outfit if you’re stuck in a losing streak. If you always wear casual clothes, then wear nicer clothes to remind yourself that you’re dressed for success. If you usually play poker after work and wear business attire at the tables, then go the opposite route with a sporty look with jogging pants or workout clothes.
I knew someone who always wore a baseball hat at the tables, but during losing streaks, he’d throw away his hat. He’d wear a new hat to help improve his luck.
Maintain a Sense of Humor
Comedian Mitch Hedberg had no shortage of witty one liners including this gem: “I don’t have a gambling problem, I have a losing problem.”
No matter how bad it gets, maintain a sense of humor about your losing streak. Joke about it. Tell your friends and ask them to give you guff about it. Absolutely own it. Have fun with it.
Self-deprecating humor is a great coping mechanism during an atrocious run at the tables. By joking about your losing streak with friends, it’s a way to maintain healthy relationships during a traumatic event. It’s also a way to normalize your current situation.
Like I stated earlier, we’ve all been through losing streaks and your poker friends will certainly relate to your unfortunate situation.
If you play in a weekly home game, there’s going to be someone who’s in the middle of a winning streak and someone in the middle of a losing streak. This good luck and bad luck jumps from player to player. But you never know when your streak is going to end, so enjoy the ride and crack a few jokes. Use humor to cheer you up until you finally book a winning session.
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