It just won't end

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Brian's Blog

February 10 2010

It just won't end

I wish I were a robot and this losing strech wasn't effecting me. Saddly I am not and they are incredibly frustrating. Tonight I had to quit a session after dropping almost 200k at 100/200 PLO to Durrr in about 75 hands.

I think what I find most frustrating is that I don't know what I am doing incorrectly, if anything at all. At this point in this downswing I am not playing my A game, but I still feel like I am playing my B-B+ game. When I sit I don't just lose slowly, its absolute murder. I just feel as though I don't win a hand. Tonight I played 75 hands of PLO vs durrr and managed to lose 156k.

Here are the 4 largest pots I lost

1) http://weaktight.com/1995051

2) http://weaktight.com/1995053

3) http://weaktight.com/1995055

4) http://weaktight.com/1995057

These beats wouldn't even bother me if it weren't for the consistency. Its been three months now of this and I am nearing my end. I feel as though I am making great decisions in most aspects of the game. I am playing in good to great games, I am not playing tired, I am reviewing hands and analyzing opponents tendencies. I don't really know what else I can do beyond that.

Entry Tags:

4962 Views | Comments(38)

February 10,2010

'Sorry, this is a private hand. You do not have rights to view this.

* Friends of aba20 may view this hand. '
either add me as friend or make the hh public!:P

reallygambling

February 10,2010

Does playing durrrr HU really classify as a great or even a good game?

JLocke

February 10,2010

good god...

RodeoBlue

February 10,2010

Hey Brian,
You work harder at this game than anyone I know, and you know as well as I do PLO is the most brutal game when it comes to swings. You will definitely bounce back eventually, you just need volume.

I believe in you :)

Good luck!

Eric Liu

February 10,2010

Playing a massively swingy game versus a LAG HU, swongs are one thing.

I suggest keeping a picture of Hastings by your monitor as a run good idol.

MarkWahlberg

February 10,2010

Brian, durrrr is probably as good a poker player as their is on the entire planet. How does that classify as good/great game selection?

gofast44

February 10,2010

I wish I were your friend Brian.

paulee

February 10,2010

Hang in there man. You've been there before and you'll come back again. Just give it time and come back witih a fresh start mindset. Forget how far below x you are and start at 0.

Benji2813

February 10,2010

Phil Galfond might say that Bayesian probability is injecting doubt into your brain.

I think that when one feels that "it just won't end" and is not sure how to assess their game anymore, they should just walk away from the tables for a few days, have some good time with friends/girls/whatever and then come back to work with a fresher brain. It's part of my stop loss policies, anyway.

Thanks for sharing so much with the CR community.

uohpar

February 10,2010

I agree with Eric Liu and uohpar here. I'm sure you completely understand the swings of PLO by now and how brutal it can be at times. Look at Stinger tho, I'm pretty sure you mentioned Stinger being one of the top 3 (if not the best) PLO players in your opinion. In his latest video (possibly 2nd most recent) Stinger mentions that he went on a 50 buy in downswing last year. For a top 3 player in the world to go on a 50 buy in downswing just shows that PLO is insanely swingy. I don't know about the specific amount of your downswing, but just know that it will turn around.

Please do yourself a favor and take a couple day break and spend some time with a couple friends away from the table and go skiing, go out to a couple nice dinners, or go buy something nice to show yourself what you have earned up to this point from poker and enjoy what you have been blessed to do. Then after you've been able to clear your head come back to the tables refeshed and you are able to play your A game. Best of luck.

chardukian

February 10,2010

you did not have swings like this when you played nlh. you should get back to that game. plo is a crapshoot when playing against high stakes pros especially short handed, and the standard deviation is so high that you could run like this over hundreds of thousands of hands which would take years to play given how often these games run and the general quality of the opponents you will be playing against.

return to nlh. you cannot count on consistent results in plo. how many times do you really need to learn this lesson?

tilllttt

February 10,2010

Maybe you, Stinger, and CTS can gang up and take a few million off durr to get you out of this downswing.

OnSight

February 10,2010

When you run the worst, you feel completely left alone with your misery and the injustice. PLO can be such a joke.

HariSeldon

February 10,2010

Brian I'm a big fan of yours, but didn't you just blog about quitting the high stakes game? Then you go and play Durrrrr heads up?

Seems like you might have a problem. Good luck man, lots of people are rooting for you.

vampa

February 10,2010

edit: spelling

vampa

February 10,2010

I thought you weren't going to play these games for the rest of the month? You probably need some time off from cards all together and then to stick to the plan of playing low for a while.

ManWithBrisk

February 10,2010

He said he wasn't going to play above 100/200

TheTechnologist

February 10,2010

some of these comments are just retarded

C.R.E.A.M

February 10,2010

some of these comments are just retarded

C.R.E.A.M

February 10,2010

Good/Great game selection is now Durrr HU? Surely theres better games at 100/200 and below? Where's Ben Grundy?

cormacbuzz

February 10,2010

PLO can be such a sick sick sick did I say sick game? Yeah u probably know this. I mean your all in EV clearly says that you are not doing much wrong just running into a lot of bs. Have you analyzed different solid players styles like PA for example he seems to win huge year in and year out. Maybe you bloat the pots too much so you sky rocket your variance?

fisherman112

February 10,2010

borrow money and play durr more? wwsd, what would stu do?

zackmorrisfive

February 10,2010

brian i think u should take a break or something, this will help cooldown abit. btw if ur on a downswing i dont think playing vs a very good and swing packed player like durrr woulda help.

Link9

February 10,2010

playing durrr hu and moaning about variance get a grip. this makes me mad reading this as a 3ptbb over 1mill hands player ive lost 70 bi table selecting and not tilted once, that is a downswing, get real jesus christ.

to all those saying he will be back he is the best ect, how lol, time to realise the nose bleeds is a sad state of kids with to much money tossing it around in a sickening degenerate manner as each one wants to prove there the best when infact theres basically no clear edge not to mention there isnt even enough hands played at these stakes world wide in a year to even begin ito see "the long run"

even if townsend is the best (which he isnt) he cud easily keep losing for another 5 years.

this might seem cold hearted but its the only post here offering any geniune help.

get a grip be happy with what youve got and for once in your life live it with some integrity.

arturboruc

February 10,2010

why do you play durrrr?

how big do you think your edge is in reality? it can't be more than 10% and the stakes make the swings huge.

I just don't get why you put yourself in these situations when you know you can beat other players. Just because DURRRRRRRRRRRR is the only guy sitting at the level you want to play doesnt mean you should play him.

If you were good at Karate would you challenge Chuck Norris if he was the only guy at the Dojo ?

Poolside

February 10,2010

Poolside

February 10,2010

Sure, it's all about ebb and flow. Those hands are just nasty. If you can't stop playing PLO for a while, and I know my advice is not warranted here, try getting into some live games. Take a break from your computer. I also agree with the post about evaluating, seriously evaluating, where you started, and what you've done to make yourself one of the best.

Clearwheezy

February 11,2010

Take a break... Relax...

Not 1 day or 2...Take 10 days minimum off.

Go to Paris or Rome , dont bring your laptop (ban yourself from FTP for a time if u bring a laptop).

Just relax and do things you like to do besides playing poker.

Its very important to take breaks.

peace

streetfamep

February 11,2010

lol at people telling him what to do. He's a grown man and is plenty capable of deciding what to do with his money and who to play. He played durrrr because he thought he had an edge. And for anyone cursing him for complaining about a downswing, do you not complain when you have one? Now imagine downswinging at the biggest games in the online world. I think i would bitch too. Brian, you're a great player. Just keep at it and you'll have your ah ha moment and all will be right with the world.

macgyver72

February 11,2010

Good luck man, even the best players lose sometimes and for long periods of times. It will end. Take a look at a graph of your last year's winnings and you won't feel so bad anymore.

FWIW, I think the 5568ss big blind defense is a leak and +1 to everyone saying playing durrrr & Ziigmund at plo isn't exactly a "great game" in my opinion and even if you are playing well realize that they may have an advantage playing you because they aren't downswinging and you are which will lead to them
1. Being more confident and comfortable in the plays that they make and
2. Being able to deal with the swings better.

andr3w321

February 11,2010

"lol at people telling him what to do. He's a grown man and is plenty capable of deciding what to do with his money and who to play. He played durrrr because he thought he had an edge. And for anyone cursing him for complaining about a downswing, do you not complain when you have one? Now imagine downswinging at the biggest games in the online world. I think i would bitch too. Brian, you're a great player. Just keep at it and you'll have your ah ha moment and all will be right with the world."

the point is this isnt a downswing, its brain being a fud and moaning cos he isnt running like god. the honest truth is there are 1000s tht have the knowlege he has but will never make it so high. he happened to be in the right place at the right time. it tilts me he continues to treat the nose bleeds and high stakes in general as a game that he will beat when he probably gets 50k hands in a year or summin ridic. to reach the long run in them variance mad games you probably need millions of hands.

arturboruc

February 11,2010

Brian u suck

wilneedheart

February 11,2010

Brian I am sure u will do great! But stop playing durrrr.

Stolpskottet

February 11,2010

Yeah, as others have stated I'm not really sure durrr is the one you want to be playing when your on a downswing.

MoBeer

February 11,2010

hard not to get compulsive when losing while gambling.....gets better with maturity.....but not always with everyone.......# 1 key to even being able to atleast enjoy gambling is discipline....over 95% of people who try to be succesful from it fail....not to preach but.....theres alot better s**t to do in life making money, keep it as fun,if your personality doesnt suit it you will evetually be broke....happens all the time.

kurtco

February 12,2010

Ur an oustanding worldclass-player, don't forget that even don't u might don't feel that way now

Wonipion

February 13,2010

"I don't really know what else I can do beyond that."

Take a break? Step down in stakes? Fine tune your game selection?

Max Ghezzi

February 14,2010

I dont know durrrr's game much, but i wouldnt be surprised to know that townsend has an edge on durrrr in plo. Townsend is one of the best @ plo, and if CTS and Hastings could take down durrrr then there's no reason why townsend can't either... it doenst mean he's not playing good or not on their level.

Keeep playing imo... durrrr has to run a little good since he ran bad vs isildur a while ago

igetmoneyobv

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