I wasn't exactly sure where to post this, but I thought this might be a good place to put it as it has to do with psychology.

I've been playing online for quite a while (1200+ hours), and recently I've hit a huge downswing. I cashed a 10k in 3rd for $1000 and started to run bad, and even though I consider myself reasonable when it comes to tilt control (I don't steam per se), I've been playing too aggressively and loose due to the pain.

My problem is I'm afraid of playing in a way that is exploitable, and I compensate there by playing overly aggressive in marginal spots. I've noticed, for example, that lots of players like to flat pocket pairs in the blinds and in position and almost always call the flop--so I was exploiting weaker players by betting the flop and turn. A lot about their flatting range preflop doesn't make sense to me and I find it aggravating to have to x/f so many hands. So, anyway, I've been having trouble taking my foot off the gas for fear that I'm giving them too many opportunities to bluff me in position, etc. I know that poker is all about maximizing value, and there's little value in these tiny pots, but I also don't want it to be a leak giving up too much.

I'm currently about halfway through Applications of NLH which has been a lot to process--and I think that may be also affecting my game. I realize that a lot of this has to do with balancing ranges, but I am also playing low stakes where people don't really care. For the most part they just bet when they see weakness.

Anyone have any similar issues? Any help would be great.

Sounds like fatigue.

If you can take a short break then come back feeling rested/positive, you get a much better feel for when to apply selective aggression to exploit a particular table dynamic, and when to default back to a more conservative TAG line.

When that's successful, and it nearly always is, right as many notes about specific hands and situations as you possibly can - and really try to get to the crux of why particular hands and sessions played out well and for high value. Put a lot of emphasis on player styles and table dynamic, then how you exploited these for value in particular hands (barreling A-high into weak-mid pair ranges, checking back value ranges against known bluffers, spotting when someone almost must be bluffing rather than hoping they had air in their range).

In the future, if you run bad again (and maybe get super aggressive again) refer back to your own notes first and see how your mindset was different when poker was easy and everything clicked. I can't tell you the number of times I've had hallelujah moments and instantly stopped a bad single session becoming a tilted downswing.

And if you're needing an instant fix for LAGs, turn off the gas a little and have some value hands in your check ranges. Forget about 'standard' lines for value when you're TPTK against a bluffer who wants to donate.

Hope that helps.

*write

sigh. i can't write right.

Thanks a bunch for the reply. I think you're right, it was probably a combination of fatigue and other problems. I haven't played for a while, so I'm taking a bit of a break in the hope that I'll return with a clear head. I'm also going to take your advice on writing notes--I've always written notes on players (though on Ignition, notes are only good for the session because everyone is anonymous...), but I've never written notes on myself and my mindset aside from recording a bunch of videos of hand playbacks. I'm hoping I can get back on track

If you've been a winning player in the past - and started losing through arbitrary rather than strategically appropriate aggression - then don't worry, it will all come back.

Just don't fall into the habit of recording only the bad sessions where things went wrong. It's far more useful to make lots of notes about great sessions, then tease out the underlying factors that made it a great session.

Best of luck.

I have actually found myself doing this in the past and I remind myself that being exploitable can cut both ways. Thinking players will notice that you are overplaying a weaker range and exploit you by calling you down etc.