I'm in the midst of a 9bi downswing at 1/2 for 100bb BI during the month of July, definitely my worst over a smallish sample size of 1500 hrs...averaging losing about one 85/15 for 250bb+ per day (mostly sets that have been run-down for all the money OTT to river a naked fd, yay retirees) as well as a few AA vs KK AI preflop where V spiked a K.
I ran super hot in June so it takes the sting out a bit, but still pretty frustrating. I just try to think about all the positive upswing I'm going to experience soon and keep playing my game, remembering that variance is the lifeblood of poker, and keeps the fish in the game. Make sure to be a VERY GOOD SPORT about your losses to weaker players, as they're paying your bills the majority of the time!
More pragmatically, I make sure to keep realistic tabs on my image (which, after getting sucked out on repeatedly, is of a LOSING player, *not* TAG-genius who got it in good...) and stay away from lines that require FE as Villains are more likely to call down in spots where they might regularly fold if I'm perceived as weak.
Bart Hanson talks about this concept and illustrates it really well with a couple HH's in his Deuce Plays podcast, episode entitled "Image".
Finally (probably getting flamed for this but whatever) - to boost your confidence, sstack a session or two, play ABC pushbot Ed Miller-style poker, then quit early. It sounds ridiculous because we all know poker is one big session, put in the hours/BI full etc., but if you get locked into a mindset where you EXPECT to lose you might as well not go into work because you'll be playing your B-game at best. Sstack, double-through, and remember what it looked like to have your graph tilt upward
Last edited by scelsi; 07-26-2011 at 06:35 AM.
Reason: Thought some more