depends on volume

losing months are inevitable

Keep in mind that months are arbitrary markers. There is no better reason to summarize your data by calendar months than there is to start on the 12th of each month or the 23rd or to use a lunar calendar. (I had a horrible Kislev but my Tevet and Shevat were awesome!) You can always find winning Xs (unit of time measurement) and losing Xs in your data if you slice it the right way so resist the urge to put too much meaning in those measures.

As for the question of playing or taking a break, I think you will find two types of personalities and therefore two camps. One group needs positive feedback to rebuild confidence and are therefore better off playing through the downswing, as the cards will eventually balance out. The other group needs to separate from the source of stress and reset their mental balance away from the table before they can go back in with confidence. Figure out which type of player you are - honestly - and take the appropriate path.

Having said this, mistaking oneself for the former (play through it) when one really is the latter (take a break) is (a) incredibly common and (b) a huge leak.

Good luck turning it around.

I had a relatively crappy last 3 months of 2012 where I netted about 2k. Last night I broke my 9 session win streak w/a $44 loser. At the beginning of the year my win rate was $17.50/hr now it's just over $21/hr. Just goes to show how a heater can effect your hourly when you haven't logged tons of hours, just 655 for me. This is all at 1/2nl.

My last 17 sessions, 11 are in this month:



For the year:

I like this advice.

You're truly blessed if that is your biggest downswing. You should not lose any confidence.

No one that puts in the proper amount of time here studying should ever lose confidence.

Those who post here have access to the best llnsl advice on the planet and if they are failing to win it's because they aren't executing the proper plays on the felt.

+1

+2

Well said man

Lost over $40k last year in losing sessions and over $8k so far this year.

Who want to try to beat that? 2/5 almost in its entirety.

Why does losing sessions sum total even matter? I have never calculated this, only net winnings.

There's really no purpose of it, just thought it might be interesting to compare.

This is akin to Ron Jeremy complaining that the cold weather shrinks his dong to 9-inches and he feels small in the winter time and so he only prefers to bang two girls at a time instead of his usual three...

lol. I apologize if I made my downswing such a big deal when it's not. I don't have any poker buddies and I just joined 2p2 so I am not aware of what normal swings are for a grinder.

Can't you write your losses off if you declare as a professional gambler?

take it to the tax forum, but only to the extent you have winnings to offset. You can't claim a net income of -10,000 from gambling.

In the US, it matters for tax purposes.

Oh I am not american so I didn't know. Sounds like a pretty stupid way of calculating taxes IMO.

Anyhoo, do you guys add in the hours you spend driving to the casino and waiting at the casino for a seat to open when calculating hourly?

Do you get paid to drive to work?

No but I do get paid when I am not working at work.

Why would you include driving a car into your hourly win rate?

Think before posting nonsense like that.

You don't pause the play clock when you take a crap?

How is that nonsense? If you have to spend a lot of time commuting/waiting for a seat etc it changes things a whole lot.

Here is an example. For a lot of people the casino isn't right around the corner. Let's say the nearest casino is 1 1/2 hrs away. Also I have other obligations where I can only put in an 8 hour session.

Let's go on the assumption I do really well at the game. I make $20 an hour at 1/2. The expectation of $20 an hour is $160. That's all well and good until you realize that your hourly rate has just gone down to about $14 an hour once you factor in travel time and waiting for a seat.

I wouldn't include travel time into my winrate either, but that's just me. It's the same thing as commuting to and from work.

Solid advice...

But I guess if you never use a bank account it's possible, lol.

Exactly, I time myself when I sit at the table and cash out or bust out. So my hourly includes breaks/bathroom breaks. I don't take lunches. If I did I wouldn't count that.

Does anyone play 4hours and then have lunch and then play 4 more hours?