Yeah. Pretty self-explanatory. But I just need some input on MTT downswings. If this belongs elsewhere, sorry. I'm just super heated right now. And it's not from getting beaten AQ > AK either. It's just like, a buildup of 69 > QK, Q8 > KK, etc. Now OBVIOUSLY, this is poker. That stuff happens. We've all done it blah blah yeah I'm not complaining about suckouts. I'm just curious as to what are some of your biggest downswings in the 4 180s (for those who have found success in those minefields). Currently I've gone from 490 to 375 on my account. I've won a couple before but am beginning to think it was short-run success and now I'm beginning to see my long-run results. So, obviously downswings are more than standard and can even last for months. Problem is, I don't have months of bankroll, lol.

Thanks in advance guys.

ps: If any of you trolls/e-thugs are going to flame me for a asking a n00b question, spare me.

$490 down to $375 is basically a 25 buyin downswing at the 4/180's. It's a larger downswing, but also very standard. The thing about those tourneys is that you win one, and you're back in the black by a lot.

I recently played 100 $12/180's - I started off going 0 for 50, but then came back in my last 50 to break even in the set. They are - by their nature - swingy.

If you're worried about your roll, step down to smaller sized MTT's. The variance is less, so the swings are less. For example, instead of playing 4/180's, play 3/45's. You'll win less when you win, but you're going to be winning more often.

The other thing to do is to be realistic about your skill... Quite often people are too quick to blame an ugly downswing on variance when in fact they need to plug some (obvious) leaks in their game. For me, quite often, it's playing way too many hands out of position early on. I would think "meh - it's only 30 chips - I call." I do that 4 or five times, find myself down to 1200 chips, then when I finally double up I'm up to 2400. Had I folded the "meh - only 30" hands, my double up hand would have provided me a stack of almost 3000.

So in short, you're not going through a brutal downswing yet - it's pretty standard for the level you're playing at.

OT

That's what I thought. I basically play Chessskid style in those if you've seen the HH's of his 180s. After all, meeting him was the reason I got into online poker, and we all know he rapes. I've gone on downswings before, just not one of this magnitude and that's the only reason I posted. Ultra, ULTRA tight at beginning. Get a little more loose after break depending on stack size. Thanks for your input. I think what we are forgetting here is that the 4 180s are tough. And yes, it's exactly because of the fields. There comes a point where softness becomes a crapshoot. It's like pure gambling sometimes lol.

Obviously I have leaks in my game. Any person who thinks otherwise is delusional. I could also say I get 2-outted on the river more than anyone but we all know that isn't true.

Maybe I could have more luck at the World Series of Dice

Also, 9-man SnG's have WAY less variance than those 180s obv. Should anyone read this thread, those are a great way to get your roll back up in my experience. But they aren't nearly as fun as MTTs Just watch table position and don't do anything stupid during the beginning and watch the money roll in.

p.s. OT, 0 for 50? Exaggeration? That's a monster downswing! Props for pulling yourself back up out of the muck when I would have been saying my Last Rites! Stories like this just help me mentally understand that it's part of the game, and that even great players can experience problems.

so tough, in fact, that annette15 won one without looking at her cards.

you may want to reflect on some of your beliefs about poker, part of becoming a better player is getting rid of poisonous lines of thinking... such as "these players are so bad no good player can beat them very hard." it's pretty rare to hear a truly great player say something like that, because it's just not true. imo.

also, if you want to see a real crapshoot, play the 12/180 turbos. yikes.

yeah that's true. i just suck imo

And quite a few suckouts, and never against an overpair when she got it all in with crap, always AK/AQ. She would lose money playing blind in a 4/180.

I have had numerous 20+ downsings in these things, almost always filled with lots of finishes in the 20s and mincashes. Remember, if you can win 1 in 40 and never have any other cashes you will have a +ROI.

lol, inspiring the local area donks then inviting them to 2+2, thats what i do, rofl.


if you shoot me a HH from a tourney you do okay in (Requests -> Hand History -> Then Torunament #) to Chesskid1@gmail.com, i'll go over it with you when I find some time.

yeah, and that downswing is not that bad at all. i don't really think 4/180s are crapshoots fyi, the levels have just enough length for the cream to rise fwiw. it's probably a combination of playing bad + variance for this small little downswing, but that's why we all post here -- in order to not play bad, but most of the time we don't succeed. ttyl

One thing that has helped me, since I'm not very good at poker, is playing over-rolled for most things. Playing limit on a 500BB roll (standard recommendation is around 300BB). Playing NL cash on a 40 buy-in roll (standard recommendation is around 25-30). Tournaments with 150 average buy-ins (taking my 'shots' in tournaments where I have only around 80 or 100 buy-ins).

I've apparently got a pretty bad learning curve. I'm definitely getting better, just way more slowly than I'd like. Because I'm not a huge winner, the variance is higher. You may be in the same boat, and could consider playing lower to give yourself more cushion.

A very slight exaggeration - In the first 50 tourneys I had three min-cashes, no FT's, iirc. Don't forget that these were 12/180 turbos, so the variance is significantly more severe than the 4/180 regular speeds.

As for the 4/180's being tough, the toughest part of them is the very beginning, when you have to dodge the clowns that push with nothing. That said, proper play should get you through that part of the tourney. After that, solid play should ride you through the variance.

OT

I have an HH from one of the ones I won Chess, and can request it from my other win if you like. How do you want to coordinate this? When you have time, obv. But I would absolutely like to go over one with you. Just give me a holla or I'll IM you?

ps - I cant animate them because I don't subscribe to PXF

gg me i just saw that e-mail link. will send soon. ty all!