Hi 2+2, this is my first post here. I have an account with Cardschat, and I was fairly active there until I started to learn poker for real and decided that that place wouldn't teach me anything. I've been playing for around a year and a half, learning theory in equal parts as playing. Last month i finalllllly started making a decent and consistent profit off of ST and MTT's using Sportsbetting poker skin. I had won a freeroll for like eight dollars and then wont third in a dollar MTT for seventy five. Since then I have played almost 20k hands spread out through 161 STTs and 95 MTT's. *I know this is a very small sample size*

I've worked my BR up to around a hundred and forty last week and have been feeling really really good about my playing. I review as well as I can, but I've never really had a partner to sit down and review with me and help me see different points of view (my best friend is pro and has taught me up to this point out of boredom but he's got his own life and it's not fair to constantly nag him about poker, he's also at a muccch higher level than I am).

So I don't think I'm a bad player who hit luck that ran out, because I've consistently cashed and continued to do well for this long. These last three or four days though have been trying their hardest to break me though because I lose eveeeery coinflip that matters, every time i raise queens it flops kings, raise kings and it flops aces. You know the deal. This isn't the first time I've dealt with this, but I'd have to say that this is how to get me at my weakest mental point.

I'm currently down about ten bi's for stt's over my last 29 and down 25 BI's in MTT's over the last 31. I know this isnt that bad compared to some, and I understand that this is all part of the game. What I was really hoping to find here was advice from people who have been where I've been.

I need help with tilt control, the mental part of making the right choices and losing repeatedly. Should I drop down to 50 cent tourneys instead? My BR is at a hundred and five now after I finally cashed a couple times just now in freezeout MTT's but if I go busto I lose my ability to play poker whenever I want, which is something I like to have the option for, considering I have rent and bills to pay and can't exactly justify depositing money to gamble.

How do I keep my cool during these long periods. What should I do if I I my downswing hits 50+ bi's? How do I prevent myself from playing ****tier hands? I don't think I need to take a break because I'm playing better than I ever have, but I need to know what to do when I'm at my breaking point. I appreciate any kinds of responses, stories or advice anyone feels like sharing.

Also I don't know if this means anything to anyone, but I was hoping somebody could possibly look into my HUD tracking stats and see something I'm not able to? I'm good at using stats to make decisions at the table but I have zero idea how to analyze my own in accordance to how I play. I would really appreciate anyone pointing out any specific leaks in my game that they might notice.
vpip- 23.5% pfr 19% 3bet 8.4% AGG 39.4% cbet 64.4% fold to Cbet 50.2 WWSF 48.3% # of hands 14443

Probably going to sound like a broken record but here it goes! Variance happens in poker, especially in tournaments so you can expect wicked swings.

If you really played well you will be winning in the long term at some point so you just have to keep your head up and keep playing it out the cards will swing in your favor! But keep in mind it's important to review your sessions and look for possible spots where you think you were weak.

At any point if you're tilting it's time to take a break. Remember, you are playing a game for fun after all ! If you think you're just being outclassed by your opponents it's not a bad thing to drop stakes and gain some confidence by playing some solid poker.

I'd write down the hands that you feel had the largest impact on your tournament result and then post them in the forum. It will not prevent variance as stated above, but it will give you confidence in your decisions if they are correct or help you make adjustments to decisions that may be incorrect. Either way it helps you move forward without feeling like you don't know if your results are varience related or the product of bad luck.

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40bi downswing is not uncommon in mtts.

I suggest you work hard on your game especially your fundamentals

So my idea to play more games worked, i busted my ass and ended up taking down a tourney in first and pulling in +$111 so this has a happy ending.
http://imgur.com/a/Q3DC8

Congrats. It's called variance.

No more bad beat/whining about results threads please!

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@makeucry

I also have the same thought process as you when it comes to downswings, and I think it's almost universal for most beginner MTT grinders. The variance in tournaments is very high. That's why the more you play, the more authentic your results would be.

If you have the confidence in your game like you say you do, as long as you play within your roll you should be fine. Sure, doing well in MTTs boosts your ego; and obviously doing poorly does the opposite. A WSOP bracelet winner once told me that one of the toughest things to grasp as a poker player is the ability to look at things on a long term scale, and not get frustrated with recent results.

Sorry about this being my first post - I mainly just lurk but this thread resonated with me as I, too, struggle with this.

Anyways good luck to you on the tables.