250k hands, but it should've only been 150k hands (playing tilty to start sessions towards the middle/end of it ldo)

6 month miniprofit close to break even incl Bonus RB........ think to quit. Still up 35 K lifetime

Current downswing is in its twelfth year but I am confident the law of averages will see me going on a legendary upswing

Steve

I just recovered from a 24 buy in dowswing at 5/10NL

breaking even at 50nl for 20k hands is god awful, not matter how bad you are running.

lol no

Holy crap...First year I played I lost 20k of my own money. I though I was good that I could beat the game, how wrong I was. Then my game improved damatically and started making some good money, recovered from the 20k down in just 2 months, this is my 3rd year playing, im a cash player but HELL you ppl have some crazy downswings, I mean im an extremely loose player in the tables, I know when I sit in a 5/10 or 10/20 talbe im going to loose 2 or 3 buyin before I get back and profit some good, but I cant recall ever having a downswing for more then 12 buy ins. YES I have been stock for a couple of months for nothing to bad like 20k hands or 50k hand. OR EVEN WORSE 12 YEARS HOLY CRAP.

I think 12 years is just an exaggeration...

Actually I correct my coment. Is not quiet surprising. Most poker players are loosing players, lots of them they have been playing for many years.

That was irony in case you missed it . In reality, over the last three years my worst downswing (so far!) was 5 BI at NL holdem (10/20) and 6 BI at PLO (only 1/2 as I am learning).

Steve

12 to 18 months. I was playing full time starting with $5 sng's/ .5/.1 limit, running steadily uphill for 2 years, started having consecutive 5 figure months at 2/4nl and 3/6nl with successful shots at 5/10nl and 10/20nl. Then the UIGEA fiasco happened along with some mental issues triggered by drugs/genetics and since then I completely fell off, only over the last 6 months have I been able to scrape together a win rate. On the plus side my head is on straight again and work ethic has returned so it's only a matter of time till I'm back at my peak.

if you are breaking even at 50nl over 20k hands, then you got big big problems. watch videos, read stuff, and do another 20k hands, then quit if no improvement

1x100k breakeven, 2x50k breakeven.

I am currently on my worst downswing ever. I am playing better poker than I have ever been, but the loosing session just continues. For every down-session I work harder than before improving my game. I watch videos, uses the forums and work mentally on every aspect of the game. I have learned more from this downswing than ever before.

Even if I play better than ever, I just get sucked out every time. I always adress my losses where they belong. 5 times in a row I lost to runner runner straight or flush, when allin on flop. Thats very expensive since I have sets. My big pairs gets sucked out by lesser pairs. The last few weeks I have flopped about 1/3 of the sets I should when it comes to math. I am mentally strong and I know it will turn but things are getting crazier every day. I am very pleased with the fact that I have not tilted yet.

And my downswing is OMG 30 BI down. It is so sick.

When will it turn?

1 year

+1.

Live tournies went unbelievably bad. Online cash just as bad. Drove me insane, but eventually it turned. I used to not believe that people could run bad for that long without something being wrong with their game, but believe me when I say, you can.

QFT

but I am still a firm believer in the fact that everyone has leaks that they need to fix, so something being wrong with their game can definitely be a contributing factor.

Not my longest downswing, but definitely my worst...

In the week following the passage of the UIGEA I lost 550 bets at playing between 10/20 and 20/40 LHE. The crazy thing is that during that week I won 300 bets playing live and on some smaller sites, but lost 850 bets on Poker Stars. 850 bets in a week on one site, and I had been playing professionally for 3 years at that point and my PTracker stats weren't any different than they had been previous to the downstreak.

lol wut?

Variance is part of the game, fine, but the outlandish suckouts that kind of just rub it in. Hit your open ended straight, fine, but dammit, flopping a flush vs KK or runner runner quads? Really? REALLY? It's the crazy draws that prey on your mind.

I am currently on the biggest downswing of my life.

Probably like 200k hands and I am 50 buyins below EV. Sure there is some spew and tilt but common, when you hit a set and lose to a flopped straight but flop a straight and lose to a 4 outter and it happens like 8 times especially deep it's just sick.

The key is to seriously quit for a week or longer because humans mind can't really take it unless you are a total nonfeeling human.

Also a big problem is cashing out before you actually CRUSH NL 200, because by cashing out AND moving up your roll gets killed once you hit a downswing on the higher level.

Handling the variance and working on your game is the key.

Peachy Keen is on a downswing of 1.2 MIL right now and Townsend had a 2+ MIL downswing and they really know how not to tilt and how to play well.

Wow, I want their bankrolls...

Its the timing of them as well that can be crushing. I finally decided to get serious and play 5k hands a week, a decent amount since I have a full time job. Going well then over the weekend I hit -7 buyins down in 24 hours, all of them to sick coolers or rivers. Dealing with the blow to your confidence factor is the hardest thing, I find myself doubting my game, and once the self-doubt creeps in ... down that path lies passive, timid poker and the road to ruin.

my life

13 losing sessions in a row, ~ 26 buy-ins after having a longstanding 65% win rate. Head spinning watching the same guys win over and over who were ridiculous very lowest level of home game players. Then won back more than the losing streak in 3 sessions, tg.