By proven winners I am referring to players who were proven winners in similar games/stakes over a significant sample (500k hands or more/minimum 1500 hours if live) prior to said downswing. Also this is assuming that no long break was taken before that downswing, which could just mean that they fell off their game.

Without whining too much I'm currently on the tail-end of a 5-month downswing with no visible light at the end of the tunnel. I have roughly 3.5m hands over which I've been a proven winner, this downswing is only 70k hands (about 320 hours) but the games are fairly soft and I was beating them for 4 months prior so it's driving me crazy that I can't win. I know 70k is relatively nothing and I've had way worse but given my hands/hour and my (supposed) winrate its made for my worst downswing to date.

I know of 1 full-time live player who has had a year-long period where he was down money, and one of my roommates who was an online player had 7 months.

Also, the term "downswing" can technically mean down $1 over x amount of hands so maybe break-even stretch is a better term to use? So just consider your longest break-even stretch rather.

So to recap please meet these requirements:

1. Proven winner for 500k hands+ or (if live player) 1500 hours+ at relatively similar games prior to the downswing
2. No long break was taken before the downswing

So if you meet these I'd be interested in hearing how long yours was.

1. How many hands and how many hours?
2. How did you cope with it?
3. How were you able to come back to even?
4. Did you take a break?
5. Did you change games?
6. Any advice you can give?

Please keep this serious and no trolling, I'd post this somewhere else but this is the most appropriate forum for it.

Most appropriate place ai

1. About 100 million hands
2. Rung up Sammy's mum and gave her the pounding of her life.
3. I just played 24/7 straight for 10 years whilst getting handjobs from asian hookers
4. Breaks are for losers. I slept on average 1 hour every 5 days and when the poison had been extracted.
5. Nope. Sexual positions but not games
6. Avoid trannies

where would you recommend I repost this?

1. 2 hands
2. Easy, many people around me with 2 hands
3. 2 is already even, you so silly
4. not yet
5. I changed few girlfriends before getting married if that’s the question
6. Be yourself no matter how many hands you have.

Live player here mainly. I have over 10,000 live hours.

1. How many hands and how many hours? 1000 hours.
2. How did you cope with it? Did my best to keep playing.
3. How were you able to come back to even? Put in a lot of hours.
4. Did you take a break? 3 vacations.
5. Did you change games? Not games, but I tried other forms of NLH like tournaments.
6. Any advice you can give? Just keep playing your game and try your best to not tilt. Keep studying. Stay ahead of the curve. Have a huge bankroll. Don't have an ego.

Sir, if you can do 10 000 hours in 1000 hours you are already rich like piddlenator, why would you even play silly games to get moneys?

You silly like OP

Also questions are about your body not your time

ouch, that's brutal. Glad to hear you overcame it though.

And yea I agree with the study and ego part, studying definitely helps with rebuilding your confidence. Can't help but start doubting yourself a bit when losing for so long.

Around how many hands did you play in those 1000 hours? And what do you reckon your winrate was?

If he had a winrate then it wouldn't be a downswing.

I phrased that wrong, I meant to say what he thinks his expected WR was.

For example, I think I should be winning at bare minimum 10bb/100 in these games but up to 15bb or even more, so a 70k downswing is much sicker than if I were playing in zoom games where 70k isn't much (but I'd be running through hands much quicker).

My longest downswing lasted a couple of seconds:

If your downswing lasts more than 100 hours, it isn't a downswing. You just suck.

Also...
That's less than 220 hands/hr. Unless you are 2 tabling live poker you should be ashamed.

To answer your questions:

My worst downswing:
1. ~3k hands, ~2 hours
2. I made love to my wife
3. I kept playing for extra 2 hours
4. Yes, to make love to my wife
5. No
6. Stop being so bad. Seriously though, people keep calling their 100+ hour periods of burning money "downswings". Those aren't downswings, you just aren't making money anymore. Games change, get with the times.

The Microstakes Pot-limit/No-limit holdem forum would be better.

Also, lower your hand requirements to 100k.

That is plenty enough hands to get feedback.

My largest downswong is minus 15 buyins, and break-even recovery takes 10 to 20k hands or so.

I blamed Morph for the size and duration of that swong.

Thanks morph

You can do better than that son.

Theres a reason for this but don't you worry about that.

Will do this ty, mod can close thread pls

I had one sick down swing in my career made me want to quit poker and life. But then I just decided to dump her.

Have you ever considered that you lost your "edge?" If you should be beating them at that rate there's a reason you're not. See: Fish on a heater
In the running for post of the year

1. Every. Single. One
2. I opened an account on 2p2 and withdraw the life-force of those easily tilted to feed this vessel possessed by Satan
3. By telling you that you will never make a comeback, it's over, let it go
4. I will never break from telling you the truth
5. My game has been solid for years
6. Quit playing poker then ask Mason or Mat to close your account and never post here again

Prove am not a winner

48 trillion and I got it in good every hand.

($) stands for losing money in accounting


lol op sucks

Back when I played regularly (50-200nl 6max zoom/speed), the biggest was ~28 buy-ins over the course of like 80k hands.

The worst by far was losing ~22bi in one 1400-hand session. That one was the most brutal.

Did not really take any breaks during/after downswings at that time though.

Live and online playing full time, longest downswing was probably 1.5 months for each. If you are losing for longer than that I'd suggest playing tighter and more aggressive.

this sounds pretty unbelievable tbh. How many hands lifetime? You're saying you never had like, a what, 100k breakeven stretch?

*edit* if you're playing HU only then yea its somewhat believable but you have to run like god over any reasonable number of hands to have never had a break-even stretch of at least 100k hands, even if your winrate is like 10bb/100+.

100k hands breakeven is not a downswing OP.