The difference between a loser and a winner is that the former thinks that they deserve to keep winning forever – which is impossible! The required response that is needed to cope with the loss of a pot is the same attitude that is needed to deal with variance on a bigger scale.
The term “downswings” is common in the poker community. What does it mean? How do you handle such a period? To answer these questions, this comprehensive guide will look into what you must know about poker downswings. Let’s dive in!
What is a Downswing?
A Downswing is a phrase that is commonly used in poker to describe a period when a player rakes in significantly less than their regular win rate over a large number of sessions. Breaking down the definition of downswing further than that can be very difficult.
Every player experiences downswings at some point. They can be quite disturbing sometimes. Theoretically, it has been suggested that downswings don’t really exist. They are simply a figment of a player’s imagination. However, they generate constant topics in the poker community. Poker players believe in them while assigning properties to them.
How Downswings can affect your gameplay
It is not an uncommon occurrence for poker players to deal with downswings. You can’t escape variance after playing for a long period and you will have no confront and deal with a downswing. This happens, regardless of your level of experience.
During this soul-crushing period, many players often tilt in poker, which can have a negative influence on their gameplay at a poker table. However, the time it takes for a downswing to last varies and depends on the player.
Yet, the availability of different types of bonus ensures that players can potentially avoid the consequences of downswings. The presence of bonuses can improve your winning chances, and in the process, reduce the chances of a downswing occurring.
However, bonuses on many sites, including bet365, come with certain bonus codes used in activating them. You can find out more info on this bonus code here. There are various ways players can handle downswings. The next section will discuss this in details.
How To Handle Downswings
Oftentimes, downswings involve a winning player suffering a sustained period of losing poker bets. Yet, it must be stressed that the definition of downswings may depend on the players involved.
Take, for instance, when a player loses at a faster rate than they would over a long period, they might claim to be experiencing a downswing. Besides this, a break-even player that loses money for a period or a successful player that is experiencing less winning than they would expect can be considered to be going through downswings.
Looking at the Bigger Picture
Poker is a casino game that is characterized by high variance. As a result, you must experience loss from time to time, which will not be rare, but an occurrence that players must adapt to. For new players, the ultra-conservative bankroll requirements suggested by experienced players might be surprising.
Oftentimes, what seems like a huge amount of funds for the limit they are playing can be quickly erased by a streak of losses. While some might discard the relevance of downswings since they have proper bankroll management, this is only true in theory. By viewing downswings from a third-person perspective, it is just a case of waiting for better results.
Some might even argue that having a higher proportion of winning sessions – especially for smaller wins – is not necessarily a great sign. Obviously, winning is better than losing. Yet, too many wins might imply that you are quitting too early, particularly when you are ahead.
You might be trying to play safe by quitting to ensure that you don’t lose. This is a sign that you don’t have the right mindset at the poker table. You should not be obsessed with the results of your individual sessions. To most great poker players, the result of a current playing session is not a function of the previous session.
Since losing is not uncommon – even for winning gamblers – there is a real chance of having clumps of losses together. Yet, this is easier said than done, especially when you find yourself in a downswing. When you find the results against you over a period, poker might become a cruel game to embrace.
This makes your previous winning streaks seem like a distant memory. Regardless of what you do, the results of the game sessions will not change. Yet, all you need to do is to stick to your plan while embracing the game basics.