US HoldemHandling Losing Streaks in No Limit Texas Holdem Poker
No one wants to hear it, but if you play any form of poker long enough, you will encounter a losing streak, and no limit Texas Holdem poker is no exception. While you may not want to think about hitting a losing streak, how you handle one is going to be a key factor in your continued no limit Texas Holdem poker success.
How to Handle Your Losing Streak in No Limit Holdem
Assess Your Game
While a losing streak may simply be a result of a statistically rare spate of bad luck, it may be that the opposite is true, that your wins have been statistically unlikely good luck hiding leaks in your play. Either way, most of us make some mistakes in our game, and no matter how good we think we are, an extended losing streak is a good time to analyze your game for leaks.
Think back on each of those hands where you took a bad beat, or sessions where you walked away a loser, and ask yourself if there is anything you could reasonably have been expected to do differently to change the result. This does not mean telling yourself you should have folded when you had 9h 3h and the flop came 9 3 6 and an opponent put you all in with 4d 5s and won when a 7 came on the river. Rather it means you might consider that you should not have played 9h 3h in the first place.
Don’t Play Catch Up
Being unlucky is no excuse to change your gambling game unless you have a good reason. Playing badly is certainly not going to change your luck for the better. Folding your pocket queens pre-flop because they’ve been cracked five straight times is no way to play poker, nor is playing a lot of marginal hands because “I can’t win with big hands.” As long as you are using a correct Texas Holdem strategy, the only way to get back on track is to continue to play correctly and let things even out. Playing scared or carelessly as a response to past results is going to be a fatal leak in your game.
Take a Break
There’s no law that says you have to go to the casino or play online Texas Holdem every day, or even every week. If you feel like things aren’t going your way, take a few days off, maybe see the sun for the first time in who knows how long. You’ll probably return to the table refreshed and with a new perspective. Remember the cards don’t know that you are in a slump. Every session is a new opportunity to start your next winning streak.
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