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The second downswing was far more brutal, and eventually led to me quitting poker for close to three years. It started off normal enough; in fact I was coming off a great stretch that saw me win two tournaments in two days on Party Poker, and finish in 2 nd place in one of Pacific Poker’s largest weekly tournament just a few days later. In these threads, as well as others, I was warned of the inevitable downswing. The peanut gallery told me to 'Come back after your first big downswing! We'll see how much you still enjoy poker then!' Well, I'm back to report my first really big downswing. My final session in September was a $2,500 loss. I would probably say 3 months on a downswing- followed by 2 months of bad poker playing- playing my draws too much, trying to gamble with AQ vs. A small pair pre-flop and losing, etc.
Currently I have several poker coaching clients who are in the midst of downswings. In some cases, they’ve lost numerous sessions and significant sums of money.
If you play poker long enough, eventually you, too, will experience a downswing. You’ll show up to the table with great expectations only to find that your mind and your play are completely out of sync. Maybe you’ve misplaced your aggression or are unable to even buy a pot. Making things worse, along with each loss comes a downturn in self-confidence and motivation. The burning questions that will sear themselves into your mind include “How long is this going to last?” and “What can I do to get back on track?”
While the climb out from a downswing can be long and arduous, there are several things you can do to decrease the pain and increase the likelihood of success. Here are five things you can do right away that can help you focus more directly on your situation and determine how best to turn things around.
1. Have a “why”
When things get tough, remind yourself of why you play poker. Is it to support your family or so that you won’t have to work for someone else? Having a really good answer for why you are subjecting yourself to a variance-laden game can help you maintain your composure.
2. Assess your technical and tactical skill sets
Do you have a fully developed strategy? Is it sound? Are you deploying your knowledge effectively?
Your ability to read hands, anticipate plays, and make adjustments is paramount to your success. The way to develop these skills and knowledge is through good coaching, studying, reading, and practicing. Often a downswing offers the perfect opportunity to master (or remaster) the fundamentals.
3. Assess your mental game
How is your ability to concentrate? Handle pressure? Rebound from mistakes? Do you consider yourself to be mentally tough?
A great way to increase mental toughness is to work with a mental game coach. You can also model successful players and read books on the mental game. Resiliency is your friend if you are a poker player.
4. Look for ways to make small improvements
When things are not going your way, it can be easy to start thinking things will never turn around. Instead of focusing on the huge hole you need to dig out of, pay attention to small improvements you can make. What features of your situation can you even potentially change?
One of my clients was resistant to the idea of recording each of his hands, but since he was in a huge slump, he decided to give it a try. To his surprise, making this small change improved his game. He noticed where he was making small errors, and this led him to make some small changes which ultimately led to him playing better.
5. Consider what your poker hero would do
What would the player (or person) you admire most do if they were in your situation? Taking the perspective of an accomplished player may open your eyes to some things you can try. Brainstorm some possible strategies and try them out.
The bottom line is that when things are not going your way, it takes exceptional mental toughness and effort to find eventual success. In most cases, the worst thing you can do is more of the same. Make a plan from your list of possible solutions, implement it, track and measure your results, then tweak as appropriate.
Sometimes even small changes can bring big results. And always remember, as long as your fundamentals are strong, this, too, shall pass.
Dr. Tricia Cardner is the author of Positive Poker with Jonathan Little, available in paperback, audio, and e-book formats via D&B Poker as well as through the PokerNews Book Section. Follow her on Twitter @DrTriciaCardner.
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Online poker has discovered a tough road in the new United States market. While online gaming as a whole in New Jersey has experienced significant growth, the game continues to struggle to find its base, much less a consistent flow of new customers. Delaware is no different. In fact, the small state exemplifies the difficulties that poker faces in online marketplaces in America today.
By the Numbers
The Delaware Lottery, which regulates and oversees the online gambling market in the state, provides monthly net proceeds for the three facilities that offer online poker and casino games – Delaware Park, Dover Downs, and Harrington Raceway. Delaware Park typically shows more than 50% of the overall online poker revenue, with Dover Downs providing close to half of those numbers and Harrington bringing in a small percentage.
Thus far in 2017, Delaware’s online poker numbers show a fair amount of stability from the first to third quarters with only a slight decrease from the beginning of the year.
Q1 rake and fees: $62,557
Q2 rake and fees: $58,001
Q3 rake and fees: $58,654
Delaware continues to demonstrate how not to run a regulated poker network. The three skins raked just $15,117 last month. That's a record low and down 42% over last year.
— John Mehaffey (@John_Mehaffey) November 14, 2017
While the quarterly differences do not seem significant, the year-on-year differences do show a noteworthy decline when looking at the 2016 numbers.
Q1 2016 rake and fees: $91,967
Q2 2016 rake and fees: $111,400
Q3 2016 rake and fees: $97,555
Q4 2016 rake and fees: $75,014
The annual numbers tell the same story, going back to the launch of the industry. After an initial few months in 2013, the sites began to find a stride in 2014, so the numbers begin there.
2014 total rake and fees: $595,580
2015 total rake and fees: $392,401
2016 total rake and fees: $375,936
To show the significant 2017 decrease in another way, since 2017 is not yet complete, it’s important to look at year-to-date results through the third quarter of each year.
2014 YTD total through first three quarters: $506,915
2015 YTD total through first three quarters: $308,261
2016 YTD total through first three quarters: $375,936
2017 YTD total through first three quarters: $179,212
Why the Significant 2017 Decrease?
Let’s first step back to the beginning. When sites first launched in Delaware, the game was only regulated in that state and Nevada, and players had been without regulated, safe options since Black Friday in 2011. When the industry jumped back to life in 2013 and 2014, players were excited and anxious to play. Thus, Delaware’s first year was impressive for a state with such a small population.
The numbers began to level off in late 2014 and early 2015, but many thought the launch of the interstate poker network between Nevada and Delaware would provide a jump. While there was a reasonable increase in the second quarter of 2015 after liquidity began in March, the last two quarters of that year dipped. Poker revenue stayed much the same then through 2016 until another notable drop in 2017.
Nothing changed for the Delaware sites in 2017. There is little explanation for the decrease except the most obvious guesses, such as a lack of promotions to attract new players, a lack of sufficient liquidity to keep current players, and little inspiration for players to enter the world of online poker for more than a quick game or brief experience.
The downswing in Delaware coincides with a similarly notable yet not as severe downswing in the New Jersey online poker market. The market clearly became stagnant.
Promising Future for 2018 and Beyond
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The recent signing of the interstate online poker liquidity agreement with New Jersey will help both Delaware and Nevada improve their traffic. And with Pennsylvania launching its online poker sites in 2018 and likely joining the interstate network, this will improve overall results greatly as well.
Big news coming out of New Jersey from @GovChristie – Online poker agreement reached between New Jersey, Nevada and Delaware #gamingpic.twitter.com/lr2PwPdW3N
— Howard Stutz (@howardstutz) October 13, 2017
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Delaware has likely hits its low point. As players become aware of the upcoming liquidity, they will be more likely to give the sites more than a passing glance. Depending upon the amount of marketing and advertising by the sites in each participating state, there is great potential for players to see larger tournaments and more cash games. And the states will benefit with more revenue, likely to start showing up in the results of late 2018 and moving forward.