Nick is a cash game player, content creator and part of 888poker’s Stream Team. Each week he shares his thoughts and experiences as a player dedicated to the daily grind. This week he looks to channel positivity from a brutal downswing.
Last week, I spoke about streaming one of the worst sessions of my life, where everything seemed to go wrong. I actually wrote the article fresh off playing that day, and most of what I discussed was in relation to the immediate pain of losing so emphatically. It’s certainly a very relatable feeling for most, since I’m certainly not pretending I’m the first one who’s suffered a heavy loss in their career. But something that’s maybe a bit more foreign is seeing a downswing as an opportunity and channeling the brutality into positivity.
Anyone that follows me may be chuckling at that last line, as I’m hardly known for being a beacon of perseverance. And it’s true, I spend most of my time complaining about the most recent ‘unfair’ thing that’s happened at the tables. But away from the lights and the felt, I’m actually a little bit more matter-of-fact about the nature of the beast.
Downswings are an inevitable part of every poker player’s career. It’s borderline impossible to avoid a lengthy stretch of bad variance at some point when you play this game, be that recreationally or full-time. While the misery I am currently experiencing is certainly the worst I have played through so far, I’m completely aware that others have endured worse and that I’ll inevitably reach lower points myself.
Turning brutality into positivity
But, while in the moment it can feel like every move you make is wrong, there are elements of downswings that you can use to help you. For starters, there are very few other disciplines where losing for extensive periods of time is not just normal but expected. Even the best cash players can easily lose for hundreds of thousands of hands, and tournament crushers may go years without a big score. It takes an enormous amount of mental strength to tough it out and play through the pain, especially when your income relies on it.
Not only is this an excellent trait for any aspiring poker player to acquire, but it’s a great quality to develop for other areas of your life. I feel much more prepared to handle disappointment and setbacks in my everyday life than I used to, as many things pale in comparison to the bottom of a downswing.
I went through the wringer in my $1,000 10NL Challenge, and I was very close to losing my mind. Relatively speaking, the rest of life’s difficulties feel negligible. It’s also helped me process this most recent spell of misfortune since somehow it's much easier to accept losing $100 in my biggest games than $10 in that hideous gauntlet.
But maybe most importantly of all, downswings afford you a consistent opportunity to overcome adversity. In life, it’s often the case that when things go wrong, there’s nothing you can do to change it. But in poker, you have the opportunity to show the best version of yoursel – to get back on the saddle and turn things around. Not to mention that if you can handle the inescapable rough patches better than your opponents, you'll be able to find edges that don’t exist in a solver.
As poker players, we all understand that it might get worse before it gets better. But, with the right mentality and application, you can dig yourself out of the hole. As my friend Ben says, there is really nothing better than posting that graph when you finally claw yourself back to even and beyond. And that’s another great thing about this game. Poker is full of communities and friendship groups supporting one another through difficult stretches, and being able to show those people that you made it out the other side just hits different.
So, when I come out the other side of my own personal battle, I’ll be sure to let you know about it. Until then, I guess it's time for a bit more character building.
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Additional image courtesy of 888poker
