One of the worst feelings for a poker player is seeing their bankroll flowing down the drain in the midst of a down swing. I’ve heard of players going on close to 50 buy in down swings over the span of just a week or so. This means those players would have lost over 5 buy ins in one day. If this player had employed using a stop loss strategy then they would have reduced that to only 10-12 buy ins. A stop loss strategy is when a player decides before playing that if they lose a set amount of buy ins they would quit for the day. This is a great strategy to apply to your game when you see yourself in a downswing. It is a lot easier to come back to the tables the next day looking to make 2 buy ins than it is to make 3 or even 4.
Confidence
When you are in a down swing you need to focus on keeping your confidence up. It is very hard to go through a down swing, but you have to realize that they happen and you need to make sure that you are playing your best game. You want to be confident in the plays that you are making in order to do so. When using a stop loss strategy you can start fresh the next day knowing that the last time you played you lost 2 buy ins. When you take the approach of attempting to get back to where you were at the day before it is a goal that is much easier to accomplish. When you do win 2 buy ins and get back to even for the previous day you can then set up a new goal in another 2 buy ins. This is a great way to build your confidence back in a down swing.
Minimizing Losses
When you are in a down swing you can drastically limit the amount of money that you lose by using a stop loss strategy. If you go on a 15 buy in down swing, which you will probably see, you can lose a lot of money drastically and begin to leak extra money and not realize it. When you use a stop loss strategy you can lose your 2 buy ins and then review what you did and learn more educating yourself. You will certainly be better the more you learn, which can be just what you need to help get you off of a down swing.
Winning
When you are winning buy ins and using a stop loss strategy you still apply the same rules with your strategy. Top poker pro Phil Ivey uses a 2 buy in stop loss strategy when he plays poker online. He has been seen winning 5-6 buy ins and then losing 2 and quitting. This is a great way to guarantee starting your next session off from winning money in your last session. You will see plenty of different poker sessions, so there is no problem stalling your play a little bit and applying a stop loss strategy to your game. It is a great way to stay away from the negatives!
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