Why I can't move up stakes

Recovering from a downswing

Recovering from a poker downswing is never an easy thing. You hear those voices "I'm gonna lose again", "I can't hit a thing", "the always have it" all the time. You lose your confidence to your game and you don't know if it's your fault or if it is just variance. Usually the truth is between the two. Some "bad luck" may lead to bad plays and so on.

Downswing most of the times will reduce the fun you find in the game. This is very important, and one advice is to try to find this fun again. You can play smaller stakes or begin some easy challenges to try to find your confidence again. It's not easy to move down stakes, because it's like telling yourself that you are not good player. Most of the times we try to lie ourself and convice us that if we lose, it's never our fault, but it's just bad luck. If you are sure about that, do a database review and analysis. I'm sure you will find so many mistakes. Can you lie to yourself now?

Having a group with poker friends is a "must". You have to be opened to listen different kind of opinions and thougth processes. Breaks are also very crucial. A break will never do a bad thing to your game. Instead if you burn out playing many hours a day, can hurt your game and also your bankroll. For sure putting volume is the king, but you have to be sure first that you are making the corrent plays.

Here is a great article about downswings from my favourite BlackRain79 that inspired me to write this article. I think that will help a lot. Good "luck" at the tables.