The Definition of Running Bad/Good.

Okay, well, to start this I have to hit on a different topic first... I would like to take a second to congradulte my most recent online poker friend, "tacosontilt", for his recent success at the tables.

We started talking a couple weeks ago. He was railing a few of my other friends and then started railing my final tables as well. He noticed how much I make playing poker and we are the same age so it kind of caught his attention and he had a lot of questions for me. We talked online for about 4 hours on strategy one day. I went into more details with him about my game and different strategy that I ever have with anyone else. Well, since then he has had over 4 final tables with 9k in winnings and he is continuing to just watch his roll grow and grow. He has a lot of potential so early on, big things in the future.

Tonight he finally had his first good win, shipping the $55 10k for just over 3k.

Keep it up bro, this isn't the last mtt you will be shipping, so many more to come.

THE DEFINITION OF RUNNING BAD/GOOD

This topic has been on my mind a lot lately considering my recent downswing and just how awful I have been running.

I have butted heads with a friend of mine, AdamsApple19, about this a few times. He would mention how bad he is running and I would always say that I am as well and I have never truely ran bad before. In reality, the question is, what exactly is running bad or good? Running good doesn't mean that you are just getting AA twenty times everytime you register for a tourney. Running good doesn't mean you are sucking out and getting lucky. Running good just means that your hands are holding up. You're winning about 40% of your races and the math is working out correctly. You're winning with QQ vs JJ 80% of the time.

A while back Adam was trying to tell me that in the past few months I have actually ran pretty well. This kind of caused us to butt heads a little bit because I felt like I was running horrible. This month has proved me 100% wrong. If you are showing profit and making final tables, odds are that you are running good. I have ran about 250 mtts this month and I only have three final tables. There really is no way to explain just how bad I am running. I feel like I suck out if I win a race, there is no more fist pumping when I am all in with AK vs AQ. I am actually staring at the screen, heart beating out of my chest, praying they don't spike a Q.

This is something that all poker have or will go through from time to time. There are alway losing months in this game. No one can win every mtt they register for and no one will win with AA everytime it is dealt to them. These are the times that the game really tests your patience and stamina. Are you willing to hang in there for the long haul or are you just going to give up? I have said many times in my short poker career that I quit, i'm done etc etc... I truely know deep down that I am a poker play, I will battle through this and everything will turn out just fine.

I truely believe the knowledge of this can actually help people. Some people start winning and feel like they should be winning everything so when they lose with AK to QQ or even a 60/40 they start feeling like they are running bad and this will hurt their confidece which will turn to a downswing 90% of the time. I repeat, noone can win every mtt they play and if you lose with AA to bust 11th in a tourney, thats a bad beat, yes, but in no way does that one bad beat mean that you're running bad. Hang in there and get back on the horse and try again. Remember, AA will only beat 22 80% of the time meaning that you WILL lose there sometimes, it's a mathematical fact.

For the people who are truely running bad, I feel for you, I know how it feels and it's the most devistating part about choosing poker as a career. We feel as if we will never win again. We can't win an all in no matter how far ahead we are and forget about winning if we are behind. There isn't really a whole lot that I can say except hang in there... We chose this game because we love it, don't forget that. There will be bad time but the good times are what make it all worth while. There is nothing like the feeling of shipping a tournament. Get back on the horse, fight through it and get that amazing feeling back.

I am off to start my daily schedule, I wish you all the best of luck.

There may be a part 2 of this topic, we will see in the future.

-Arson