I’ve written a post at Card Squad which may be of interest to WWdN:iE poker readers.
If I adhere to the "it’s just one long session" philosophy, I am
still way in the black . . . but for the last thirty days, I am
seriously in the red, and poker just isn’t very much fun. In fact, I
haven’t picked up a deck of cards, or logged into PokerStars in almost
two weeks, because I am so sick to death of losing. It’s frustrating,
it feels like a waste of time, and it’s hard to go into a game with a
positive attitude.
The experience is uncomfortably similar to the long streaks of fruitless auditions I’ve experienced the last several years. Attitude is an incredibly important part of success, and it is sofaking hard to let past defeats go, and face each new deal hoping for the best, ready to play to the best of my ability. It’s easy to fear that I’m a lousy player who got lucky, or even worse, just another mediocre player who isn’t able to realize that he just isn’t that good.
Wow, that’s a perfect metaphor for auditions, too, I just realized. I have to go think about that for as long as it takes to smoke a cigar.
If you’re interested, my post is called Riding Out the Bad Times.
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Don’t be too hard on yourself. When you hit dry streaks it is hard to feel excited about much. Maybe you just need a break to focus on writing and your family before you go back to poker and acting. Then you can get a fresh start. You know, there are tons of succesful poker players and actors probably moping around because they aren’t good writers or fathers. Everyone has their niche and it’s human nature to want to be more than we are, but we should also be greatful for what we have (that others envy).
Besides, I know you’re a good actor, and I’d bet that you’re a good poker player. Even braclet holders and oscar winners lose. You just can’t let it get to you.
😉
Cheer up!
Wil-
Have you ever considered producing your own stuff? You did it as an author, why not as an actor?
Let me go on the record as one of the (possibly rare) WWdN readers who wishes you had not moved your poker posts to CardSquad–I prefer the no-flashing-ads atmosphere of WWdN for reading your poker stuff.
As someone who had never even heard of Texas Hold ‘Em before I started reading your poker stories, let me tell you that you got me hooked. Your lively descriptions put me in that smokey bar, taking a quick peek at my cards before surveying the table, looking for tells.
I think this speaks to your real strength as a writer: you make people care about what you are writing about. It is a combination of your skill as a storyteller, your wit, and your prose style (which has improved greatly from the early days of WWdN).
I don’t mean to gush; my point was simply to tell you something that I think you needed to hear about your writing.
I’ve been going through a similar streak in my ring games, where I can’t seem to quit ahead to save my life. I’m doing better in tournaments, although I haven’t exactly lit up the final tables. In fact, I haven’t finished first in a tournament in I can’t remember how long. It’s discouraging, and it sucks. Taking a break and re-reading the books by the experts is probably something I should be doing, instead of trying to play through the crap times when I don’t feel my best. I’m pretty sure you know just what I mean.
The tide will turn, I’m sure, for both of us. I just hope it doesn’t turn in your favor if we happen to be in a pot together.
Hey Wil,
I know what your going through with the poker. I stuck a quick post up on my own blog about my total lack of focus over the last month that trashed a lot of my bankroll.
Until a couple of nights ago I was losing and it really makes the game less fun. I decided to fire up PokerStars and just focus as completely on one SNG as I could. I ended up winning it and it’s a great feeling finding the edge of the fog and seeing the sun again.
Basically what I’m trying to say is that the losing streak won’t last. You just need to hang in there and eventually you’ll get back to your winning ways.
Chris
Holy Poop! This is exactly what I’ve been feeling like lately! I’ve been playing and playing, Sit-N-Go Tourneys, regular tourneys, regular tables, and I keep getting shut out, and it’s incredibly frustrating. The fear that I’ve just gotten lucky on both the real life and online tables has been creeping into my head, and I have been feeling like swearing it off as a fluke. Although it sucks to be in the same boat, I’m glad to know that others out there are feeling the same pain, and hopefully, we’ll make it out alive.
Hopefully what Chris says is true, that the losing streak won’t last, and we’ll all be in the money again soon enough.
Thanks for reminding me that it’s all part of the game – winning and losing.
Hello Wil,
A longtime dealer at Binion’s made this comment to me about his style of poker, and it may help… “I spend much more time at a table trying to get rid of hands than I do trying to play hands.” The act of playing is what excites us about poker, but the act of waiting leads up to more pots. IMHO.
Persistance and patience are two seriously powerful tools at your disposal… Use them for poker, and of course for life.
Hang in… It will come.
my dad plays a lot of texas hold em. tourneys on the internet as well as local fund raiser and friendly games. he has the best dead with my mom. think about this deal for your home… Dad says it helps him win, adn puts losing into perspective. When he goes to a game any winnings he gets above and beyond the entry fee goes to my mom. that way she gets mad money. it helps him because he plays for fun always, there isnt anything at stake for him… win or lose.
ack DEAL not dead, he wouldnt kill her unless she bought yard gnomes!