CARDRUNNERS

What's Your Edge

Brian Townsend : Poker Blog

January 22, 2010

Sorry I haven't been blogging much recently. I have been playing lots of poker and unfortunatley, I have been losing alot. The promising thing is that I have been winning in Stud and O8 games and losing in my best game, PLO. Not much to say really just frustrating that I am on such a downswing. Considering the stakes its not to big of a loss (about 500k or 600k), I just HATE losing. I am very competitive and it really bugs me when I am not winning.

I think this latest downswing has been due to a few factors. I have been traveling so I don't think I have played my best as there have been many discractions. I am looking forward to getting home and properly focusing once again. I think I have also run pretty poorly in this time and been on the bad side of some coolers. That said my play has been far from perfect and I have lots of room to improve.

I now have a coach in every game I play which is very helpful. I was stuck alot in each stud game but I am now almost even in razz (-20k), and stud 8 (-40k) and only down only 60k in stud hi. This is a big improvement as I was stuck 250k+ in each of these games. I am almost even in O8 as well being stuck only 11k. These numbers may seem big but when you play 2k/4k they are very very small as its only a few bets. Anyways I hope I keep improving as I now feel I am a breakeven player at in the Stud games and O8 in the nose bleed games. If I were to rate my games right now I think they would be as follows:

1) PLO
2) LHE
3) NLH
4) Razz
5) Stud 8
6) 2-7
7) O8
8) stud hi

Hopefully with some hard work things will turn around.

Entry Tags:

Jan 22, 10 16:53:28

how many people you know that LOVE losing? i don't get why people say i am competitive person and i hate losing....i am sure every one hates losing.

muckemsaywaaa

Jan 22, 10 17:28:03

I hate losing too.

RodeoBlue

Jan 22, 10 23:21:44

No one likes losing but some people despise it so much that it gets under their skin until they turn it around. This usually fuels them to work 100x harder than before to right the ship.

gl brian, i am sure it will turn around. I'm on a similar frustrating period and it's a good test for sure.

Stake Monster

Jan 23, 10 02:44:37

One of the things I really like about your blog is that you are willing to address the bad with the good. I wish you all the best as you come out of this funk.

jeff218

Jan 24, 10 12:34:08

I am surprised that you ranked LHE before NLHE. Did you make that ranking relatively to ypur mixed game opponents or according to your absolute competence at those games?

blma

Jan 24, 10 14:20:36

I don't think I've ever seen a high stakes pro who seems to misunderstand variance so much, at least from your blog. News flash: when you win 500K, its not always because you outplayed everyone and when you lose 500K, its not always because you played bad and need 7 separate coaches. Suck it up, play hundreds of thousands of hands, then look at how your doing in these games. imho.

Asgrow13

Jan 24, 10 19:23:45

Well, we can say DURRRR is TownsedÂ´s oppostie. He said he lost 60 buy-ins to isildur1 due to variance.

LOL

nikolaspares

Jan 25, 10 10:21:47

agree with jeff - awesome that you blog even when things aren't going well.

too bad you had to go to tahoe, stupid trips messing up your games.

see you in LA? :)

lana

Jan 26, 10 01:16:11

go brian!!!

U the best !!! humble and very good
i never post comments but U re one
of people that i respect the most in poker

plz can U own PA for me?

flouka