How do you deal with long downswings in MTTs?

[babyrosejr]

I’ve been grinding multi-table tournaments for quite some time, and one thing I’ve noticed is how mentally challenging long downswings can be. You can study ranges, review hands, play solid, and still go weeks (sometimes months) without a deep run.

I’m curious how others here handle those stretches. Personally, I try to focus on bankroll management and remind myself that variance is just part of the game. I also take notes on situations where I might be leaking chips, but even then, it’s not always easy to keep confidence high when the results don’t come.

Do you take breaks to reset your mindset, or do you just grind through it?

How do you keep studying without overloading yourself?

What’s your personal way to stay motivated and avoid tilt during these rough periods?


I think it would be interesting if we could share practical tips, not just motivational talk. Variance will always exist, but maybe our approach to it can make the difference between surviving a downswing or burning out completely.

Looking forward to hearing your thoughts.

 

[dreamer13]

Honestly, you need to get better and work on your mental side. A lot depends on how you handle it and how you manage to keep playing at your best level. If you can do that, that in itself will give you a big advantage because a lot of people just break down mentally when things don't go their way. Also, winning big means you don't have to worry about failures anymore.

 

[R.Melnyk77]

During such periods, I minimise my expenses. I play more freerolls and reduce my spending limit per session by 50%. This allows me to get through such periods of decline with minimal losses. And when I see that I am entering a period of growth, I increase my limits slightly and play more actively overall. This approach levels out the difficult times and brings better results on good days.

 

[pentazepam]

I don't play MTTs (at least not if I have to pay for them). Total variance f.u.c.k.

 

[wushibala]

Play freerolls to build up your bankroll, and then once you feel like things are going well, you can start playing for real money.

 

[primrose]

So unfortunately, it's something that tons of people struggle with, which suggests there are no great solutions. But here's a few things that might help.

One really obvious thing would just be, well, play something with less variance. Either smaller MTTs, or just cash. Even mixing MTTs with cash would help. For example for me, I've run horrendously in my weekly (twice-weekly up until recently) local live tournament recently, but at the same time I've run pretty good in cash, so it doesn't feel like I'm on a downswing, it just feels like, alright good here bad here, seems fair overall. Of course I could have run badly in both, but it's less likely to happen because cash is lower variance. So either only playing a lower-variance format, or playing a lower-variance format in addition to the high-variance format, would decrease the probability of you having this problem.

If you want to stick with MTTs, I think a larger bankroll does help. At least for me that was a pretty important factor. But maybe this is only because for me the bankroll also materially affects my livelihood, so maybe it matters less if you play poker on the side. Also it's not actionable, so not that helpful.

As for feeling better right now, it's probably pretty person-specific. But again just going from myself, what makes me feel better about a downswing is if I can find errors in my play. So concretely, say I'm running badly for a week, I lose 1000€, now I feel shitty. Then on Friday when I discuss hands with my coach and find severe errors, that will paradoxically make me feel better because then I feel like, oh okay so it wasn't just the universe being cruel to me, I could have avoided about 600 of the 1000 by playing better. Like just feeling that I can do something about it really helps.

And if that also doesn't help, err, well, practice equanimity meditation 🧘‍♀️🔥🔥🔥 Ultimately that's the only true remedy to psychological suffering, of any kind. (I'm actually serious about this, altough it is not exactly a quick fix.)