Back in the saddle again....

Well the skies have cleared and the clouds have gone awayfor awhile.


Last night after writing yesterday's blog on Party Poker I placed 16th in a 660 person N/L tournament. Then, just before I went to bed, I placed 3rd in a 220 person tournament for $700.

The "voices" in my head, that kept saying your are one of the worst and most unlucky players in the world have been silenced again for awhile.

I have no problem with getting a bad beat anymore. I have seen a lot of them. They don't even excite me anymore. Even if I am on the losing hand of stupid play. It is when I go seven or eight sessions losing, when I have played well, and have not gone on tilt that I get the "voices".

I know that short term variance can account for it. But, I have not yet embraced the concept that I can play very good poker, even my best poker and still lose 7 or more sessions in a row.

I get, and have experienced losing 7 or more hands in a row at a blackjack table. And I am sure if I played many sessions of BJ I could lose 7 sessions in a row. But, I want to argue that the dealer has the edge and so that makes sense.

There is no "edge" in poker, except knowledge & skill. Of course there is "luck", but that is distributed evenly over a long period of time or the laws of the universe are wrong. I know I am a greatly improved player then last year when I got serious about improving my game. And I read that the best at this game also having losing streaks.

Maybe, I am unrealisitic about the odds. Normally, I am playing 8 other players, so I have only about a 12.5% chance to win. If I am better then 1/2 the players at the table that means I will still only win less then 2/3 of the time. My win rate is really only 35-40% of the time, but it still has given me enough profit to overcome the "house rake" and show a little profit.

So what I am really "whining" about is, how come I can lose 7-8 sessions in a row, but never win that many in a row?

Is the universe skewed to make sure I lose, as my deepest darkest fears believe or am I missing something here.....?

Any thoughts?