How to Beat the Downswing in Online Poker?

Steps You Have to Take to Minimize the Downswing

- First, I would say that not playing tilted is the prevention and the antidote for the downswing. What I do when I get into the downswing is I try to play my A game, and as soon as I feel I'm starting to get tilted or lose focus, I immediately sit out from the tables and take a short break. When I come back, if I still feel that I'm not on my A game, I just quit the session.
The reason for this is that there is no point in playing just for the sake of playing and losing money. We play poker to win money, and we want to have the best possible environment to do it, and we are going to do it every time if we have that option.

- More or less, we all have things to do in life, and we lack time, so it is more productive to do other things until we are ready to play poker again.
This approach also has to be balanced, as it may turn into avoiding playing because you run badly, and justifying it by not being able to play A game. You have to play a decent amount if you are serious about poker, and do everything you can to get yourself in the best possible mood.  This includes good sleep, good diet, working out, solving issues outside of poker that could cause you stress, etc..

- So once we have step 1 settled, what we want to do if we are in the middle of the downswing is to be sure we are not playing too many tables where we are rushed into making decisions. So we are looking to have more focus on every decision instead of putting crazy volume, although decent volume is important.
 

- Before starting the next session, we should review every hand from our previous session that is 6 big blinds or more. This is the optimal approach, but it will sometimes take time to do, and it will be worth it.

- I also like to do a lot of drilling using the most common spots by using GTO Wizard, like BvB, BTN vs BB, SB vs BTN, and then put more focus on the spots I feel less comfortable with (30-60 minutes a day). Stick to fundamentals and don't try to do fancy plays, but when you see weakness in your opponent, attack relentlessly..

- It is also good to increase study time, break down hands, and understand why the solver is doing something, but don't try to blindly follow the outputs, as you want to learn why, so you can apply what you learned in all the spots, and not just a single one.

- You can also change a site where you play, especially if you were playing on a site that allows HUDs to get away from regs who know your game and are attacking your leaks. This will give you time to shut the leaks and come back better. A lot of times, when you make a change in your game, it has a great effect in the beginning, as nobody is adjusted to your change, so it becomes super profitable until they adjust again.

- You should also focus on your performance and not your results, as performance is the only thing we can control, and results just come as a product of our performance, not the other way. Developing long-term thinking is suitable for this and, in general, in life.

- Removing distractions, not having a phone close to where you play, not listening to distracting music, not watching videos or movies while playing..

Conclusion

Downswings are hard for every player, but once you beat one, you will get confidence, and if you apply all the advice from this article, it will make you a better player. The more downswings you beat, the next one becomes easier, as you are already mentally stronger and adjusted to what it takes to do it.

In my experience, downswings were the most significant periods for me to improve as a poker player, as I have always needed to correct things, as downswings can put doubt and challenge into whether I can do it.