Not many pleasures transfer from those halcyon days of youth to the humdrum world of adulthood, but there is one that leaps into mind: bubble wrap. The tremendous satisfaction of squeezing and popping those protective bubbles of packaging neither ages nor diminishes. The poker gods, it seems, have a similar taste, and Internet pros are their bubble wrap of choice. All over the Web, there are more and more instances of young arrivistes to poker feeling the squeeze, their metaphoric poker skins bulging taut as the pressure is put on. Most seem to pop. There are a lot of reasons for this, not the least of which are just the sheer volume of players and their very public nature. A decade ago, the fate of even the big-name players was confined to smoky back rooms. Now it is all over the Net, from the grinder to the big-game players. But some of these souls seem to lack pretty essential survival skills in terms of both how to manage their bankrolls and how to manage the inevitable bad runs. Here are some tips on how to handle the thumb and forefinger of a fickle god, pressing down on your own individual poker bubble.
You Are Not You
There is a temptation in every bad run to simply position it as pure variance. You are just running bad. This will undoubtedly be true. What also will be true is that you are playing worse. As the numbers in the negative column get bigger and bigger, only the very, very best can keep on playing their A-game. Statistically, it is unlikely that you are that player. More likely, your game has dropped to a D-. Playing through a bad run is like surfing through a tsunami. Surf is most definitely up, but you should not be on it.
Book a Vacation
With this in mind, the best thing to do is to take a vacation from poker. The worse the run, the more absolute the holiday and the longer the duration. Several days of radio silence - no playing and no browsing/reading/foruming - are the absolute minimum. A more mind-bending run could require up to two weeks away time, with maybe a slow start back, just reading and studying key texts to warm up the poker muscles. Use this time to get out more, stretch both your literal and emotional legs, and completely put poker to one side. It cannot be emphasised enough how important this break is, no matter how much you think you should play through the pain. Playing through the pain nearly always results in more pain. And the games will still be there when you get back.
Mirror, Mirror
To coin Fight Club, you are not a unique snowflake. You are not the "Greatest Player of All Time," a master of both online and live play and a massive hit with the ladies; OK, except if you're Patrik Antonius. It's important to be honest about yourself, your strengths and your weaknesses. Old-timer Puggy Pearson used to say that the hardest thing a gambler had to do was make friends with himself. Are you playing the right games? Are you any good at the games you are playing? Are there better games you could be playing? How do you cope with victory and defeat? Is your ego driving you to play games that are too tough for your bankroll and too tough for your skill? PokerTracker and similar tools can help answer this, but the greatest help is self-honesty. Be your own friend.
Strategic Withdrawal
Having gone through all of this, it's time to start playing again. Go back smaller, at least one level and maybe more below your previous losing peak. Nothing is more disastrous to your recovery than having spent some time to gain a degree of equilibrium, only to find yourself smashed back off it again. Treat yourself with kid gloves. Try to get yourself back into the habit of winning, or at least losing at a less precipitous rate.
Pyrrhic Victory
Some people are not suited to playing poker seriously. It can be and is tremendous fun as a hobby for pure entertainment. It's a bit like going to the theatre but with money at stake. If you have to keep on repeating these steps, an endless progression through defeat, recuperation, and more defeat, perhaps you just should not be playing poker for money. Set up a slush fund that you are prepared to lose and stick to it. Treat it as an entertainment fund. Even better, just stick to tournaments, where your exposure is always limited but the excitement levels are just as high.
"And if you gaze for long into an abyss, the abyss gazes also into you."
- Friedrich Nietzsche 
David has played poker all over the UK for the better part of a decade. Originally a tournament player, now focused on cash play and almost entirely on the Internet for the last three years, David makes a healthy second income playing a wide range of games.
