The football games on yesterday were weak, so I played some PLO instead.  I had one of my worst days in memory.  I actually tilted off a couple buyins towards the end of the second of three sessions.  That is very unusual of me.  If it happens, it is usually a function of being fed up with some over aggressive too loose player hitting long shots over and over.  You start to justify that you should take some, since they are hitting them.

The first session wasn't remarkable.  Simply, nothing went right.  I lost 75% of my all ins where I was a favorite.  I hit my stop loss and quit.  I personally use a 3-4 buyin stop loss (3.5 avg).

In the afternoon, I played another session at a deep ante table to die for.  It was filled with super loose and aggressive players.  The main culprit played 90/50 with two other players that played 80/30 and 70/25.  The money was flying around loose and free.  I was even able to get the prime seat to the left of the loosest/most aggro player. Unfortunately, they were catching like there was no tomorrow.  A gutshot was all they needed to push all in on the turn and they hit on seemingly most occasions.  Four players at the table were between 4 and 8 buyins deep.   Many of the pots grew to 4-6 buyins with the slightest of hands.  There was so much money to be made if you could hit a hand or have your hand hold up.

The point I wanted to share was that despite all this action and running so poorly, I never suffered a risk of ruin.  Sure, I'm disappointed that I ran so poorly.  Sure, I'm frustrated that it will take me a while to grind back the losses.  Sure, I regret I couldn't take advantage of such a juicy table.  There were so many +EV situations that I couldn't ever collect on.  Some days are like that.  But managing my bankroll and respecting my stop loss prevents one day's sessions from impacting my poker playing future or my mentality.

Confidence is so important in poker.  Your confidence often follows your results.  If you manage your results, you can often manage your confidence.  So don't ever let your losses accumulate beyond a reasonable point (e.g. strict stop loss).  That way you can get back in the game again soon to resume you gradual climb back up.  Allowing yourself to go busto or lose too much of your roll can have long term deleterious effects to your psyche and confidence.

I'll use the example from some of the high stakes games going on now.  Brian Townsend was criticized after his recent one million dollar plus win against Isildur1.  Some said he hit and ran Isildur1.  I don't know the exact reasons he left when he did, but I would bet he was managing his session.  He had played and ran well, then he lost a big hand and may have sensed frustration and tilt coming on where he might give back his winnings.  After you play over 1000 hands, I certainly don't consider that hitting and running.  The objective is to manage your playing to ensure long term winning play and results, and that's what he did.  He will play Isildur1 again, probably often, but on that day he managed his results and confidence well.

That is my biggest issue with some of the recent high stakes play.  While it is exciting for railbirds and fans to see huge wins and losses from these big HU matches with Isildur1, I would argue it's not the wisest approach to managing their confidence or results.  You need to check your ego when another player is getting the best of you.  Establish a stop loss and stick to it.  Maybe Isildur1 has durrrr's number or has just been luckier, but so what.  durrrr should never allow his entire online winnings from the last two years come into jeopardy.   The same can be said of Isildur1 who had been on a torrid run in November and was up around 6 million.  To allow yourself to give over half that back ($3.4 million) in one session to Phil Ivey and Patrik Antonius is irresponsible, in my opinion.  Quitting a losing session before it gets out of hand isn't the sign of a loser, but a winner.   Managing your risk of ruin is one of the key elements to long term success in poker, your ego be damned.