Downswings
A downswing in poker is peculiar kind of psychological assault, the sort that sneaks up on you even though you understand variance, even though you’ve been through it all before. Perhaps it reignites some symptoms of the Imposter Syndrome you once had. Perhaps it’s just creeping doubt. The game does evolve. Maybe it’s your turn to go instinct.
Do you start to anthropomorphise the Universe, casting it as some sadistic harbinger of endless beats?
The mind can do strange gymnastics during these stretches. Do you retreat into hyper-conservatism, second-guessing value bets that were automatic only weeks ago? Do you come out swinging, trying to barrel your way back into the black? Do you start to anthropomorphise the Universe, casting it as some sadistic harbinger of endless beats? If so, the real battle isn’t against your opponents but against the warped stories that you have told yourself.
The best way to view downswings is to think of them as a test – a test of resilience, composure, and ability to take pain. If your opponents never won, they would likely have fallen out of love with the game a long time ago. Thinking clearly through a downswing presents you with opportunities for retrospection and a chance to discover and plug leaks.
A week ago, I gathered together a cross section of the poker community to wax lyrical on the topic of goals. This week, the same disparate jumble of degenerates are revealing their worst downswings of 2025.
David Lappin: What was the toughest stretch or biggest downswing you experienced this year, and how did you work through it mentally and strategically?
Ian Simpson:
Online, I don’t think that I have had more than two losing sessions in a row and live, I have been running hotter than a WPT thirst trap video.
Jen Shahade:
The first quarter of 2025 was pretty rotten. Things were not clicking creatively or professionally. And when you’re in those stretches, it can be so difficult, because momentum is so critical in life and career. When you don’t have it, you often have to work even harder for fewer results. But you have to stay in the game, eh? Fortunately, the year really turned around for me starting in the summer.
Aaron Barone:
I can’t recall my biggest downswing but I would guess it’s in the neighborhood of $15,000-$20,000. The thing that has started to wear on me is less about an individual swing but more about accumulated tilt of running poorly at the top of my buy-in range and how that sabotages having a “big” score. At some point, that will change but until it does, I don’t think the nagging voice in the back of my mind will be fully quieted.
David Docherty:
My episode with kidney stones from June to September was one of the most challenging times that I have ever had in my poker career. I’ve had to deal with a severely dimished bankroll before, I’ve taken horrible beats for six figure scores, and I’ve bluffed off super deep runs with seven figures up top.
a miserable experience that I wouldn’t wish upon anyone
Trying to play my way through what was at times excruciating physical pain whilst feeling mentally despondent for what ended up being almost four months was a miserable experience that I wouldn’t wish upon anyone. I just had to focus on my surgery date and mostly study instead of play, but it was incredibly difficult, especially when I felt like I had to play PokerStars Open Malaga to stay in contention for the Live League.
Ray Wheatley:
Over the last two weeks, I shot-took on ACR and it went very badly, so I will simply step back down and regroup. The Irish Open was also particularly tough and that hurt the bankroll massively. How I keep going is simply to look at my mistakes and work hard on not making them again. Bad runs equate to harder work. Health and fitness is key for mental and physical well being and is a great leveller. This is always a priority for me.
Nate Silver:
I’ve seemingly developed a bit of a Dara-esque knack for cashing a lot, so there haven’t been many totally dry spells. But it’s easy to cash a lot and still lose money in tournaments. That sort of pattern can either bring out your inner-nit or inner-LAG in any given session when it isn’t necessarily called for. I think my discipline is pretty good, but sometimes focus is a problem.
Kyna England:
I don’t really ever consider myself in a downswing because I play more for fun now and not as often so I know variance will hit me harder. Sometimes mentally I fall into some holes where I think I am just not good enough anymore, but I work on that through coaching and reflection. I am my own biggest barrier so I want to make sure that I train my poker brain to realize that.
Andreas Mavromoustakis:
In the last couple of months, I have lost around €60,000 ($70,283) and that is something that is really tough for me to work through. I guess the important thing is to remember that poker is a strategic game played over the long-run and I shouldn’t be affected by short-term results.
it’s important to trust yourself and be mentally strong
It’s really difficult to trust your game and strategy when things go wrong but it’s important to trust yourself and be mentally strong so you these situations don’t destroy you.
Nick Walsh:
By far my toughest downswing was during the (ongoing but nearly complete) $50,000 Spin & Go Challenge I set myself in June. I think at one point I was down 160 buy-ins (and 100 buyins under expectation in chips). I am recovering now but still not fully clear. I am proud of how I handled it despite extreme frustration. I went back to the tried and tested: PLAY – MARK HANDS FOR REVIEW – REVIEW – REPEAT “method” to remind myself that I need to focus on the process and hold my nerve!
Turlough McHugh:
The second half of 2024 was a horror show. I lost 800 buyins in 1500 games. If I’m honest, I entered the year mentally bruised. The first half of 2025 I worked with a psychologist who also plays poker and she helped me to get my head screwed back on straight. Luckily, I don’t have any major downswings to report this year, mostly because my volume was… let’s call it selective.
Tobias Leknes:
I’ve been blessed with a lot of run-good for a long time, so it’s hard to give myself any praise for dealing with being on a downswing. With less volume this year, it was easy to go on a long downswing, at least in terms of time. However, spending a lot of time studying, building confidence and knowing that I’m better now helped to grow my confidence.
Sid Sudunagunta:
In March, I went to Bratislava for the Norwegian Championships. It was my biggest trip ever in terms of duration and number of entries with lots of low stakes mixed games for which I’d been studying and preparing well. Twenty bullets and one min cash left me very deflated and going home with my tail between my legs.
I reminded myself that I’m very fortunate to get to travel and play cards
There was no magic fix; I reminded myself that I’m very fortunate to get to travel and play cards and it was important to be patient about results. My coach/mentor Daragh Davey deserves some credit for helping me stay on track and not letting me feel too sorry for myself.
Jaime Staples:
I had maybe four losing sessions in a row – nothing crazy at all! Most of the tourneys that I play are fields under 500 players so the variance isn’t that bad, and, in some of them, I feel like my edge is high! I try to avoid slumps of attention where I’m just auto-piloting but sometimes I can’t help but feeling burnt out. It’s just part of my natural poker lifecycle I think.
Nikki Limo:
In the first four months of the year I did not cash a single live MTT. I don’t really play a lot of live MTT volume so it was “only” 27 buyins. I was making profit in cash games during that time but it was still a bit deflating and had me second guessing myself for sure. I was having an equally tough time mentally in live MTTs at the start of the summer series, but I happened to stumble upon Jason Su’s book “The Joy of Poker” and it really got me back into actually having fun at the tournament tables again.
Kenny Hallaert:
I had no significant downswing in 2025. My first big trip of the year was the Irish Poker Open where I took down a High Roller event. After that, I cashed pretty much every event I played at the European Poker Tour in Monaco. Then I went to the WSOP and well, the rest is history.
Rania Nasreddine:
I actually am experiencing it right now! I have not cashed a tournament since August. I try to remind myself that sometimes the cards are your friends and sometimes they aren’t and if you’re playing well (and I haven’t been) that’s just the dice.
Jim Reid:
By far the worst stretch of results spanned from the Irish Open in April through to the WSOP in July. Coming off a hot streak in both places last year, I created a tourney package and invited some investors to come along for the sweat. Then I bricked almost every tournament, and while I didn’t adjust strategically, the feeling of letting down my friends and stakers really bothered me.
After all: sometimes you win and sometimes you learn
I worked through it by just being brutally honest with myself and everyone else, trying to find positives to take from the experience. After all: sometimes you win and sometimes you learn.
Lukas Robinson:
EPT Malta was rough! I bubbled the €1,650 ($1,933) Open Main Event in a chip-lead pot after playing all day, bust two bullets in the Main Event and lost around €10,000 ($11,713) overall which is a chunk of my bankroll. After that, I went back to a good daily routine, playing online and studying. That helped me to grind back that money pretty much straight away.
Padraig O’Neill:
I didn’t have much to work through this year! My biggest downswings historically have been playing live MTTs and I didn’t play many of them this year. In the past, when I have had 250-500 buyin online downswings, I have tried to do a reset. I get rid of the top of my buy-in range and any games with thinner edges. I also seek out games with smaller field sizes, lower my table count and get some coaching. Less is more if I’ve lost 500 buyins playing five days a week so playing three days and studying two has always been a good idea.
