Thankfully on Pokerstars at any one time there will be 150,000 people logged, many of which are playing cash games which allows for a good deal of table/game/position selection.

High traffic is especially relevant for those like myself who play ostensively at /50/100nl both at FR and 6 max depending on what I wish to focus on (generally i go by a week by week or month by month so my skills in each format don't get merged).

As far as table selection I tend to look for as few tough regs as possible who I highlight with Orange. (guys to stay away from especially to my left).

Having a good mix of TAGs, LAG's and passive fish is always favourable with notes on as many players making things easier later down the track.

Position on LAG's and LAP's are really important as having these guys to your left can be problematic as aggressive players tend to 3 bet your raises in and out of the blinds and loose passive players I have found just call with a wide range of hands when they have position on you and can be tough to get off their hand without investing multiple barrels.

This is really an open ended blog... what sort of qualities do you look for when table selecting???

in 2 days i have managed to lose 25% of my bankroll playing 50 nl 6 max and 100 nl FR..

After going on a pretty solid upswing winning a good number of my sessions i went on a real dive and started giving back a lot of the money i had worked to earn..

in the grand scheme of things its not life changing money probably between $500-700 but i just couldn't stop the bleeding after i got on a really unlucky run of cards when i was shot taking at 100nl.

after going down 2 buy ins in an hour i slipped back to 50nl 6 max which had been doing well for me in the past month. then just started getting called light, non of my bluffs were getting through and was getting 2 and 3 outed on rivers countless times.

I have self excluded myself from Pokerstars for 1 week until i can regain focus and watch Leggo Vids to get better and learn more. After declaring to myself to stick to 50nl with my remaining BR at FR until times get better playing just 2 games at once for 5-7 hours each week i am hoping this will turn things around and i can get back to where i was which was cruise mode.

I am sure i am not the only one who goes on these drastic downswings and i am sure a lot of people are a lot more careful when they realise tilt happening.

id be interested to know how other people cope and what sort of downswings they have encountered in their time??? i remember a story with Phil Galfond putting his entire bankroll on the table at 200nl lost it all built it back up and never looked back since. and Andrew Feldman lost his entire 100k bankroll at the age of 18 and now he is up there as one of the best.

2012 has been a bit of a mixed bag poker wise... started off crushing when things were good and life was simple living in Brisbane at the start of the year.. however lately, now moving back to Sydney, i have been hamstrung by stresses at work, study and fighting with my housemate/girlfriend for the last 4 months.. (i know not the smartest of decisions on my part to get involved with a girl i live with). now i am in the process of finding a new house as she has found a boyfriend... leaving my situation more than just a bit awkward....

a series of bad decision making away from the tables e.g. playing when the internet was having trouble also hurt my bankroll, luckily though not too drastically i am still at 25 and 50nl which is higher than where i was at the start of 2012 had a few goes higher up but got burnt badly in light of what has been happening.

2013 will be about recognising old patterns and not playing when things are tough off the tables as they tremendously affect winrates, more than i thought possible.

I hope everyone here has a very safe, healthy and productive start to 2013 and i hope to see you at the tables sometime soon!

James,

Pokerstars is really starting to bug me out i mean the traffic is great and the tournaments are very good but as far as RB ------- yeh...

and the bonus system is only really decent if your grinding long sessions at 100nl and up to get VIP privileges for the freeroll tournies and other "stellar rewards" that are on offer at Gold Star status +.

I started a forum thread on this earlier and i just wonder where everyone else here plays so i can get an idea where the good sites are at im thinking of running $200 up

In all seriousness though i am interested into finding a new site with easier competition seeing as last night I got pummeled at 50nl last night and took a 6 buy in downswing.. fml poker can be get to you when your in shot taking mode, there goes like 1/3rd of my roll in 3 hours lol---

this track pretty much somes it all up lately

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1h1EOvURhW8

Ive been on this site now for roughly half a year and posting a lot in the past few months talking to some really cool people that play similar stakes at 25 and 50 nl. It's always good to gauge others opinions when playing hands a certain way that i hadn't even considered and just getting time to find out what they do day to day away from the tables its been pretty awesome.

Lately ive been on a decent upswing for the past 3 months, playing from 10nl to 50 nl in a relitively short space of time. As i start playing for more and more money my parents seem to think that i am on the verge of going broke when i tell them the kind of swings i encounter in a single session. "don't lose all your money, i'm not bailing you out".

I think that poker has allowed me to be more careful with managing money as BR requirements requires me to adjust when things aren't doing so well and being more disciplined with being less materialistic and becoming shrewd when making decisions purchasing stuff like speakers and massage seat covers.

On that topic i think anything to do with massage therapy is really good when playing long hours or tense after a bad downswing like this one:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aHhy3ni5Ay8

hope ya'l are having a good weekend