Not Losing > Losing

But not quite as good as winning.

I've managed to stem the flow of dollars from my online accounts, but haven't yet reversed the process.

A long time ago, when I was learning to program computers, I was taught about 'breaking state'. This isn't a technical process.

Simply put, it means if you are struggling with a problem, don't sit staring at the screen all day. Go for a walk, have a coffee, chat to your workmates about the football, and return to the original problem with a fresh perspective.

It's amazing how often this works.

I broke state over the weekend my escaping Hold Em and playing some micro PLO on Tribeca, then 7-Card Stud on PokerStars.

I had a few nice wins on the PLO, before giving it all back to people who think a back door flush draw is a good hand to get all-in with on the flop. Heh.

7CS is a game I'm trying to learn presently. Once I've got more of a hang of it, I'll have pretty much achieved one of my aims for the year - though I still need to sign up for Ultimate Bet and get some Triple Draw hands in.

I don't know enough about 7CS yet to actually get overly worked up about the beats or the play. In that respect, it's a good game for evading tilt, since when I lose a hand I'm not yet sure if the opponent played it badly/correctly, or whether I should have laid it down earlier.

For now, I'm sticking to playing ultra tight on 3rd, and bashing the bet/raise buttons for as long as I seem to be ahead.

It's still quite easy to spot the truly awful players. The ones who never fold after 4th street; who can't put down any pair on 3rd, no matter the action. Coincidentally this weeks Full Tilt Pro Tip from Perry Friedman refers to this very weakness.

I think one aspect of my game that has really improved through playing a variety of different poker games is my observational skills.

When using Poker Tracker I'm often finding that I've added a note against a player before they've logged enough hands to get rated by the computer. When the stats and icon finally appear, my hit rate for the initial observation matching the stats is very good.

Which is a nice feeling, and at least gives me some hope that the bankroll plateau I seem to be trapped upon this year can be put behind me and the up slope resumed at some point.