Confidence Problem...

I have a bit of an unusual problem (I think) at the moment...I am a little scared to play poker because I'm thinking maybe I was wrong about how I play, and maybe I have just been lucky recently...I am convincing myself that everything is going to come to an end and I'm going to have a load of losing streaks and lose my BR.

I can't see any real reason for this, other than I was a pretty mediocre player in the past, generally losing slowly with very occasional top-ups, but more recently I have almost not been able to put a foot wrong in cash games. (I suck in tournaments, but I know that, and always have done, I have been losing faster in the few tournaments I've played recently though)

I only play a little each day, and not for huge stakes, but this confidence thing is annoying me, because it's completely unlike my usual character.

Here's my recent cash table history:
Sit Down Blinds Win/Loss
16/10/09 $0.25/$0.50 $29.52
15/10/09 $0.25/$0.50 $7.75
14/10/09 $0.25/$0.50 $35.74
14/10/09 $0.25/$0.50 $25.53
13/10/09 $0.25/$0.50 $21.22
12/10/09 $0.25/$0.50 $66.27
11/10/09 $0.25/$0.50 -$25.00
11/10/09 $0.10/$0.25 -$12.50
26/09/09 $1.00/$2.00 $222.50
26/09/09 $1.00/$2.00 -$100.00
26/09/09 $0.25/$0.50 -$25.00
25/09/09 $0.25/$0.50 $33.87
25/09/09 $0.25/$0.50 -$25.00
25/09/09 $0.25/$0.50 $15.01
24/09/09 $0.25/$0.50 $10.18
24/09/09 $1.00/$2.00 $67.65
23/09/09 $0.25/$0.50 -$25.00
23/09/09 $0.25/$0.50 $37.60

Note, I always buy-in to a table at 50% of max-stake, so $12.5 at 0.10/0.25, $25 at 0.25/0.50, and $100 at 1/2...

Prior to this I hadn't played since June this year, and pretty irregularly before that (yay for the Mac client!).

Anyone else have any confidence knocks, and if so what did they do about it? Also, is it so strange for me to have confidence issues when I'm winning?

+ all the above

And always try and improve

Thanks, but the cash isn't an issue - I could lose my whole bankroll in a day, and the money wouldn't phase me. I'm playing well inside my comfort zone in those regards. Sometimes I go to the local casino and buyin €500 to play at €5/€10 tables (not often, just 3 or 4 times in the last 2 years) - now that is a level I wouldn't play regularly at because there I would really start to feel it if I lost 10 buyins.

It's just that I feel like some kind of fraud at the moment, almost like I don't deserve to be winning. It seems a little odd.

I'm not sure a break is what I need, I think I need to somehow get my confidence back and justify that I should be winning, and that I'm playing correctly to win, and avoiding sitting down at the tables isn't going to help there.

SilentDreamer, 17/10/2009

Are u a woman? No pun intended!

Because the issues u relate to are typical for women actually. Poker is a moneymaking business with prolly the best equity in the world of economics, if u play better than 90%.

U shudnt feel sorry, because if they have the IQ to put money online, they are fully aware that they can lose it too.

A good friend of mine, a lady aswell, who plays decent and very solid poker had same issues as u propose, and thats why i think this is a female-thingie

Correct me if im wrong, and again no pun intended.

Would you consider yourself as a recreational/casual player or a serious/long-term player?

If you are a casual player then your feelings are pretty normal as most recreational players get those feelings once in a while.

If you are a serious player who wants to keep records long term and want to become better then the sooner you change your mindset the better.

If you play poker for the long haul then to get rid of your lack of confidence you need to approach poker in 4 steps:

1. Have a HUGE bankroll behind you. (At least 40-50 buy-ins for ultra comfort.)

2. Plop down the maximum amount of chips at the table to show you mean business.

3. Never think about the chips as money. You're in a GAME playing with counters or units.

4. Have FUN but know that you will lose some battles but will win the war.

Tell yourself that a lack of confidence is for wimps and you're not a wimp. You're a winner!!

i struggled with confidence for a long time recently...
i had just endured a couple of $1k downswings in as many days, and had managed to get even again, and on the 3 or 4th day i somehow managed to get stuck about $1800. and played a loooooong session to get it back...
eventually i got back to where i started... it was light again outside, and my girlfriend was waking up... she asked how it went, and i just said 'not too bad'... then closed my laptop and didnt want to play again for a long time.
unfortunately, i depend on the game as an income and so i had to return to the tables... i logged so many tiny sessions over the next few weeks. i'd sit, win a few pots... then leave before something bad happened.

i dont really know how i snapped out of it... there was no trick. just win thousands and thousands of dollars... and you'll get your confidence back eventually.