What is going on?

If you don't want to read about another poker player whining about his results, then skip this and move on. I write this for myself, anyway, and not possible readers.

I cannot win anything on-line. I used to win at on-line poker on a regular basis. I still win at live poker. I am fairly certain that my poker skills have not dropped that noticeably, but now I am questioning things.

I cannot cash in a SNG of any type at any level. I cannot post a winning session in an on-line cash game. No, I do not think on-line poker is rigged.

Its a neverending series of bad beats which defies all odds. Nothing like this happens with my live play. So now I am questioning myself. Am I playing too aggressively? Too tight? Can players read me too well? Are players using stat tracking tools that peg me?

I really don't think my game has changed that much. I still play roughly the same style that has worked very well in the past. I change my game up based on the complezion of the table. I calculate the math of every hand and incorporate that into my play on a constant basis.

But I continue to lose at a steady clip. Can't win a race. Fantastic second-best hands. Regular runs of completely unplayable junk that drops me to <10 BBs in SNGs. Someone calls raises, I flop nothing, I cannot bet, because I will get called if they flop anything.

I'm playing more Omaha hi. (I will post my personal Omaha rules at some point -- already written up.) I flop the nut straight. I play it as fast as possible with successive pot-sized bets on the flop and turn, and get called by unplayable hands that run me down. Yes I want players to make these bad, unprofitable calls, but I want to win a fucking hand once in a while! Its devastating my on-line backroll and my confidence.

I love this game, but I cannot keep playing when I absolutely cannot win. I am doubting my abilities as a result of this run, but keep reminding myself that its the long run that counts. And, nothing like this happens with my live play.

I don't think that the skills I use in live play can make that much difference with my on-line game, but I have no other explanation for what is happening besides this or just amazing horrible luck. I've won a good deal at on-line play before, and I keep telling myself that it can happen again, But I am seriously starting to wonder if that is true anymore.

NOTE: For any Team Hephastus players that may read this, I have had a never-ending series of work-related Thursday night meetings since the second week in December. I work with a lot of cities, and city councils hold most meetings at night. I am attending more of these meetings than ever before, with lots of travel. If I had known this would be the case, I would not have signed up for the team again. Even if I could make it, I am sure that my on-line performance would not change on Thursday nights...